Second Quarantine...Also, Sudden Bursts of Optimism

Thoughts on staring at another shortened work schedule for the rest of the year and a few words about how I managed to put down a brand new, highly anticipated video game and keep writing.

I remember reading Fellowship of the Ring so long ago and thinking I wish our world had a second breakfast! No one ever thought that about a second quarantine. Let's be honest, no one thought anything about the events of 2020 until the insanity that is this year actually happened and kept proving, time and time again, that it can always get worse. Yet, this cloud has a silver lining for me, at least. Work may be shortening my schedule back down to three days a week, but I'm actually excited for it as I watch my word count slowly tick up toward my goal and think about the extra time I'll have to make it tick faster.

Yes, people have resumed the hoarding of household dry goods, shelves are empty, again, and who knows what the hell is going on in our fucked up government (that's all I'll say about that). It's easy to let the insanity get you down, to let it make you angry, and to let your faith in humanity slip. I, for one, won't let it. If there's one thing this year has taught me it's that I have a lot to be thankful for when I sit down for turkey next week. My heart goes out to the countless people who won't have turkey on their tables. It's easy to forget for those that have been lucky enough to keep their jobs that a staggering number haven't. Waiting a few extra days for toilet paper pails in comparison to waiting a few extra days for a meal. I know how fortunate I am because I scratched and clawed my way through years of being far less fortunate to get here. I'll never forget where I've been and that so many people are still there.

Sudden Bursts of Optimism Lately, with making more headway in my novel in the last month than I did all year, I've found myself finding optimism a lot easier. Despite many stressors and current events tugging at my attention and tempting me to give in to the negativity, I've managed to resist a lot better than I used to. A lot of it has to do with my decision to quit social media except to post relevant progress updates about my writing. I'm not tempted to log on and be bombarded with what's wrong in the world and it's lead me to realize that there isn't much I can do about what's wrong in the world, so there's no sense in dwelling on it. I'm working toward something that has a small chance of putting me in the position to actually be able to do something about what's wrong in the world, and that's good enough for me, for now.

These sudden and daily bursts of optimism have helped get me from idling at 40,000 words for two months to now a whopping 75,000, all in less than a month. I'm proud of this. I'm not always the best at acknowledging my own strengths or achievements, but this I can allow myself pride for. 35,000 words in three weeks is...unbelievable. That's a third of a novel. I'm excited to finish, sink my teeth into editing, and start the query submissions, again. I really want to share this story and its characters with the world and I hope someday soon I'll get the chance. Thank's for stopping by, have a fantastic Thanksgiving, and I wish you a happy, healthy holidays!