While many writers I know are in the thick of National Novel Writing Month, I had to let it pass me by this year. One reason I did is because I don’t really have any new ideas for a book, since I have a few different manuscripts that deserve attention before I make another commitment.
As I was looking over my list of goals I gave to my writing accountability group at the beginning of this year, my heart sank a bit. One goal was to revise a YA novel that is close to my heart. I haven’t touched it since January. Another goal was to continue researching agents for my YA novel, Between. But after several rejections, including more after I revamped my submissions package and opening chapters once again, I stopped sending out queries. Instead, I uploaded the novel to Wattpad to enter their Watty Awards. The book went nowhere in the contest, as I just don’t think I’m the right demographic for the platform. Now I’m not sure if I should pull the book from Wattpad (it has almost 500 views spread among the chapters) or if I can even pitch it to agents any more. It’s a little frustrating.
Another goal I had was to enter two writing contests each quarter. Looking over my spreadsheet, I did a pretty decent job of sticking with that plan, but the stories and essays haven’t received any recognition, leaving me wondering if I should put them all on the backburner and simply attempt to write something new.
I’m trying to give myself grace. It was around this time last year that I realized I was in a full-time job that wasn’t a good fit for me and it had really dampened my spirits. I would tell myself I would learn how to be better at the job, but my efforts weren’t getting me anywhere. In early spring, out of the blue, I was presented with an opportunity to edit a magazine I have freelanced for since 2010. It couldn’t have come at a better time. The past several months have required me to ramp up in my new position, meet the writers and photographers, do a fair amount of reporting on my own articles and attend various networking events.
I guess the point of this post is to commiserate with any writers whose plans have gone awry this year. You never know what life is going to throw at you, and there are lows to go along with all of the highs. The good news is that I’m taking tiny steps towards producing my true crime podcast I’ve been talking about forever, and that wasn’t even on the list of goals I made in January.
How have your writing plans changed and evolved since the first of the year? How do you keep moving forward when you feel like you’re not making enough progress on your projects?
