I recently finished reading Saving Cee Cee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman, a wonderful story about forgiveness, filled with colorful characters you wish were real people. While reading an interview with the author, I discovered it had taken her four years to write the novel (from the moment she finished chapter one to when she sent it out to publishers).
Four.
Years.
And that was all she was doing (she had sold her interior design business to devote herself to writing full time).
This got me to thinking that perhaps the seven months I have left until my deadline weren't going to be enough. Especially considering I do work full time and will very soon have two children under the age of three to care for.
So. I am setting a new goal. 35. That is more than five years away. Surely by then I can string 80,000 or so words together in some sort of fashion enjoyable to readers.
Since we're on the setting new goals bandwagon, I am declaring - officially - that I am putting "the novel" on hold and starting a memoir/novel about my childhood and family. I just can't get the idea out of my head and feel I have to get it out of my system before I can move forward with this current project.
Stay tuned for progress on this new endeavor...
The key is to keep writing. One of my favorite authors Joseph Heywood wrote only three novels while working full time as a public relations executive for an international pharmaceutical company. When he retired, he churned out something likek seven books and a collection of non-fiction essays in about 10 years. He always told me, sometimes you just have to wait until the time is right.
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