I looked at the front yard this morning. The grass is sparse. Patchy. A few scraggly blades poking up between dusty soil. Was it the tree stealing all the water? The heat baking the earth? Or just me, distracted again, forgetting to water it?
They say the grass is always greener on the other side, and lately, I’ve been feeling that in my writing life. I’ve been hopping from project to project because the next one always seems shinier, more exciting—greener.
I’ve mentioned before that I put the brakes on editing my devotional manuscript so I could dive into a completely different task: putting together an omnibus edition of my science fiction novels. Suddenly, rewriting scenes, tweaking timelines, designing covers, and building an index felt urgent. They pulled me in like a siren song.
That’s how it goes, isn’t it? When you’re deep in edits on one book, every other idea feels more compelling. The devotional’s revisions seemed like trudging through dry dirt, while my science fiction stories shimmered in the distance like a lush, green meadow.
But I know myself. I have a list of unfinished fiction drafts—stories I’ve poured heart and soul into, only to leave them languishing because the next new idea promised fresh inspiration. So I devised a plan: write one book, edit another, and plan the next. One stage at a time. Keep moving forward, but don’t scatter myself thin chasing every patch of greener grass.
Now it’s time to return to my non-fiction work. To pick up the devotional edits where I left off, to finish what I started. Because if I keep leaping from field to field, I’ll never give any of them the care they need to truly thrive.
The grass is always greener on the other side. But sometimes, you just need to water the yard you’re standing in
Friday’s Findings
- The 3 Components that Keep Your Story in Balance
- Character Building
- Should You Write What You Know or Aim to Experiment?
- 5 Addictions That Secretly Sabotage Your Writing
- Fiction University: The Secret to Avoiding the Sagging Story: What Makes a Good Middle
Andrew M. Friday 
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