Just a quick note today to say it's working: I have progressed from forcing myself to write a sentence a day, however hard, to writing multiple paragraphs. As a result, my story for the 2020 IWSG Anthology contest is now up to over 1200 words. Many of those words, I have no doubt, will need to be removed again. But the point is that the words are coming, the story is taking shape both in my mind and on the page, and I can even lose myself in that other world for a time.

Encouraged by that progress, I've resumed editing on my novel in a small way, though that's much more sporadic. I'm not doing the heavy lifting: I'm making notes of what I have and what needs to be changed and rewritten. I'm not trying yet to actually rewrite it. Baby steps.

What is most encouraging is simply that I can work on these projects, even if only for a short time each day. It gives me hope that I can once again start enjoying creating new worlds and losing myself in them.

Thanks again for all the encouraging words you've been leaving me. I've had some pretty bad days, but when I keep very busy I find I can make it through. Some extra challenges are coming up this week, so keep me in your thoughts.

Here are a couple of things that help me every day.
My garden. Growing things is good for the soul, and especially growing things to eat. Finding a fuzzy bug head down in a squash blossom pollinating for all it's worth is a bonus.

Hiking. I am blessed to have this park within walking or biking distance of my home. A thunderstorm over the mountains was a bonus last weekend.

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