When I decided I was going to write a book, I thought it would be simple. I had an idea, I was going to write that idea, pour out every word I could think of onto the page and that would be that. I would have a completed book and be done with it. That is anything but what happens when trying to write a book. There are so many challenges that I have faced in the process of trying to complete my novel. Scrapped ideas that I have completely left behind and new ones that take over in place of the ones I already had. There's just so much going on in my head when it comes to writing and getting the ideas on the page.

There was so much that went into the process of writing a book that I never thought of when I started this process three years ago. Of course, I knew that there was a process of publishing and marketing and agents when it came to getting a book out there but my struggles occurred way before I could even imagine getting to that point. Simply plotting out my story posed a challenge for me. I never thought about how exactly every part of the book would play out. I didn't even think of a proper ending for my story besides the cliche happy ending. I believe that I had fallen into the same thought process that most people don't write do. Thinking that it would be easy to throw some characters together and make a story out of them. To some degree, it is, my imagination had always been my strong suit but this was completely different.

I had eventually fallen into a hole and couldn't get anything written. I was restarting and changing things left and right, constantly adding things in an attempt to make it better. Nothing worked and I was still stuck with random pieces of a story that did not quite fit together how they should have. It got to the point where I didn't even want to write anymore. I'd rather trash it and let it go then to attempt to fix the creative mess I had created. I didn't look at that document for at least a year though the idea was always in the back of my mind. I just couldn't throw myself back into the mindset of writing it and of course, school and work had become a bigger priority since I had just started college so it had to continue sitting on the back burner. I completely lost my motivation for the story which was disappointing because I was truly excited to get this idea out and in the open.

I have just now gotten back into writing this novel and progressing into the story. I've gone back and reread everything I had written almost two years ago and I still see the potential that it had then. The idea still had a place in my heart and I still wanted to see it finished. This time I am actually planning my story out from beginning to end, adding more structure so I know what I am writing. I have countless tabs open all the time for research and tips on certain areas that I am particularly struggling with. It feels refreshing for me to come to this idea, this story with new eyes and new ideas. I feel like I will actually be able to bring this story life in the way it deserves. I know that I still have a lot to learn and research when it comes to writing but I hope that this experience will allow me to learn and grow as a writer. I still continue to push on and write this novel because I know I will finish it one day. and I know it will be worth it.