Facing the Truth

Firstly...

So again, it has been a while. But I'm not going to apologize for that.

Secondly...

It has been a year of tremendous (and sometimes painful) growth for me. I had to face several truths about myself, and about how I've been conducting my life. I had to admit things to myself, and I had to make some changes.

And most of it's stuff I don't really want to get into now. Suffice it to say, the last year sucked but I've come out intact and feel I'm a better human being for it.

For the purpose of this post, I will say that I had definitely hit a plateau in my writing. And it was completely one of my own making. I was subconsciously waiting for a magic bullet to appear--one that would eliminate stress, drive my kids around to their classes, build me an office to write in, and generally somehow "put me on the map." All without really putting in the work.

And you're not going to get on any map if you spend two hours a week (if that) writing.

I really had to let go of the fear of failure, and stop using my many responsibilities as a crutch for just not doing it. 

This does not mean I don't have many responsibilities, and having a spouse and young kids is a full-time job in itself. BUT IT DIDN'T NEED TO BE MY CRUTCH.

So after a lot of mental work and good advice from my writing group, I hurled myself over the plateau, and I'm super-excited about what I've been writing. I finished a flash fiction piece for a contest last week, and I've been writing additional chapters for my novel-in-progress.

Most importantly, I feel ready for failure--because I know that if I fail it means I'm out there trying.

Lastly...

I'm really going to make an effort to update this blog regularly again. It will help me if I know people are reading it, and I welcome comments of any type. Please bookmark this blog and/or share it on your various social networks. I promise to be entertaining or at least annoying.