I Started Writing A (New) Book
I have a confession.
In 2020 and 2021, I wrote a book. It was a non-fiction collection of essays about an overarching topic incredibly close to my heart, and the process was monumental, requiring hours of therapy and even more hours of rest. It was a big, personal accomplishment and I felt so proud of it. Long story short, I pitched the book to varying degrees of success for months and, ultimately, didn’t sign a deal. I didn’t get a deal.
Since then, I have spent countless months questioning my ability and, in turn, my self-worth. As a writer by trade as well as hobby, it was nothing short of soul-destroying and has required many more hours of therapy and self-reflection to navigate. But, I’m here. My book has been quietly archived on my laptop and my book concept has been realised – in variation – a few times since, and I’m at a place where not only am I happy to shelve it (for now), I’ve begun work on a new project.
Now that I’m settled in my job and feeling a little more balanced in life, I’m thrilled to be working on a new creative work. New projects always feel special and promising and overwhelming. Right now I don’t have a set writing schedule or a plan for this book, but it already feels far easier – a stark contrast to my last project.
Like my 2023 goals and hopes state, I simply want to write regularly this year. Whether that’s once a week or once a month, I’ll write regularly at my own comfortable pace rather than attempt to churn out 50,000 words in 30 days or another lofty goal. I reached a great work-life balance last year, in terms of my job and personal life, so I’d like to at least try to maintain that. That being said, I do expect to impose a deadline on myself once I’ve got the ball rolling properly.
I’m really excited for this new creative project of mine – it’s been a while since I started something like this just for me. I don’t plan to share much about the process on the blog, but I’m sure I’ll provide updates later down the line.
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