I’m working on my second book and I have noticed that the process I use for writing is similar to the process used for doing a jigsaw puzzle.

At first I threw my ideas down without editing or discriminating. It’s like when you open the puzzle box and dump the pieces onto the table. Then I went back and read what I’d written. At times I would cut a paragraph or a whole section to paste it somewhere else. Each piece has a place where it needs to go and my goal is to make sure all the thoughts/pieces connect in such a way that they create a clear picture of what I want to say.

Then I thought: What if life is like that! Imagine if your entire life were a process of putting together a giant jigsaw puzzle with everything you do forming a piece of the picture. What if the picture were your personal statement, your passion, what you came to this life to “say”. Everything, then, that you said or did would be a piece of that puzzle .

I think of it this way; if I give careful attention to each piece I place, each thing I do, the picture I’ll be creating will be one that will make me smile as I look back over my life. I can look back and smile even now. Everything, big and small, has fit so well, even though at times I was operating solely on faith, feeling as if I was doing the puzzle in the dark.

My first book formed a large part of my picture. The book I’m writing now comprises a significant number of puzzle pieces that make the picture come to life even more. Together they form the statement I am making with my life. Maybe that’s why I enjoy the writing process so much.

The  pieces are coming together in my jigsaw puzzle and that feels awesome. How are you doing with your jigsaw puzzle? Have you always known how your picture would come out or are you designing it as you go along?

Photo Credit: Liza