Linda's Heart--Journal Prompt #1
Let go of the life you planned...
I taught a class in journal writing at our church that proved to be an excellent motivation for my own writing. For that class, I wrote 100 prompts on slips of paper and put them into a heart-shaped box.
That was mid-way through my 10+ years of in-home caretaking for my mother and mother-in-law, both of whom had Dementia.
The kitty above mirrors my wanting to write novels when there was very little time every day.
Frequent interruptions.
Frequent sorrow.
Frequent tears.
I hope these prompts will give you something to think about or write about, or just to list in a notebook. I’ll be writing about each one.
Prompt #1
“We must be willing to let go of the life we planned, to be ready for the life that waits for us.”
The year I turned 30, I decided it was time to do something about my desire to write professionally. I signed up for the basics course offered by The Institute of Children’s Literature. They estimated 18-24 months to complete the course. I finished it in 6 months.
Then, I took their novels course. I wrote a mystery novel called “Secret of the Island Mansion.” I wish I had the manuscript for that book. A computer crash took it. But I could write it again.
The Life I’d Planned
In 1996, I sold my first novel to Harlequin. Gabriel’s Heart by Madeline George. Harlequin owns the author’s name until years after the author’s last book goes out of print. I’m happy to say that Madeline’s first book is still in print and available in digital form. It’s a revenge novel, and a lot of men left reviews telling me they didn’t think they’d enjoy a romantic novels, but they love Gabriel’s Heart.
At that point, my dream of writing for Harlequin/Silhouette had come true. I wanted to write novel after novel, historical and contemporary, mystery and maybe paranormal. I had a stack of ideas waiting, fighting to be the idea that rose to the top of the list.
Then, my agent lied to me. She told me my second book had been purchased. At the Romance Writers of America conference in Orlando, Florida—two weeks after my agent’s call—I thanked my editor, Karen, and the Senior Editor for Harlequin Historicals for purchasing Tom’s Angel.
But the book hadn’t been purchased. And the Senior Editor hadn’t read it yet, or approved it.
I was blamed. My book was rejected—along with me. The next three novels I sent were rejected—with form rejections. She’d rejected me from Harlequin and left a blistering note in my file.
My dream had been stomped.
My dream, and my heart, had been stomped to death.
My mother was showing signs of Dementia. Caretaking had begun.
Mother’s Dementia deepened and became a full-time job.
When my mother-in-law began showing the same symptoms, we dealt with lots of over-time.
Caretaking eventually moved to the nursing home, where we spent hours each day.
When our caretaking ended in 2016, then 2018, I couldn’t even think about writing. Novels are full of emotion. I’d been drained of emotion. I had nothing left for my stories.
The Life That Waits For Me
Two years passed before I wrote another novel. I loved it! Surely, my editor at Harlequin would purchase it.
She loved it! She told me, “Your writing is a joy to read.”
But that novel had broken all the parameters for all 12 lines at Harlequin. She couldn’t buy it.
The life I’d originally planned couldn’t be continued.
Two years later, I submitted that novel to another publisher. They promised a response within 2 weeks. Instructions were clear: Send the entire book, and nothing else.
Nothing about the author? Publishing credits? Just the book.
It came back in 10 days—with a form rejection! Not even a note about why it had been rejected.
That book is still waiting to be published. It’s the third novel in the Kiss Me Series. The first two books were published with Kindle Direct Publishing.
Both books got wonderful reviews. The third book will be published this summer.
Kiss Me, Chloe
Kiss Me, Lynn
Kiss Me, Cindy
There’s no way I can complete my dream of writing for Harlequin. My books, have too many secondary characters, too much plot, and too many subplots. They’re stories about families, not just one man and one woman.
I can’t wait 3-6 months to submit to another publisher, then another 2 years for that book to be published. I have to publish my books myself.
I’ve finally let go of my original dream and created a new one.
I have 4 other novels that were published during the caretaking days. I’m going to pull all 6 out of their comas and bring them back to life.
I’m also working on a cookbook with lots of recipes that require only 15-30 minutes. A good many have told me they’ll buy the book based only on the title.
Everyone Loves a Quickie
That book will be finished and published before I write two more novels for the Kiss Me Series.
What I’ve Learned
The past couple of years, we’ve established goals and dreams, then watched them die. A few goals have been reached—then replaced with new goals.
I wish I’d hung on to my dream of writing novel after novel, instead of letting it die. At the time, seeing my dream crushed became myself crushed. I didn’t think it possible to create a new dream which would’ve required rewriting and expanding my books by 100 pages to submit to a new publisher. So I gave up.
20 years later, I’ve admitted my mistake. I can still keep writing—and publishing—novels, publishing them myself, for at least another 20 years.
It feels wonderful to have a new dream.
Your Turn
If you want to send your journal entry for this prompt, I’d love to read it!
You can email it to me at lindagauthor@gmail.com. Be sure to put SS Prompt #1 in the Subject line.
Hugs and Happiness!
Linda
Charles and Linda George have written 68 nonfiction series books for children, middle-graders, and adults. Linda has written dozens of novels. 10 have been published. She loves writing in the NM mountains, at their little piece of paradise near Cloudcroft.
Thanks David!