Awhile back, I said I would be posting short stories about the characters in my upcoming book. I had a plan to accomplish that goal. My schedule was set, my motivation was there, but life events prevented me. As a person who hates excuses, I was very angry with myself for not getting this done. After all, I’ve always believed if I want something to happen in my life, it’s up to me to do it.

That’s not entirely true. I was reminded of this recently. Yes, it’s up to me to go after my goals and put for the effort to make them happen. We all need to remember that. There’s no excuse for simply not getting to things. On the other hand, we don’t have nearly as much control as we like to pretend. Life happens, and sometimes (or frequently) we’re left with situations that aren’t conducive to our plans.

This has been the case with me for the last month. My son’s car got totaled, and the replacement car blew its engine after four days. The time requirement for dealing with insurance and finding two new vehicles was astounding. Add to that the fact that my son needed rides to work while we were looking for a replacement. And again while we were looking for a replacement replacement. In addition to that, one of the jobs I work on lost a member and a lot of stuff got dumped on my plate. As a result, I had almost no time to write, and I certainly wasn’t in a creative state of mind.

Contrary to what you might think, this is not an excuse post about why I couldn’t get my short stories done. This is a reminder to myself that I don’t control as much as I like to think I do. It’s also a reminder that there’s only one thing I can ever do: take the next step. No matter what’s in my face or how long the journey, the only thing to do next is take the next step.

It’s not often that I can say I listened to that advice, but this time I did. I can finally see some light through the trees and I expect to emerge from the forest and get back to my book in the next week. Those of you who may have been wondering where the next story is, it’s coming soon. For now, you’ll have to be satisfied with this lame post. ;-)