Speak softly (usually) and carry a big stick

Things just keep getting busier and busier, but it is just a lesson in the need to push oneself forward all the time. But boy, have I gotten a bludgeoning recently!

It seems like a lot of people I know are taking the title of this posting to heart, and giving quite a beating:

My novel pod wants better development, in fewer words, at the beginning of my novel - Bam! The hammer comes down in red all across the page.

I study Japanese with Janelle - she does great; I don't know all the vocab - Crack! A (loving) verbal lashing by said (obnoxious) sibling!

I need to make my stance wider and move FASTER! - Whack! A blow across my backside with the stick (and not metaphorical) from Sensei (granted, more of a goad than a painful blow).

Sigh, just one more sign that I need to be doing more! But it is a good thing - it just lets me show off my scars and tell war stories when I finally succeed.

Well, as long as I survive!