20,198 words. The attempt at a novel I referenced in my last post ended with a corner. I had written an outline for the story but a few chapters in I shifted into discovery writing and discovered myself a corner. I’ve heard many authors say that writer’s block can be your subconscious letting you know there is a problem with your story. This was me.

My story was a Hero’s quest. In my mind it was a mixture of the structures found in the Odyssey and The Children of Hurin. In each of the first three chapters the story jumped years forward until it brought us to the first big conflict I had outlined. The whole of the story spanned decades.

These first three chapters I really enjoyed. I had built a world and characters I was proud of and then wrecked their lives like authors enjoy doing. I brought about solid motivation for the protagonist to propel him through the story. I also had strong reasoning and rationality behind the antagonist. But in the end I lost track of why the story gripped me.

In a last ditch effort to save the story I spent months working on, I returned to my outlines and threw out two chapters I had written – confident that I could figure a path forward. I found a path, but it did not excite me like it did when I started. Perhaps I should have pushed through the slog. I didn’t. Instead, I took a five month Hiatus from writing.

I changed careers – from High School History teacher to an Instructional Designer.

My wife gave birth to my daughter.

A pandemic in other parts of the world came to my home.

My parents got Covid.

One of my friends passed away.

An itch in the back of my mind followed me through it all. Write. write. write. I watched Hamilton for the first time when it came to Disney+. I was inspired by “My Shot” and reached out to one of my friends who wrote for a living. He too was looking for a creative outlet and we started what has become my writing group.

I’ve since written a short story and submitted it for competition – an achievement I’m proud of even though I didn’t win.

I’m now working on a longer short story. For a different competition. I’ve completed its first draft and am now working on a polished second draft. Its working title is Adrift and you’ll likely hear about it from me.

That’s the update. I’ve not given up. If you are working toward a similar goal, I hope you won’t either. Every author proceeds the very same way. One word at a time.

Thanks for reading.