You’ve seen the poster I’m talking about, right? This one; designed to keep morale up in Britain during the WWII, but never really put into use. It wasn’t until years later, after the propaganda slipped into public domain, that the Internet saw a resurgence of this “keep calm and carry on” slogan. Chances are you’ve seen it plastered on t-shirts and coffee mugs and other random products. Sometimes the crown sits on top, sometimes a cupcake – You know, so you can “keep calm and have a cupcake.”
So why did the Internet become obsessed with this 5-word mantra?
Because it is genius. Simple, but honest, genius.
Sometimes things get crazy. Sometimes things are out of your control. Sometimes you are just one tiny being in an extraordinarily large universe and there’s not much you can do but take a deep breath and plow ahead.
Truer words could not be spoken when it comes to writing. You are in control of some things (the words you type), and others (an agent/editor/reader’s opinion), not so much. Even the parts of the writing process that you are in control of sometimes spiral out of control. You write the story in an excited frenzy. Plotting and character development begins to overwhelm. Revisions induce migraines. Querying sends you into a stress-coma. Doubt shows up and starts telling you, “This story is terrible and you will never finish it/revise it/wrangle it into the piece of awesome you know it can be.”
And you know what you do then, folks? You take a deep breathe. You keep calm and carry on. You keep calm and write/read/plot/revise/query on. And you dream big every step of the way. Always, always, always, dream big.
Sometimes keeping calm and carrying on is easier said then done. Sometimes you need a reminder! And so I’ve put my designer-skills to work and made you all a present.
Writerly propaganda for your desktop:
Take one wallpaper. Take all. Share with whomever.
Keep calm, carry on, and dream big!