A year ago today, I attended an all day work conference. I sat in the back row against the wall where the fluorescent lights didn’t quite reach. I was off the hook for presenting; that meant I got to drink coffee and think. Presenters droned and my mind drifted to a vacant space.
In that vacant space, I found a forgotten friend—a story I wrote; a story some of you have read. It’d been three years since I abandoned writing altogether and buried that part of myself with no intention of bringing it back. In that time, I’d remember this story and my plans for it, but put it back on a shelf to be forgotten again. Eventually, it just stopped turning up. I didn’t think of it much.
A year ago today, I didn’t turn it away when it decided to come knocking. I indulged it at that conference in the dimly lit back row. On lunch break, I sat in my car and read bits of it on my phone. That night, I fell asleep with it on my mind and woke up with it where I left it. It got in me like a fever.
That weekend, I dusted off my laptop and started crafting characters; unique ones that I’d thought of from time to time. I knew their names. I knew their faces. And I thought about the story I’d give them.
I started with only what I’d written, shared, and ultimately abandoned as “Gods and Monsters”. The beginning chapters were very rough—I was still finding my voice back then—and it took a lot of overhauling and a lot of work.
I spent the year crafting and working, reworking and scraping some parts altogether. Late nights, early mornings, through pain and tears, through personal loss and new beginnings, I wrote. And rewrote. Edited. Edited again. Edited at least ten times more. By hand, by voice. Over again.
One year ago, I had nothing. Today, I have a finished manuscript.
I’m proud to stamp my (pen) name to it. No matter what I accomplish (or don’t accomplish), I’m proud of this. No matter where it goes, it will always be something that I’ve done. For so long, it was only ever a “maybe someday”. For even longer, it was a “I will never have the chance”.
But today--one year later--it exists! That picture is a printed out copy about 5 edits ago when I edited it by hand. I decided to save some trees and stick to the laptop, but I keep the printed version because it’s tangible. I can hold it.
Anyway, I just wanted to share. Sometimes a year makes all the difference.
