Leaps of Faith and World Domination

I don't know about the rest of you, but lately I feel like every part of my life has become a giant leap of faith.

And by that I mean jumping off a cliff with no idea what I'm doing, but screaming, "Oh hey, I think this looks fun, let's try it and I hope I don't die!"

We bought a house today. A nice house that I love. And I am very excited and nervous and worried and anxious and ... I've owned houses before. I've been in debt for like, EVER. Like the majority of people in the world. This is not a new thing for me. But after moving back to Utah from Texas this last summer, I feel like every thing we do, every choice we make (as a family) is an enormous undertaking. And that's not wrong.

Every day that passes is a day that we will never get back. And every choice is one less that we get to make tomorrow. Sometimes those choices are made using a great deal of thought and calculation. And other times it's a total guessing game. Those are the times when I try to go with my gut, and my heart. Because those two--when they're on speaking terms--tend to know what they're doing.

I try to apply this to my writing too. I suck at outlining, and to be honest, I rarely stick with them. Instead, I get to know my characters and let them take me on the journey that belongs to them. Because isn't that what we do in reality anyway?

My point is that it's okay that we can't see the future. If we could, life wouldn't be nearly as interesting. And neither would the stories we are here to tell.
 
Every minute and every story is just one more little leap of faith. Today I jumped back into home-ownership. Tomorrow maybe I'll finish another book. The next day ... well. World domination is always an option.

Cops and Writers

You know what I realized recently? Cops and writers have a lot in common. I’m serious. Hear me out. I’m married to a cop, and I’m a writer, so I don’t know why this only just occurred to me. But think about it.

Both cops and writers have a tendency to sit in the back of a room—generally speaking—so they can see what’s going on around them.

Both cops and writers are people watchers, paying attention to what others wear, how they act, what they say, facial expressions, nervous ticks, body language, shifty eyes—you name it.

Cops and writers often work odd hours.

Cops write daily reports about the infractions and complaints of real people, while writers make up pretend infractions and complaints of fictional ones.

Cops and writers both spend time researching things that might get the average person put on a homeland security watch list: Bank robbery, drug labs, types of guns, forensic science, poisons, the effects of bombs and other weapons of mass destruction, computer hacking, etc.

Also, people easily misread both cops and writers. Cops tend to be criticized or seen as bad, when in reality, it’s their job to serve and protect everyone in a community. Writers tend to be criticized or looked down on for their creative streaks that may (or may not) seem eccentric, for the words or actions of the characters in their books (which are usually out of our control) or for their tendency to “daydream” mid-conversation or at other inopportune times, and yet these are often the moments when brilliance is born.

And…

Cops are brave. Their job sometimes requires them to run at a scary situation rather than away.

Writers are also brave. Our job requires dumping portions of our heart out in front of millions of people (potentially) and put it up for criticism from every one of those millions.

Yep. That’s a lot all right. Who knew! Did I miss anything?