The last time I completed a manuscript I was filled with excitement and anticipation. This time, it was more like WIDE EYED FEAR.

Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that the last few projects have fallen flat on their 12 point font faces, that after over a year of work I am suddenly convinced that my latest aspiring novel is crap even before other people tell me it is, which naturally leads me to question what THE HELL HAS BEEN THE POINT OF IT ALL?

Seriously, I could have two and half bathrooms by now if I hadn’t spent so much time on this Oreo crumb-infested laptop.

Perhaps I’m right. However, as Debbie Millman advises in Look Both Ways: Illustrated Essays on the intersection of Life and Design, I suppose that is entirely beside the point. According to Millman, achieving what you truly want means “do[ing] what you love, and [not] stop[ping] until you get what you love. Work as hard as you can, imagine immensities, don’t compromise.”

In other words, maybe this one isn’t it, but that doesn’t mean the next one won’t be. (Of course, I’m still keeping my fingers crossed.)