I suppose the best way to describe the experience of starting a new book is to imagine a swimmer standing on the shore of a creek, a river, an ocean: Which is to say, you are about to commit yourself to a crossing. You stand there wondering where and what the distant shore will be like. How far is it? How long will it take? Do you really want to commit yourself? More importantly, how will you get across? Do you even know where you are going? What dangers lurk midstream? Are there any monsters lurking in the deep? Do you dive in and just start swimming? (Do you know how to swim?) Do you plan your route? What swim stroke will you use? Do you take anyone along with you? How long will this swim take? Are there treacherous undercurrents, whirlpools with which you will contend? Will the water be warm and welcome? Cold and rejecting?
Do I really want to do this? I think so. At least, I just started a new book.
3 thoughts on “Do you really want to do this?”
I am ready to dive in! Thank you AVI
Avi,
Your posts are always on point regarding where I stand at any given moment.
At this moment I am shaking in my boots as I look at the terrifying ocean of my next book.
The questions you pose are the questions I’m asking myself.
And why do I want to do this?
In the end it comes down to a need that I perceive that lies outside myself. I fervently hope that my ability to swim has improved.
Thank you!
Gillian
Exactly. And once the tippy-toes are wet, we’re off. All the way to the other shore.
{At least that’s the way my swims work.~~~~~}