Maryse, thanks for your comment, and your mom's—and the translation! I truly did not mean to imply that only people who have been through the ringer can tell a good story. Since this blog is for fiction writers, though, my series aims to help them recognize, accept, and embrace what can seem to be—and often are—monumental obstacles between them and the achievement of their dreams.

Because let's face it—happy childhood or not, by the time a fiction writer gets published, she will have been through the ringer.

Nonfiction writers who know how to put sentences together in a logical fashion can often get a paying gig straight out of the gate, but fiction writers are chasing a holy grail. Seeing that the chase itself is making of their lives a good story—that they are living the very story they yearn to tell—can help. Hope that makes sense.

Love that attitude, Lanny! Each story has its own challenges, and the good writer keeps on working at it till he solves them. That's what writing is. You are fortunate to see this. Thanks for stopping by!

Lanny

House sitting is an adventure apart, I promise. A big reason we stopped is that most people don't really want a pet-sitter, not a house-sitter. Not the best match for our life.

We still keep feelers out to the few folks who really just needed someone to stay in their house while they're gone. Vacations in Phoenix, Vancouver, and just outside Atlantic City are always an adventure.

Very good point, Joel, and worthy of its own discussion in a future post.

I have a friend who paid for her daughter to go on a class trip to Spain, and because the flight was overbooked, half the class was rerouted to Miami for a one-night layover—without their luggage. My friend flipped out. But I was thinking, "Cool—they get a day at the beach,a new swimsuit, learn to roll with the punches, AND go to Spain—what could be better?

It helps if we see life as a grand adventure, doesn't it? Sounds like we're kindred spirits, although I'd never considered house-sitting. I'll mention it to my husband...

It's funny, though, what people see as obstacles (or not) sometimes. A couple years ago, Best Beloved and I realized that it'd be a whole lot cheaper to house-sit professionally all over the US and Canada than keep renting a house in California (and paying $500 a month in utilities.)

The single most common question we were asked by people who *knew we paid no rent and didn't have a house payment* was "How can you afford to travel?"

I'd say "We use the $2,000 a month we're not spending on housing to buy $400 worth of gas."

As a math problem, it's not so hard to figure out. What they would never admit was that the real question is, how can you dare to live without a great big house (and 3-car garage, of course) to store all your stuff in?

For us, that's like asking "How will you ever get along without that anvil on your foot?"