I don’t know how many times I’ve heard or said that. Usually I think of it in regards to parenting or marriage, but I know it applies in other areas. At my latest critique group we discovered that all of us felt writing was the hardest it’d ever been. Someone mentioned it felt like winter, writing-wise.
I’d never thought about my writing life having seasons, but if I were to define them:
Spring: Growth is happening rapidly, but it’s hard and painful breaking up through the soil. I’m researching, trying to discover who my characters are, making the plot threads work. Often, I find this coincides with the most challenging part of my spiritual growth as well. I’m asking a ton of questions and searching but feel a little lost until I find my footing.
Summer: Writing is fruitful! I get to see the beauty of all that painful growth and want to sit back and enjoy, but it’s time to tend the weeds (editing. Ugh) and make sure there will be a decent harvest (marketing. Double ugh).
Fall: My absolute favorite season. It’s during this season that I actually love the work. Raking and harvesting bring me joy, and I don’t find them to be that hard. For me, that’s equivalent to already having thought-out characters and a synopsis. It’s the time to sprint through scenes. If I succeed in turning off the expectations of my inner (and real-life) editor and focus on the creative process, I actually fall in love with the story.
Winter: Cold, snow, and ice are not my favorite things, but I do love the extra rest that comes with it. At least, the excuse to go to bed early or cuddle up on the couch with a blanket and not feel lazy. My imagination gets fed more. In this season, I read more for fun. I enjoy stories in other art forms: plays, tv, movies, and audiobooks. I eagerly wait for spring, having fully forgotten just how hard that growth will be.
Do you relate to the seasons? Where are you right now?
US Marshal Delaney Patton’s assignment: protect murder witness Bruce Walker and
his daughter—a little girl Delaney suspects is the child she gave up for
adoption years ago. But before she can explore a possible reunion, Delaney must
outsmart the deadly criminal organization tracking their every move. Can she
shield them long enough to find the truth…and possibly become part of the
family she’s falling for?
Heather Woodhaven earned her pilot's license, rode a hot air
balloon over the safari lands of Kenya, assisted an engineer with a medical
laser in a Haitian mission, parasailed over Caribbean seas, lived through an
accidental detour onto a black diamond ski trail in the Aspens and snorkeled among
sting rays before becoming a mother of three and wife of one. Now Heather
spends her days celebrating laughter, adding to her impressive list of
embarrassing moments, and raising a family of aspiring comedians who perform
nightly at her table. She channels her love for adventure into writing
characters who find themselves in extraordinary circumstances--whether running
for their lives or battling the insanities of life.
