Tag Archives: self-improvement

Day by day…

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There is this thing I have a problem with and it needs to be solved.

It’s editing and planning/plotting.

The first part is the hardest since I actually hate, loath, despise(you know, those feisty words)editing.

But there’s this thing I need to do this year. I have to publish and at this point it’s something I have to do for my sanity.

As to plotting/planning, I’ve learned the hard way that rewriting draft after draft doesn’t work. It just pisses me off.

I know better. Or at least I like to think after 43 years I should.

These two things throw off my progress, traction, and screw up my head.

I will continue to post on here because it’s cathartic. I know you’re all tired of hearing about my editing issues. I’ll put that to bed this year.

Happy writing.

2020 and doing the hard things.

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This last year I pushed through a few issues.

I found my writing groove and I was distracted at times by video games.

But I didn’t do the hard things.

I didn’t publish because I was undecided and nervous about the quality of the book I planned on putting out.

I made a promise to myself I wouldn’t do that. I did it anyway.

I also had a few personal victories.

I pushed past the things I felt comfortable writing and wrote some truly freaky shit.

I sent out more queries than I ever have and I plan on doing the same in 2020.

I decided my writing and my time to write is worthy and needs devotion.

In 2020 I’ll make priorities for that time and not let others take it from me. My writing and editing time is me working even if I’m not currently published.

That will change and the mindset I have going into the new year changes too.

I will not be held back by things or people.

I will move forward, ignore and resist what others think of me and will never let people in who don’t understand those things.

I fought with a few demons, found a couple more and I’ll kill every last one of ’em until I’m where I believe I should be.

Go out and get it and take no prisoners.

I wrote 86k last December. Here’s what happened and why I won’t do that again.

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Yes, you read the title of this post correctly.

I finished a 86,000 word novel in one month. But here’s the catch, it wasn’t executed very well.

I know I need to go back to it but damn, it’s a daunting as hell task.

It’s not quite cohesive and that’s where the problem is the biggest. The smaller ones are it feels like a few short stories compiled into a novel.

I had no idea what I was writing at the time. I only had a first line and went from there.

This month I plan on writing a lot but not 86k, but we’ll see.

I had an idea the other day about a story, actually a few stories with one character that holds them together.

I’ve taken to sketching, connecting, outlining and figuring out what the hell its about.

It may take me a few months to do this as I’ve allotted a great deal of 2020 with construction of this one.

I did this with a couple of stories and I really enjoyed writing them and their respective outlines.

This one though, it’s different.

You know that excitement when things click? The feeling of trying to catch your breath with the possibilities?

That’s what I feel with this one and it’s why I’ll be taking so much of the year working on it.

I will also be submitting short stories and novels to magazines, contests, and agents.

I had planned on doing that today but had a bartending event to prepare for.

I’ll be submitting a novel to agents over the next couple of days as well as preparing a couple of short stories to those magazines and contests.

Have a good week and keep writing.

Figuring out this “Everyone has a dark place” thing.

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I’ve wondered about this for a long time.

What is this darkness that I have?

Everyone has their dark side. So says Tim S. Grover in his book Relentless.

I’ve listened to the audio of that book quite a few times and I never figured out what mine was until the other day.

I won’t say what it is but it’s not alcohol.

I don’t need alcohol every day. There are weeks when I don’t notice that I haven’t had a drink.

But there is one thing I’ve done since I was a kid that always made me feel better when I didn’t want to keep going.

That one thing has made my life better even if it distracts me at times.

It’s been my go to for as long as I can remember. I’m not sure what I’d do without it.

When I’m stuck on a story I use it to break things up and when life hits me hard I use it.

I always thought that dark thing had to be a bad thing like abusing alcohol or worse.

But it’s not, at least not for me.

Now that I’ve figured it out I’m going to do some testing on it.

I’ve also started a new story and still have queries out. I’ll be sending more of them out this week as well.

Have a good week.

How do you measure two years?

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In the last two years I’ve submitted to at least 20 agents, written four novels and at least forty short stories.

Of those novels, one is out with agents currently.

I’m writing another and will complete the first draft by the end of the year.

These last couple of weeks I’ve thought about the last two years and what I’ve done.

Have I loved? Have I taken risks? Have I done things I wouldn’t normally do?

It’s a yes to all of that.

I know that tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I’ll be spending it with my wife and kids.

What I won’t be doing is trying to recover or make up for things I did prior to those two years.

Yes I made mistakes but as I said the other day, I have to move forward.

That forward thinking has led me to great places in my writing. Rewarding places in my life and I won’t let a day go by without working to get better at my craft.

I’ve had to eliminate things lately but with those things gone I have better focus.

Moving forward is not about forgetting, it’s about being who I am for me.

Enjoy your holiday and don’t let a day go by without being thankful for what you have, who cares about you, and trying to secure your goals.

Move forward son, move forward.