I’m taking part in Misha and Beth’s Five Year Project and my five-year goal is to write a novel and get it published.
It’s two years since I joined the project and, although I have finished my novel, The Reluctant Scribe, I’m still collecting rejections from agents.
Progress on my writing goals for 2016
- I’m spending all my time working on my Walking the English Coast non-fiction book. Should have sent the latest draft in to the editor today, but am far from happy with it and have started rewriting the opening section. (I’m not sure if I’m ever truly happy with anything I write, but in this case I believe the manuscript can be significantly improved,)
- Am itching to review my first – and very rough – NaNoWriMo draft of my YA sci-fi novel. This was a continuation of an extended piece of writing I produced for my Birkbeck degree, previously called The Quantum Circle, now renamed The Orbital Contract. Holding back from touching this until I finish the rewrite of the coastal walking book.
- And still need to complete the first draft of my booklet, How to Treat Blisters. Again, I’m holding back until I finish the coast book.
In addition, I continue researching the art of magic and the world of witchcraft. I don’t believe in either magic or witches, but am finding techniques within these disciplines that we could apply to help us in our everyday lives.
Ruth Livingstone 
You seem to be going great guns. Imagine having an editor. So thing I can only dream of at the moment.
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Sometimes progress seems achingly slow. The editor is going to be expensive, but I want to get the book right, so worth doing.
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All the best with your edits!
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Thanks Misha. I always prefer the excitement of the first draft, but I’m doing my best to love editing 😕
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Wow! Way to go with your edits and your writing! I’m so impressed by your projects and I’m looking forward to seeing them out in the world. I don’t know if I’ll have a chance to walk the English coast anytime soon, but I’m still interested in your book. 🙂
Best wishes with all of life and your projects!
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Hi Tyrean, thanks for your best wishes. I need them 😄
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Noble goals. How exciting to be working on so many projects at once, and succeeding at them from the sound of it. And I agree, no writing ever really seems finished.
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Hi Taryn. To be truthful, I’m good at starting things and bad at finishing them. Trying to stay focused on the end-products this year!
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Hi Ruth,
Can’t believe it’s two years since you began the ‘Five Year Project’ doesn’t time fly?
I can understand you getting an Editor onboard, although expensive, you need to be sure the work you’re putting out there is the best it can possibly be…
Good luck with all your projects for 2016 – I’m sure all the hard work will pay off.
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Hi Maria. I can’t believe it’s 2 years either. Long time since I last saw you. Hope all is going well with your writing.
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Sounds like you’ve got plenty going on. It’s nice to have lots of different projects bubbling away, but of course the downside is that it gets hard to finish anything (which is always my problem). It seems like you’re way ahead of me though. I’m looking forward to reading your coastal walking book as I enjoyed Soggy Socks and always enjoy your blog posts.
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Glad you enjoyed Soggy Socks! And thank you for your kind words about the blog posts. Now… must get back to writing that book… 🙂
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Good luck with your edits. It can be a hard decision sometimes, but you’ll know when it’s ready to be handed over.
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Yes, Angeline. It’s tempting to rush it, but once it’s out there, it’s out there. Best to get it as good as possible, while recognising there’s no such thing as perfection.
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Sounds like some good writing. Keep it up! I believe in you.
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Thank you 🙂
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