How to Know When it's Right

After a short excursion into writing children's fiction with my daughter, and a too long hiatus from writing while I outlined and re-outlined my new novel's shape, (who knew it needed an entirely new ending?) I am finally back to writing. Real writing. With flawed characters who make mistakes, suffer the consequences and learn something along the way. For the first time in any story of mine I have a character who isn't going to get a happy ending. And this person deserves ones. (Don't worry hopeless romantics -- it's not the main character.)

After two sessions of writing Stripping Down, I was sleeping better, feeling better about life and had that very satisfying and hard to describe sense that I was absolutely, without a doubt, on the right path. That I was supposed to be working on this story at this point in my life. It's a feeling of deep peace. As though no matter what happens to the book, I will have kept my part of the bargain.

It's this feeling, I suppose, that keeps writers writing. God knows it's not for the money. (Although show me a writer who wouldn't "sell out" and I'll show you someone with a trust fund.) It's for the above mentioned serenity that comes in fits and starts and when it settles on my shoulders, it's magnificent.

Have a great weekend.