The biggest lesson I’ve learned throughout this adventure is that I have to trust the process. My process. That means remembering that first drafts are just that—a draft used to get to the final product. It means remembering that as I write, I learn more about the characters—their backstories and desires, their fears and voices—and it’s okay if I don’t know all those things the moment I start writing. It means remembering that there will be days when I feel like the story is going nowhere, that I’ve created terrible characters, that no one is going to read a word of my story.

Having done this a few times now, I know this is ALL part of the process of creating a story that has depth, substance, emotion, grit, humor, and grace. No one can get it right every time they sit down, and no one gets it perfect from day one. All we can do is take the chunk of stone that is our idea, and chip away at it until we’ve uncovered the beauty down deep.