It’s so hard to see the big picture when I think about my writing life. Sometimes it feels almost non-existent. Sometimes it’s on fire. When I zoom in to a specific period of time I think, ‘Oh no! It’s over!’
But when I zoom out I see that it’s a whole world unto itself…and I calm down a bit. It’s those periods when I’m not writing that I gasp and sigh and just KNOW that it’s over.
But it isn’t. I think I might always be a writer. In fact, last weekend when there was a discussion on retirement I made the very blasé comment, “I just see myself writing all day long every day.”
In that throwaway statement I realized that I have nothing to worry about. Downtime is downtime, nothing else.
This week I’ve been working diligently on my unfinished mid-grade novel with the goal of finishing it by the end of the month. I know it’s ridiculous to throw deadlines around like that, but for me they really spur me on to stay on task. I work best under pressure and under threat of deadlines. They become impossible lines in the sand that I must arrive to at the assigned date and time. I learned this method works best for me when I entered my first MUSKOKA NOVEL MARATHON. The deadline at that time was to finish a novel in 48hrs. Spoiler Alert—I DID IT! That first MNM novel was Sebastian’s Poet. It won the BEST NOVEL AWARD that year. 2007. A lifetime ago!
But I digress. I’ve been really enjoying this mid-grade novel. It feels good to be reimmersed in it. That’s the thing about writing fiction. The writer really does get inside the story. You can feel yourself falling into it. Sometimes I think, ‘If I looked up right now, I’d see the surface above me‘ as though I’m under water and softly embraced in another world. One of my own creation. That’s the part I love the most…disappearing and becoming the story I’m telling. Once you feel that, it’s like you spend the rest of your life chasing that high. Every time you get drawn into your own fiction, you reach that feeling again–that high–and thank the universe that you’re still able to experience it.
Happy Writing and Happy Reading!
KEVIN CRAIG 