mettlesome
Mettlesome is an adjective that means "full of vigor and stamina, spirited," and obviously "to have mettle". I remember stumbling across this word and thinking of it's homonym "meddlesome", which implies mischief or sabotage. Mettle on the other hand means courageousness, endurance, vigor of strength and temperament. Imagine how glad I was to discover this was a virtue!
This trying-to-find-an-agent-and-build-an-online-voice thing is quite the test of my mettle - or, more metaphorically speaking, testing the mettle and metal (iron?) that is in my personality and reinforces me when life seems to take me nowhere or backwards fast. I spent the last two weeks combing through and revising my novel once again - not because I'm a masochist but to make sure this novel is the absolute best work I can offer. I will be sending out another query (via snail-mail... or "hard mail" as they call it in my novel) next week, hoping of course, but also looking ahead to the next agent, the next set of materials I must prepare. I'm learning to bounce back, to continue work on the sequel of this newly finished brain-child, to challenge myself in the physical art of making envelopes and other paper-goods for Christmas presents, to steam puddings and bake cookies, to build up that mettle and metal for the next day, the next week, the next month. This winter won't be a dormant period, but it will be a waiting period, a testing period, and I must remind myself that there will be a Spring, even if the Winter is long and hard. Thanks all of you for coming with me!
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