Wisdom from Winston

He's cute, loving and terrifically wise about things writing.

Case in point: yesterday, I was moving some lavender plants out at Shangri-Lar. They'd gotten too big for the spot they were in and I wanted to move t hem to the bed at the end of the drive by the street, to spiff it up. Now, Winston loves being outside but, so far, we haven't let him go out off-leash (our yard at home is not fenced). But it was a gorgeous fall day so -- I called for him and out front we went. Every time he wandered off too far, I called "here," and back he came, good as gold (of course, I had filled my pockets with his favorite treats). I got my task accomplished, he had a blast and we both enjoyed the bonding time.

So what does this have to do with writing?

It was a reminder to me to let myself off leash when I sit down at the computer. To trust that I will come back to the story even after claiming the freedom to run past the margins, past the page. That Winston -- what a pal! He knew I needed this encouragement as I dive into WIP2, which has a lot of unique elements, some pretty scary to tackle. So I'm going to unhook the leash and let myself run.

I'll let you know how it works out!