I’ve been blessed to witness some beautiful milestone moments in the past few weeks, and I can feel them filling my creative cup.

Editing and revising two novels this spring has been rewarding to watch them take shape, but it has also been months of scrutiny and finding alllllll the flaws. After a while, the intense focus on mistakes can be draining. It’s not as free as the creation process during a draft, and I think my brain craves that balance. But the good news is What I Would Do for You has finished the second round of developmental edits, Gybe has also been sent to my agent, and I’m starting week 10 of the Artist’s Way. I’m still not ready to begin prewriting my next book, but I can feel the ‘almost’. I’m in the brain-dump stage of scribbled notes and zero organization.

What’s really helped is focusing externally rather than internally. I’ve been looking outward to connect with friends and family—feeling joy with the arrival of new babies, love with wedding vows, and gratitude for bonds that have deepened over the course of more than half my life. I can feel my heart squirrelling away these overwhelming emotions, storing them for later and waiting to inspire certain scenes.

When I’m drafting, I live in my head a lot of the time. I don’t need to be drafting constantly, but it is something I’ve pressured myself to do since we moved here two years ago. These past weeks have been an important reminder to be fully present and not miss out, because this joy is essential to creativity. To everyone in my life—I’m so happy you’re in it and I love you so much!

Love,

Taylor

PS—Our milestone moment: the tipping point! Officially been doing life longer together than apart (17 years)