This round was started by Michelle Hickman. She asked:
This is the month in creating writing goals and making big accomplishments. What is your greatest accomplishment -- in writing, your life or perhaps something incidental that had a big effect on you?
I'd like to say I've accomplished a lot over the years, but my life seems to be filled with many, many half-finished projects and ideas that probably could've gone somewhere if I hadn't gotten bored with them. At one point, I thought maybe my kids were an accomplishment, but truthfully, they're really only halfway to adulthood. Not that I'm giving up on them, not at all, but most of the time, I think the accomplishment belongs to them, for surviving another day with me as their nutso mother. ;)
Two years ago I probably would've said my greatest accomplishment was that I'd written a novel, start to finish. And I could've stopped there, patted myself on the back, and congratulated myself on actually finishing something. But now I know it wasn't really finished, and I think deep down I knew it then too. My subconscious just knew better than to make me aware of that fact because it probably would've stopped me from moving forward. I mean, a year to rewrite the entire thing from scratch and then another nine months to do it again? Talk about daunting.
So, at this point, I'll say my greatest writerly accomplishment is sticking with that story until it was as good as I could make it, despite HATING it at least 50% of the time I was working on it. Now I just have to muster the courage to query the thing. I know I said I sent a query out a couple of weeks ago (and I did), but that one doesn't really count since it came with a safety net. It's those this is your ONE chance to impress me queries that keep stalling me. Maybe that'll be my actual greatest accomplishment: hitting send on an email. ;)
What about you? What is your greatest accomplishment, writing or otherwise?
Be sure to check out Jon's post from Tuesday and Amparo's post tomorrow. :)
You've come a long way, and sticking with your guns to get that book down was a stupendous deed!
ReplyDeleteIt's a great accomplishment!
ReplyDeleteWriting that first draft, taking the time and then more time to rewrite, and hitting send on queries are ALL great accomplishments!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great post! Continuing with a story IS a great accomplishment!
ReplyDeleteHeh heh, that's some accomplishment. I truly admire your dedication. I also gave you a badge today, so congrats :)
ReplyDeleteHee hee. I feel such a kinship with you right now, Abby. The kids thing and the writing stuff - that's exactly how I feel about it. :)
ReplyDeleteI still struggle with actually FINISHING a novel. I type THE END, but I never feel like they're actually done. How do you do it?