The first is that, once again I've been a bit overzealous and I need to back-step and be realistic about my goals. I will continue to work on the novel but I need to admit the very likely possibility that I won't be able to finish the novel and publish it by February. Doing so, I would be forced to cut corners and rush; that is not something I am willing to do. I want to write the story right and be content with it - not push it out before it's ready because of a deadline. This is NOT me giving up, I'm just trying to be truthful.
The second thing is that, upon a broader view, this project has not been a total failure. Even if I can't publish the novel by my next birthday, the aim of this project has done what I meant it to do. I have learned so much in the past 8 months and I've accomplished more writing than I had in the past 5 years. I've renewed my ambition when for so long it sat on the wayside. This has been a crazy year - with new baby (who is teething now and won't let me alone for 5 minutes) a wild toddler (smack in the middle of her terrible-twos!), learning about blogging, about the independent publishing side of things, working on my novel, writing and publishing my first short story since 2007... And the fact that, even though it's not a novel, I HAVE published something this year, is a great accomplishment. I'm learning and growing everyday and my goals are growing and changing with me. The loss of my laptop and my work on Firechild has thrown me way off course, but it's a small detour. I still intend to try to reach my deadline - but if I can't, this has not been a complete waste. Armed with everything I've done and learned this year, next year is bound to be three times more productive.
Just my thoughts.
Thanks for reading.
