Fitting into today's world

At the heart of my Sacred Knight series is the metaphor that we are all looking for a place to belong within the world. Steigan, my main character is an orphan who has been taken in by the Temple, by his mentor, and by a family in a nearby town. He loves each of these deeply and realizes that he owes his life to all of them. But he also doesn't feel like he belongs with them; he still feels separate and that he has to work hard to please them.

I think we're all looking for that in our lives. We want to be part of something. We want to have something that we believe in, something we can support, something larger than ourselves.

The work always begins in our own lives. There is nothing out there in the world that we can be part of -- that which we seek is in ourselves. We always hope someone will come to rescue us, that we'll go somewhere to belong (why do you think the Cheers tv show ran for as long as it did? The lyrics said it all with "Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name."). But that space is never ever out there. It is inside you. You have to know why you feel like you don't fit into the world. Once you know why, then you'll realize the change you want to see in the world. With this knowledge, you can be the change. Then you'll fit in. You'll find the message that you need to take to the world and you'll find the people that need to hear it.

So look inside yourself to find out why you don't fit into this world and challenge yourself to make a difference so that you do fit in. The world needs your courage now more than ever.

Think Only As You Can Think

I subscribe to Notes from the Universe from Mike Dooley at TUT.

Aside from me being very jealous that he's got the cool domain name (I'm a big fan of King Tut!), I love getting the Notes, especially when there's one that strikes a chord.

Today, I received just such a message. Here's my message for today:


It's the way you think. That's your purpose. It's never been about what work you choose, what gifts you develop, or what niche you fill - let these be for your pleasure.

Think as only you can think, which will lead to feelings that only you can feel, from which connections will be made, lives will be changed, and worlds will come tumbling into existence.


As writers, we have something we want to tell people, whether it's about a character, a theme, a message, or just a story. It is born inside us and needs to come out. I really liked the part about worlds tumbling into existence. Even if your story isn't a fantasy, you create a world. It starts off in your head. It is your thoughts that begin it. From there, yes, it is something you start to feel because from those thoughts manifest a change within you (and change always evokes an emotional response). Just as people then seek out like-minded friends, writers create like-minded characters to populate their stories. Of course, then comes the foes and foils that stand against the character(s) and thus the world is born. In that moment of being able to sink into that world that is entirely the writer's own, pure bliss is discovered.

I've likened this to a hole in the paper -- I've often told writing friends of mine that there is a hole somewhere on the paper (or screen for those of us who write on computer now -- it wasn't always this way though!) and you just need to find that hole to slip through to the other side. Once you're through and you're soaking in the world you created, don't you just feel like you're home? I do. Maybe that's why I get so cranky and have a tendency to throw things when someone disturbs me while I'm writing! Could it be? For me, being yanked out of my world is like being dropped from a hangman's noose. That choking, suffocating drop. Yep, just thinking about it makes me irritated! Always leaves me with the "I want to go home!" feeling.



Now I admit, the last few days have been really hard because I've been working very hard on getting my manuscript formated for publication (Boy do I have stories about that, but you'll hear them later). So I've been several days now without writing or painting. I can feel myself getting antsy because I want to get back in the game, yet I know this is a process I have to go through. In some ways, it's also been good because I've had time to work on my projects just in my head (what I want to paint next and the composition of the piece, as well as a change I need to make in the second storyline of Sacred Knight, which is going to mean a rewrite/edit, but not a severe one). It's been nice to have a moment to see an overview of all my thoughts. Maybe it was TUT that inspired me to look beyond what I was seeing.

And speaking of Tut, I was also thinking about my plans for the next few years. I know Sacred Knight will keep me occupied for a little bit (ha ha! 4 story arcs, busy for a bit, you think?! Especially if #1 son has his way and talks my subconscious into creating another arc or 2). However, there is also an Egyptian historical fantasy that's lingering around. I was just talking about that story over this last weekend. Maybe it's a sign that it's going to be next on my list. There's also my genie story that I've actually been working on longer than Sacred Knight (yes stories need time to percolate, some more than others). Not to mention the story I was working on right before I was struck with Sacred Knight.

Or maybe they were all meant to be manuscripts forever hidden away beneath my bed. Never meant to be seen by anyone.

I guess it depends on if I can find those holes again and slip back into those stories.

Well, I guess I'll just have to think about it and see if worlds come tumbling out.