How to summarize last year? Major items would include spraining my ankle beyond belief. Finalizing my divorce. Changing my last name to something entirely new. Unpacking all my boxes and setting up my apartment, only to buy a new condo and move AGAIN. Grieving the death of my cat Octavia, aka Tiny Dragon, who passed away from cancer. And learning to live by myself. I did manage to write, but I came nowhere close to finishing the novel.
So what about 2024?
Usually, I try to set a few specific goals for the year. Over time those goals have become smaller in number and less grandiose in scope, but I told myself that a couple should be easy enough, right?
Yeah right. So far, this has not worked, not last year, not ever.
So. I am taking a step back from…a lot of things. I’ve removed the “bookstore” from my website, and I won’t be sending out newsletters. I’ve also admitted to myself that I don’t want to be in any kind of a romantic relationship. I like living alone with my beloved elderly cat. I like being accountable to myself and myself alone. If I want to take a nap at three in the afternoon, then watch five episodes of Death in Paradise, I can and will do that.
As for writing, I’ve decided not to worry about word count. Last year, I spent a lot of time pulling my hair and gnashing my teeth mostly because I was clinging too hard to the original plot for Mansfield Park, and because I didn’t have a clear vision of the magic system and how it connected to my characters. I took a step back–actually several steps–and reworked the plot and world building. But this novel has turned out to need a marathon, not a race. I need to take it day by day, paragraph by paragraph.
And in between, I just breathe.
Octavia, 2009-2023