In the midst of the chaos of moving I thought I should drop by the blog and let you know I’m alive and well.
Over the past month I’ve:
- celebrated my 20th wedding anniversary
- attended Atomacon with Mary Robinette Kowal
- visited Gini Koch and Atlanta
- packed everything I own
- traveled to Seattle
- written very, very little
Upheaval is a hard thing, and so is accepting that sometimes this isn’t a season of growth or creation. Sometimes you’re in a season of Get By.
I just need to get by this. I need to get by this obstacle. I need to get by this obstruction in the path. I need to get by this trouble.
That’s where I am. My days are filled with wonderful things. I’ve been hiking, visiting friends, going to beaches, spending time with my family. But an increase of time with them means less time for things like researching, plotting, and writing. Or maybe not? Because what is book research if it isn’t the life you’re living?
Everything you experience becomes part of the art you create. Every friend you have, new place you visit, and choice you make influences the art you share.
While I was in Atlanta I went to see sharks with Gini Koch at the Georgia Aquarium. A beautiful ballet of underwater species as sharks and fish danced around each other might show up in a book.
Here in Seattle my sister took my family axe throwing. That’s definitely going in a book.
I’m moving to a new country, and no matter how exciting that sounds I know there are going to be times where it’s overwhelming and intimidating. I don’t know all the cultural rules. I’m not confidently fluent in the language like I am in my home country. I won’t be able to call my best friend in Kansas without doing the math to see if she’s up. There will be hard days, and those will go into a book too.
Life is full of experiences. There’s good and bad. What matters at the end of it all is what you do. If you’re a creator, you channel those experiences and make them part of what you create. The world is better when you share what you love.