2 years ago, Reader, I arrived at the famous Jack London Square on a chilly Friday night. Or as chilly as the Bay Area ever really gets.

It’s snowed here exactly one day in my entire life and I wouldn’t even say that really counted. The closest we get is hail and that’s pretty random.

Everything was going well.

The train was on time.

We were standing at the right pole (trains have “poles” instead of “gates” unlike planes, if you’ve never ridden one).

We were chatting with an awesome retired couple on the way to Eugene to watch their grandson play in the big college game…

…when someone noticed the train was already 20 minutes late.

Uh oh 😬

And then we got the news that some asshat had gotten his car stuck on the tracks. 🤦🏻‍♀️

Seriously, dude. You just had to run the gate and get stuck on the damn track?

*Deep sigh* 🙄

We finally got on the train—forty-five minutes after we should have left. And I was so distracted that it took me a good hour before I noticed—

The legrest on my seat was broken.

You have GOT to be kidding me!

Now we had only made that 18-hour+ trek to Oregon 3 times at that point. But 2 out of those 3 times the legrest of my seat had been broken.

I know, not the worst thing in the world. Except…

I have a rare vascular illness. Which means I can only sit in a normal seat for oh about an hour or so before really bad things start happening.

I’ll spare you the gory details. 😬

So my husband flagged down the conductor to ask for new seats, because we had specifically booked business class seats for the leg rest for my condition.

Somehow I think you know where this is going…

No dice. 🎲 The train was booked to capacity. Not an extra seat to be had.

So what did I do?

Pitch a fit and wake the other passengers at midnight?

Play the martyr and suffer in silence?

Write Pete Buttigieg about how our trains need a serious upgrade? (Seriously, the trains I rode in college were older than I was.)

Nope. I looked at what I had available and worked out a solution to my problem.

I extended the broken leg rest, wheeled my micro luggage computer bag into the space to keep it from falling down, and used my thick jacket as padding on the top.

It wasn’t a perfect solution, but it worked. And I was able to walk off of that train instead of needing a wheelchair.

Life as a storyteller is like this more times than it isn’t. Nothing is ever “perfect.”

But that’s okay because…

👉 You can’t wait until you find the PERFECT words or your page will remain blank forever.

👉 You can’t wait until you have the PERFECT tools or your story will never get written.

👉 You can’t wait until you have the PERFECT idea because it’s a legendary item that simply doesn’t exist.

You have to work with what you have RIGHT NOW and try to make things a little bit better tomorrow.

Like…

Filling that page with the words you have NOW and editing them into something better tomorrow.

Or…

Using the tools you have NOW and researching what can help you go further tomorrow.

And the most important…

Taking that idea you have NOW and running with it, you can always try something new tomorrow.

Perfection is an illusion. It’s an armor we tell ourselves we need when we’re uncertain or afraid to move forward.

But we DON’T need it. And it’s okay to create something to the best of our current ability today and then make it a little better tomorrow.

So make a mess, Reader. Try something new. Then try something else the next day. If you learned something, then you didn’t waste a thing.

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Your cohort in storytelling,

Kat Vancil

🐱

PS 👉 Fun Fact about Jack London: the Jamison-Brown House, the real-world setting for Jack London’s famous book Call of the Wild, is in the city hall park of my hometown Santa Clara, California.

The owner of that house and its surrounding farmland, Louis Bond, had a dog named Jack. That dog would go on to become the basis for London’s Buck, the canine hero of Call of the Wild.

PPS 👉 There won’t be an email next week because I’ll be out of the workshop. However, I’ll be back the following week with more storytelling advice to share with you, Reader!

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Hi! I'm Karyn. Certified Book Coach, Kidlit Agent, Editor I am a children's book and YA literary agent at BookStop Literary Agency and an Author Accelerator Certified Book Coach. Before turning to agenting and coaching, I was a serial publishing intern, a bookseller and book buyer at an indie bookstore, and an agency assistant. I hold an MFA in Creative Writing, and write middle grade and young adult fiction. I started Story & Prose Book Coaching and Editorial Services in 2021 with the goal of helping more writers. By offering 10+ years of industry knowledge, tough love and honesty, and true passion, I help aspiring bestselling fiction writers hone their craft and write better books so they’re more likely to get published. Check out my weekly newsletter for writing motivation, craft tips, and publishing insight. Subscribe​

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