“We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.” – Proverbs 16:9
A slick, treacherous pool deck glistened underfoot as I delivered the morning room service—a ritual our feral cats expected, perhaps even demand.
The overcast skies hung low, draped with a suffocating fog that twisted the air into something sinister. The black cats with their piercing yellow eyes prowled like an army of dark sentinels, their gazes cutting through the mist. They moved as one, a shadowy legion conjuring whispers of forgotten rituals and unspoken curses.
Children of the Corn had nothing on these creatures; their presence was a macabre warning etched into the morning’s gloom, each pawstep a silent herald of something unspeakable.
In 1988, I was at a writer’s conference with the late Dr. Calvin Miller. He shared with me that writer fail to take advantage of the opportunities they have to work on their craft.
He said, “You might write a regular column for your church newsletter or book club. Why not give them your best writing and develop your craft simultaneously?”
I thought of him this morning as I wrote a caption for a picture I took as I began my morning cat feeding.
A crisp 55 degrees and a gentle breeze whisper through the morning air as the shaded patio of my favorite Starbucks becomes my open-air office.
My steaming coffee sits beside me, inviting and warm, as I let go of life’s challenges and let the narrative nonfiction piece I’m working on flow from my mind to the page.
If you’re a writer, where do you write?
It’s “time change” Sunday. Last night we moved the clocks back one hour. For most people, that’s a big deal.
Moving clocks forward and back for time changes have become routine because of my travel. On my trip to the British Isles, France, Portugal, and then returning to the United States via a transatlantic cruise, I changed time zones eight times.
Last fall when I did a transpacific cruise I crossed sixteen time zones. The trip was from Dallas, Texas, USA to Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Yes, I’m fortunate to travel. An interesting lesson learned was God was always with me. I could read His word and pray to Him in Scotland or Paris as easily as I could in Tahiti or New Zealand. I could be still wherever I was and know He is God.
In the Bible, we read in Psalms 124:1 King James Version, “Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.” It reminds me that my God is all powerful. He keeps watch over His chosen nation of Israel. And, He never sleeps or slumbers. He’s always there for them and He is always available anywhere for me, regardless of which time zone I’m in.
Embrace the evolving journey of writing!
Sir Terry Pratchett shares: “I, on the other hand, am a technophile, so there is no such thing as a first draft. The first draft plunges on, and about a quarter of the way through it I realize I’m doing things wrong, so I start rewriting it. What you call the first draft becomes rather like a caterpillar; it is progressing fairly slowly, but there is movement up and down its whole length, the whole story is being changed. I call this draft zero, telling myself how the story is supposed to go.”
Writing is an ever-changing process. Draft zero is a living, breathing entity, constantly evolving as you uncover the true path of your story. It’s a journey of discovery, where revisions shape the narrative from start to finish.
Don’t be afraid to dive in, knowing that transformation is part of the process. Allow your story to grow and change, like a caterpillar inching towards its final form. Embrace the fluidity of draft zero, trusting that each rewrite brings you closer to the story you’re meant to tell.
