You will write that novel. Like you, I wanted to write a book since I was a child. I have a story that I wrote in first grade about a girl who wanted a pony. I had a very dysfunctional upbringing. The one thing my mother did right was take us to church and make sure we knew Jesus. I'm sure that His protection is the only reason that I am still here and sane. That crazy life gave me plenty of material for a book. I wrote and self published my memoir in 2013 and sold thousands of copies. I owned and operated a world famous biker bar which gave me a great platform, and plenty of stories. It was a very time consuming occupation and it took me seven years to finish my book. I did the stop and start thing like you. I attended a great writing conference where I found my direction and my editor. She cut 70,000 words from my manuscript after I'd edited it so many times myself that could hardly stand to look at it anymore. As the old saying goes, killing your darlings is hard. It was a much better book when she was done and I'd rewritten it AGAIN using her recommendations. Writing is hard work, but our stories need to be told. Maybe you should write about how you escaped your abusive husband and not worry about that novel. Your words could help other people that feel trapped in an unhealthy relationship. I too wrote a novel for the NMWW four years ago and haven't even written a second draft. The beauty of Medium is it's a great place to build eachother up and encourage each other to write those pages. I'll be praying for you and your success. If you'd like to check out my memoir its on Amazon. I hope it doesn't seem presumptuous that I'm sharing it. https://www.amazon.com/Born-Again-Biker-Bar-Memoir/dp/098892442