It Ain't About How Fast I Get There...

...It ain't about what's waiting on the other side...it's the climb...

This past week was crazy. We're prepping for being out of school for Spring Break, I spent most of the week helping another author edit and publish a grief memoir, I decluttered my house a little more, had a bunch of ministry stuff...and still managed to get the things I needed to do done. I even managed to tuck a few moments of really amazing quality time in with my youngest daughter.

I won't lie though; it was a little stressful at some points, and by Friday I wasn't sure I'd be marking this week off as a win after all.

The thing is, life is a series a baby steps. We only get one moment at a time, and the only thing we can do is make it count. String it together with other moments, call it a day. String those together, call them a week. And while it's healthy to have goals and aspirations, they shouldn't be another source of self-flagellation. Goals aren't good for you if they're the reason you're walking around bruised in your heart because of the way you beat yourself up over them.

So, with that said, here's how my baby steps are bringing us closer to accomplishing my giant, terrifying, seemingly impossible writing plan: I'm still working backwards through FIGHTING FOR FREEDOM, and my goal for the end of Friday was to have gotten back to page 60. I'm still working on getting this massive novel below 110,000 words, but we're getting there! As of right now, it's a little under 118,000, so with 60 pages left to go, I'm feeling pretty confident - even in the moments of impatience. This novel is incredible...the way it shows Christine's story and her growth through a terrifying, traumatizing set of experiences is just...well, I'm proud of it. I hope to finish the backwards-edit this week (since there's no school, there will be no school run, and I'd like to use that extra time to wrap this part of the process), and if that works out, next week will be one last forward-read before I shelve this book and move into the next phase of my plan.

In preparation, I've been doing a little bit of plotting on STILL FIGHTING FOR FREEDOM, and I'm super excited about that one because it's a fresh novel. This work I've been doing on FIGHTING FOR FREEDOM (Freedom Series, book one) has all been in a second edition format, so while there are several new scenes, edits, and changes, this was a novel I had already written completely. But STILL FIGHTING FOR FREEDOM (obviously, Freedom Series, book two) will be completely new - the first full-length novel I've written in almost a decade. I'm excited to see how my process has changed and grown over the years, excited to see how the rest of Christine's story will play out, and so, so excited to get to share it all here!

Because as impatient as I get sometimes, as much as I'm in a hurry to reach the destination, to announce the release of all these books I'm writing...it really is all about the journey. To those of you who have been riding with me since the beginning, thank you for believing. For hanging on. For your patience and your encouragement. It means everything.

Which means it's time for me to get back at it. See you next week!

*song lyric from "The Climb," Miley Cyrus