A crime novel author’s first question? “What happens now?”

Meditation - A crime writer process of what nextI mentioned in an earlier post that I get a lot of my ideas by asking myself what happens when things go wrong. That was never more true in my life than on March 24, 2004. I was in San Francisco in the middle of a complex trial (I was a trial lawyer in those days). While getting ready for the day I began to shake as if someone had clamped me into a paint shaker and flipped the switch. It wasn’t until November of 2005, after crisscrossing the country going from one doctor to another that I received the final diagnosis. I had tics, a neurological malfunction in the brain of unknown cause and unknown cure that makes me shake, spasm and stutter during some part of every day and forced me to retire from the practice of law.

I never asked why me because there is no answer for that question and asking it implies that it should have happened to someone else. I wasn’t about to go there.

Instead I asked myself, what now? That was the only question that mattered. And the answer was to live my life as fully and productively as I can, giving meaning to everyday and making a positive contribution to the lives of the people I love and care for. And, while I’m at it, write some knockout books. I’ve learned how best to manage my condition in a holistic fashion and I’m grateful everyday for the opportunities I have. I’ll keep you posted down the road about what it’s like to spend time in this particular crime novel author’s world, where I’m both shaken and stirred.

 

Image source: ssoosay