“By now I thought I’d be sitting by glorious, turquoise waters on some Mediterranean beach, drinking something exotic and have money pouring out of my ears,” said no real author ever.  We start with such passion and fervor.  As a painter crafts a masterpiece and thinks he’s done, than takes a closer look, noticing something wrong or feeling the need to add more – so it is with a writer.  First draft is like pouring your life into something and feeling you’ve said it all. Then you re-read and find flaws or things don’t flow as they should.  You beat yourself up for a while and then go back for more.  My day in the sun has not yet arrived, but it will.

I must admit, my journey has taken a brief detour. Something got in the way. Just as in life, we run through times of being put through obstacles, we might experience writer’s block – our muse is out to lunch or we simply need to separate ourselves from our masterpiece for a time.

In my case, the re-routing of the past few weeks started about a week after completing a performance in a play. In all my years of performing it never seems to fail. I fall victim to something similar to postpartum depression, accompanied by laryngitis, coughing and what seems to be an eternal recovery period.

Some suggest that diving into another project will keep the creative process moving on. Some will tell you that you need a break before moving on. Others suggest that God is telling you to relax for a while. I agree with all those things. As I get older, I’m doing so more often,

Usually a driven person with a strong work ethic finds it difficult to take a break. We feel compelled to work even when we age. Probably then even more so, because the time we have allotted to us is quickly waning.  Still we must take time to heal and since writing isn’t a physical activity we can still use our old noggin, which I’ve been keeping engaged with. Of course after a while, unless you put those thoughts on the keyboard, they quickly fade into oblivion.

In the meantime, muddling through seems like a good option

So as my body gets ready for the next step to finishing my novel, I will wait sort of patiently, and pray that I get it done before God chooses to take me home, it’s just another lesson in perseverance and endurance.