I couldn’t tell you why I stopped writing the first time, I don’t remember what changed anymore, I had self-published 3 short stories. I remember loving writing. Then it was 2017 and it had been years since I had written anything. I was in Australia with work, it was amazing, and I was loving it. The urge to get back to writing hit hard, for three months I wrote franticly, and I edited. I loved every second of it. Then I had to come home. My muse stayed behind. I lost all motivation to touch my stories that I had been living and breathing for the previous three months.
At the very end of last year – after a two and half year’s break – I finally got back to writing. The ideas had always still there, still floating around in my head, but my muse was still playing in Australia by herself and none of them caught her interest.
Nano November saw me pull together a story that I had thought would be three short stories, halfway through I realised I was wrong it was not three stories but one novel. I finished a somewhat mash of fragments by the end of nano, and then started work on revising it using How to Revise Your Novel by Holly Lisle.
I have been following Holly Lisle courses for a while. I started with How to Think Sideways and I learned so much about not just how to write, but how I loved to write. About what worked for me.
I did How to Revise your Novel, on more than one book. But something always seems to happen, and the end evaporates like mist ahead of me. Usually just before I am about to cross the damn line. This time I want that to be different.
This Year I made another new year resolution – one I have done before – To send a completed book to a publisher.
Then I saw Hollys podcast – One year of winning at writing. I realised as I started listening to it that I had done two things, I had made a resolution I have broken before, and I had not given myself a real way to hit this goal. So, I am going to be joining Holly, Rebecca and everyone else who wants to join in at HollysWritingClasses.com where I will be working with the fantastic people there to complete this 2020 resolution.
This year I will finish editing ‘Ride the Rainbow’, and send it to an agent to try and publish it.