Gee, you miss a few days and you feel like you’re behind a few years! Which is rather unfortunate, considering I’m leaving again on Saturday. Oh well…

I’m back in Cincinnati after a nice visit with friends and family in Houston. Back to my writing desk, back to productivity. (I hope!) Hard to believe it’s already March, and I’ve been writing full-time for nearly a month. A short month, but still. Where is a time-turner when you need one?

It’s hard to report exactly how the first month has gone. If asked, I would say, “Quite well, thank you!” After all, I’m happy and I’m writing. For now, I think those are the basic requirements.

At this point, I’m about a quarter of the way through the first draft. I can see what layers I will need to go back and flesh out, but at the same time, I think the chapters are coming out relatively “clean.” I’m proud of and excited by my story.

But there is more to be done, and I know it. More discipline, fewer distractions, greater productivity, better writing. I will always strive for those things. I’ve just learned how to strive while also being comfortable with where I’m at.

Often I find myself daydreaming about what things could be like in the future. After I’m published. After I’ve established my career, and I’m making a living doing what I love. My name on the cover, my cover on a shelf. A new house. A book tour (physical or virtual or both). But something in me has shifted; I can already tell that I’m going to miss this phase, this time in my life.

Of course I want to keep moving forward, and I will, I am. But it’s nice to know that not everything good lies ahead. There’s plenty of it around me as well.

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