Crooked Lines

by Mare Ball @ ADVENTURES IN THE BALLPARK
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Does anybody else feel like your day to post here at MMW is upon you before you know it?!?

The summer has flown, and I thought I'd have a better writing schedule by the time school started, but, alas, no.  Our daughter is a science teacher, and she goes back to school on Monday.  I'm still thinking, Oh, I'll finish writing my book this summer.  I've only become more deeply entrenched.

I had an offer this summer from a small publishing house to publish my book, The 12 Days of Christmas Adventure.  They wanted the manuscript by then end of July.  HA!  I told them, maybe the end of August.

Since then, some things with the book have changed (for the better), but it's taking longer than I expected to incorporate these changes.  So now, I'm thinking it will be late fall before I'm finished.  Then, some other things happened, and I'm feeling called to acquire an agent.  I don't think I know enough to navigate the publishing waters alone.

It seems I'm doing all this backwards.  I was offered a contract.  After some legal input, the book expanded, so what was finished is now unfinished.  I'm thick in the creative process again.  And I'm thinking about an agent, which one doesn't normally pursue until the book is done.  I'm so confused!

For years, I've read how writing should go, how agenting should go, how publishing should go, etc.  There are guidelines for all these things, which I'm sure are valid.  But, my writing journey has not followed any of those paths.

Even my part here at MMW.  On a whim, I entered the short story contest last year.  At the time, this was Mormon Mommy Writers.  I'm Catholic.  In my heart, the difference doesn't matter, but it did seem a bit goofy.

Well, what do you know, I won the contest.  I was so honored.  Then, the core writers here asked me to come on board as a regular contributor.  Not a path I would have expected, but here I am.  And I'm still honored.

I've heard more than once that God draws with crooked lines.  I have no idea what He's up to with my writing career.  But, I pray every night that He directs my efforts.  Some days, I feel truly inspired.  Some days, I'm sure I don't know what I'm doing. 

As up and down and turned around as my writing life is, I have peace of mind about it (most days, anyway.)  I remind myself that my projects belong to God.  If they fail, I'll be OK.  If they succeed, I'll still be me.  I want to honor God with my writing, and that's really the bottom line for me.  I might get dizzy with all the zig-zags, but I trust the driver.

I just have to hold on.