Officially, I participated in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) in November. Officially, I was aiming for 50,ooo words on my new manuscript. Officially, I failed. I always knew that 50k was a stretch goal — ok, more like an in-the-stratosphere, no-way-in-heck goal — but I was determined to try. I knew I needed a kick …
Like many writers, I aspired to earn the title from a very young age. I felt called to writing in a way I did not feel called to other pursuits — a vocation, not just a “career.” For years, that calling scared me spitless. I was worried that if I didn’t get it right on …
“To me, the single biggest mark of the amateur writer is a sense of hurry. Hurry to finish a manuscript, hurry to edit it, hurry to publish it.” Charles Finch When I found this quote over the summer, it was a gut punch. I felt personally called out. (How dare you, Mr. Finch, etc, etc.) …
