When I first started this Diary of a writing project, I wanted to prove to myself (and the writing community, to be honest) that I was able to first draft an 85K word novel in six months.
One hundred and ninety-eight days later, I’m 20K words short of finishing the first draft of a paranormal. Which is not bad at all!
Nope, I was not able to finish within my self-imposed deadline. But what I did, what I still do, is much more important to me. I’m writing!
A writer with nothing to prove but to itself is not better for it. Maybe, simply, more free?
After a very good start in September 2019, I hit a wall in November, which I ignored. And, of course, I crashed. After one of the worst December / Holiday season EVER, a new writing mindset was in order.
Starting the New Year, I was going to write at a different pace. Well, I got very sick for nearly two weeks (not pandemic related), to the point where looking at a screen was difficult.
Meanwhile, a virus was spreading in Wuhan, China.
And then, while drafting went so well I’ve started to brainstorm and work on a few outlines for my next writing projects, in March, life as we knew it in North America changed.
Here, the lockdown started on March 13th.
It’s over a month later, we’re still in a lock down. A situation that will go on until… well, it changes a lot these days, but somewhere in May.
The whole book business is morphing, or holding on by a… bookmark. Focusing on writing is hard, even if I’m writing what it’s now called « an escape book ».
Even if, in the back of my mind, I feel like I should put all-nighter after all-nighter, turn off the radio, stop reading the newspapers. I should shut myself out of the world in order to finish the novel asap, then start working more substantially on the grown-up’s Rom-Com.
But one: I couldn’t. Two: again, I would be writing to prove something.
When, again, my one and only concern should be writing the best stories I can.
Which I better go do now.
Fellow writer, I hope you’re home, I hope you’re safe. I wish, for real, that everybody you know is well and is getting through this weird period between the before and the new-normal to come.
Thanks for reading and until next time !
Marie Alice Writes & Reads 