First Draft

I printed out the first draft of my cancer memoir.  I'll be spending the next couple of weeks on my first draft and making corrections before handing it off to my friend/coworker to edit.  I actually finished something.   Me, Lara [last name], I finished something.  I am the Queen of unfinished projects.  Take a look at my house and all you'll see are unfinished projects.

So the fact that I finished something is just mind-blowing amazing.  This calls for a GIF party celebration.

10,000 Words

I just hit 10,000 words on My Cancer Story.  WOO, all the feelings.  

Thank you, thank you.

Typically, I have a difficult time finishing any writing project.  Ever since I became a professional writer, I stopped writing and reading for fun.  Not this project, though.  I can't stop writing all the gory details of my 10-month-plus ordeal.  By this rate, I'll be done in a couple of weeks.

My story

I decided to write My Cancer Story.   Let me emphasize that I'm not writing it because I think I am going to publish my super-exciting story about that one time I had cancer.  Haha, oh my stars, no.  My story is like the million others of people who had cancer.  My story is not crazy nor sexy nor cool.  I didn't meet any handsome strangers and experienced The World's Greatest Love Story While Cancerings.  I definitely didn't have any Terms of Endearment moments where I told my loved ones that I loved them and to take care of each other.  

Haha, no.  

My Cancer Story is the story of a 30 year old woman who got diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer and experienced ten months of medical torture.  

I decided to write My Cancer Story because I need to get these words out of my head.  From age 14 up until when I was diagnosed at 30, I wrote in a journal on a regular basis.  For long stretches of time, I would even write every day.  It was my therapy.  Sure I've blogged since my diagnosis, but I don't write all the details and feelings that came with being sick.  This has been Writing Lite - no therapeutic qualities whatsoever.  I feel compelled to write about my story so I can finally process all that happened to me.  I can let myself really put all that emotional crap that I've been carrying with me for months and just move on.  That's all I want.

Right now, I've just written snippets here and there, and I'm already at 5,000 words.  I plan on using the blog as a great outline as to what happened and then I'll dig deep into my crazy craziness to fill in the rest.  When I feel that I'm completely done with it, then I'll go from there.