I thought about giving up. Now, I'm almost done.

STOCK IMAGE

I have a few chapters left to write. I'm almost done with the first write-through of my first novel!

The finish line is in sight!

And now that I see the end of this long journey fast approaching, I think of the steps and stumbles I took along the way. 

The name of my main character and the idea for this story came easy enough. It came a few months before I left journalism, but I knew it would require a devotion I felt like I couldn't give with a job that often demanded more than 40 hours a week.

I hesitated.

Leaving a steady income to pursue a dream that may not pay off required a big leap of faith. But I had written so much for newspapers, I wanted to write something for God. I prayed a lot. 

Win or lose, I would never know the outcome - or what might have been, if I didn't pursue it. The quest to know eventually outweighed the fear of trying. I took that leap.

Then I stood there... in uncharted territory (at least for me) and prayed for guidance. I wrote a list of the main messages I wanted to convey in my story and prayed again.

It took a LOT of sticky notes and an entire coffee table, but this is where I mapped out my storyline, putting key moments in the order I thought they should appear. (I've tweaked them a bit since this photo was taken on March 29, 2018. / Photo by Emily Weaver)

Writing a fiction novel demands more than just a character name, an idea and a list of key messages or an underlying moral. It required more than one character, a storyline with a clear plot and an outline with a clear goal. It took me a little while to get there and there were days when no matter how hard I tried to keep moving forward, I felt lost.

I had moments of doubt, strong moments of doubt. How could I possibly think I could write something that hadn't been written a dozen times by a dozen authors with way more talent?...

I thought about giving up.

But then other questions came to mind: how could I let myself fail without even trying? Is this for me or is it for God? And if it's for God am I really going to quit on him that easily... after all He's done for me?

I had traveled too far to stop. I'm seeing this through to the end... whatever the outcome.

Writing a novel isn't easy. If anyone tries to tell you it is -- they're selling something. (My next blog will be on the 10 easy steps to write a book, available for purchase.)

I'll see you at the finish line.

UPDATE: My word goal for this novel is 60,000. I'm at 53,895 right now. Check back with me as I keep you updated on my progress or follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. #amwriting #EndTimes #fiction #Books #BookLovers