The “Sweet Spot” by Janet Jones

“Dance…wait…stare…” I repeat the mantra in my head as I shuffle my feet, wait until I see the seams in the ball, and then stare through it as I swing the racket in an arc across my body. The tennis ball hits the strings of the racket right on the sweet spot and zings into the sideline corner for a winner. Yes!

The sweet spot…it’s not just a sports analogy. Wikipedia defines it as “… a place where a combination of factors results in a maximum response for a given amount of effort.”

For me, it’s not only a powerful groundstroke in tennis, it’s that precise bike fit…a perfect ratio of seat and handlebar positioning that balances my need for comfort with the leverage of the pedal stroke for speed. That sweet spot that allows me to ride a bike 100 miles in one day with no pain. Fatigue, yes of course, but not pain.

In marketing there is a sweet spot for advertising to create a passion to purchase a product; in audio, there is a sweet spot for the precise distance to sit from speakers for the best sound; and even for engines, there is a sweet spot of rpm’s for maximum fuel efficiency.

Reaching that sweet spot has become the modern vernacular to “being in the zone.” Or at least it gets you to the zone…its up to you to stay there.

Life gives us sweet spots all the time. I remember trying to get my granddaughter to put on her shoes so we could take her home from her cousin’s birthday party. She said she didn’t want to leave and continued to play wrestle with her uncle Joel. In a stroke of grand mothering genius, I said, “If you put your shoes on than we can stay 15 minutes longer.” Elsie scrambled to put her shoes on. One of Joel’s friends, a parent himself, said admiringly, “Well played.” Maximum response for precise effort – yep it works.

So where is the sweet spot in writing? Is it that ideal time of day when you can tirelessly bang on the keyboard for hours creating great literature? Is it that mind-blowing plot twist that makes your story fly effortlessly onto the page? Or is it that overwhelming emotion that begs you to write your heart out?

Writing’s sweet spot is all these things. It’s those moments when you feel not only inspired to write but it is a compulsion to get your thoughts down on the page. For writers that have a novel in progress, we yearn to have more of those sweet spots when the writing flows freely. There will be way too many other moments when we are stuck in the “muddy middle” and wallowing through indecision.

The long process of writing a novel sometimes creates the tendency to write in a linear fashion where you see too many “variables” ahead…too many choices of where the plot could go. When that happens, you need to create your own sweet spot and simply pull your feet out of the muck and leap to another scene. Write whatever scene inspires you at the moment…even if it’s a penultimate scene several chapters later or even a suspenseful ending. You can always rearrange pages later to get the scenes in order. A little chaos is good sometimes…and way more fun. Writing should be fun. If it becomes a dreaded chore than you are in the wrong profession.

You’ve heard teenagers say, “Sweet!” to describe maximum excellence. Look for that sweet spot…on the racket, in writing, and in life. Every winning stroke will get you that much closer to winning the match, writing the best seller, and enjoying your life.