I can't believe how fast the year has gone.
In my personal world this year I've been pregnant since May (and can't wait to meet baby in February), been on a great holiday to Tasmania (if you haven't gone, I recommend you take the time) and thanks to some great friends, we finally have a backyard that's not just dirt!
In my writing world, I've been a little bit distracted, but have still managed to keep up writing where I can. I've continued writing for Weekend Notes and Recipe Yum, have almost finished an urban fantasy story I'm currently a little bit stuck on even though I know exactly how I want it to end, and have written several different drafts of the second book in the Caterina Boston series and I think this week I've finally settled on which way I'm going to go with it.
In January 2013 I had six days off work because I brilliantly fell and hurt my ankle (can you say 'co-ordinated'?). In that time, I wrote almost the entire first draft of Out Of Her League. I can't remember the word count, but I think it was somewhere around 47,000 words in a week. Okay, so that wasn't the whole book, but it was a good chunk of it.
I start leave until November at Christmas time and although I know I'll be busy with baby, I will (hopefully, unless baby is early) have several weeks at home; something which hasn't happened in my twelve years since leaving school. So, it will be interesting to see how much I get done.
When I was young I remember wanting to write stories. I was reading Enid Blyton and realised someone actually wrote these stories; a normal person with potentially unusual ideas; but still just a person. I wanted to write stories, I wanted to entertain people and I wanted to give it a go regardless of whether I succeeded or not.
As time went by and I continued to write, read and love books, I began to develop more of a sensitivity to what people thought and decided my stories were just for me to read.
So what changed? Why did I decide I shouldn't have confidence in my own writing? I'm not saying my writing is in any way perfect; in fact I will probably look back on what I've published and cringe, but I do think this is how we learn, regardless of how old we are.
I don't make new years resolutions, but the year we signed the contract to our house I started the year off determined it was going to be a good one, and it was.
This year has been great without me even expecting it. Therefore, in the spirit of not making resolutions, but going into the new year with a positive outlook, I say, have a great Christmas, a happy new year and an amazing 2016.
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