Writing Tip: When your baby's on the line

Sometimes there are no words. That’s why we’re the generation of memes. You don’t even need the caption to feel the “I will die trying” determination of this man. I mean, look at his face. He’s going to get what he’s reaching for and no one can stop him. When I first saw this photo, I loved it, but I didn’t identify with it. Which is kind of crazy considering I was somewhere in the middle of the 10th draft of my YA novel. I didn’t feel this way when I finished my novel for NaNoWriMo. I just wasn’t at the right stage of my journey yet. When you’re in it, way down in the marshland getting lost in the weeds, swatting away bad ideas like gnats, wondering if the water should be there or maybe it’s just another subplot pulling you away from the story you’re trying to tell, there’s no attachment. But now that I’m about to publish, I understand. Because when you're finished, and you’re talking to graphic designers about your cover, then this meme becomes real. Now I can’t imagine losing this precious baby that took me 10 years to birth. Now I would risk everything to keep it from returning to the nothingness from whence it came.