After you’ve finished writing a novel, there comes a moment when you decide to pack up the notebooks, index cards, and sticky notes you’ve scattered through your life for the past few years and bid them a fond farewell. It’s a bittersweet process to be sure, but it’s also a time of excitement, because (if you’re lucky) there’s a new idea sitting in the back of your head waiting to find its way to the page. Before I put it all away, there’s a story I’d like to share, a story about the importance of accepting what comes your way …