Coffee With David

Seven years etched itself into my face, my mind, and my soul before I could begin writing again. In 2000 and 2001 I was working on a novel that was almost published. Between then and 2008 when I started to pursue my writing in earnest again I had gone through divorce. I was nearly bankrupt by the divorce and I am still paying off those debts. I faced the death of a parent. There was a titanic change of my life when I had to move back home to take care of my other parent. In my thirties I witnessed the deaths of too many of my friends. I fell in and out of love many times. I succeeded in various achievements in other part of my life—such as earning my Black Belt and completing a new certification program. I made new friends and grew closer to those I had known or a long time.

When I sat down and began to write again, I was petrified. I will admit that I do not know if I would have had the courage to resuscitate the muse if it had not been for joining a great writers’ group (Saint Louis Writers Guild) and making all the friends in that organization that I have. Despite that support, the fear was there. I would start and stop many times, crumble paper or hit the delete button, before I felt comfortable with anything my muse put out. One of the things I have learned is that in the hiatus that I have grown jaded and gritty in my writing. This is not a bad thing.

I believe firmly that I am a better writer now than I was back then. My Black Belt training has reinforced my personal discipline and reminded me that I can achieve what I set out to do—no matter how long it takes.

Thank you for reading and please visit www.davidalanlucas.com for blogs and updates to my articles, short stories, novels, and novellas that I am writing.