Sometimes the biggest battle we face isn’t the one in front of us. It’s the one happening inside our own minds.
As I begin sharing a little about the journey of writing the third book in the Erica’s Light series, I’ve found myself reflecting on something I wasn’t quite expecting: self-doubt.
Having written and published the first two books, you might think that sitting down to write the third would come naturally. After all, I’ve been there before. I know the characters, the world I’ve created, and the direction the story is taking.
But that’s not how it happened.
Before I even put pen to paper, I found myself questioning whether I could do it. Would I be able to create something as meaningful as the first two books? Could I bring the magic, the emotion, and the life lessons together in a way that would capture the reader’s imagination?
The funny thing is, I had pages of notes. Ideas, scenes, characters, and moments of inspiration were already waiting for me. Yet I kept putting it off.
The battle wasn’t with the blank page. It was with my own thinking.
Then something changed.
I stopped worrying about the finished book and simply started writing. One word at a time. One sentence at a time. One page at a time.
And slowly, something beautiful began to happen. The story started to take shape. Ideas that had been sitting in my notebook began connecting, characters found their voices, and the world of Erica’s Light started opening up in ways I hadn’t originally imagined.
I’ve also been fortunate to have a wonderful friend, Sinead Mulryan, supporting me along the way. Sinead has taken on the role of my accountability coach, checking in with me every Friday. Those little conversations and regular check-ins have helped keep me moving forward, particularly on the days when motivation might otherwise have slipped.
It reminds me that sometimes we don’t need someone to do the work for us. We just need someone who encourages us to keep showing up.
There’s a lesson in all of this that reaches far beyond writing.
How often do we convince ourselves that we can’t do something before we’ve even allowed ourselves to try?
We might have done it before. We might have the knowledge, the experience, and all the tools we need. Yet self-doubt can still creep in.
We question ourselves. We delay starting. We wait for the perfect moment, the perfect conditions, or that feeling of being completely ready.
But what if we simply began?
What if we stopped looking at the mountain ahead and concentrated on taking the next step?
Book three is already teaching me that growth doesn’t stop when we achieve something. In fact, sometimes that’s when the next chapter of our own development begins.
I believe this third instalment of Erica’s Light is going to be bigger and better. Not simply in the length of the story or the magical adventures, but in the depth of its meaning.
There are deep and meaningful life lessons woven throughout, magical moments waiting to unfold, and a journey that I believe will take both the characters and readers somewhere truly special.
My own writing is developing too. I’m learning to trust the process, explore ideas more deeply, and allow the story to grow rather than trying to control every word from the beginning.
And perhaps that’s the greatest lesson of all.
We don’t always need to see the entire path ahead. Sometimes we just need the courage to take that first step.
For me, this journey began when the pen finally hit the page.
One word at a time.
“Because the light of one may begin the ripple, but together, we can become the wave.”
And the next chapter of Erica’s Light is beginning to shine.
