2024 has been a slow literary year for me. After the time pressure I put myself under in 2022 and 2023 to complete my Belfast Ghosts trilogy, I made a conscious decision to take it a bit easier this year.

That being said, I’ve been chipping away at the first draft of my current ghost novel draft (WIP#7) since May 2023. Pretty slow going. I normally complete a first draft in about 6 months, and I’m only up to 50k words on this current project in 14 months.

A recent Google search gave me a much-needed dose of motivation to keep going with my latest WIP. I’m not sure how Google results work, but I’m currently sitting at number one for a “horror authors Northern Ireland” search. It was a reminder of where I’m at with my published books, and the path I’m hoping to continue on for my future books.

As any author knows, writing can be a marathon or a sprint. I’m in my marathon phase this year, and trying not to completely stall. I’ve had moments where I’ve thought, ‘is this project worth writing?’ or ‘am I losing my enthusiasm for this manuscript idea?’. I suppose many authors can relate to that. We want to feel passionate about the books we write, and we want them to find their audience in the world.

Topping a search for “horror authors of Northern Ireland” has certainly given me some much needed direction. I can see the finish line with this particular first draft; all I have to do is focus and get it finished. Hopefully it’ll be ready for publication in 2025.

Sometimes motivation arrives in unusual, but highly welcome, ways.

Posted by on August 29, 2024 in Writing and tagged , , , .

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About Leilanie Stewart

Leilanie Stewart is an award-winning author and poet from Belfast, Northern Ireland. She writes ghost and psychological horror, as well as experimental poetry. Her writing confronts the nature of self; her novels feature main characters on a dark psychological journey who have a crisis and create a new sense of identity. She began writing for publication while working as an English teacher in Japan, a career pathway that has influenced themes in her writing. Her former career as an Archaeologist has also inspired her writing and she has incorporated elements of archaeology and mythology into both her fiction and poetry. In addition to promoting her own work, Leilanie runs Bindweed Anthologies, a creative writing publication with her writer husband, Joseph Robert. Aside from publishing pursuits, Leilanie enjoys spending time with her husband and their lively literary lad, a voracious reader of sea monster books.

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