I’ve overcome a number of challenges as a writer. One would be the act of completing a novel, which is impressive, but was my answer for the ‘a dream achieved’ post, so it would be cheating to use it again.
I have lots of little challenges that I have overcome and even more that I have to keep overcoming, like doubt and a lack of time. But I think the most important thing is to acknowledge the challenges as I conquer them (big and small) and then look forward to the next one.
The challenge I am involved in right now is writing The Huntsman, the sequel to The Storyteller, and it has been difficult. I’ve read from some authors how each book can be a completely different type of beast to tackle, but somehow I had assumed that my process would be at least similar. The Storyteller, I wrote pretty linearly in two months, revised for a year, rewrote the second half of the book, revised for another year and I had a novel.
The Huntsman I have been jumping around all over the place since November of last year. I have rewritten scenes from scratch three or four times, and I still don’t have my ending written out yet. (I have an idea what it is at least.)
Now I can at least look at The Storyteller and remind myself that yes, I really can do this, so that helps with the doubt. At the same time I was hoping to be one of those efficient writers who doesn’t take years to put out each book. And maybe one day I will be. Right now, I’m still focusing on overcoming my current challenge.
