Despite copious amounts of evidence, I haven’t wanted to admit it. I’ve bitten off more than I could chew. But another month has streaked on past, and I haven’t managed to finish the one short story I’ve been working on since March, let alone anything else, and even I’m starting to realize that trying to hold tighter to my ideal schedule as it slips away is going to end up backfiring in a spectacular way, because much as I wish it would, stubborn willpower doesn’t actually add more hours to the day.*
So! Instead of throwing my metaphorical back out by pushing against something that clearly isn’t moving, I’m going to try something a little different. Starting this month (May?!), I’ll just be aiming for a single short story, to be posted up on the 15th or whatever weekday is closest to that date and not a Friday. The rest of my writing time will be spent on my novel. Because the darn thing desperately needs to be written. I desperately need it to be written.
My hope is that the specific schedule will help me keep on track and make better progress, and that the drop from two (or zero, I know, I know…) to one story per month will help me stay better focused, which will in turn let me get more done without getting caught in the cycle of panic that I’m not getting enough done. Theoretically. We’ll see how it goes! And to those of you who have stuck with me, thank you so much. Your support means the world to me.
* Being more carefully disciplined would help me make the most of the hours I do have, but it’s still only a stop-gap measure. I think. I may just need to figure out how to better make time for writing during this migratory time of life.
F.A. Hakimian 