WOW.

August 24, 2023 marks 570 days of consistent writing & journaling.

WOW.

It has been a ride. I continue to learn new skills, meet awesome people, and get to know myself better. The path is never boring. I am grateful every day for this opportunity to write and share.

I used to think one moment in my life from last year brought me to this path. As I started writing this (newsletter) edition I remembered there was an earlier prominent event.

I was a tween when I felt compelled to write about “Denise.”

I was an avid reader at the time but didn’t enjoy the books targeted at my age. One evening, I was compelled to start writing a story about Denise, her friends and family, and the environment in which she grew up. I created an entire town, a school, a “hang-out,” a super-hot boyfriend, a “frenemy,” and crazy plot twists which included a murdered main character in the first few chapters. Upon going to bed, I realized I had hand-written 8 chapters.

Throughout most of my high school years, I continued to write chapter books about Denise as she grew older and navigated through life. I was compelled to write her story, yet never sought to publish them. I was discouraged when one of my hand-written books was “borrowed” by a “friend” and never returned. I stopped writing for a long time after this. I never wrote about Denise and her world again. And I barely wrote fiction after this experience.

Denise coming into my life was unexpected and mind-blowing. At the time I didn’t understand or appreciate what took place and the path it laid out for me.

Significant events like these can point you in a direction you never knew existed. A fire is lit and the sparks fly. You are at first confused, then overwhelmed. You were lost in a fog, then clarity sets in. You know naturally where to go and what to do next. Something pulls you towards the light on a path you may not have seen before. You are compelled to take the first step.

This is what I call a “WOW moment.”

I feel blessed to have more than one WOW moment I can remember. I didn’t fully understand or appreciate my first WOW when Denise came into my life. I nearly forgot why seeing a tree in my neighbourhood brought about another WOW (so much so, I wrote about the same tree again… and again!).

The WOW moment I’ve hinted at in previous posts is usually about the day something pointed me toward my current writing path.

On January 27, 2022, I woke up at 12:30 am to what I can only describe as letters floating around my head.

I sat up on the bed.

“Am I going MAD?” I thought.

Something weirder started to happen. I saw the same swirling letters merge into words.

To be clear, I was not high (I don’t smoke or inhale). I was not intoxicated in any way (at least by choice).

Then the words started turning into floating sentences.

“That’s it, I’m crazy. I’ve lost it.”

I jumped out of bed, grabbed a pencil and what became my new journal, and ran to the bathroom.

I started writing in the bathroom thinking I would only be there for a few minutes. An hour later, I was still writing.

And I wasn’t done.

I took a break after 6 pages. I looked at what I wrote and didn’t know what to think.

“Where did this come from,” I thought. “Am I dreaming?”

It was close to 3 am when my husband woke up to check on me. I read most of what I wrote back to him. I know he’s a good man because he didn’t run away, laugh out loud or brush me off. He listened and we started one of our deep “life” conversations.

I couldn’t sleep. I was pumped with a new energy I hadn’t felt in decades.

I knew it meant more than a bunch of words on a page. It was the start of something…

I wrote two more pages before going to bed.

The next day, I decided to write again in the same book.

“If I write every day,” I thought, “What would happen?”

The END!

We will experience moments like these in our lifetime - moments that make you pause, question, revel in its beauty, and feel a sense of home. There may be anxiety and confusion when the moment is completely different from what you are comfortable with. Yet when you act on your inner instinct, you forget past feelings you had. It was as though you were always meant to do what you are doing right now. You don’t question. You don’t think too hard. You just do it. I’m grateful to have followed my gut on January 27, 2022. I can’t imagine the last 570 days of my life without writing.

Denise lives on, only in my mind. I look forward to the day when the words meet with her again… in another moment.

Enjoy every moment, fellow creators.

Naddy / Nadine