A writer does many things to present a compelling story, but perhaps the most important is conveying her message, her take on the world. In that regard, almost every writer must dig deep into her spiritual resources, her soul, if you will. Who is she? What is the divine power behind her creative journey?
In The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity, Julia Cameron writes: “Life is what we make of it. Whether we conceive of an inner god force or another, outer God, doesn’t matter. Relying on that force does.”
Key to the artist’s journey is confronting doubts and naysayers. This comes in many forms and faces. It can be the punishing parent who warns that if you publish this story she will see you in court and thus ends what might have been a glorious book enjoyed by many; the agent/publisher who rejects your work because he or she wants a “marketable” book, the sort of trash you have no intention of writing. It can be the voice within you saying, what I write is no good. I have no talent. This self-sabotage is often the darkest of places because there’s no way out except through sheer force of will.
In my next novel, titled Ava’s Story: A Woman Alone, a woman seeks answers as she travels the road toward aging and transformation … the final chapter, so to speak. For some time, Ava felt the best years of her life ended when Jay died. They seemed the most promising, brimming with excitement and expectation, where anything was possible and the world her proverbial oyster. As Ava observes, female friends saved her in the long years after Jay’s death. So did family and a good dog. A professional writer and single mother, she explores relationships and emotional connections with men and women, learns the value of slowing down, and the transformational power of international travel and spiritual growth.
I worked hard on this book and hope eventually to publish it. I believe that Ava’s journey translates into an important and universal story of a woman’s life. This is where the dedication to the spiritual journey becomes more crucial, having faith that what I write is something of worth, that Ava’s journey is not just about her, but the human condition.
The promise of writing is an exciting creative quest that gives us new life and offers our readers a collaborative journey with us.
Along the Writer's Way 
The Women’s Writing Circle sounds like a great idea – a la your friend’s death. We all need these things.
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