My goal was to finish this draft of my current novel.
I didn’t meet that goal. But I am totally okay with that because I learned a lot while trying to reach it:
- Consistently showing up really churns up the story in my mind. I find myself having breakthroughs and ideas even while I am not actively writing.
- Forward momentum is what gets a draft done. I found myself hitting the same place I keep getting stuck which is the soggy middle and I forced myself to just keep plowing ahead,
- Showing up day after day brought clarity to a story that felt incredibly murky. I was up to over 113K words and ended up at just over 62K and that was perfect. I saw what was dead weight, I cut strands of the story that no longer fit and I have a clearer vision of where the story is headed. I don’t know the exact ending but I know and trust that I am headed in the right direction.
- I trust myself as a writer. I trust my process more, no longer questioning the fallow times, knowing that my creative energy needs to ebb and flow for balance, to recharge. I trust my writing chops. I learn more and more with every sentence, every scene, every chapter I write about character, setting, dialogue, plot, motivation.
So, while I didn’t meet my goal, I am still celebrating.
I am celebrating all the progress I did make.
I am celebrating my tenacity to stick with a project over the long haul even though nobody, and I mean nobody is expecting anything from me. This motivation is all internal and that is huge for me.
I am celebrating that I can see me easily finishing this draft by the new year.
I am celebrating myself as a writer.