Ok my hand is up – I’m guilty as charged. Just like plumbers with leaky taps and builders with doors that stick, I’m guilty of not doing my own work first. And that’s a big deal for me, because I constantly hear myself guide other writers to commit to writing at least a few words every day, or at least every week… and blogging is a great way of being able to do that with limited pressure to write ‘perfectly’ so it should be so easy.
Well it’s not!
Life takes over, and we get busy. Stuff happens. I’m not going to make excuses, but as we are now staring down the barrel of there only being 20 more weeks till the end of the year, I have to reprioritise this writing thing.
You see I have a plan. It’s a good one. All writers should have a plan right! My plan involves writing a minimum of five novels over three years and reaching that magical point where I have a real back catalogue of work. Five being the number where for every book you write, that someone reads and loves, they might be so inclined to see what else I’ve written and buy those too. (Last year I devoured about 20 Harlan Coben titles – my new favourite author and now I wait impatiently for every title he releases).
My plan is working out – but these last few months have been insanely busy as I’ve gone from being a part time writer to a ‘full time writer’ who is suddenly busier than ever with no excuses not to be writing every day and yet time just flies.
So – I’ve created a challenge for myself to write a minimum number of words every day for 30 days. And sometimes my words will flow and sometimes they wont. But overall I’ll get back on that horse and keep riding (writing) until I reach a few necessary destinations (finish at least one of the three books I’m writing!)
Yes THREE. And first off the block will be The Mistress – a chilling thriller romance, with a kick and a twist. Early reviews are fantastic and I’m dying to finish it but it’s got a life of it’s own and keeps growing. Intended to be a short story, it’s now up to 50,000 words and still a chunk of writing to go yet. You can read excerpts here if you wish.
Second is a business book I’m co-authoring with a friend who is also a business coach and we’re working on educating small business owners about getting the basics right before expanding and getting distracted. This will be released very early 2016.
And book number three is a project I’m working on with a wonderful professional speaker friend from the USA who came up with a great idea and together we’re working on a life changing tale that needs to be told about children. This one has me gripped by the throat and I can’t wait to finish it – as it keeps me awake at night writing in my head.
All three are destined to make readers go ‘wow’ and I’m confident in that. But – first I have to finish them, edit them, review them, and plan their launches.
I better get busy huh!
Dixie
PS – How do you cope with life getting in the way of your real plans – I’d love to know.