Breakthrough

I've capped my pen and closed the book...the notebook that is.

Today was a breakthrough day, a revelation day, a day of shockers I didn't see coming...and a day of finalization.

It's taken 2 years, countless scraps of paper, receipt scribblings, index cards, pictures ripped from Nat Geo Magazine, and half-finished notebooks; but I finally finished the outline for my story.

Now some people might think that I could have written my book in 2 years time, but I don't want to just write a story. Just scribble down a book. 

I've been aiming to create a world that's full and rich in sounds, culture, and history. I've encountered road block after road block as I try to figure out who my characters are and what their motives are for things they're doing.

There was a period of about 2 months where I thought for sure one person was headed down one road, and it just clicked today that he's not the man I thought he was. Duh! Silly writer.

And the story then spilled out from imagination to page seemingly without thought.

The ends are all tied up, the motives and personalities are understood.

There is nothing more freeing than knowing that I can now sit down and plug away at the actual text. My goal to have 100 pages by year end is within sight.

That is all.

Failures of 2012

Let's just all agree that I'm the most inconsistent blog-poster on the planet. I made 3 whole posts in all of 2012. Go me! Not.

I make promises, tell myself I'm going to do big things in terms of my writing and life, and then I don't follow through.

So for 2013 I'm going to do something different. After looking at my 3 resolutions from 2012 and realizing that only 1 of them was achieved, I'm going to stick with 1 resolution for 2013. Am I the only person who creates these enormously unachievable goals and then ends up surprised when they aren't reached? If the sudden crowds at the gym are any indication, I'm going to say no, I'm not alone.

In 2012 I said I would

1) become a bartender. Ha! More like, become bourbon obsessed and begin creating my own personal mini-bourbon and whiskey bar.

2) finish a story. Well...I finished a short one. Does that count? I'm going to say no since that's not what I meant when I set my goals. I did, however, take my first writing course through UCLA's Writer's Extension Program. I recommend this program to anyone who is looking for a group of writers...or just a way to be held accountable for their writing.

3) do something big. Okay, this one I accomplished!! I got a kick-ass job working as the Senior Assistant at Citi Private Bank in Beverly Hills, and I also completed 2 half marathons which is something I've always wanted to do. The first one was in September at Disneyland and the second one was just after Thanksgiving in Seattle with my roommate from college.

But for 2013, my one goal will be...

--Complete at least 100 Pages of my story!!

I think this will be doable since I've found a group of women from my writing class last year, and we've all decided to email our works to one another and meet once a month to discuss them. We've also all enrolled in the same Novel Writing class this session, so I should be more consistent with my work.

I'm excited to see how this year plays out. Hopefully with better results than last year!

Happy New Year, Everyone!!