In the Belly of the Beast

An acquaintance emailed me last week wanting to know if I had taken off in Wanda and driven into the sunset.

I wish.

Instead, I answered him, I have been swallowed whole by my job and am now living in the belly of a merger/acquisition and all that entails. To be truthful, the merger has less to do with my immersion in my workplace than the simple phenomenon of business getting better. As it does, the workload naturally increases and unfortunately the time to do it doesn’t. So, a job that I had hoped would be something like cruise control for me, is anything but.

Oh, don’t get me wrong. I’m smart enough to be grateful for my employment in these times, however the time to write – the thing for which I live and breathe – has been limited. There are times when I’m tempted to fault myself. After all, a writer writes. However, I’ve come to realize that the part of my brain that makes me function successfully in the business world is a hinderance to the creative in me. I must forcefully turn it off when I attempt to let the words flow and that, my friends, is no easy task.

But, three weekends ago I managed to finish the first draft of my third novel, one I’m convinced will kick off a series of books featuring the heroine I’ve grown to love, and I can now employ the business brain to assess, fact-check, find holes, etc.

So, as I bounce off the gray interior of the Business Beast’s belly in the coming weeks, I will remember to draw its strength into my story. When I’ve managed to finish my rewrite, I’m afraid I’ll have find someway out of the belly. Now how did Jonah accomplish that? Or Pinocchio?