When you reach the end of the road, find a new path

Hello, everyone. I always feel a bit confused and out of sorts when I finish a book. It’s The End and I’m always relieved and tired and ready for a three day sleep, but I begin to miss the characters I’ve been with over the weeks and months. I stare out and wonder what will be next.

Usually I have another proposal lined up and chapters to write for the next book. I take a few days off to clean out my closet since when I’m on deadline, I scatter clothes and shoes everywhere. Then I might check on the plants I have not watered in weeks. Or eat a lot of chocolate. Or take that long nap. But the ideas won’t stop. People do tend to talk inside my head.

So I go for long walks, watch the sunset and jot down ideas and scenes. It’s a process that I can’t stop. I’d be lost without my story ideas and the books I hope to write. It’s a magical, dreamy, creative way to live but it’s also an unpredictable, hurry-up-now way to live, too. Sometimes, the muses go on a long vacation and I’m forced to make it work on my own. Sometimes life gets in the way and I just want to curl up with a book someone else poured their heart and soul into writing and read until I reach that end.

But we will go to the ends of the Earth to do our work. I’ve traveled across the country to join up with other writers and learn more about my craft. I always get refreshed when I go on these journeys. This picture was taken a few years ago when I went to California, where I really did reach the end of a long, wonderfully colorful road.

So after a mad dash to the finish line and some heavy editing, I turned in a book this week and now I’m about to start working on two other projects. I like steady work and I love my job. We leave one path behind and we head out on another one. The long and winding road is a big part of the book publishing world. But I love this passage that reminds me to never give up and to always know that my little bit of talent is a gift that I try not to squander:

“Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.”–Psalm 37:4

I love looking our over a horizon and seeing possibilities because He has given me the desires of my heart. That’s why I write. What kind of possibilities do you see in your future? Do you look back or do you look forward? Or maybe you just enjoy the here and now. I’d love to hear your thoughts. And now, on to my next adventure!