Today I spent several hours pouring my creative energy into the newest book in my children’s series, Fableway Forest.

Let me tell you…

It did not go well.

While creating the forest for the series, there has always been one rule.

Never change Lucky.

Lucky is the Light of the Forest. He’s the heart of Fableway with his warm golden glow and bright green canopy.

He is, quite literally, the symbol of the entire series.

And somehow I had the audacity to look at him and think,

“You know what you need? A pumpkin spice vibe.”

Because in my mind this was going to take about 45 minutes.

Tops.

Photoshop was involved.

There were selections.

There were layers.

There were words that probably shouldn’t be repeated.

I kept thinking I was one click away.

Just one more adjustment.

Just one more leaf.

Just one more color.

Eventually I leaned back, stared at my computer, and realized something.

Lucky wasn’t changing.

In fact, I’m pretty sure he had a message for me.

“Leaf me alone.”

Honestly…

Fair.

This poor tree has happily been green for four books.

Meanwhile, I was over here trying to force him into pumpkin spice season.

Jokes on me.

Lucky ended up looking like he needed treatment for a fungal infection.

Not exactly giving off “Light of the Forest” energy.

And that’s when today’s lesson hit me.

In my pursuit of creating the perfect fall version of Lucky, I accidentally removed everything that made him…Lucky.

The warmth.

The familiarity.

The charm.

Not acceptable.

Apparently I’m also willing to argue with a fictional tree for an unreasonable amount of time.

I’m not thrilled to learn that about myself.

The tree wasn’t interested in becoming someone else.

And you know what?

He’s magical.

He can do whatever he wants.

So here’s the official ruling.

Lucky stays green.

The rest of the forest gets cozy.

The pumpkins will glow.

The leaves will turn beautiful shades of bronze and rust.

And Lucky will stand there looking exactly like Lucky while silently judging my life choices.

I have accepted defeat.

Some days you accomplish amazing things.

Some days you spend half the afternoon losing an argument with a tree.

Today…

The tree won.

And honestly…

I think he was right.

Sometimes the best creative decision isn’t making something different. It’s realizing it was already exactly what it needed to be.

Your friend in the hedges,

Morgan