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Thao Votang

transformation

Published 6 months agoΒ β€’Β 1 min read

Doing Just Fine

June 2025

πŸ’–πŸ’–πŸ’–

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πŸ’–πŸ’–πŸ’–

Dear Reader,

This month's card instructs me to "break free from belief systems that hold back your transformation." I can't help but think that if it were that easy, I would have succeeded a long time ago!

I'm about to embark upon edits to my latest manuscript at the advising of my dear agent, who I am indebted to for being the one who has to tell me "not quite yet." For me, it works best to hear this from someone like an agent with whom my relationship is more business than confidante or intimate. My beta readers push me further, and my agent pushes me past the finish line. Is it possible to write a book that is done when finished? Maybe not for me. Not yet, anyway.

To apply the card to the big gulp I take before I start editing, I need to remind myself that I am a writer. That I am capable of writing.
Because, if you can believe it, despite the thousands (hundreds of thousands!) of words I have written, on some days I don't think I can write.

How sad is this belief system ingrained in my brain that makes me second-guess my every word? Can you imagine if a bird doubted its flight?

Speaking of birds, I'm trying to befriend some ravens this summer. Tips on that are most welcome. There are also Mississippi kites in the region. The lesser goldfinches are thriving, and their whistles are the most beautiful sound, rising and falling alongside the increasing symphony of the cicadas.

Every time I see a bird swoop by, I will remind myself that I am a capable writer. What will you remind yourself of?

With love,

Thao

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Thao Votang

Monthly missive from the author of Linh Ly Is Doing Just Fine (Alcove Press).

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