Here are the facts. To date, I've received: feedback from 9 reviewers, added notes to all 320 pages of my manuscript, and still have roughly 300+ issues/areas/ideas/problems to solve. Oh, and 47 working days left until the 2015 Surrey International Writer's Conference.

Lord, help me.

"I can't believe it. That's so dangerous. People fall off there every year. Don't they know it's a mile down?"

That feeling of pure, unfiltered terror—the idea of falling for an entire mile—still echoes faintly in my psyche, every day since I made the decision to quit my job and become a full-time freelance writer.

On July 17, 2015, I sent out all 80,300 words to a select group of beta readers. Then I cracked open Writing 21st Century Fiction by Donald Maass...and realized how many dozens of wonderful things I could do to improve the story.

Mercy.

After 6 months as a "part-time professional" writer, I've decided to quit my part-time communications job.

Goodbye colleagues, commuting, and office camaraderie... it's a BIG change. 3 conclusions led me to this decision...

For the last two months, I've been chugging through each chapter of the manuscript, like some lone hermit determinedly hoeing her way down each weedy, unruly row of her garden. Just when I thought the editing process would never end, I noticed on my tracking spreadsheet that I only have 5 chapters left. 

Part II - Here are seven sample days of my experience as a writer.
Ink, assassinations, naps, maps & more.

I've spent twenty days working as a writer, and the question everyone asks is, "What's it like?" I figured I'd shed some light on my experience. 

Every day is different. Some days I feel brilliant. Other days I feel delusional. The overarching theme? Dreams are not magic beans.

If sentences are pillows, go easy on the ruffles. Try to make it pretty, and it gets ugly. I learned this lesson during my public humiliation in UBC English class for overly grandiose writing.