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the Writing Process

The Writing Process – Preptopber 13, 2021

Also known as a habit, whether you develop the practice of writing ten pages a day or continue with the speed of NaNoWriMo at One thousand six hundred sixty seven words a day, the key to being an accomplished writer in my point of view is to continue with one story until it is finished.

If you can not finish the story, and you constantly go on to the next story idea you have, oftentimes you will find other authors no longer take you seriously in the craft of writing.

Consistency with word count – Five hundred words consistently written each day will produce a One hundred eighty-five thousand five hundred word tomb by the end of the year.

Regularity with page counts – two pages written each day will produce a seven hundred thirty page epic saga by the end of the year.

Viscosity – using a flow of time to create words of fifteen minutes a day, will produce at least a novel by the end of the year.

Bullet points to strive for:

Consistency – word count, page count, allotted time
Consistency – page count, allotted time, word count
Consistency – allotted time, word count, page count
Follow through and type “The End” or “The End for Now”

Write for the story. Do not get attached to the outcome of your story. Let me explain, if your goal is two pages a day or five hundred words, sometimes dialogue will fall short of that five hundred, yet you have a full two pages.

So open up your document, set it to your favorite font or use one of mine (Merriweather, Book Antique, Crimson Text) and 12 px font.

Have fun writing and building a new habit.

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What did you accomplish today?

For many years, I have focused on growing this or that business. Nothing has grown from many attempts. My recent focus on writing. Not a publishing business, not a website with merchandise for sale, just plain old writing stories, and typing the end. Then I begin again.

This is my recent epiphany. What did you do today? As I look back, probably busywork. When I ask, What did you accomplish today? A different answer appears. I want to know what I accomplished that propelled me forward to my goal.

Let me share an example. What did you do today? I researched and figured MailerLite might be a better choice for a newsletter distributor. Then I removed the old email distributor and set up the new MailerLite after creating an account, and the first campaign. Discussed the change with my go-to person, and hashed it out as to if this really was a good idea. Now, What did you achieve today? See how that changes your focus from the busy work and went directly to what you needed to accomplish. I put into place a new more productive newsletter distributor.

When I listen to motivational young folks on how they make their first million while I am working on my first hundred, it inspires me when they accomplish so much in a relatively short amount of time. Sunny Lenarduzzi (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCbfiEcsGhU) and Steve Jobs (https://getpocket.com/explore/item/one-thing-steve-jobs-did-at-apple-that-will-instantly-improve-your-productivity?utm_source=pocket-newtab) Both removed the distraction.

Using the plan set out by Sunny Lenarduzzi and Steve Jobs, I’ve taken my writing to the next level. Stephen King said in an interview that he writes four hours a day. I’m not to that level of habit, but I am getting cranky if I don’t get at least an hour a day of writing time.

You might ask, what stops me from doing more? Power. Until this past week, I didn’t have reliable power to keep the computer charged let alone the phone and the tablet I do my 9 – 5 job. My creative moments were during the time I had unlimited shore power. In fact, during those times I failed at my exercise program because I lasered my focus on my writing and editing.

What have you accomplished today?