Process

I've spent six hours today writing my new novel, and the story seems stubbornly out of my reach, and the three decent lines I wrote today prove it. Sometimes, I think you need to take a leap of faith, to just desperately hang onto the character's coattails and let them take you deeper into the story, but it isn't always easy to be patient, to wait for the reveals. I teach writing and I edit manuscripts privately, and it's always thrilling for me to see my students' or my clients' work, suddenly make a quantum leap and get richer and fuller and more alive. (Why I seem to know how to help them and not myself some days is another story!) I see their struggle firsthand, and in many ways, being a part of that has helped me be more patient with myself. In many ways, it's like a whisper: if they can do it, so can you.