Driving a snow-packed road – with a crosswind buffeting the car with an urgency that indicates it doesn’t like the idea that you’re filling up part of the space through which you hope to pass – has a way of “heightening” one's senses.
I
always start such trips with the feeling that this time the snow, ice and wind are
not going to be an issue; that I’ve learned from my past and know what I have
to do. But Mother Nature always has a
new twist or a few new tricks to make sure that the experience is not a repeat,
but rather a new “opportunity” for those who want to test her.
So
even if you’ve made the trip dozens of times before, it always ends up as a
whole new adventure.
Writing
often is that way, too, especially when you’re using time-tested techniques or
concepts. You start out thinking you’ve already
been along this path, and this will just be an easy opportunity to fill up space
en route to your new story’s destination.
But, lo and behold, en route a new pathway emerges and you find yourself drawn in
that direction – “just to have a peek.”
And the
journey, while sometimes a bit harrowing, is almost always worthy of the effort. Like safely driving through a storm, once you
arrive you’re glad you made the trip. Happy writing.
Reaching your destination can sometimes
involve a harrowing trip along the way
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