The end of the beginning

This isn’t really the end. I’m still writing everyday, still aiming to get this draft of my novel done by the end of July.

I started this weekly blog back in August 2016, right at the beginning of the school year. As I switched from teaching to writing full time, I wanted to keep myself accountable in terms of productivity and time management. I also thought it would be interesting to document my new career as I muddled through this first year. (Can I call it a career if I really don’t make any money?) All year, I’ve slowly adjusted to working from home. I’ve learned to tolerate solitude and fine-tuned routines to keep me focused and creative.

Every Friday, all year long, I’ve written a blog post to record the week’s progress (or lack thereof). I’ve charted my ups and downs, from publication (woohoo!) to rejection (far more common, sadly).

Now the end of the school year is in sight. All my teacher friends are cleaning up their classrooms and marking final exams, while my own kids are finishing grades 4 and 8 and coming home for the summer holidays.

I’ve spent this blog writing about writing, and now I’m going even more meta and writing about blogging about writing (Inception! As my daughter would say).

Although this year has gone by incredibly fast, I really feel like a writer now. I’ve nearly finished this draft of my novel, and I’ve also completed several more short stories. I’ve gradually gained confidence and patience with my writing process. I am deeply satisfied with this shift to writing full-time, so much so that I’ve decided my teaching days are officially behind me. (unless I end up teaching writing workshops at some point!)

I am an introspective person by nature, so I’ve enjoyed using this blog to analyze my time and my development as a writer. That being said, I’m not going to keep posting every Friday; just when I’ve got news or something interesting to share.

This post marks only the end of this academic year; the end of the beginning of my writing career.