This is a bit of a personal essay for me to other writers to see, read, and identify with. I am writing to say that I am not out of this storm—I’m still in the middle of it. It’s just the winds have lessened and rain stings my skin a little less. I’ve got the help I’ve needed from professionals and I’m still working on it.

At the beginning of the year I was at point where I wasn’t sure what was next for me in my writing journey. I never thought I would get to a point where I considered shelfing my novel Torque.

And I don't want to quit. Torque has been my heart and soul. Falling in love with it with every change and I just can't figure out why it's so hard. 

At the beginning of the year, I knew I wanted to take time out for my writing and get away. I wanted to experience a new environment and get the creative juices flowing. I had in my mind that what I’ve dubbed to everyone as “my solo writing retreat,” would result in a finished book and things would go smoothly as I am preparing for the Writer's Digest Conference in August.Well, that wasn’t quite the case....

In the end, no matter where you are in your book, it comes down to your mindset. We, as writers, have ideas of how we want our books to turn out and it's disappointing when things don't turn out that way. 

I’ve been debating about doing this for a while and I’ve decided to take the plunge...