A Writer's Retrospective: December 2021
Writing (or not writing) shouldn’t be a source of shame, right?
Photo by Jorge Caetano on Unsplash
Just a little bit of progress on the novel draft.
Reflection
I'm mildly ashamed at my lack of progress, but I just haven't been prioritizing my writing. There was socializing to be done—y’know, before the holiday (viral) surge took hold. And I had a place to furnish—can’t have a housewarming party without furniture. But there will be time for writing….eventually.
I will likely regret my lack of progress later on, but there is little to be done about it now. I have chosen to enjoy (or ruminate over) the other things life has to offer at the moment. Among them, oddly, is travel.
I do not think of myself as a traveler. There is generally no place I’d rather be than home, a trait that rears its head within minutes of merely contemplating leaving the house. However, serendipity provided an exceptionally attractive opportunity to leave the country—cheaply, in a sparsely populated destination, and in divine company. I enjoyed myself immensely. I even wrote six pages of fiction on my way back. That’s likely a testament to the value of travelling (and/or being properly relaxed), but I’m not ready to acknowledge that, yet.
I also have additional fodder for writing…though I currently wonder if I will ever use it.
Achievement Summary
I’m somewhere between 10-15% finished with my novel—got 6 pages in a day, even.
Final Word
There is some benefit to rethinking what constitutes “progress” as a writer. It isn’t productive to shame myself for not writing, after all. I had a lot of useful, non-writing experiences, one of which seemed to make writing easier. Still, I hope to rebuild my former discipline before months have passed me by.