My Sanctuary in Writing

I don’t have to remind any teacher out there that it’s winter break. The time between Christmas and New Year’s Day is perhaps the most glorious time of the year for those in the education field. By this point, almost halfway through the year, we’re tired. We’re ready for a few days to ourselves to get out of the classroom.

We’re ready for some Netflix, napping, snacks, and unscheduled pee breaks.

I’ve certainly done my share of all of the above so far. I’ve been catching up on Once Upon a Time, Reign, and my new addiction, Jane the Virgin. I’ve eaten way too many cookies, taken daily naps, and spent too much time just doing, well, nothing.

But I’ve also been relentlessly writing.

Over break, I’ve completed 30,000 words and counting on a brand new project. I’ve spent hours typing away.

Some would call it crazy. I just published a book. I have another manuscript finished. It’s time to relax, isn’t it? Why would I want to work over break?

If you’re a writer, though, you know, that writing isn’t work.

It’s a sanctuary.

There’s something relaxing about telling a story, about shaping it the way you want to. There’s something beautiful about spending time with new characters, about letting them dictate their story and where it goes. There’s something poetic about having control over someone’s fate, at least to an extent. There’s something magical about witnessing a first kiss, a new relationship, a budding romance firsthand, exclusively.

So I keep writing. Not because I want to make millions. Not because I’m under deadline.

But because I can’t imagine doing anything else. The characters speak to me, and I’m the only one listening. So I tell their story, one word at a time, one magical word at a time.