Dry Spells

The saying when it rains it pours can really hit home sometimes. Life can be like that. When faced with a particularly hard season, it’s challenging to overcome the additional setbacks that inevitably pile up.

A dry spell where everything goes off the trail can easily deteriorate into a catastrophic dust bowl. It doesn’t take much for that final push over the cliff. And then what? What happens when a rock bottom actually gets worse?

The only way out is forward (even if it sounds impossible in the face of the abyss). I’ve lost track of how long it’s been since I’ve written or edited a story. Occasionally, a guilt pang hits when a memory surfaces of where I left my characters last. I muse they are stuck in a scene, longing to break free of the monotony of hovering in the same space and time. Funny how my protagonists haunt me in my dreams, begging me to come back and finish their tale.

The writing gig can be challenging in so many ways. Take George R. R. Martin’s perspective on his unfinished Games of Thrones series: "Unfortunately, I am 13 years late. Every time I say that, I'm [like], 'How could I be 13 years late?' I don’t know, it happens a day at a time.” (source)

Perhaps there’s still hope for my heroine to escape her existential "no exit" situation. After all, it’s only been a few months. After the dry spell, the promise of a rain will come eventually. And when it does, let it soak deep into the bones to refresh and renew.