Lesson Learned

Yesterday, Devon talked about what she had learned in writing her latest release, and I got to thinking about a few things in regards to my latest project. First... Would I ever get it finished and published? If I have anything to say about it I will. :-D Second... What have I learned? That even when I fail I learned and accomplished something.

You may be wondering what I failed at. Well, I didn't even come close to getting 50,000 words on my NaNoWriMo project. It wasn't for lack of ambition or even inspiration. I really wanted to sit down and write, and the characters were chattering non-stop in my head the entire time... in fact they haven't stopped. Maybe because I haven't finished their story yet. LOL But, circumstances have conspired against me and things that were really rather important took precedence.

Anyway, what did I learn? I learned that sometimes, we just can't reach our goals in the time limits we set for ourselves. Not for lack of discipline or lack of desire or anything else like that. Simply by living we can sometimes have to put other things on the back burner. That doesn't mean we give up on those dreams and goals entirely, it simply means that we need to reevaluate how we are going to get those things done. In my case, my health has made me realize that sometimes life throws us a curveball when we expect a fastball. It would have been lovely to sit at the times I set aside and write, but the fatigue about kicked my behind and I'd find I was nodding off at my computer. That in and of itself is a HUGE deal... just ask Mysti and Jenny and anyone else who knows how little I normally sleep.

But, I digress... I learned that it doesn't mean I'm going to give up and just stop. I love writing, I love the characters and the stories and wondering where I'll find myself at the next keystroke. I learned that if I make sure my loved ones understand just how important these things are to me... they will support me in whatever way I need them to (even if it takes a bit of a hissy fit to get my point across). I learned that stressing about it only makes me sicker... and that is bad enough without me adding to it thank you very much. So, I'm not going to stress about it. I'm proud of my friends who met the goal of 50,000 words... more than I can say. I sat and grinned like an idiot when I read that our sweet Helen had hit her goal before Thanksgiving. By the way, "WAY TO GO, HELEN!"

And I've followed along with my other friends as they kept our various groups updated... and that it is an amazing group of people I've found out here in the ether that is the World Wide Web. I'm lucky to have them on my side, and I hope they feel the same way about me. So, congratulations to all of y'all out there who met your goals. I look forward to seeing how things move along for you. Stay tuned and hopefully, we'll see The Menagerie authors flourish and thrive as well. I have faith, and that's a really good start. I hope y'all have a great week, and had a joyous holiday. Until next time.