novel diaries #1

when you surpass creative fear, you discover creative nourishment

I’m well aware that writing this post is presumptuous. Most writers reflect on the beginning of a book once it’s published but I’m learning so much in this awkward early stage as I fumble and figure things out, it feels like the perfect time to document it. After all, there are many layers of success when it comes to writing a book and the fact that I’ve started is significant.

Normalising small steps towards creative goals is a really powerful way of dismantling the fear that exists when we start something new. I’ve carried fear alongside this book for as long as it’s existed in my head and it stopped me from officially ‘starting’ countless times. Of course, now I know that the many months of thinking, mulling, wondering, and questioning was the beginning - a vital foundation. Every story starts somewhere, usually in a tiny glimpse that catches you unawares where you think: ‘hhhhm, maybe, perhaps…..yes, I think this could just lead me somewhere.’