Beware of digging into things you should not. It never turns out well; the revelation will be painful, though predictable, and scar the guts deeply.
Answer: find the path forward—boldly, with full feathers and song.
Finding
Category: possibility
2020
The rain falls outside on this last dim, soggy day of the year. I don’t want to make a list of the decade or anything else.
I’ll keep moving forward.
On Writing, 7 July 19
Every now and then, I reflect on why I write, what I love about writing, and what is true for me now.
Here’s what I’m thinking today . . .
I crave order, and I find order by working on a project. Sometimes writing doesn’t feel like the process has any order.
My happily ever after endings are never perfect but always satisfying.
New ideas glimmer like promises on the water’s surface, but upon closer inspection, most of them lack depth.
Depth can be created.
Layers infuse while revising. I liken this experience to a complex and beautiful garden or a really great meal. All the senses work together and the journey finds a trail and satisfying destination.
Shifting
This is the time of year I love most (even if my allergies disagree).
The birdsong and frog song, the succession of blooming plants, the longer days, and the shifts between sunshine and rain.
I’m finishing up a project that I’ll be sad to leave. I love the characters, the setting, the story. I’m sure I’ll be doing future revisions and edits, shifting and changing, but for now, I’m going to move onto the next big thing.
These moments of shifting can feel good. “Hey, I finished a book!”
Yet, I can also feel unsure.
The possibility awaits: wonderful and scary; exciting and daunting; a dash forward and a long pause. All those contrasts hit me, freeze me.
I’m back to the act of creating again. The pen to the notebook–
shifting.
Michèle Griskey 