The decision was simple. I work for an employer full-time, and, about four years ago, I grew tired of my job. I didn’t want to work at this same job until I hit age 65 or 67 (whichever age I’d need to be to claim Social Security ) to be able to retire and enjoy what little quality of life I had left, if any. Too many people spend their whole lives waiting to retire only to fall apart health-wise or even die shortly afterward. I didn’t want to be one of them- one of the statistics, working my butt off at a job that gave me no sense of accomplishment.
I was lacking joy, a thrill, a sense of purpose and had become a robot, working to pay endless bills and my enormous student loans which have remained a frustrating, thorn in my side to this day. There had to be something else- there just had to be. I couldn’t go on the way I was. I was ready for more in my life, desperate for anything to give me back my spark but I didn’t know what.
The day my life changed was the day I stood in my kitchen, looked up at the ceiling and shouted aloud that there had to be something more for me. That day changed my life forever and cleared the path for my career in writing.
I got my first idea for a plot to a story a few days later. I wrote it down on a scrap piece of paper in my car. I never did follow up on that idea but several others came at me, quickly, thereafter. I got story lines and scenes while: I drove, worked out on my elliptical machine, sat at my desk at work, was in the middle of trainings, was out shopping or running errands and even from vivid dreams. The scenes came to me easily and they were great, fun scenes I enjoyed writing out. It was so strange how rapidly they came to me. I, merrily, pictured someone telling me these stories, whispering the details into my ear complete with character names so that I’d write them down. My “muse” kept me busy for several months and has been with me, since.
I have been blessed and am very thankful for the reprieve from the drudgery of my daily job. I still work full-time but I do so to have the funding to write, for writing is my true career and my calling. Writing is something that has always been relatively easy for me. I find it interesting how entire worlds can be created with just a few chapters. I also find it amusing how each character’s livelihood and even their existence hinges on the stroke of a pen, or in our modern age, words typed into a keyboard, from their creator (author). The author has the opportunity to play with the characters and try different things that maybe they, themselves would never partake in their own lives. They can live vicariously through the lives of their characters and when they get sick of them they can “rub them out.” It’s really neat, I love it and that’s why I’m an author.
TK Lawyer 