Business is Booming

Well, hello there! How's it going, my dear blog readers? It's time for another update. I can feel winter moving into spring already. January was a slow, sleepy month that settled on me like a fog. I would have wished for more energy and warmer weather, but I do believe that this kind of low level energy that makes me want to go slow and sleep a lot is an important part of the year and my life. So I embraced it and didn't rush anything, and eventually the cocoon melted away.

Then, just as quickly, February pounced upon me with a fierce intensity. My editing business picked up and my days - and even my weekends - took on a focus like I haven't seen since my time as an attorney. But it was fun. Even the nine-hour day I put in one Saturday. Because I'm reading fun fiction books, which is such a delightful way to make a living. And it didn't hurt that I was in charge and knew that if I needed to slow down, I could. But I didn't need to.

And in the midst of both of these very different months, I've found time to continue writing. One of my critique groups passed the point of already-written material back in January, which meant that I needed to write the end of my book so it could be critiqued. The writing process was as slow as molasses in January, but by the time February kicked in, it was picking up speed. And I realized that there is more to my story than I thought there would be. I won't give any spoilers, except to say that I always hate it when books and movies end with someone getting married. Because just when you're finally getting to the interesting part, they wrap it all up with a tidy little bow like there's nothing else worth mentioning. So I shouldn't be entirely surprised that the end I thought I'd decided for my book wasn't really the end. And it still feels so good to be writing again.

Overall, the biggest benefit from my critique process has been giving me confidence in my book. Confidence that it is a good story that I've written well. I know that it won't be the best story I've ever written (hey, I'm just getting started here!), but I'm gaining the confidence to be excited to put it out there in the world. I also went to a writing class recently where I got to read a portion of my book out loud, which would normally be pretty terrifying for me. But for some reason, I had a lot of fun with it. I read slowly and calmly and gained useful tips for speaking events that I'll certainly put into use as a published author.

It's been a wonderful, wild ride these past two months and I'm looking forward to what March brings next. No matter what kind of month you're having, I hope you're able to follow your dreams, enjoy what you're creating, and grab onto the confidence to share your creations with the world.