I took a gigantic leap!
I have a tendency to bite off more than I can handle. To jump in without considering all the consequences and yes, occasionally my grandiosity makes its presence known, allowing me to think I can do it all. Alone. I am all-knowing.
Other times, I go into research overload and find out much later that this can be a smokescreen for procrastination. I am great at gathering lots of notes. I can get lost in them. Many are so cryptic I don’t know what they mean a few minutes later. If I look close enough, they will probably lend themselves to entirely new thoughts as the old flit out of this universe and into an alternate one of the paths not taken.
For once though, after the initial, “yes, I signed up for multiple and simultaneous courses” right out of the writing gate last year, and into the freak out from the enormous commitment of it all, I settled down.
I did a lot of soul searching to develop a writing practice I could feel comfortable with. I took part in writing accountability groups and still do. And I joined several workshops, which helped me ground myself while I gained skills and received feedback.
In March, I declared my rough draft as complete as I could get it. All the bones were in place. I had a table of contents. I had a plan for the second memoir. It was time to determine what I really had within all the pages and make a commitment to move forward.
