I have decided to write a novel. Yes, you read that right. Or should I say, write? OK, so aside from my attempts at making a (mildly) funny joke, the point is that I have finally decided to put forth a genuine effort into doing something that I have wanted to do for years now. I want to write a novel. Not the next great American novel, or maybe even a novel that other people genuinely think is a high quality piece of writing.

I haven't decided to try and write something amazing. Rather, I have decided to try and write something that I would want to read. More importantly, something that I want to write. I don't know what the future of this piece of writing will hold, if any, but I have decided to do this because it's something I genuinely want to do.

I have decided to hold myself accountable for my future, accountable for the thing I tell myself I am going to do one day. I have told myself each and every summer since I started high school that the coming summer would be the summer when I finally wrote a book, the summer when I finally stopped reading so many books, and instead, wrote one. Every summer, I have ignored exactly what that inner voice in my head was telling me to do, and have most definitely not written a book, and this summer, I want to change that. This summer I have decided to change that, and this summer, I am going to hold myself to doing just that.

Even if this novel goes nowhere, and even if I end up not liking the story I am going to try to tell, I'll at least be able to look at myself, and know that I tried. I will at least be able to know that I genuinely attempted to do something I've wanted to do for years. I will be able to think about the story I want to tell, and know that it isn't just an idea in my head anymore, but rather, words on a page, or words on a computer screen. In either case, I will be able to know that I have turned my thoughts into something tangible, something real and physical and readable, and that's an exciting thought to have.

This summer, I have decided to write a novel. I have decided to tell a story, and for no other reason than that I want to. I have decided to write because it is something I genuinely want to do, and I want to start holding myself accountable. I think this thought process can be applied to any situation too, not just novel writing.

It's summer, it's that point in time when anything can be possible because we as people have the time to set aside for making it possible. That doesn't mean work or school or anything else that might be going on still won't get in the way, but for the most part, we have a bit more time to start making things possible for ourselves. If there's something you've been holding yourself to doing, then now is the time to do it.

This summer, I have decided to write a novel. What have you decided to do?