Moving Forward

I just finished FORWARD INTO CAMELOT, co-authored by Kevin Finn and Susan Sloate, a presenter at the 2015 Pamlico Writers Conference. She stayed in my home and generously gave me three of her books.

STEALING FIRE was the first one I read, and enjoyed. But CAMELOT was a trip back in time to the assassination of John F. Kennedy. It contains so much information about his personal life, health, etc. and a very believable immersion into the 60’s. It ultimately posed an interesting question. What if we could go back and change events? How might that impact on the future? Or the present?

As a writer, I can lead (sometimes follow) a character through cathartic experiences that absolve my own negative past choices. Or I can take a character on a path I did not choose and see where it leads. In a way, it’s like going back to correct the past. I always learn from my characters. And sometimes I learn that the path I took was the right one for me.

And that leads me to another question. How might we anticipate our own futures and make choices to change it for the better? That’s tough because it requires not only decisions, but also actions. It means breaking patterns that prevent us from moving forward and embracing change.

So I stopped playing scrabble on my I-pad to think about the book I just read and to write this blog. Oh well, it’s a start.