Sometimes I get a bit insecure about how quickly time seems to pass. Can you believe another summer is almost over and it's already August? In addition to that, today is the first Wednesday in August and that means it's time for another Insecure Writer's Support Group post. Thanks to Alex J. Cavanaugh for hosting #IWSG every month. Be sure to visit his site for more information.
Ask Arlee:
How do I get off when I've already started?
Periodically I present my Ask Arlee feature in which I answer questions submitted by readers. If you have a question you'd like me to explore, please include it in the comments and I'll try to take a stab at it in some future Ask Arlee post.
Today's question comes from Gregg Metcalf who asks:
The problem I would like solved is how do I get off a non-stop flight?
Once you're on the plane there's no getting off. The airlines are not in the habit of handing out parachutes to disgruntled passengers. However if you're in the middle of a novel and decide you want to bail out then that's doable. Would you want to though? If you've conjured the dream and started putting the effort to put that dream into written form, it can be difficult to leave the work behind. Then again, if you no longer believe in what you're doing, maybe jumping ship is the right thing to do before you keep investing in a sinking vessel.
I have several works that I've put on hold for one reason or another. I'm not quite ready to bail on any of them, but I can't bring myself to finish either. Yeah, I know a lot of solutions, the main one being "just do it!", but--well, I don't know. Excuses, excuses--and none of them really very good.
When I set out on my current vacation I had travel options open to me, one being travel by air. I didn't like that option because it's too darn confining and rigid. A road trip gives me flexibility and lets me travel at my own pace. I don't have to worry about getting off of the non-stop flight because I can stop all that I like. And I can combine multiple trips with different endpoints. Roadtripping is fun because it provides more freedom.
The bottom line is that writing is like taking a road trip. You follow the journey for as long as you like and map the route out as whim takes you. Sure there are always some confining factors to consider, but if you're the driver (or the trip planner) you are limited by your means and dreams.
My writing dream is infinite, but eventually I'm going to have to take one of my projects home. Wandering in the desert for forty years like the Israelites looking for the Promised Land seems to be part of my nature. But I know it's time to go home.
Now to figure out which home to go to and how I'm going to get there.
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Battle of the Bands
My previous Battle of the Bands results will be posted this Friday August 8th. If you haven't voted yet you can do so until Thursday (August 7th) afternoon. Please visit my Battle between two versions of an ethereal jazz tune. To vote on this click here.
