Just Do It

It's September and I'm looking forward to NaNoWriMo. It never fails to get me writing. This year has been a difficult writing year for me. I haven't done much writing and I haven't finished the revisions for Traitors & Tyrants yet. I can't choose which project to work on. I want to write them all but haven't found the will to force myself to commit.

Lazy right?

Looking back, my heart wasn't into NaNoWriMo last year. I don't want it to be that way again though. Even my book blogging and reading have taken a huge hit this year. I've been sporadic at best.

You know what though, this year I finally reached the point I think I always knew I'd hit.

This year I realized that I can't book blog, read, and write seriously the way I want to. Other people can, but it's a lot and is just too much for me. I realized that I have to choose between the two. I've thought about it a lot. I believe in chasing your dreams and one of my greatest dreams, the one that trumps (no pun intended) book blogging, is becoming a published novelist.

Does this mean I'm going to stop book blogging? No. But it does mean that I'm going to let it slide and stop pressuring myself into posting there. This wasn't an easy decision because I did have aspirations for my book blog, but becoming a published novelist is more important to me.

I read an article this week that said it's more work to commit to something 99% of the way than it is to commit 100%. It's called the 100% rule. Then, tonight, while I searched for articles about writing (instead of writing ironically, I know - but I was trying to find something to help me get back into it all, I wanted to see that someone else has been where I am), I came across an article written by Susan Dennard that basically communicated the same message. She wrote about how she can only work on one project at a time and has to envelop herself in it. In other words, she has to give each project 100%.

This was the final turning point for me. It was the article that helped me realize I had to take the plunge. It's been nearly three years since I've drafted a brand new novel. This year I've committed myself to working on an entirely new project this November. I need to do this. I really think this will help me get to where I want to be as a writer.

In fact, if all goes well and as planned (hah!), I will be finishing a draft for one novel this October prior to NaNoWriMo. I'm making this resolution now and I'm committing myself to it. 100%.