When I started on Lycopolis, it was by far the trickiest
writing project I'd tackled up to that point.
I'd written a lot of blog posts, and I'd attempted three novels in the past ... but this was a lot harder. I was balancing multiple point of view characters and writing a story-within-a-story, both of which took me some time to nail down.
There were times when I felt like I should've gone with something much simpler. But I'm glad I didn't.
When you're writing, you want to stretch yourself ... at least a little
bit. That's how you develop as a writer.
When I started Lycopolis, I wasn't yet a skilled enough writer to handle the project I'd set myself.
By the time I'd finished redrafting the novel for the fifth time ... I was.
So, even if you feel like your project is getting away from you; even if you're daunted by the prospect of writing a book -- or an ecourse, or a film script, or a collection of poems, or whatever you're attempting -- that
doesn't necessarily mean you should stop.
While it might be a struggle, and you might get (temporarily) stuck along the way, getting to The End of your project could be exactly what you need at this point in your writing journey.
How to Know if Your Project Really IS Too Difficult for You
I'm not suggesting, of course, that you should simply go for any project that takes your fancy.
Sometimes, you might need to be a bit realistic about what you can feasibly manage.
You've written occasional short stories and now you want to try a novel? Go for
it!
You've written a piece for your tiny village newsletter and now you're determined your very next article will appear in The Guardian? ... Maybe have a re-think!
Signs a project might be beyond you (for now) include:
- You picked it simply because you thought it'd be a good way to make money / get lots of readers, not because you actually want to do it.
- You have no idea how to even begin.
- If you have begun, you really don't know what you need to do next.
- A writing mentor (or experienced writing friend) has cautioned you against it.
- There are aspects to the project that you can't manage (and can't afford help with) – e.g. your project involves selling online but you've barely got to grips with email.
- The project requires a really high level of technical skill or craft, and you're a long way from achieving
that. (I'm not going to be writing prize-winning poetry any time soon and I know it!)
- (Important) You're under a lot of pressure in other areas of your life: while the project itself might be do-able, it's causing you a lot of stress when set against everything else.
In most cases, daunting projects are a good thing: they push you to grow, and even if you don't quite achieve what you initially wanted, you'll still learn a huge amount along the way.
Sometimes, though, you may need to take a step back from a hugely ambitious project to assess whether you might want to tackle something slightly more do-able first.
Whether you're working on a huge project or a tiny one, I hope it goes well for you. If you're stuck on any
particular aspect of it, do let me know – I'll be happy to tackle your questions or problems in a future newsletter. (You can email me any time at ali@aliventures.com, or just reply to any of the
newsletters.) 
