I have written novels. I have even completed a lot of them. Goblin Market, for instance, and a paranormal romance on my flash stick called “Heart and Home” that got torn apart by me after the first draft, and now lies twitching in the darkness. That isn’t to say I won’t finish it, but I’ve noticed a big pattern with myself.

It’s been weeks since I worked on Running Down the Moon, and even then, it was a minor tweek here and there, with very little actual writing. It’s not that I haven’t been writing. I just haven’t been working on my novel. Even now, I sat down to work on the novel, and found myself flailing in the thick of it, wanting to cry.

I noted on twitter that sometimes when writing said novel, I feel like I’ve bitten off more than I can chew. While that is definitely true, as I’m looking at the complicated strands that tie the plot together, I also found that because i was working on it during NaNoWriMo there is a lot of unnecessary wordiness–especially in the conversational sections.

The thing is, I know I’m better than that. I know I can finish a novel. Like I said, I’ve done it before. I really want to finish THIS novel. It’s a good idea. I just think that maybe I’ve bitten off more than I can chew, and I need to find a way to trim things down so I can get back on track and get to the real beans.

So, I am going to sit down with the novel, bounce some ideas with my partner in crime, and get back to it. I may have to strip out an entire part of the plot, which means serious reworking, but I believe in this idea. I just need to find a way to tie it all back together if I tear out that piece.

Cheer for me, please, friends. I know I can do this. I want to finish this novel’s first draft before September. That is my goal.