Aim Higher ~ Maressa Mortimer

 

I don’t know about you, but I loathe running. The only time I run is to catch a bus, which is why I don’t use public transport. Once I have been for a run, it’s a different matter. I almost convince myself how much I enjoyed it. Especially if I manage to do it on a treadmill whilst listening to a podcast.

It’s the same with getting fit. I love the idea of being fitter. I love my online exercise programme once I have had a shower. Unless I have an aim, a reason to do something about the fact that walking to my car makes me out of breath. I should work out and get fitter. Tomorrow.

Writing can be a bit like that. It’s why I love NaNoWriMo. (anyone else signed up for Bobbie’s Facebook group?) It gives me an aim, a reason to sit down and bash away at my story. I love my stories, writing is a wonderful place to be. But that is once I sit down, open up my laptop and type, Chapter... That’s where the fun starts for me.

My goal is to reach the end of the story. That is a goal I don’t enjoy. I tend to put it off. I will write most of a book at top speed, often during NaNoWriMo, then wait till after Christmas to add the last couple of chapters. Why? Am I the only one who does that?

I don't write by hand. Mainly because I struggle to decipher it afterwards

I think one of the reasons is that I’m afraid of the next step. It means going over all those chapters again to improve them and to aim higher. By then, for me, the story is done. I have dreamed it, told it, enjoyed it. I have no idea what I’m looking for, apart from red lines underneath words. Once I go through the manuscript, I will print it off and hand it over to my editor. That is another excuse for delaying things. What if she thinks it’s awful? When I get the manuscript back, there is red ink all over it, which I love. I know she has made my ramblings less rambling. It will take me a long time to sit down and finish the corrections. Fear of the next step slows me down. And I don’t really like endings. I know it’s good to aim higher. I know I will be pleased with the finished product if I aim higher. I will enjoy holding my book.

Thinking about it, I realised I’m the same with trusting God. There are certain things I’m comfortable with. And I don’t want them to end. I know the next challenge will be a blessing, but I don’t think I will like the goals He sets for me. It’s going to be hard. Just when I got myself in a nice rhythm. I know it’s for the best, and looking back I will see the blessings.

It’s time to dust off my WIP, ready for Camp NaNo tomorrow. I’m struggling with the next step which is why it slowed down to a full stop. It’s time to face the questions coming up in the story. Grief, loss, friendships that are hard work, wondering if God is relevant just now... I’m looking forward to it, reminding myself to aim higher.

Maressa Mortimer is Dutch but lives in the beautiful Cotswolds, England with her husband and four (adopted) children. Maressa is a homeschool mum as well as a pastor’s wife, so her writing has to be done in the evening when peace and quiet descend on the house once more. She loves writing Christian fiction, as it’s a great way to explore faith in daily life.

Her debut novel, Sapphire Beach, was published in December 2019, and her first self published novel, Walled City, came out in December 2020, followed by Viking Ferry, a novella. Beyond the Hills is the second book in the Elabi Chronicles, and was released on June 18^th 2021. All Maressa’s books are available from her website, www.vicarioushome.com, Amazon or local bookshops.