Taking the Good from the Bad

My summer of travel is over. In June, I was telling everyone that I would be heading off to London for a bit, followed by a trip out to India for a bit longer. A little over a month ago, I returned from India and concluded what may be a recurring theme for my summers, in that I keep referring to them as "The worst summer ever" each year. I was to be in London for a few weeks training employees from my day job on our software product. Once complete, I was to travel out to India for an extended visit of about six weeks for training activities as well. I ended up being in each location for a couple weeks, while the mid-summer activities included being prepared for my impending India trip and tending to a project on fire. We use that term for projects which either have severe loss of resources unexpectedly or otherwise a deliverable date we would need a TARDIS to hit.

My day job had consumed my summer and my ambition of completing my book by now is a complete failure.

Out of the Bad, comes the good...

I actually started writing this blog the week of my return from India and I was a bit miffed, to say the least. When returning to this site, I also saw a blog in my drafts from June titled "What if you're a part-time writer?" The theme is the same, although my frustration is a bit greater these days. My dream job does not pay me enough money to live my current life. On the other hand, I really like my career in the software field. I guess the question is, 'How do I balance these careers?'.

I'm on vacation this week and so far, I've been able to write a chapter, return to my blog and sleep in a little bit. As any writer knows, you can't be a vacation writer because inspiration does not happen on schedule. I've been toying around with the idea of a Sorcerer who can travel through time in Alorya, but I can tell you that I've had at least three moments in which I had the biggest and brightest idea completely die in my head since I wasn't focused on writing at that moment. Oh well...

Keeping a positive mindset, I have not given up. I haven't picked up my bass in years. I haven't played sports in years. There are so many things that I love to do, but instead of doing them, I focus on my top priorities in life. Career, family and enough relaxation to survive. AND, I haven't given up on my writing either. Like an old friend, I can go to my computer and type a few pages without much effort. Conversations picked up midway from where we left off months ago. There's such a comfort in knowing that it's always there waiting for me whenever I can spare a few moments.

Shipping off to London

It looks like it's definitely going to happen.  My company is going to be sending me to work in their London office for a few weeks in June.  From there, I expect to go to India in July.  I'm not really going to get into my level of excitement for this trip since I think it's obvious.  Instead, I'm going to write about a vow I made to myself regarding my summer business trips.

I will complete the first draft of my second novel by the time I return from India.

It's only a first draft and I know I went through over twenty drafts for my debut novel Alorya.  I don't think I'll be as cautious for my second book as I was my first, so I'll probably only make ten drafts.  :-)

The reason for my caution is simple - Once it's out, it's out.  If it's worth putting your name on it, it's worth taking the time to make it as good as you can possibly make it.