Destiny

   I’m going to start by saying that this entry has nothing to do with destiny. Whether it exists or not is debatable, but what I’m actually referring to is the title of a book that will be coming sometime in the future. You might have read where I was talking about it a little over a week ago. Well, guess what. I finished it. Sure, it needs to be edited, but it’s exactly what I pictured it as. I’m really proud of this one. I’ve loved a lot of books, but I think this could be the one that I look back at and say wow. This has been the type of story that I would like to read. Now, I don’t want to sound overconfident or like I think everyone is going to love this one because what do I know? Some of my favorite things have been unpopular, and some of the things that I’ve felt less confident in went on to sell more and get better reviews. Still, I don’t know if that matters. This is what I do know. Destiny saved me. I was getting lost in all the things I was supposed to do in life, and I think for a while there, I forgot how to have fun. Life isn’t all about work, and a person can turn all of it into that. I’m pretty sure I did.

   When I started writing Destiny, I had this idea that kept nagging at me. It was for a slice of life book with my own unique spin on it. I had told so many other people about it. It was going to happen. I needed to write the last entry in Wrong Visions, though. I started to, but this one wouldn’t get out of my head, so I did it. I just felt like this was something I was meant to do, and during the first few chapters, the words flew by as if they were always there or as if some unseen force was delivering a story that was powerful to me. I was in the zone. Things like that don’t last forever, though. I wrote as much as I could until the newness of the project started to wear off. What had seemed destined was now a choice. I realized that no force was making me write this book, and the words weren’t always going to flow out without any effort like they had at first. Still, I wanted to finish this book. It was no longer about destiny or the possible success that could come with what I think might be my finest novel. It was about the joy in what I was doing.

   It’s an ironic title, isn’t it? I thought that this book was my destiny, and I’ve thought that a lot of things were that. I was supposed to be a certain way and be around certain people. It was all planned out. Maybe that’s too boring, though. Maybe I don’t want that anymore. I chose this book, and whether it’s a success or a failure, I’m proud of that. It wasn’t the type of story I was supposed to write, and it wasn’t what my readers expected me to do, but it’s something worth taking a chance on. It’s something I want to build on.

   What I’m really writing this for is to tell everyone one simple thing. I don’t believe in meant to be, not anymore. I believe in finding something or someone you believe in and building on that every day. Who cares if you’re wrong or if the rest of the world might think you’re a fool? It’s not what they think you should do, but what you know is right in your heart. That applies to careers and relationships alike. Maybe that’s the closest thing to a compass we really have. We have this innate ability to just know when something is right, but yet we ignore that instinct too much in favor of popular opinion or supposed wiser company. Maybe that’s the closest thing to destiny that’s actually real. Maybe we’re given instinct as a reminder of where we ought to go, and everything else that we’re told we’re supposed to say, do, and feel is just noise. At least that’s how I see it. Life is a lot simpler this way. I just follow what I feel is right for me, and the results are yet to be seen, but it’s been a much better ride over the last two months.

   Thanks for reading this. Look forward to more updates on Destiny and the future of The Unseen series soon.