The excitement of preparing to start the journey of writing a new book is both empowering and terrifying at the same time. It is the calm before the storm, a moment where we dive deep into our minds and hearts to sort out what message needs to come forth from our souls this time around.
For some, the answer arrives as quickly as it takes to finish a cup of coffee. For others, deciding what the next book should be feels more like standing before a dozen roads, each leading somewhere either great or deeply disappointing. And whatever the outcome, procrastination is not an option, not if we hope to avoid the quiet regrets that come from never meeting our lives halfway.
When the idea for a new book arrives, it can feel like a message sent from the divine. And yet, for so many of us, even when that message feels hand delivered by angels, we still doubt it. We wait for the perfect day. We wait for certainty. And while we wait, time passes without pause.
For this reason alone, I have come to believe that when we do not know what to write, or where to begin, we must simply start writing. Not to be perfect, but to force the creative eye open long enough to recognize what creative season we are actually in.
I have never known a writer who did not carry a multitude of story ideas within them, all vying for attention. And with that abundance comes a very real struggle, deciding which idea deserves to be written now. Over time, I have learned to ask a single question, one that has helped me, and others, find clarity about which book needs to come next.
What season of writing are you in right now?
When I speak about writing seasons, I am talking about where you are emotionally in your life today. Not where you think you should be. Not the book you believe would sell best. But where you are right now, internally.
Seasons are mindsets.
Are you in the hopeful spring of your life, ready to write the self help book that inspires others toward change? Or are you in the withdrawn fall, introspective and a little brooding, where a poetry and prose collection feels like the only honest thing you could create, one meant to tug at a reader’s heartstrings?
What season are you in?
Forget what is selling. Stop paying attention to the kind of writer you think you should be. Release the belief that you owe a book to an idea that has only ever lived in your head. You are free to write whatever you want.
Sit with that for a moment.
You are free to write anything at all. And all it takes is recognizing the emotional season you are in, then writing through it, all the way to the final page. After that, you can write the next book in whatever season your life has shifted into.
No amount of critical thinking will ever outperform a few messy words placed honestly on the page. There is no reward for wasting another day as a reader with a dream to create, unless you consider regret and self doubt prizes worth collecting.
So I will ask you once more.
What season are you in?
And what book will you write before the sun sets on another day?
