When You Have To Wait

Just admit it: you don't like to wait. No one does. Waiting is just... waiting. And patience doesn't come easily to any flawed human (but if it does to you, please tell me your secrets in the comments).

(but don't comment on how ironic this post is, because I'm asking you guys to wait until the 22nd for my next post.)

So today, I'm going to talk about the hardest thing for writers: waiting to write. And not just procrastinating, but literally being told to wait to work on an idea.



Story time: the first day of March, I was out and about and got viciously attacked by a plot bunny. I had to write that story. I ended up creating a super aesthetic pinterest board (sorry I can't share it :P), putting it together with another idea I'd wanted to write for a year, and then incorporating an element I was super excited about. I even had a title (one that was more than a word long, too xD)

I was all set to get some plotting done.

Over a month later?

No plotting.

Why? I didn't procrastinate. I wanted to work on that idea more than anything. I was ready for it.

But it wasn't ready for me.

WHAT BEING TOLD TO WAIT LOOKS LIKE.

So, no, my plot bunnies didn't invite me over to tea and say nicely, "it's not time for you to write with us, Audrey."

And no one told me, "you're not ready to write that story yet, Audrey."

No. Circumstances, time, and might I even say God seemed to be saying, "not yet."

Why do I say that? Because I had everything ready to write: time, ideas, motivation, no writers block. Yet my plans kept getting foiled every single time.

The plot bunnies are there, skipping around in my head, but I'm not allowed to let them out yet.

I've had this happen with several ideas. Last year, I had a dream that inspired a novel, coupled with the poem Footprints in the Sand. To this day, it has been one of my favorite ideas I've ever had. Yet I still haven't written it. The first chapters are roughly scribbled in a notebook, and the plot continues to run wild in my mind.

But there's so many things about I don't know yet. And even if I tried to plot it, I don't think I would find them out. Why?

I'm not ready for that story.

Being not ready for a story doesn't mean you aren't a good enough writer, or that you're stuck in writer's block. It simply means you're not supposed to write that story yet.

WHY YOU HAVE TO WAIT.

Well, it's just what it sounds like: you're not ready. I'm sure it's happened to you before: you put time and effort into an idea, think about it for hours, but when it comes to writing anything down, nothing comes out. It's not a rare kind of writer's block; it's a story you're not ready for.

I like to think of it that something is going to happen in my life that needs to happen before I write that story. Back in October, I almost quit Found. Really, I just needed to get over a certain thing in my life to realize that hope was a major theme in the novel.

I believe that the same thing is going to happen with that footprints story.

A lot of what we write reflects where we are in life. And when you can't get that story out, it's like God's telling you, "Not yet. But soon. Soon, you're going to need that story and you're going to write that story."

WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU'RE NOT READY FOR A STORY.

Wait.

Yeah, ouch.

What if the idea vanishes?

Write it down. Just a little note, a scribble. Don't plot it out or anything, just write down the title or what inspired you. Chances are, you'll come back to that story one day and be ready for it.

Let it run around in your mind. Don't worry; it probably won't vanish. If anything, it will just evolve. It's actually pretty fun to watch a story idea in your head, knowing that you're not going to write it yet, but simply enjoying seeing where the question "what if?" will take you.

It's like planting an apple seed and wanting to eat the apples. You have to wait. You can water it. You can care for it. You can watch it. But you can't eat the apples until the apples are there.

I firmly believe that the story ideas we get aren't random; they're part of God's plan for our lives. So just because a great idea isn't for this moment, doesn't mean it's never going to be used.


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That's my wisdom for Easter week. :P This has been happening to me for the past month and a half, so I thought I'd share my thoughts on it.

Speaking of waiting... I'm excited for Easter! I'll still be going around and checking out your posts and answering any emails/tweets/comments up until Good Friday, then I'll be dark for a week (sounds scary, right? xD). And there will be a sort of surprise on the 22nd, a unique post to celebrate my 6 month blogversary! (seriously. it's only been 6 months. I mean, what?!? I feel like I've been here forever)

 I hope you have a beautiful Easter!

<3

Audrey Caylin


So... have you ever had to wait to write a story? Was it worth it? How do you pass that "time of waiting?"