The clock always ticks
I never realised how loudly
When time rests in your ability
To use it wisely
*50 books in ten years. Five books a year. One book every two months. Written, edited at least three times and looked at by beta readers. And then there is the marketing.
Is it possible? Not without a team. I’m still finding mine as well as writing – because without finished books there is nothing to edit and nothing to sell
“If your dreams don’t keep you awake at night, they’re probably not big enough.” As they say.
But all that hustle talk annoys me
It’s not as important to hit the goal as it is to create the conditions and consistency that could get you there. That’s what I am striving to do at present with word counts of over 5000 per day, and back editing regularly so as to produce a draft which is as clean as possible.
I’m following the advice of Dean Wesley Smith because his books on writing resonated and I think I write in a similar way to how he does.
Yesterday felt like a slog. I’m into the parts that have to be told, but the road feels long. Dean Wesley Smith calls this the 30,000 word curse where you begin to dislike (if not hate) the book, and apparently every book has this part. That was eye opening for me. I have three books parked on my computer at exactly around that mark.
I guess this is where the writing becomes work until it is magic again after the hump.
The thing I’ve come to understand with goals and time and life is that it’s passing anyway, so why not make it count?
“Aim for the stars, at least if you miss you may land among the flowers” or is it the moon and the stars? I don’t recall. The main thing for me is to aim at something meaningful. Because otherwise it’s all a paralysis of procrastination.
Have a lovely day. I have the week-end free of people and a clear schedule – so I’m hoping to write myself over any hills that appear in this second book.
I hope you get the tranquillity you need to have a good weekend writing!
Thanks Colin. Me too!
🙏🤞😊
“It’s not as important to hit the goal as it is to create the conditions and consistency that could get you there. ” this is exactly what I have been learning. I’m trying harder not to concentrate on hitting goals but rather working towards them at a manageable rate.
It makes all the difference I think. Particularly if you are prone to perfectionism and feel anything less is not worthwhile striving for as I have at times in the past. It gets me around the obstacle which is myself 😊
Yeah, I can be a perfectionist too and that often can be my pitfall so thinking of things this way helps for sure.
good luck with the writing; chapbooks of poetry are relatively easy to produce but writing a book, a novel sized book, is a hard gig yet writers do it all the time, especially the ‘airport’ novelists —
I enjoy your posts, Kate. Inspiration and personal experience, sprinkled with motivational quotes. Writing a book is quite a journey. Best writing wishes to you!
Two books actually Michelle. I have had to change the structure of the first one quite a lot following advice – very welcome advice – which I received during the workshop. It’s probably 40% stronger because of it. I’m grateful to have the opportunity and that it wasn’t already published because it would have driven me nuts then! I appreciate you reading my posts, we are all so time poor these days
Two times the work, two times the reward! ✨ You are welcome, likewise. Writing is a solitary business, when in the creation of it. It’s nice to have writer connections. 🌻
It really is ❤️