Ginger Doyel, and Plenty of Steps
Photo taken from The Capital Gazette (Algerina Perna / Baltimore Sun Media Group).
On January 8th, The Capital Gazette published an article on the untimely passing at 39 years of a local artist and Annapolis historian, Ginger Doyel: “The daughter and granddaughter of Naval officers and Naval Academy graduates, Doyel began a successful career as an illustrator and artist before she turned to her interest in local history.” She completed several books’ worth of vignettes on different parts of Annapolis history, and also “landed a column in The Capital” all before she was 30 years old. According to those who knew her, she “had a captivating presence, even when she said nothing,” was both a keen inquisitor and listener, and bore writings and artwork that echoed her insight and engagement with life.
Ginger Doyel did not wait around, procrastinate, or waste time doubting herself. Unlike the man who hid his talent in the ground for fear of his master in Matthew 25: 14-30, she went forward and did without questioning, so it seems. For those of us who doubt ourselves and rationalize laziness, Doyel’s life is a wake-up call to buck up and be more like her, to make the most of every day. For those who are more on track and working hard, she’s an encouragement to keep going.
I’ve wondered what it means to work hard as a writer, when breaks between writing seem necessary. I’ve always written novel-length works in 6 months, and after several fails at holding to a tight schedule for writing Book 2 of The Oxborough Series, I still happen to be more or less on schedule for writing the whole thing in 6 months. That means a little less than 3 months to go!!!
Meanwhile, the wheels for Book 1’s next steps are churning. I wish things could go much faster, but I am seeing there are prior steps to take before I get to where I want to be . . .
A dark image of a watercolor painting I did on thick sketch paper.
From wanting to become a classic author, an artist, and more, there are plenty of steps to take in between before becoming the next Ginger Doyel (which won’t happen, because there’s only one, but you know what I mean). Patience and perseverance, prayer and hard work will be my faithful tools as I await each next right door to open. Happy writing and doing!