Sometimes I start seeing a pattern in blog posts, articles, things people say to me, and so on. A theme, a subject that keeps coming up, and eventually I realize the universe is sending me a message.

Recently, the message has been that I should trust myself, along with other closely related messages like “follow your heart” and “don’t stop yourself”. So I’m listening — or trying to, anyway. I need to write the stories that set my imagination on fire, and not worry about repeating myself or whether they fit into a particular market or not. The story will never be perfect, but I can trust that if it excites me, someone, somewhere will also like it. Maybe an editor or agent, if I’m lucky. But if I don’t trust myself, if I don’t follow the stories that burn in me, how can I expect someone else to love my work?