“I’m trying to finish writing a book. I’m on my fourth draft...

“I’m trying to finish writing a book.  I’m on my fourth draft and have 70,000 words so far.  It’s an adventure tale set in Jamaica.  My main character is a twelve-year old girl named Kristi.  She’s the same age that I was when I left the island.  I really want to write something that resonates back home.  I’ve been researching the history and folklore of the country.  I’m trying to get the dialect just right.  I want Jamaicans to recognize themselves and be proud.  I’ve been working on it for four years now.  I’ve given up on so many other things.  I gave up on being a doctor.  I’ve given up writing other stories.  I lost sixty pounds last year, but before that I’d given up on so many diets.  So I’m determined to finish this.  I try not to think about other goals for the book.  Because the more I need from it, the more I freeze up.  I have a lot of debt.  I have a lot of relatives in Jamaica that need money.  But if I start writing to feel hopeful about my financial situation, the words won’t come.  So my goal is just to finish my fourth draft.  And if that happens, my next goal is to get a rejection letter that tells me something I can improve.”