by Iona Morrison | Feb 11, 2014
“By leaving behind the familiar and taking a leap of faith into something new, you find who you are truly capable of becoming.” Unknown
In the height of the great recession I lost my job and so did my husband. He had to go on the road and was gone for about ten months. Being apart was something we had never experienced before. Not only had we been married many years, raised our three boys, but we had also worked side by side in the same office. It was not an easy time for us.
I took the leap of faith spoken of in the quote above. I signed up for a writing class which I had to test for. It was completely opposite of what I had been doing, which included being with people and speaking publically. I wasn’t sure if it was even possible for me to sit in a room alone and write. I was so used to being among people.
During the process of the class I discovered I loved writing fiction. I would get lost in the writing of a story but at the same time I found myself on every page that I wrote. I was being reinvented along with the story that I was writing.
I discovered I was capable of more than I could imagine. I wrote a novel which is soon to be published. And since the first, I’ve finished a second novel with a third book more than 1/3 of the way done. Writing fiction has given me wings to fly. What seemed like the end with the slamming of a door, and a leap of faith into the unknown, I found a side of me that I never knew existed. I love this new phase in my life which allows my creative side to exert it’s self. My imagination has been set free, and I am at a new place in my life.
Here’s to taking that leap away from the familiar into a new way to be.
by Iona Morrison | Jan 21, 2014
“We’ve learned to fly the air as birds, we’ve learned to swim the seas as fish, yet we haven’t learned to walk the Earth as brothers and sisters.” Martin Luther King Jr.
I’m somewhat of an optimist, a little bit Pollyanna like and yes, possibly naïve. To me life is wonderful. It’s not that there’s never been any tears or loss in my life, I like every other human have experienced such things. I just want to believe that good still matters and that people are basically good. I know that there are some that aren’t but I’ve been privileged to know my share of the good ones. I believe that love is what changes us and hatred builds anger in the generations that follow it.
As I was reading the words of Dr. King I felt a little sad. They were true in his day and when I open my eyes wide, I must admit they are still true today. We have learned to do so much but we haven’t learned to walk the Earth as brothers and sisters.
JFK said: “Our most basic common link is that we all inhabit the same planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children’s future – and we are all mortal.”
It challenges me to look beyond the color of someone’s skin, their ethnic background, sexual orientation, or religion and see them as a part of the human race like me. Tears and laughter are the same in any language and I believe, so is love.
by Iona Morrison | Jan 7, 2014
There are some things that even in a new year I just shouldn’t do. Karaoke, for example, probably isn’t one of my strong points. It would be better left to someone who can actually sing and doesn’t mind doing it in front of people.
I don’t think I’ll try skydiving or bungee jumping either. Just looking down from heights can make me sick much less propelling myself off some little platform with only a few rubber bands to hold me. And don’t get me started about jumping out of a plane. I can hardly sit in one for a few hours without wondering how it stays up in the air at all. So why, in heavens name would I want to jump out of one hurling through the air towards the fast approaching ground. I’m the one who claps when the plane lands.
I think it’s best to keep my feet firmly planted on the ground. I do however think it’s probably okay if I run after my passion for writing like it’s the last train of the night. Happy 2014! Here’s to adventures in this year that are tailored made for you.
by Iona Morrison | Dec 26, 2013
The door closes, the last piece of paper is picked up, and the dishes are all done. Another Christmas day comes to a close and I’m feeling happy but exhausted. I never want to take these days for granite. I treasure each one that I get. The laughter, the noise of children playing, mixes with new memories being made. It is something to be savored long after the day is done.
Tomorrow with it’s new cares will come soon enough. It’s here that I want to linger, in the afterglow of special moments when my family is all gathered. So I close my eyes and in my heart I a raise a glass in toast, Here’s to slowing down, being a family if only for a moment, and enjoying it before the rush of life crowds in again.
by Iona Morrison | Dec 10, 2013
I really don’t talk to myself – hmm-unless of course you count talking to all the people I’ve created in my mind. I say that with a smile. I want the characters of my books to feel like real people and the best way for that to happen is to have talks with them to see what’s on their minds. Writing a character driven book that shows not tells may sound easy but it’s not.
For me old habits die hard. I’ve been telling people what to do since I was old enough to talk. What can I say I was a strong willed child. As a matter of fact I was kicked out of kindergarten which did bode well for me. So the desire to tell the reader everything runs deep inside me.
I’m grateful for my mentor Mary, and her trusty read marks. She doesn’t let me get away with anything. Book one was a massive overhaul with too many red marks to count, lots of head hopping to correct, and rewrites. Now I’m not saying I’ve got it down by book three let’s just say with Mary’s help I’m improving and hope to be a stronger writer with time.
It’s worth it to me this learning process and curtailing of my every detail nature because I do love to write. I love to read and I want to love the books that I write. Which I can say – I do.
