A Kick Butt Year

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Celebrate!

It’s been an amazing year so far.  First, I got myself through an eight weeks home renovation that was only supposed to be four weeks long.  I LOVE the changes we made and I can say it was well worth the struggle and wait.

Second, I’m almost halfway through the 21 Day Sugar Detox without many complications and am feeling great.  I’m really looking forward to the end when I can add back some things like blueberries, strawberries and mangoes, but it hasn’t been that bad at all.  I still have a few cravings from time to time, but they are much more manageable than they used to be. My clothes are getting bigger on me and I’m really happy that I started what at the time I thought was probably an insane idea.

But number three is the biggy! Think fireworks and champagne. Think I never thought I could do it.  Think I’m amazing.

What is it you ask? Well, this past weekend I FINISHED THE “SHITTY FIRST DRAFT” OF MY MEMOIR!!!

It may not seem like a big deal to some of you, but for me it is. You’re thinking, “Hey girl, that’s only the beginning.  It’s not published yet.”  Well you’re right and of course I know that.  But really, I often thought  I’d never get this far. I wanted to, but there were moments throughout the process when I thought, like the sugar detox, “This is an insane idea. Who cares? This is too painful. Why don’t you just jump off a bridge instead?”

But I’ve learned so many new things about myself and for the first time ever, I admit that I’m stubborn. When the inner critic starts slamming me with, “You’ll never do it,” I answer, “Watch me.”  Yes, it’s only the first step and there is a very long row to hoe ahead, especially since I hate being a salesperson.  But one day, somehow, one way or another, it’ll get done. I can almost smell the finish line.

I will spend time this coming week attending presentations at the Virginia Festival Of The Book, which is an annual event.  I’ll meet peers who are also writing books and will have the pleasure of hearing Jane Friedman, talk about ebooks and marketing.

Next week I’ll be doing a reread and fixing the worst problems. Since I edit as I go along, hopefully it won’t be too bad a job. Then I’ll send it off to my beta readers, take a week off, then get back to work on it so that I can have a decent draft to take to a no-fiction writing conference I’m going to in May. Over the summer I plan on working on a final draft and begin looking into how I want to get it published.

So if I keep kicking butt like I have been, maybe sometime in the not too distant future there will be an even bigger celebration going on here. Wish me luck!