How the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks affected my writing

Scenes from the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. (From Wikipedia)

Sept. 11, 2001, the date of one of the most terrifying terrorist events in U.S. history, will resonate in our minds for decades to come. The sight of two planes crashing into the twin towers of the World Trade Center, sending dust and debris among New York City streets, pierced our hearts with disbelief and sorrow on that day 10 years ago. Innocent people died that morning, including at the Pentagon and in the plane that fortunately didn’t reach the White House. It affected family, friends, U.S. citizens and others across the globe. It certainly was a mournful day affecting my life as well.

What I learned that day was to appreciate life more and not to put my goals on hold. The understanding that life can be taken away in the blink of an eye was much more prevalent that day, and I was determined to live my life at the fullest. I worked even harder on my science fiction book and continued to write -- to finish it. I eventually completed it a several years later despite a full load of college; unfortunately, I wrote it longhand, and it was more than 700 pages long. I considered it sufficient training for writing my second novel, so to this day, I've never typed it all up. Don't worry, I'll type and rewrite it some day -- and divide it into three books while I'm at it.

As for my second novel (or fourth depending on how you look at it), I typed it from the start (thank God). I'm more than halfway through writing it, and that story, too, likely will be divided into three books. Unfortunately, I haven't written on the novel in a year and haven't written anything significant in two. I lost that passion to finish what I started -- the passion I had for years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Sure, I wrote short stories and blogs in my free time, but something was missing. My complete story was missing.

I'm hoping to rejuvenate that spark I had. I'm hoping to finish what I started. How did Sept. 11, 2001, affect you?