I’m going to start this post with a disclaimer. I really don’t know what will come out from my jumbled thoughts – which is not totally unusual for me!

In the last two weeks I’ve experienced some changes that opened up a new world for me, and I’m so happy with what I’ve learned that I feel I need to share it with you.

Here are the things I thought I knew about myself:
-I write in order, from beginning to end, no going back to make any major changes
-I can’t work on more than one story at a time because I get so engrossed in each world
-I can’t read new books if I’m writing because I get distracted

Here are the things I learned about myself:
-I can write out of order, and go back and change things
-I can work on more than one story at a time
-I get inspired by reading new books while I’m writing
-I make too many assumptions about myself

You might be wondering what changed that made me shift my beliefs?

In September I was working on a short story. I’d had the bones of it for a while so I thought it would be easy peasy, except it wasn’t. As must as I wanted to, the words wouldn’t come out.
I decided to work on something else, a novel I’d written before that needed big changes. This was my first exercise in going back into the middle of a story and changing significant parts of it. 

I even wrote a blog post you can read here about how I was feeling a then.

With that novel off to the editor I had another two deadlines. A co-written short, and that short I was writing in September.

Two weeks ago I was on a caravan retreat with three other authors and it was then that everything came together. Maybe it was because I was with kindred spirits, or it was the fresh air of the Thames Estuary, but as I waited for my co-author to write his part in our short, I had to move on to my own thing. And I found it surprisingly easy.

I’ve also been indulging in some new releases, making the best of my KU subscription and found that instead of distracting me, those new stories inspired me. Suddenly, my own words were flowing fast and good. 

At a time when I’m working so hard on my writing career and hoping to take it full time, experiencing these phenomenons has given me the biggest confidence boost. 

My productivity is higher than ever, and I’ve even started up my newsletter! 

Before I go hide for another month I will leave you with a FREEBIE.

I joined 25 authors in a Prolific Works giveaway. You can read the short story I co-authored with Rhys Everly, titled My Fake Billionaire. And if you sign up for both our newsletters you will receive a further short story from each of us.

Happy reading, exploring and inner growing!
Till next month,

Ana