Update on Finding my Sams

As I said in January of this year, this was the year I would be looking for my Sams. (Frodo wouldn’t have gotten very far without his Sam. This year, I’ve been looking for my Sams, the people and groups to support me in my life.)

I’ve been incredibly lucky to date. (I believe that luck is best defined as ‘holding yourself open to possibilities.’ Because I’m open to the opportunities presented to me, and I take advantage of them, I’m lucky.)

Book View Cafe has turned out to be an amazing place for me. I feel as though, for the first time in my entire life, I’m truly supported in my writing. These people get it, and they encourage, help, and support me in so many ways. They truly have become one of my Sams.

One of the things I was not expecting was for my team at work, for the day job, to turn into one of my Sams. But they have. I’m honored to be working with such an incredible group of people. They’ve been awesome, and I’m being supported there like never before, in my entire career.

The gym turned out to be a bust, in terms of support. It just wasn’t right for me. What I’ve found instead is Nerd Fitness and their most recent challenge. It’s a six week challenge. I have a group of “accountabuddies” who check in on me, frequently, sending me email and messages of encouragement daily. So I feel as though I’ve found one of my Sams here, in terms of health and fitness.

I’m still not dating, but I’ve been incredibly busy recently (will announce why at a later time.) I figure I can’t complain about being alone when I haven’t made dating a priority. But at some point, I would like to find some kind of life partner. I don’t want to be alone for the rest of my life.

So that’s the update. I’m in a really good place right now in terms of my writing, my day job, and my health.

Here’s the latest word count for the novel:

I have the next 2000+ words written up. I’ve been maintaining a pace of 2 chapters a week. If I can keep it up for the next few weeks, I’ll be finished with this novel by the end of the month. Which, YAY!

Of course I’ll need to fix a bunch of things, but that’s what the “make it not broke” draft is all about.