I wrote a novel! In late 2020, after I'd graduated and the pandemic had taken over the world, I no longer had any excuses for not doing something creative with my life, so I made a pact to myself – within three years, I HAD to fully write, edit, and finalize an original, professional-quality narrative intended for print. If I didn't at that point (my early 20s) I knew I'd probably never get the chance again, and would spend the rest of my life as a fat loser who worked in an aluminum can processing plant. After many, many false starts and failed ideas, I finally found the perfect concept, and got to work.
Each draft (of three, plus one additional proofreading micro-draft right at the end), took about a year to complete, give or take. (I took maybe around one month's worth of total break for each year I spent on it.) I'd never done anything creative at all before, but I really loved the process – crafting out my own characters and storyline, seeing them grow in tandem with one another, and building up a complete, cohesive plot over endless iterations. It was, while a lot of work, also a lot of fun, and I'm so glad to have had the experience. I did finish on time – I ended the last edit on the day I started, three years later.
In the year that's passed since, I've pitched the book to about 84 (gulp) different publishing agencies, which has taken up most of my free time. I have no grand delusions that the story will ever get picked up, but I've had the chance to present it to some really exclusive and interesting big-wigs, so... y'never know! Even if it gets totally rejected by everyone, though, I'm still glad to have done it, because it means that my life wasn't totally impotent. I have no idea if I'll ever work on a project like this again, but at least I can say I did it once.
Oh, and, uh, old TV shows, specifically from the 2000s. That's the big other hobby. DON'T TOUCH THAT DIAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!