What's Next?

 So, what is next?  I've finished my 56,322 words after 557 days (I believe I started writing on July 29, 2019, right after I published my challenge to myself) for a not too shabby average of 100 words per day.  When it comes to any type of blogging, this is the longest I've ever kept to this type of goal and it feels good.  It wasn't the 365 (or 366, since 2020 was a leap year) days I'd set as a primary target, but it wasn't unfinished and it wasn't even double the time I allotted.

None of this answers what's next, though.  Well, for starters, I'm going to take time off and let the novel sink in.  Not too much time, but probably a good month or so.  Then I'll go back for another editing pass.  I have no real goals for it.  Few people are reading it, so I'm not in any rush to move forward.  

I liked the whole exercise of composing it and will probably write a blog post on its composition and what I can do differently next time.

Which leads to next time. I've discovered I have the drive to take on a pretty monumental undertaking (at least when the table stakes are low), so why not keep moving forward?  I don't know if it will be a novel - it may be a character vignette here, a short story there, a one-act play over yonder, but I'll try something else out.  I know it won't likely just be random blogging, as the appeal of simply writing my thoughts down for the world to read without direction or in a non-literary format isn't too compelling.  There are enough other unstructured opinions in the world today, and none of us seem to be able to influence others (for better or worse) anyway.  I'll also spend some time with my other hobbies, like guitar and doodling, while I still search for meaning on why I do any of this, anyway.

One thought that keeps me empowered - I read in the last day or two that if one wants to be a serious writer, one should dedicate two hours of time to writing a day.  I don't know that I want to be a serious writer for now, but two hours of writing a day, even if it's just random word salad, sounds more like a dream than a chore (as long as I have the finances to allow it).  So, if given the means...

Anyway, I'll be back soon.