Independence

July 4th; a day full of celebration, good food, parades and fireworks! I look forward to this particular holiday every year. In celebrating the birth of the nation I call home there's a complex mixture of honor, pride, sadness and grief when I think about all the progress won after much despair. Acknowledging the hardships our ancestors encountered in the fight for independence makes me look at my own life and the choices I've made.

One of the major reasons I look forward to the 4th of July this year is due to a self-imposed goal. I've been working on a novel that has provided me with much inspiration and a few difficulties along the year and a half journey so far. I've spent so many years starting writing projects that stemmed from an image or idea that wouldn't let go until I wrote it down. However, it was a rare situation indeed when I my initial inspiration led to a completed work. The novel I'm working on now started from a single image and has flourished into a piece of art that keeps my interest every day. Sure I've had my fair share of stuck moments when I couldn't figure out what my protagnist's motivation was or how to transition into the next chapter...but I've learned not to force the progress. What I've created so far holds too much value for me to rush it.

That being said, I am about 85% complete the first draft. There are just a few more tweaks to be done and transitions to input before I can send out the completed manuscript to friends and family for review. My self-imposed first draft completion date of July 4th, 2010 has motivated me each and every day to reach my goal. And reach it I shall!

So on this Independence Day I will be celebrating with family and friends while knowing that I have started along a path all my own; independently!

All the best,
Kelly