WHEN LIFE GOES SIDEWAYS

 By Patricia Bradley

I think I've posted about this subject before. That said, I don't know about you, but it seems the older I get, the more life goes sideways. This time, I had just received my edits, and they were due in three weeks. Did I say they were extensive? 

But the death of a beloved family member trumped everything. Focusing on edits or anything else was impossible. What do you do when something like that happens?

You do the next thing, starting with prayer. Thankfully, my publisher was understanding when an emergency came up and granted me an extension, but what if it's one of many emergencies? That happens sometimes--you've heard of the rule of three, right? Actually, the rule of three doesn't exactly refer to things happening in threes, and is a whole other blog post, but have you ever noticed how bad things sometimes come in clusters?

Even with an extension and getting back to the new normal--don't you just hate that phrase, new normal? Anyway, I'm finding it hard to wrap my head around how to make the changes the story needs...Like, I need to take a character out, and that means a whole storyline...so what do I do?  

I procrastinate. 

But procrastinating can be bad, you say. Yes and no. Yes, it will put pressure on me a few weeks from now when the deadline approaches, but since I work better under pressure, that might be good. And no, procrastinating is not always bad because it gives the girls in the attic (guys call the subconscious the boys in the basement) time to sort out what I need to do. 

Again, all of this is bathed in prayer, which is my first line of defense. Because bad things are going to happen. All.The.Time. We have to learn how to adjust to things as they happen, and if we're prayed up, it's easier. I'd also been praying that if my brain doesn't start working soon, could I have more time on the deadline? 

I learned Friday that was a real possibility and I didn't even have to ask for it. The downside is that the book is being pushed back a couple of months, but at this point, I'll take it. But see what prayer does? God knew my brain wasn't ready to start working yet.

I guess the point of this rambling post is that when life goes sideways, do the next thing after doing the first thing -- pray. At least I'm really excited about this book, and I trust my editors, so the changes will make this a really good book. 

So what do you do when life goes sideways? Leave your answer in the comments, and I'll enter you in a drawing for a $10 gift card. And don't forget to enter our $100 giveaway!