I’m writing something new.
So I’ve been trying something new. I’m working on another book, and it’s fiction.
I know, I know. People have been really loving Running Away to Home, and why couldn’t I just shoot out another one just like it? In fact, I might some day. Returning to Croatia, or giving Jim more air time trying to track down where exactly he’s from (we’re not 100 percent sure), sounds like a lot of fun.
But I don’t want to do that just yet. I write magazine stories by day, and that work is regular and ordinary. I love it even more, now that I’ve experienced the long and emotional trajectory of the writing and release of a book. But they’re two radically different endeavors.
So because my day job is a steady and predictable thing, I feel like the book projects should stay sacred and fresh. I love sitting down before dawn and mapping out a storyline that literally appears from the mist. As the sun gets ready to rise, my characters come out, and they tell me what is going to happen next. I’m like a Ouiji board pointer! It’s scary in some ways, because I have so little control over it, but for that very reason, I keep at it. It’s pretty exciting stuff.
If there’s anything I learned from living the experience of Running Away to Home, it’s that diving into giant and intimidating acts might very well crush you. Probably it will crush you. But the you that emerges at the other side of the experience is better for the risk.
I can’t tell you that this new book will be exactly like my last one. But I can tell you that you’ll have the same guide on the journey. And I guarantee it’ll be an interesting ride. Again.
In that spirit, here’s a quote that I’ve kept at my desk for about 10 years now, by that one guy, Gustave Flaubert:
Be regular and ordinary in your daily life, so that you may be violent and original in your work.
I’ll be thinking of you at dawn, when I’m out there retrieving another story from the ether. (Kind of like a pack mule, but with a laptop.) Maybe this sounds weird, but knowing you’ll be on the receiving end of my early-morning missions gets me out of bed when it’s dark and cold and the quilt is just so warm.
So thank you for the daily inspiration. Can’t wait to share my next story with you.
