My reluctant love for autumn + editing — a letter from Mary.

An image of Mary on a hiking trail in the woods.

Hi, it’s Mary!

I’m one of the trio of new coaches at Firefly and I’m take a turn writing the newsletter this round.

I’ve got to tell you that in the past I have seriously resisted the fall. I know, I know, you love the cooler weather, the pumpkin spice everything, and the cozy scarves… Not me.

I always resented the autumnal blip in Ontario. I thought only of the darkness and cold winds that would inevitably follow.  Each day that the sunset happened a bit earlier made me grit my teeth.

This year though, something’s different. I’m ready to be in love with fall. I’m planning long walks, savoring the crunch of fallen leaves beneath my boots. I’m planning to don a scarf and sit with a blanket on my lap on my porch, pen poised over my notebook, a soothing cup of herbal tea beside me. 

I’m willing to allow the magic of autumn work its way into my own form of magic.

I can’t quite put my finger on what’s different, but it’s a relief to lean in. Instead of digging my heels and clenching my jaw, it’s a pleasure to open my arms wide and turn my face to the cool breeze. 

This is a lesson I recently learned in my creative process as well.

I have always been a “pantser” — I write by the seat of my pants, with no idea what will happen or how the story will end. Then I finish and move on to the next thing. I never go back to revise, edit, play, or share it with the world.

If you’ve been around Firefly, you may have heard about the “Life Cycle of Creative Projects.” (If not, you can read it here, it’s so helpful.)

Looking at my process through that lens, I can see that I go from “production” back to “idea” over and over. No refinement, no birth, no labour pains, thank you!

Then, brilliant Firefly coach Ailsa asked me:

“If you kept doing this process of writing, skipping refinement and starting something new, for the next 20 years, would you be happy with that?”

The answer was a very definite no.

I want my stories to be so much more than a few megabytes in the cloud. I want to share them with others. I want people to experience my worlds and get to know my characters. It was time to stop resisting and lean into the “refinement…” stage… in other words, to embrace editing.

Can you relate? I know I’m not alone. And you can probably guess what happened next. I found out that there is so much magic in the refinement process. I deepened my characters and added plot twists. I re-wrote and tinkered and played. The whole process turned out to be so much more than just adding in commas and deleting words.

Of course, many of us will always hate editing and grit our teeth to get through it. But what I’m learning is that in-between place holds way more fun and playfulness and unpredictability than I could have guessed. And leaning into it brought me huge relief.

Kind of like the fall.

So, I’ll be spending the next few months revising my novel in the open air with fuzzy socks and warm drinks, enjoying the new calm of not heel digging and jaw clenching. I invite you into that, or into whatever stage of the creative process you’ve been resisting hardest. I’ll meet you there.

If you’re looking for some company on the road, you can join us this fall in our coffee sessions, at one of our workshops, or by working one-on-one with one of our writing coaches.

Take a deep breath.

Here’s to a new season. Here’s to new experiences and new mindsets. Here’s to teeny tiny steps forward into the unknown.

In it with you,