writercises | TECH: Life Transitions? (Reply)

Original posting 2022/01/10

Today (Jan. 10) is Seijin no Hi in Japan. That's Coming of Age day, when they celebrate everyone who turned 20 during the last year. Which means they are legal adults.

Of course, change, life transitions, are not all celebrations. Sometimes we don't really like change, even if we may have chosen to go that way...

Over here, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/16/well/mind/managing-life-transitions.html there's an article with five suggestions for ways to deal with transitions. 1. Focus on your superpower, the part of the transition that you do best (goodbye, muddle, new beginning). 2. Identify your emotions. Fear, sadness, shame. And figure out how you want to deal with them. 3. Shed something. Fairly often, you have to toss old stuff as you move ahead. 4. Try something creative. Do something new! 5. Rewrite your life story. Find your own meaning in the middle of the life quake. Tell yourself what it means to you.

Hum. Stages of life, changes... that notion that we all go through some changes as we go through life, or as our characters go through their stories. Seems like beginnings, ends, and of course, changes like graduations, marriage, starting a job, leaving a job, having children, retiring... you know, the change points of life, these can all provide some interesting depth to your story. I mean, along with solving the mystery, catching the bad guy, finding the romantic moment, or whatever, your character also might be dealing with these little speed bumps in the highway of their life.

Okay? Something else to think about as you tackle that tale of ... well, whatever, and...

Write!