I've started a new project. (I can see my husband rolling his eyes at this statement. Hardly a week goes by when I don't 'start a new project').
This project, though, is a for-real-I-have-a-goal-and-a-purpose project. It's book project to be specific.
You've all heard me moan and groan for the last four years that I want to write a book. 'Ok, so just do it, Hannah', you may be thinking. 'Just stop talking about it and just write the darn thing.'
Ok, ok, ok. Hear me out. I, for one, don't know the first thing about writing a book. Silly, yes, but true. This specific book project that I have in mind is not a novel. So it's not like I can just sit down and write a story with characters and a plot and then edit out all the bits I don't like or don't go anywhere. This isn't exactly a story. (And all of you who are in the publishing field are like, 'Yeah, you're right. She doesn't know anything about writing a book').
So...this is the way I'm working on this project and the thought behind it. For four years I've been writing a blog that has focused on many different topics. Some of the topics relate to eachother, some of them are out in left field. Some of the posts are on specific topics I feel I need to write about, some of the posts are just me processing life. My goal is to take my posts and find the themes, the subjects and topics that relate to one another. I'm doing this by copying each post into a word document; one document for each post. Then, once everything is copied (By my calculations, if I copy five a day it will take me a month and a half), I will then print them off and read through them, finding the themes, taking notes and expounding on and refining my half-baked thoughts, which I will then try to put into some sort of book form.
This is the project. I repeat, all of you who are in the publishing field are probably like, 'Yeah, you're right. She doesn't know anything about writing a book'. However, this is the only way I know how to gather my thoughts on various topics that have been scattered throughout the past few years, so this is how I am going about that. And it's worthwhile. It truly is a project I enjoy. I really like writing and going back and copying my posts seems purposeful to me. The whole project seems purposeful.
I started the project this week and it's been interesting because, while I'm not sitting and reading every post as I copy, I am quickly glancing over them and the biggest thing I have noticed from my posts is growth. I have grown a lot as a writer the past few years. From my early days of daily short blogs during the COVID shut down, which I mostly posted in raw form without editing, to longer, more detailed thoughts and stories more recently, I've grown. And that means so much to me. I've grown as a writer, as a word artist, I've become more real, I believe, in what I share, more comfortable writing for others and to others.
I don't know how this new project will end up. My book project may, or may not, get published at some point. Whether it does or doesn't I know that doing it is something I enjoy, that gives me purpose and pleasure and therefore it is worth it.
And so my friends, is there a new project you want to start, something that's been inside of you that is persistently knocking to get out into the open? I challenge you to start the project. Begin with small steps, yes, but also, begin with the end in mind. What is the purpose? What is the goal? Will you grow through this process? Does it seem hard or painful? Where are the fears? (Believe me, I have some with this book project). I encourage you to just start.
P.S. If you are reading this and you really ARE in the publishing field, please let me know if there is a better, more efficient way to gather my thoughts and turn them into book form! Like, seriously, I'm open to suggestions.
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