On Writing

I had the pleasure of spending lunchtime today with my 17-year-old neighbor, S. She's in the process of applying to colleges, and I was reminded of how exciting a time of my life that was. I remember being so happy when I got the acceptance letter from Wake Forest and thinking that this was a new chapter of my life getting ready to begin. And I guess it did, but it didn't go the way I wanted it to.

I know I spend a lot of time thinking about 'new chapters' and 'new beginnings.' I love so much the idea of fresh starts, but I don't do a great job of follow through. I need to do better. I know I tend to be the person who wants to wake up one morning and start a new life, and each week, I do it at least once. Tomorrow is Monday, so maybe it'll be yet another 'Fresh Start Monday.'

One thing I decided today, though, is that I want to spend more time writing. I love to write, and yet I don't do it enough. If I really want to publish a book, I need to write it. It's not writing itself. I love getting lost in the character and her story, and I really love this one I'm writing right now. In some ways she feels real to me, and I want to tell her story before she fades away again. I have a connection with this character that I have never had before, and her story just feels like it needs to be told. So starting tomorrow, I'm going to try to spend an hour a day just writing. Maybe it'll be her story, maybe it'll be a blog post, maybe it'll be something entirely different. But I need to do it to keep up my creativity.

Happy 'Fresh Start Monday' to you!