To fall into a slump, no matter how small, seems to suck all the life and motivation right out of me. I notice it has been months since I last even logged in to my website, and I have to wonder, what have I accomplished in that time? Not nearly as much as I had hoped. I haven’t found an agent, I haven’t even submitted at one. I haven’t edited my novel in full to make it presentable. I haven’t written my cover letter or synopsis. I am basically starting at the beginning again, because I have forgotten all the steps I need to take to move on.

What have I done? I’m nearly through writing year 4 of the backstory, which I realize now, is completely meaningless. When I wrote Rust Prophecies, I toned down a lot of the violent, abusive, content. Hell, if that’s the only book anyone reads, Gabriel is a sweetheart. It doesn’t mesh with my vision of him, but as one person put it:

Gabe was set up as like your typical soulless rich corporate asshole in the beginning but really he’s like an anime secondary-level leader-type protagonist with his colorful entourage.

Moonlit_Lampshade on Chapter 70 of First Prophecy

And I’m glad people can make those opinions of him, but I really can’t change them until I write the Second and Third Prophecies, which I have been putting off, because I’m off 400k deep in a backstory that only serves to reveal one or two important facts that could easily be summed up in the other books. Does it matter? Am I delaying? At this point, I honest have no clue.

So. I need to set guidelines for myself. Yes I want to finish Archridge Academy. Yes, I want to keep writing. But can I really continue to ask my family to give me the free time to write if I am not actively pursuing an agent at the same time? 

Some of these are just rambles to myself. There’s a lot I have to consider, but I need to find a way to hold myself accountable, and not lose months of time to doing god knows what without accomplishing any real goals. So, goals for the rest of the year:

1. Edit First Prophecy
2. Update Website (Also good because tumblr is dead, and it reminds me that no content is secure unless it’s hosted on your own server)
3. Write synopsis
4. Write cover letter
5. New Year: Start submitting to an agent

Notice how I’ve left off writing more on Archridge. I don’t think that’s feasible, though. I need to keep writing every day, or risk losing the momentum I’ve had all year. So… a chapter a day, no more? No. Edit one chapter a day before writing? That’s not enough. Okay, edit one chapter every time I sit down to write, before I continue writing, and again before starting a new chapter? Hm. Maybe that’ll work. I’ll try for a bit and see, but I’m going to keep the website updated on my progress, or lack thereof.

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