After months of disruption, I can see calmer waters ahead. The turbulence that has defined recent weeks is finally settling, and I’m preparing to dive back into fiction writing with renewed commitment.
There’s an interesting contradiction in my current approach to writing. While I maintain strict boundaries around AI assistance for my novels—refusing to let algorithms touch the creative heart of my work—I’m comfortable using these tools for more utilitarian tasks like polishing blog posts. The distinction feels important: one represents my authentic voice as a storyteller, the other serves as a practical writing aid.
Two projects anchor my creative focus right now. The first is what I’ve come to think of as my “secret shame”—a mystery novel that has followed me through multiple years of starts, stops, and revisions. The second represents newer territory: a science fiction concept that genuinely excites me and feels commercially viable.
The timeline ahead is both promising and sobering. Within days, I plan to commit fully to fiction again. The mathematics of publishing success weigh on me: if everything goes perfectly—if I finish strong, query effectively, and find representation quickly—I’ll still likely be approaching sixty when my first book reaches readers. That reality adds urgency to every writing session.
This sense of urgency has crystallized into something sharper: a growing “put up or shut up” moment in my creative life. I’ve carried the identity of “unpublished author” for too long. Every mention of my novel-in-progress feels hollow without tangible progress to show for it. The weight of that incompleteness is becoming harder to bear.
Part of what has slowed my progress is scope creep. What began as a single novel has evolved into a series concept, adding layers of complexity that, while exciting, have scattered my focus across too many narrative threads.
The path forward requires radical simplification: finish one complete, polished novel. Query it. Repeat.
Focus isn’t just what I need—it’s what I owe to the stories that have been waiting patiently for me to tell them properly.
