Friday, August 17, 2018

Off The Rails

Good intentions sometimes just aren't good enough. I've missed a couple of days on writing the novel and I might end up missing a third. So why haven't I been writing fiction? It was partly caused by some time mismanagement but most of it was due to some unexpected changes in my daytime schedule.

I was thinking about being very conscious about shifting the fiction writing to between 10 a.m. and noon--you know, a nice two hour block where I could buckle down and focus on advancing the story. I was gearing up for that when I had to switch gears and focus on publishing.

I know. I know. This juggling act I have isn't something new. It's not surprising. I should try to be more conscious of it and work to scale back where possible and focus more on certain tasks so I can be more nimble when surprises fall in my lap.

So it goes.

In other news, I've started listening to some random podcasts featuring writer Dean Wesley Smith, talking about the writing and publishing business, and shining light on the popular myths that grow up in the business. These are the sorts of beliefs that lead many writers to walk away or make the process of writing much harder than it needs to be. They steal the joy and the fun that you can have by being creative and expressing your art in the form of storytelling.

It doesn't matter how many times I here him talk about them, there is always something new to learn about them. Plus, it's a good way to cleanse yourself of all of the excuses that cover you after a while. It's nice to listen to somebody talk plainly about writing and the writing life.

Smith doesn't pull any punches and he will shred all sorts of comfortable lies that writers tend to buy into at some point or other during their journeys. I like that. Honestly, I need that dose of strong medicine often.

I'll need it if I am going to come back to the writing and finish this novel. Onward...

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