Breaking the Block

I've been in kind of a writing rut lately. I had made a goal to finish my novel manuscript and submit it to a contest. Well, entries started January 15th, and that was my completion goal. But for one reason or another, my laziness kept me from getting it done.

It's really quite sad. My problem isn't writer's block. At least not anymore. The problem is that writing doesn't carry the same joy for me as it used to. I used to enjoy it so much. But now, trying to finish up a manuscript just feels like a chore to get out of the way. It breaks my heart to think I could be losing interest in something so important to me. I still love writing my short stories and stuff, but working on a novel is pretty brutal.

I had a nice breakthrough last night, though. I finally convinced myself to sit down and get to work. To my surprise, the words just came back to me. I hardly broke pace for a good hour and change, and I managed to get about four good pages done. Those first four pages of this chapter should be the hardest, so the rest should be smooth sailing.

I'm thinking about adding another chapter or two in the middle, but other than that, this is the final chapter of the book. So, I figure I should try to keep this momentum going clear to the finish line. The contest is rolling submission, up through June, but judging starts in March, and I want to be done before then.

And so, my new deadline goal is to have the manuscript finished and submitted by the end of the month. If I can sit down and seriously write at least once every three days, I should be able to easily make that date. For once, I plan to hold myself to this one. It's a new year's resolution, after all, and I don't think I'd be very proud of myself if it took me until June to write one or two chapters.

That's about it for now. I guess I'll check in when I'm finished. Remember, if anyone is interested in giving me their feedback on this thing, I have the first 3/4 or so of the initial draft uploaded to WEbook, so you can read it online here. If you've got some free time, let me know what you think of it. Peace and love, people.