Two Down, Three to Go

Two years ago I proclaimed myself a writer, quit my job, moved, and then lamented. Along with the lamenting, I created a long list of goals and the headliner of that tour was my goal to be published within five years.

I was thinking the other day, where should I be along that timeline? I am two fifths of the way...

In that same moment of pondering (which was of course in the shower), I realized I am content with where I am. I have a blog that attracts old and new fans alike, I am serving tables at a popular and successful restaurant where the tips are great, and I am 1/3 of the way to a bachelor's degree.

Of course, all of you will tell me I have a long list of accomplishments, but the reality is that I constantly feel like I am on the edge of doing something career-starting and life-changing. With that said, I do not lead a life of disappointments.

I remember writing a post about being an idea person, but not an executer. I'm okay with that.

So I learned several things over the past two years. I started out as a picture book author and quickly transitioned into a YA and MG writer because my PB's were too...sad and old sounding. So, I scrapped the PB dreams in the interim and focused on the stories of an owl who doesn't even try to fit in, two boys who fall in love with each other, and a girl who makes up stories about her neighbors for her own amusement.

As those stories progressed, they lost steam at different paces. Each project was replaced with a new one and the cycle repeated again and again.

And now here we are. I have not completed a book, let alone a first draft. I'm okay with that. 

I am still learning what voice and tone are and why I seem to have perfected them already. I am still figuring out what a plot is. Even though I can remember my third grade teacher explaining climax and resolution twenty years ago, I have yet to understand what it really is.

My writing is full of rhetorical questions and rants, just as my life seems to be these days. But I am content with the unknown. It means I have places to go and things to discover.

Two years ago, the unknown was a hindrance. Today, the unknown is a blessing and a promise, and I'm okay with that.

Thank you for reading and for your continued support for the last year and a half - what a journey it has been. I cannot wait to share with you the successes of the next three years...I just have to go out and make them happen first.