Rosie has decided to abandon the novel she’s worked on for almost two decades.
It’s not easy to start over when you’ve worked on a project for a long time and invested a great deal of effort.
Clearly Rosie is conflicted about giving up on her novel. We see that she is not sure if she should trust the woman who looks like she cut her own hair. Rosie wonders about her credentials.
How do we feel when someone gives us a directive and we’re not sure if their recommendation is the right one?
As Rosie is making plans for her trip to New England she realizes she’s actually following through on a plan to do research for her novel. “Go figure,” Rosie exclaims. It comes as a surprise to her to discover she has not truly abandoned the idea of her novel.
We may think at times that we’ve moved on but our goal can still be lodged in our subconscious mind and show up in the choices we make.
The editor who convinced Rosie to abandon her book may or may not have been qualified to tell her what she should do. Editors have seen a lot of material and they have a good sense for what a publisher will accept. Agents and editors can be very tough on new writers. They only accept one in a thousand or so manuscripts that they deem to have potential. Of course an author can self-publish. But there is something to be said for having the backing of an established publication.
Rosie enjoys working on her new book. She and Denny have decided she will not share her manuscript until she’s done. In what ways might this could be a good idea?
How do you feel about Rosie abandoning her novel? What would you tell Rosie?
See Discussion for more questions related to each chapter of A Happy Life. Let me know in the Comments what you think.
a happy life 