Why Writers Should Be Like Squirrels: A Lesson on Being Carefree
I am obsessed with squirrels. Those little tree rats are my number one favorite animals (second = sharks; third = goats). Ever since I bought my home in 2016, I’ve fed corn, pumpkins, and peanuts to my little squirrel families. They lose their squirrelly minds when I get them pumpkin.
It took me a long time, but I finally lured my squirrels to eat their peanuts right in front of the back door so I can watch them while I eat or work. However, there’s this atrocious Blue Jay that has stolen my squirrels’ peanuts a few times. I would never, ever kill an animal, but I have been known to jump out of my chair and yell obscenities and throw my fist around like a deranged psychopath.
When I was in college, I received an A+ for my informative speech in Speech 201 on, you guessed it, squirrels. I drew, in pencil, a squirrel for Drawing 101 and wrote a short story about a squirrel named Roscoe for Creative Writing. (I should find that story and reread it. Can you imagine what my 18-year-old writer mind was up to? Yikes.)
Yeah, I’m freakin’ nuts for squirrels.
You’re probably wondering why I have such an obsession for a rodent that flings itself into oncoming traffic. (Seriously, why are squirrels suicidal? Is there a hotline for these guys?)
Squirrels have what I used to have: a carefree attitude.
Have you ever seen a depressed squirrel? I haven’t. They’re always running and playing and scampering about. They even perform acrobatics to attract a mate. (No Squirrel Tinder necessary.) They forget where they hide 25 percent of their acorns, but it winds up being a major blessing because, hello, new trees for us (and them)! So they aren’t even upset about it, because it works out in the end. Happy little accidents.
Squirrels can fall from like a hundred feet without hurting themselves. If I skip a stair while walking, I’m out for three days with a back injury.
They even make running from predators fun and exciting. They run in a zigzag pattern, which is hilarious to watch. “Oh, what’s that, Mr. Hawk? You wanna eat me? I got the zigzag zoomies, so don’t even try to catch me, man.”
Did you ever think that maybe you need to embrace the carefree side of your writerly spirit? The worries of a writer are many: Is my book any good? Who should I hire to edit my book? How do I sell this thing? What will my mom say when she reads it? Do I need to scrap this entire idea and start over?
Before you know it, this wonderful, beautiful, extraordinary thing called writing becomes . . . anything but. You start worrying about every little thing. And it’s not wrong to have these concerns. But are they taking over your creative life? Are they constricting you? Are you seeing the magic of your words fly away while you calculate expenses for self-publishing?
Yeah, all the sudden, you’re not so carefree anymore. There’s too much to do.
As the White Stripes once sang: “Be like the squirrel, girl, be like the squirrel. Give it a whirl, girl, be like the squirrel.”
I challenge you to practice a carefree attitude this week. Here’s how:
- Choose one day that involves zero checklists/to-do lists. This feels nearly impossible for someone like me, but it can be done. When writing becomes this job you didn’t mean for it to, you could become resentful. Whatever to-do lists you have for your book (be it budgeting or hiring or marketing), leave it alone for one full day. Have your spouse or friend hide the list if you need to.
- Spend time in a carefree environment. If all your writing work happens in a specific place, like your office or living room, then do not go there this week. Instead, go somewhere else completely different, like a bookstore or coffee shop you used to love. Then, proceed to step 3:
- Write for fun. You are not allowed to write your blurb or your author bio or a new scene. You are not allowed to do your rewrites or work on your outline. Your goal is to spend quality time writing something fun. If you don’t know where to start, go to step 4:
- Write your obituary. This is morbid, yes, but super fun. I promise if you write something totally unrelated to your “writing work,” you’ll feel so much better. It truly works!
- Finalize your carefree day/week with a positive affirmation: “Writing is a blessing, but it doesn’t have to be a chore. I love the joy writing brings to my life and will find more opportunities to be carefree.”
I hope you’ll find time to channel your inner squirrel this week. I know I need to! I got to spend the last week suffering through COVID while still needing to work, teach a 3-hour class, and turn in my rewrites for Savage Indulgence. I think it’s imperative that I find time to be carefree this week. I even chose a date and activity, which is scheduled in my planner:
This Wednesday, after my consult with my client, I will head to Full Circle Bookstore in Oklahoma City so I can write something fun, something that has zilch to do with Savage Indulgence or my writing projects. I will drink much coffee.
A self-publishing mentor, best-selling author, and public speaker, Shayla Raquel works one-on-one with writers every day. A lifelong lover of books, she has been in the publishing industry for twelve years and teaches on author branding, indie publishing, book marketing, and the craft of writing.
Her award-winning blog teaches new and established authors how to write, publish, and market their books.
She is the author of the Pre-Publishing Checklist, “The Rotting” (in Shivers in the Night), The Suicide Tree, The 10 Commandments of Author Branding, All the Things I Should’ve Told You, and “Savage Indulgence.” In her not-so-free time, she studies all things true crime and obsesses over squirrels. She lives in Oklahoma with her husband and three fur babies.
