A blank canvas

I heard it once said that the most difficult parts of any project are the beginning and the end. By the time you reach the middle, you're cruising along creating that which you worked so hard to plan at the start. The ending by its very nature is where everything stops and has to be cleaned up and prepped for the next project to begin. It is at this conclusion that the adrenalin wears off and exhilaration often turns to depression; and so it was with A Tale of Two Cities: How we survived the first decade of the 21st Century.

For weeks after the last page of the final draft was inked I found myself wondering what to do next. The writing bug had bit me hard. I wanted more of the euphoria that surged when my fingers keyed the words so desperately seeking to stream out of me. Instead, I faced a blank canvas armed with an empty palette, and nothing I did could change the reality that my first story had ended.

Fortunately life intervened, and my minor bout of depression was replaced by a myriad of daily activities and responsibilities.  There is nothing like the mundane to distract you from your real goals. However, like in Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, it is when you are totally distracted that you learn how to fly. And from the mundane ideas have begun flying forth, some with resounding splats as they strike the canvas. Now mind you these are just a spatters, not even full sketches, but they did make contact and now it is up to me to bring the rest to life.

I have three canvases going. Three stories waiting to be visualized. Let the typing begin!

- Ken