My Fantasy Novel Sent Me Back to Seminary

Today, I ran into some parishioners while walking in the woods. “I thought you were going to be in Ireland,” they said. So did I.

For months, October had been blocked out in my calendar as my writing month. The original plan was to travel to Ireland, move from hostel to hostel, walk for hours every day and spend the rest of my time working on my fantasy novel.

Then I looked at the prices.

Travel alone had become expensive, accommodation would add another considerable amount, and suddenly my supposedly simple writing retreat was turning into a trip of several thousand euros.

So I stayed home.

At first that felt a little disappointing. Now, halfway through October, I’m beginning to think it may have been exactly what I needed.

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Walking without going anywhere

One thing I knew I would miss about Ireland was the walking.

When I’m there, I can easily spend most of the day on foot. Walking helps me think. Problems that seem impossible behind a desk often begin to loosen after an hour or two outside.

So I’ve simply kept doing that here.

This week I spent three hours wandering through the woods and the park around a nearby castle. Autumn has arrived properly now. The leaves are changing, the light is getting warmer, and at one point the late-afternoon sun hit the moss on the trees in such a way that I had to stop recording and take a picture.