I've been a writer since I wrote my first story in 1995. As an avid Star Wars fan, I had been reading the books that came out in the extended Star Wars universe. The books were excellent and I still go back and read them from time to time but I was getting tired of waiting for someone to write the one where Luke finds Mrs. Luke. That's when I decided to write that one myself. Unfortunately, I kept trying to take the love scenes farther than I figured would be allowed in a Star Wars book. That's when I wrote my first romance story. Well, I wrote the love scenes and then put in a plot. Not a good way to write a novel.
I have no idea where that one ended up. I lent it to someone to read and never got it back. I could probably recreate it and improve it beyond the smut filled tome that it became but I've got other unfinished projects that have lately been calling my name. A lot of unfinished projects. You see, I tend to start things that never get finished because something else occurs to me and I have to get that down on paper before I forget it - at least, that's my excuse for abandoning something I think I get bored with to start something new. It's the newness that attracts me.
To get over this problem, I have finally done something I've been thinking about doing for a long time. I finally purchased a month of tutorials from Writer's Digest, one of the top writing resources out there for writers. And guess which tutorial I watched/listened to first? One about getting consistent, productive writing time and why I might be procrastinating.
Yes. I am a procrastinator. There. I said it. I don't like it but then I am the only one who can change it, aren't I?
But how to you change a lifetime habit? One step at a time and this blog post is that first step.
In this post, I will publicly commit to writing 2000 words a day and actually scheduling writing sessions each day in order to accomplish that task. I am also committing to doing the NANOWRIMO this year. For those that don't know, NANOWRIMO stands for National Novel Writing Month. The goal is to write 50,000 words in a month. I attempted it a couple of years ago but didn't finish. Actually, I gave up about a week or so into it. That procrastination thing, again.
Anyway, I am going to participate this year and hopefully, get a first rough draft of a new novella to put up on Amazon. I'm already working on one that I want to complete before NANOWRIMO starts so I am also committing to have that done in time to edit, revise and post to Amazon during my vacation on Labor Day week. And if my two writing pals are reading this, I know they're going to be the first to prod me into meeting this particular goal. They already have works up on Amazon and have already informed me that I will be joining them. I always do as I'm told...(cough-liar-cough).
Another thing I want to do as I follow this path to being a published writer, is to blog along the way. That's where this blog comes in. I may not post on a daily basis but I will commit to post my progress on a weekly basis. Feel free to post your comments and give me nudges as you are inspired to do because I need all the nudging I can get right now because I must admit to a bit of fear in this endeavor. If I find success, my life will change. Part of me wants to embrace that change but there's this other part that is hiding under the bed, eyes squeezed shut, all the while muttering, "I don't to do this. It's too scary. What if I fail? What if they hate me? What if no one ever buys my books?"
You know what? So what if all that negative stuff happens? I'm still a writer, I will still write. Why? Because I love it. Nothing better than getting so lost in your own work that you lose track of time and it's 5:00 in the morning before you know it. I love when my characters suddenly do something I wasn't expecting and take the story in a completely different direction than the one I had planned.
I write because I want to know how it ends. Simple as that. And there's no better time to start than right now....well, right after lunch, maybe.....and then I do have to go to the grocery store at some point and then there's polish swatching I have to get done this weekend and, oh, the helmers out on the back porch that need put together and all those little polish bottles waiting to be stored in the proper drawers and.....
See what I mean? I really need prodding to put the butt in the seat and the fingers on the keyboard and get the writing done. That is the only way I will accomplish my goal to be a full time writer.
I just need a little help remembering that.
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