How to be ready for a plot twist
It’s simpler than you think
I made plans to celebrate my birthday on the island where my parents live. The festivities would include a parade, a run near the sea, fresh oysters, and fireworks over an evergreen bay dotted with yachts and gulls.
As you might have already deduced, this isn’t a party that I arranged for myself. My birthday falls on America’s Independence Day, a national holiday. The activities above are gorgeous, so I’m embarrassed to say that I sometimes resent sharing with Uncle Sam.
I’ve coped in different ways—a gaudy show of red-white-and-blue, waxing on about civil rights, planning unusual outings. Resentment is an anxious state of mind.
This year, I decided to celebrate differently.
Let go of expectations.
Forgive what I cannot control.
Go with the flow.
It’s very freeing, letting go.
I run my fingers through my hair.
Hours after I decided to make ‘go with the flow’ the mantra of my next year around the sun, I found myself boarding a flight to Istanbul. Oh, the romance of the last minute journey! To be fair, the primary purpose of the unexpected trip was to support my spouse and family. But I was also delighted to cross the globe on my birthday and land in a beloved city.
Go with the flow.
When you release yourself from expectations, you open yourself to delightful plot twists.
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Join me for an upcoming course
High Intensity Fiction Generator
July 26, 2025 | 1:10-4:10 pm PT | In-Person | Fiction | Hugo House
This class meets IN PERSON at Hugo House in Capitol Hill.
Get ready to sweat—on the page.
Inspired by high-intensity interval training (HIIT), this fast-paced fiction writing class is designed to push your creativity into overdrive. Through warm-ups, writing “reps,” and cool-down reflections, you’ll generate new material in short, focused bursts—building muscle memory for momentum, surprise, and flow.
Thank you for reading The Gift. ✨
Yours,
Monika