I went away for a long weekend full of rain, cupcakes, bookstores, and farmers’ markets. The Pacific Northwest was a perfect remedy for smoky, hot L.A. It was also the change of scenery I needed for the new story I’m working on, which is full of pesky questions like… What happens next? and What does this character really want?

After recently working on detailed revisions, these questions seem unnerving and my writing feels raw and unkempt. Train trips and Seattle coffee shops gave me a new door to enter the wilds of my story, letting me bushwhack through my first draft stage.

But like always, when I got back, those questions were still there waiting for me. So I avoided my office for another day. And another.

Finally, this morning, I hesitantly tip-toed into my office, trying not to wake up any of the lions lurking in my new manuscript. And I found a clear sign that it was time to start writing again.

So today, I’m literally brushing cobwebs off my words and getting back to work. After all, if it’s a choice between questions and spiders, I’ll choose questions every time.