Passions

For the longest time, her dream was to write stories. Fictional romances that drew the reader in and transported them to worlds different from her own. But she had kids to take care of and starting a writing journey with kids did not seem plausible. Katrina was a mom first, wife second, before she was her own person. She was the most experienced between her and her husband, so she got a fifty hour a week job in retail and busted her butt giving her family everything they needed for almost ten years. Katrina needed a change.

The year before she would have turned thirty, she made a big decision that would have everyone but her husband questioning her priorities. For ten years, she took care of her kids, paid her bills, made sure they had nice stuff, but it was time. Time for her to focus on her dream, her passion, that she had almost forgotten. Many thought she was crazy for chasing after a hobby, for not getting a "real job". But she had to do it. She could not take another day of dragging herself into a job she hated when all she wanted to do was feel the click of keys under the tips of her fingers.

"You know you can't support your family on writing, right?" Her mom asked lowly, her upset with Katrina clear. "You should just leave that as a hobby and come back to the real world, Katrina."

Katrina ignored her and everyone else that put her passion down. It was not just about writing to make money for her. She wanted to speak to the masses, to have people read her works and fall in love with her stories and characters. That was the reason for wanting to write, for enjoying it as much as she did. So, she quit her job, started researching material for stories, and began putting her work out there to fans. The only person that supported her was her husband and her kids and she would bounce ideas off of them to flesh out her stories even more.

"Well, what about this?" She asked, showing her husband yet another synopsis for a story. "I'm not ready to call it quits on this idea just yet."

"Oh. I don't even like romance, but I'd read this." Matt replied after reading it a bit. "You sure this is your idea?"

She laughed at his joking tone before grabbing the pages from him. It was time to get started. For days, weeks, months, she sat in front of her laptop, writing any ideas she had in relation to the story down. She researched things she did not know, found pictures of places she had never been and when she caught a case of writer's block, she played with her kids. Anytime the inspiration for more words or chapters to her story popped into her head, she was writing it down. It felt so good to constantly focus on bettering her writing, from descriptions to world creation.

Katrina did not just focus on one synopsis either. She had three story ideas she was working on, a main story and two side projects. Sometimes, it helped to step away from the main one and have fun with one of the side projects. It did not take long until she had an almost completed story. Unfortunately, her mother's pressure about finding a "real job" gave her a severe case of writer's block. One that lasted a month and Katrina feared that if she did not find her muse again, she would HAVE to go back to working in retail. She searched her brain for any inspiration to write but found nothing.

"How's the story going, Babe?" Her husband asked one night before bed. "As your biggest fan, I'm looking forward to reading it."

Katrina could not help but sigh as she curled up into his arms. What could she say to the man that was supporting her dreams? Especially since he did not make as much money as she did when she was working? When she did not answer for a bit, he pulled her closer and locked his arms around her tightly. What could she do to keep chasing her passion if her inspiration fled? She wondered as he asked her the same question again. Finally, she opened up and told him what her mother said and how she felt her muse had run away. Instead of getting irritated, he let out a loud laugh then hugged her tight with a silly smile on his face.

"You're silly, Katrina. You have to stop letting what your mom says bother you. The world is your inspiration, so why are her words blocking you?" He asked, poking her waist to make her laugh. "Your mother is just jealous you're out here chasing your dreams while she's stuck in a loveless marriage. I love the look on your face when you talk about your passion for writing. Don't lose that."

She could not help but blink at his words. Of course! Of course, that is IT! Throwing the blankets off her legs, she jumped out of bed and ran to the living room where her laptop sat on the table next to the couch. Her husband followed before leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed over his chest, a goofy smile on his face. Katrina had found the words to write into her main story that night and stayed up all night working on it. The more she typed in, the more she wanted to say until she needed food because her stomach would no longer let her concentrate.

"That's it! It's finished!" Katrina yelled out, making sure to hit the save button with her mouse twice, just in case. "Honey! I've done it!"

It was only half the battle, but Katrina just knew that quitting her job would be the key to chasing her passion. Now, all she needed to do was have people read it.