Happy 2026, everyone. Hoping everyone had a great New Years Eve, and stayed out of trouble. I spent mine much like others. I hung out with my friends, had a drink to toast in the new year, and as the ball dropped in the various time zones we wished the other a Happy and Bright New Year. Now mind I never left my house to do any of this. I hung out in my discord group with the people I see practically everyday. I poured a Crown Apple and Fuji Apple & Ginger Red Bull. We all had our music playing and projects rolling.
Since we are all over the world, it made it a little interesting. Bitzer, our resident Aussie, Was already well into 2026 before I jumped in last night. Leon, resident Frenchman, had just seen 2026 two hours prior. While those of us in the US or Canada had about a 3 to 5 hour wait. This at one point in the evening had me sitting in awe. One because the concept “if you build it they will come”.... The Hold My Pen Promptcast was a half baked idea, I was told would never work. That happened to be two years ago, and it worked out a hell of a lot better than any of us dared to imagine. (Anniversary Show ON Saturday) And I pray it gets bigger and better every year.
The Second reason, we are all from different walks of life, different skill sets, hell different parts of the world. Yet we treat each other with kindness, respect, and dare I say like a giant family. All coming together at first for a common goal… Writing. Staying because we are a community that has the others back no matter how far apart we all may be. It's a glorious feeling.
Which allows me the ability to say this without judgment from anyone other than myself at this point: There are plot holes in my work right now.
I know where they are. I know why they exist. I could probably fix a few of them if I sat still long enough and stopped pretending they don’t exist. But I’m not going to fix them yet, and that’s intentional.
Some plot holes aren’t problems. They’re placeholders. They’re the story telling that hasn’t finished revealing itself yet. Every time I’ve forced on an answer too early, I’ve paid for it later with rewrites, retcons, and characters who suddenly felt hollow or situations that fell short.
So I’m letting a few things stay unresolved. At least for a little while.
There are motivations that don’t fully line up yet, and let's face facts forcing ideas doesn’t work out the way we all plan. Timelines that almost make sense, but later cause a headache especially if this one story becomes part of a bigger plot. Characters who know something I don’t, at least not consciously. That doesn’t mean the story is broken. It means it’s still breathing life onto the page.
See writers don’t talk enough about this part: the middle phase where everything looks wrong, feels fragile, and tempts you to either overcorrect or abandon the ship entirely. That’s usually when panic editing happens. That’s when people sand down edges that were never meant to be smooth, and things start to go haywire faster than you can put the brakes on.
I’m learning to pause. To really listen to my characters and the advice of those that have been in the game longer than me. It's not an easy task by any means but it's something I have to learn how to adapt to. I have to keep moving forward without demanding perfection from unfinished work. I have to trust that clarity comes from momentum, and not interrogation. Most of my “plot holes” eventually turn out to be doors or windows, I just hadn’t reached yet.
This isn’t avoidance. It’s patience. Something I am terrible at. If I have an idea in my head I’m all in on lets get this done down now. While 60ish percent of the time it works out for me, that 40 kicks me straight in the ass. Most things require planning, understanding, and a means to get/keep it together. Not running in guns blazing, and being pissed when shit falls apart.
Fixing things too early is just another way of trying to control uncertainty. And stories, like people and situations, don’t respond well to being cornered or trying to shove them into a little box.
So for now, I’m letting the gaps exist. I’m writing past them, around them, and sometimes straight through them. When the story is ready, I’ll know what needs fixing and what was never broken in the first place. The most important part is just getting it out on paper. You can’t fix or edit what doesn't exist. Once it’s done then breathe and start from the top…. If it still doesn’t make any sense do what others do… get a second opinion.
What are you leaving unfinished on purpose right now in your writing, your work, or your life? What are you trusting time to reveal instead of forcing an answer? What are you hoping to get done over the next year? Tell me in the comments.
Be Brave, Be Bold, But ALWAYS Stay Humble
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