Welcome to The Hemingway Project

Two weeks ago I did something most people would find insane, something I am still finding a little insane – I left my job to write a novel.

Although I majored in English Literature in University and have since taken a handful of classes in creative writing, I have never attempted to write something as lengthy as a novel. However, I know that this is something I have always wanted to do.

I love to write, but I have never had the self-discipline to really sit down to it everyday. Over the past few years it seems there has always been something more important for me to do. What started as having to finish a reading for class or writing the works cited page on an essay, quickly turned into my being too tired after my nine-to-five desk job, wanting to go out to meet up with friends, or binge watching Orange is the New Black on Netflix. I started to realize that if I was ever going to get real about writing then I needed to do it now, at 25, while I was without any major debt, a mortgage to pay or a family to feed. If I was ever really going to follow my dream, what better time than now?

The first thing I needed to do was to share my plan. Once others knew it would be pretty impossible for me to quit. So I started telling my family and friends that I wanted to take some time off from work to write a novel. I told my parents, my sisters, my boyfriend, his parents, my grandparents, aunts and uncles, my friends, their friends. I pretty much told everyone I met.

I had expected apprehension from my friends and family, but instead I received nothing but support and positive encouragement. As time went on, they even started telling people about my upcoming adventure for me, cementing me on this new path. Now I had an amazing support system in place to push me forward.

The second thing I realized was that I wasn’t going to be able to write this novel just anywhere. It shouldn’t surprise you to hear that I realized this in the middle of a Netflix bender. I think this time it was during season five of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. So what would be the perfect place to write, without the distraction of the internet (Netflix and  Pinterest to be specific) and the general distractions of city life? Cottage Country! Which as it just so happens is exactly where my parents live, with a second little cottage on their property the perfect size for me. So I decided to move back in with Mom and Dad for a few months while I really pushed myself to write this novel.

Things were starting to fall into place. I had the support of my friends and family, I had somewhere to go and I had a general idea of what I wanted to write about. All I had to do now was give my notice at work, pack what I needed to bring with me and I’d be on my way. Sounds like that would have been the easy part, but each step had its own little difficulties.

Everything finally came together about two weeks ago. I am officially moved in with Mom and Dad for the summer and I have started writing. I’m still no where near a 100% sure of what I’m doing, but I’m writing a little bit everyday. There is definitely going to be a learning curve and who knows how it’s all going to turn out, but I’m here and I’m following a dream.

As I have shared this project with so many people over the past several months, I decided to put this little blog together so that I could easily share updates on my writing endeavor and the learning’s or information I pick up along the way. Welcome to The Hemingway Project.

(I hit 10,000 words yesterday!)