This second novel is so much to get ahold of sometimes. I think that’s why this particular rough draft has been so…”rough.” It’s been so much to wrap my head around, it’s hard to handle as a whole, and so I’ve just started combating that by, first of all, separating out the various storylines and worked on honing those down into tight streamlines, and then second of all just diving in and plowing ahead, making decisions and discoveries along the way.
This particular method has led to a lot of dead ends…but guys, I *did* have an outline to start with, one I genuinely thought I was going to use, and then that had to go out the window when I realized that I’d written myself into a corner. A bad corner, the kind where you’re like “oh no, how did I get here? How do I get out?” kind of corner.
It’s working. Finally. Piece by piece. Not that I don’t have my moments where I’m like, “this is crap, everything is crap, burn it all down.” Several of those moment, in fact. But, no…all in all, the book is finally FINALLY coming along. Still so much work to do, but I finally feel like I can do it. Sometimes that’s the truth, and sometimes that’s what I tell myself to motivate me to keep going.
I head some distressing family news today, and some great family news. In both cases, not something I’m able to share š But, it was quite the day. I got to sleep in, watch the Warriors beat the Nets, which was stressful, because they were up by 28 points and ended up only winning by 8. Don’t like that at all. But, hey…it is only November. They’re not going to start really playing their game, barring injuries, until spring. Everything between now and then is hard to motivate.
The Ho and I got to hang out tonight and watch some British Baking together, which is like the warm hug a family kitchen gives you when you come home for the holidays. Thanksgiving is NEXT WEEK, good lord help me, and I have a book to finish before then. And I will do it, actually. I’ve scheduled it out. It’s all set. It will be written. Not quite re-written like I’d wanted…but one step at a time. I wanted this book to take me 30 days to write, and it’s going to have taken be around 150…but one step at a time.
Just keep writing.
Trust the process.
Those are my mantras, and after a weekend of recharging, I feel ready to live those tomorrow.
Hey! One thing that I realized today…I stumbled for the last two days of last week, Thursday and Friday…and not coincidentally, those are the two days last week where I did not create myself a full daily schedule. Whaaaaaaat? So, yeah. Apparently, that is a HUGE part of my success or failure, taking the time to schedule out those days hour by hour. Even if I don’t hit each hour of each day, I’m still far more successful and focused if I have that schedule.
#learning
My mailing lists and automations are working! Oh, that’s so exciting. I had a few days last week of no sales, and I was really despairing that my book was going to just fade away on the great amazon…but this list stuff I’ve done had resuscitated it! Either that, or my new keywords. THOUGH…my keywords have currently put it into a category I don’t want it to be in…so I do have to fix that. Sigh.
That’s all for tonight. Want to get a little reading in before the sleeps. Good night! š
Artwork tonight is from John Harris, and holy jesus do I love his work. One of my favorites.