I’ve been thinking about why last week’s stories mattered to me while I was writing them. This is the Collection posted on January 9. Here’s the LINK if you want to read them first, again.
The women are sitting on Riley’s veranda, talking about what comes next. Not in a dramatic way. No big declarations. Just that familiar question many of us carry after 55, after 65, after 75.
What do I want now?
And am I allowed to want anything at all?
That conversation isn’t fictional to me. I’ve been in versions of it more times than I can count. With friends. With colleagues. With myself.
What struck me as I wrote the week wasn’t the idea of writing. It was how long people live with the urge to create something quietly, while telling themselves they’re too late, too tired, or too sensible to begin.
Especially women.
Somewhere along the way, wanting something that doesn’t have a clear purpose starts to feel irresponsible. Writing can feel frivolous. Self-indulgent. Like something we should have outgrown by now.
So we push past it.
We stay busy. We stay useful. We stay practical.
And the pull doesn’t go away.
In the story, Skylar is the published author. Everyone knows it. No one questions her credentials. But even she isn’t sure what the end of this next book will look like. Not because she lacks experience, but because some work isn’t about outcome first. It’s about listening to what’s asking for your attention.
That matters.
Because for most women, the question isn’t “Can I write?”
It’s “What would it mean to stay with something honest now, even if I don’t know where it’s going?”
That’s the moment I wanted to capture this week. The shift from asking Should I? to admitting I can’t not.
Not because anyone is watching.
Not because it has to turn into something.
But because ignoring it costs more energy than beginning.
I don’t think writing starts with ambition.
I think it starts with noticing what keeps coming back, even after we’ve talked ourselves out of it.
That’s what I wanted this week to hold.
I created a short, free resource called 3 Steps to Finally Start Writing the Stories Only You Know. No program. No pressure. Just a way to get something honest onto the page. Here’s a link to this guide which should take 2-3 hours to work through.
This Dose of Fiction was written to explore the “what’s next” question through the women, instead of answering it myself. To understand more about what more is inside this, become a Story Insider today