Since my last post, I have been on vacation, been promoted at work, went on another quick vacation (this time without family), got COVID, and only now, as I’m writing this, do I have the strength to finally type on these keys and get back to my novel.

In essence, life got in the way. 

I can count on my fingers the number of times I set aside to write this past month. I made it my mission to live in the moment while visiting the beautiful island of Madeira. And the promotion at work provided me not only with more responsibility, but with more visibility amongst my peers. I am proud of my accomplishments at work, but the extra stress no doubt was an added factor for my weakened immune system. Whatever the cause of my illness, being sick gave me a lot of opportunity to sit and think. And during that time of sitting and thinking, I realized I didn’t have the mental capacity to sit and think. All I wanted to do was catch up on the TV shows that were on my watch list for months. 

In the past, this elongated ‘break’ from writing could’ve triggered feelings of depression and anxiety: I failed at keeping a writing habit. If I couldn’t stick to the habit, even with all this extra time while isolating, when would I ever finish my book? Why couldn’t I dedicate the same amount of energy that I put into my day job and apply that to my writing? 

Well, that’s because writing in between other life responsibilities is hard. And when I have the time to vacation, I want to live in the moment. And when I get sick unexpectedly, I want to rest.

Now I’m back and feel reinvigorated. I’m looking forward to getting back into this world I’ve created, these characters I’ve developed. Where will these characters go? How will they react when something bad happens to them? If there’s anything I can take away from getting COVID, it’s that I need to prioritize my health first; my book will always be there, just as long as I don’t abandon writing entirely. My hopes and dreams involve eventually publishing a novel, and these “breaks” should only be short-lived. Otherwise, I’ll lose that spark that took me so long to light the first time.

Let’s hope that never happens.