What about Bob?

Sitting here, I'm trying to get motivated to edit another chapter in the book that I've been working on getting done. And to be honest I'm a little freaked out that I'm not going to get it done in time for Christmas. My goal is to be able to print copies with a nice binding to give to family and friends for holiday gifts. But I'm not sure if it will be finished enough for me to feel comfortable for people to read yet. There is still a lot to be done when it comes to cleaning things up, fixing the flow, plot holes, over explaining, etc. Then again when it comes down to it no matter how much I edit it, I'm always going to be nervous about people reading my work. Its just a fact. And its also something that I have to get over if I want to be a writer. People are either going to like my work or not. I can't control how people will react to what I do. But I can control how I let it effect my work.

I am a first time author and the only way to learn to be better is by doing. I have to start somewhere and this is it. This is my first book and I hope its not my last, published or not. Everything that I do after this is going to be better, cause I will take what I have learned from this and put it to everything else that I write.

This is when the movie What about Bob? pops in to my head. Baby steps! It is all about baby steps. When something is daunting, just take baby steps towards it. Before you even know it you are there and its all done. So I'm going to take this book in the words of Bob, in baby steps.

So, I'm going to not look at how many more pages I have to edit or how many more chapters, but one paragraph at a time. Before I know it I will be done. One other challenge that I will have is to not over edit things. No matter how many times I go over it I will want to change something. Then again what writer doesn't see changes that they want to make when they reread their work.

Now I am off to take my baby steps towards finishing my first novel and I wish everyone else luck in the baby steps that they take to whatever goals they have for themselves.