And there are so many jobs I'd love to explore. Museum curator, research librarian, college professor, anthropologist, life coach, motivational speaker, pastor, church education coordinator, freelance journalist, event planner, newswriter, literary agent, baker...how am I supposed to choose just one?
Yet there is always a constant in my life, the career, the vocation, the calling that centers and grounds me: I am a writer. No matter how my life is progressing, how busy I am, or how hard my nomadic heart is pulling me, writing is the home I always return to.
I am constantly writing. While I'm doing yoga (and not clearing my mind), as I drive to work, when I'm in the shower, as I'm drifting off to sleep. Words are like breath for me.
So this summer, I've been working on three projects. Three very different projects to fit my various mindspaces. Here they are:
1. Gratitude: This project is near completion. For years I've wanted to write a nonfiction book for young people that teaches them how to cultivate gratitude. This summer I sat down and plowed through, and now I'm wrapping up the first draft.
2. Reliance: If you follow my blog, then you already know I'm working on this literary fiction novel about a corrupt preacher on his deathbed. It's a slow going project, but it's worth the time. I'm currently sitting still, staring at the page, wondering what happens next. My fingers are poised, and I'm waiting for the story to take its next turn.
3. Sweet Divinity sequel/My Literary Boyfriends: This one is tricky. I have a few stories that are ready to be told, and so are banging on my head with their little hammers, striving to get free and onto the page. The trouble is, I'm not sure which project they are attached to. So I'm writing my stories, releasing them and letting them find their way. Both projects are women's fiction, one of course the sequel to my dear Sweet Divinity, and the other based on my tendency to refer to William Faulkner as my "literary boyfriend". We'll see which project takes flight.
I am a writer. Just as people know that they are teachers, doctors, fathers, artists, musicians, mothers, speakers, comedians, and healers, I know that I am a writer. This monadic heart can explore the world through the written word, and she can bring along a few friends. What a beautiful life, to be a writer.
