The "Write" Fantasy by Vickie Stam

Wow! I'm imagining myself having an entire year with the freedom to focus on my writing without being bogged down by a single thing....nothing. No financial worries. No time constraints. The unbearable tick-tock is no longer my enemy. Sounds unbelievable, yet very enticing. Deep down I'm chuckling.

I have to say I feel a little bit like Alice in Wonderland except my rabbit hole is slightly different. At the end of the long hallway there's only one locked door; not many and the small 'key' opens the door to none other than.... my success. Along the way, the people and animals that I meet are simply the characters who play an important role in my upcoming novel and inside my so called 'rabbit hole' is where my story unfolds.

Every morning I get to wake up with the privilege of an abundance of time. How grand! A plush carpet massages the soles of my feet with every step I take. A comfy chair awaits my arrival in the room to my success. I sit down at my large writing table. I obviously need one to house all my brainstorming efforts. Notes, scraps of paper, anything that might contain one or two words are not so neatly stacked but are readily available in the event I wish to incorporate them into my book. And smack dab in the middle of my writing table sits a computer to which I am the sole proprietor of. The room is filled by the delightful sound of my fingers plucking out every word. Outside my picture window an attractive garden blooms for those moments when I need to stop and reflect. This is my first encounter with such freedom and I dare say it feels magically delicious.

There are bookshelves lined with practical handbooks on writing well and I have a wonderful mentor to advise me because I'm now committed to crafting my first novel with a beginning, middle and end, something I often think about doing but so far have found the excuse that seems to work well..... too many of life's hiccups continue to get in the way. The very thought of having a year with this kind of freedom sounds very inviting.

But seriously, how many of us have an entire year to focus solely on our writing. I'm guessing not many. And let's face it, the realities of life are the very things that help shape our stories by providing us with some of the most amazing backdrops, protagonists and cliff hangers.

We all need more time! Time to write without any reasons to hold us back. I'm sure, if I put my mind to it, I could sit down and write an entire novel from beginning to end..... most likely not in an entire year. But having said all of this, I do look forward to the days when I can simply focus more on my writing and less on the things that we think seem to get in our way.

2 Peter 3:8 "But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day."