If I Could Turn Back Time...

If I could go back in time and talk to my pre-Wreckage self, before I started to write, what would I say? I’ve been wondering what wisdom to call upon before I embark on my next writing project, which I intend to start this summer. What have I learned from the first book that will help me write the second?

What initially comes to mind is the Nike motto: Just Do It.  For years – no decades – I tossed around the idea of telling my story. At the age of 34, I added this project to my Dream List: write a book. That was nearly 30 years ago.  Even back then, I knew what the book was about!

I’m not sure if I truly lacked the time, which is what I told myself. It could have been true: I was single, with an infant, and had just started a new company. Life was hectic.  Even still, it took me decades to find the space and time to Just Do It.

I finally started the book at the end of 2021, and it took about three years to finish, even though I had originally planned to complete it within a year.  Under normal circumstances, the delay would have really bothered me: I’d missed a (self-imposed) deadline. But, for whatever reason, I was comfortable with allowing the book to emerge and become what it needed to be.  I instinctively knew I couldn’t force it. So, I guess that’s my next piece of advice: It will take longer than you think it will. Don’t hurry or worry about it.

Before I started, I wondered if I had anything (or enough?) to say. It turns out I do. Maybe too much! I worried a painfully blank mind would stare at an equally blank screen with no words to fill it. That never happened. So, my third piece of advice would be this: Trust yourself. You have something valuable to say. Say it.

Finally, another worry I harbored was a doubt it my ability as a writer. In retrospect, this seems odd. I’d been a writer my whole life, keeping voluminous journals throughout high school and college. I’d written for years professionally. I’d taught college English. Still, when it came down to writing A BOOK, I wondered if it would be any good. I wondered if I really knew anything about writing at all. Hence, advice #4: Don’t doubt your ability. You can write. 

So, as I move toward my next book - one that will be very different from the first – here’s what I want to tell myself:

1)      Just Do It - don’t procrastinate or avoid.

2) It will take a while - maybe longer than you hope, and that's okay.

3)      You have something to say that others may want to hear.

4)      You can write, so write.

Looking back over that list, it seems like wise counsel for anyone launching forward into unknown territory, trying something new, especially creative art. Please, don’t put it off! It may require more time and energy than you think you can muster, but you can. Others may benefit from your courage and creativity. You can (fill in the blank: write, sing, dance, paint, decorate…), so please, Just Do It!