I talk a lot about writing and the many challenges I face in doing it. Sometimes I complain about how much time it takes or how I hate waiting.

Bitch, bitch, bitch. It feels like that is all I do some days.

I know I celebrate some of the triumphs but I just realized that I have sorely neglected to say two words to a number of very important people.

Thank you.

I talk about my obligations to my family all the time but I don’t think I’ve ever said just what my family has done to allow me to pursue this dream of mine. Let me fix that (major) oversight on my part.

First and foremost, let me say just how amazing my family is. They tiptoe around the house (sometimes) when they know I’m trying desperately to get my writing and/or my podcasting done. They might want to visit, or watch a loud movie or simply hoot and holler and have fun, but they give me the quiet I sometimes need when I need it.

They also give me the time to create. I know my wife, son and daughter all have things they want to do with me and I also know they often will postpone those activities so I can sit down at the keyboard and write.

There can be no greater evidence of that sacrifice than the month of November and no greater time than this year. I’m trying to do NaNoWriMo, finish the edits on my novel, produce three episodes of my podcast and a host of other things too. To say my time is at a premium would be to understate the value of the word premium. My son has started some activities that he would dearly love to have me involved in but I have been able to only provide occasional time for. Still he soldiers on and reports his progress every night. My wife has things she wants/needs me to do that are on a temporary hold. My daughter is in the same boat. It can be frustrating for them and I appreciate the sacrifice of time they give me.

When I first got started with writing I struggled. I wrote the first chapter of my first novel so many times it is pathetic. I needed a way to get past that and move on to chapter two, but how? I thought about writing courses, but  I could never find anything that looked like it would work for me locally. When I did find a course (via correspondance) it was hella-expensive for a family that had very little money. My wife knew of my struggles (how could she not) and encouraged me to sign up any way.

That course made a HUGE difference for me. It made me look deep into the writing and actually learn the proper mechanics. It gave me the kick to get past that first chapter and finish the book and it gave me the tools to keep improving.

Then there are the conventions and other writing related activities and memberships that cost money (and time). My wife never thinks twice about them. She constantly encourages me to go and helps me to find ways to attend them. And make no mistake, they are important. It will be because of the conventions (and other writing related activities) that I will get my first book published. Of that I am certain.

No, I could never have gotten this far without my family’s active support and sacrifice. To them I can only say “Thank you” and “I love you all.”

But they are not the only ones who have supported me. There’s also the legion of friends and well wishers who have put up with my constant chatter about writing and my progress in it. I’m sure there have been times when you have started to feel your eyes glaze over but you still listened and offered words of encouragement. To all of you, I also say thank you. I don’t know about all writers, but I’m certainly one who needs to hear positive things and encouragement to keep moving forward.

As I have said many times before, writing can feel like such a solitary activity. It’s important to remember that behind the solitude is an army of supporters and it is the community of family and friends that make the activity that is writing worthwhile.

So, to all of you, I say “Thank you” for you past, present and future support. I couldn’t do it without you.

Personal Update

I didn’t quite get the 25K words finished by the end of the weekend like I had hoped, but by the time of this writing I will have exceeded 26,000. Not bad for 11 days.

I’m also finished this round of edits on my novel and it has been officially sent to the editor. My fingers are crossed harder than ever.

I hope you’re all doing well too in your projects.

Tags: correspondance, family, irreverent muse, Michell Plested, nanowrimo, sacrifice, writing

Let me begin by saying this article is not going to be Michell’s whinefest. It may seem like it (at least early on) but it really isn’t.

Honest.

That old saying “There’s not enough hours in the day” is certainly feeling real to me lately. I have two big writing projects going on: editing my fantasy novel for submission and NanoWriMo. I’ve also got the podcast which takes up several hours per week (interviews, editing and mixing all take time) plus I’ve got the work and home commitments. I’ve pretty much given up on television, which makes me sad. So many great shows, no time.

What this time crunch has done for me is given me the appreciation of using priorities and the importance of goals. You all know by now how important getting my work published is to me. This book (that I’m currently editing) has taken literally hundreds of hours. I believe in the story and I have a story arc in my mind that is begging to be told. I simply cannot let it go; the characters won’t let me. That means I have become willing to forego sleep to do the editing.

If there’s one thing I don’t like giving up, it’s my sleep. Just ask my wife.

That should give you a hint as to its importance to me.

I also took on the challenge of NanoWriMo. Challenges are my lifeblood. They motivate me in ways that I cannot even explain. I’ve set myself the challenge of finishing in 3 weeks. That means approximately 2,500 words per day. I’m currently averaging 3,500 (I can type REALLY fast) words per day. If I keep up the pace I’ll be done in something like 12 days. I’m really needing to give myself a slowdown so since the pace is good, I’m going to try and finish early so I can rest a little.

Then there is the family and Scout commitments. It all takes time.

To go off on a bit of a tangent for a moment, I always wondered how actors found the time to have a life away from work. I remember reading an interview with Kevin Sorbo (Hercules) some years ago. In the interview he talked about the 16 hour days and how, when he was done on the set, he had a workout. I wondered how he could stay motivated to keep up the pace.

Now that I’ve been fighting to keep multiple  balls in the air myself I think I’m beginning to understand. These things that I’m doing are all activities that are important to me. Because they matter, I make the time to keep them going. Because I am a perfectionist, I do the very best job I can and I’ve started to let people help me when possible.

I’m sure I have a breaking point somewhere and I know I can’t keep this frenetic pace up indefinitely but it is a great thing to know I can do it in the first place. Maybe this means I CAN have a career as a writer and work during the day after all. To write the quantity of books I want to write, I’d like to turn 2 or 3 out a year. That means 200 – 300K per year. If I write 1,000 words per day (about 20 minutes effort if I know what I’m writing about) I can do it with a few days off for good behavior. If I chose to only do one book, the demands on my time are even less.

I think it’s possible. That writing a few words every day isn’t a myth. It is infinitely doable, even if you don’t average 50 words per minute like I do. Hunting a pecking a measely 10 wpm will still get you 600 words closer to completion if you dedicate 60 minutes to your craft a day.

So let me set you with a challenge (and I hope you will tell me how it goes when you’re done). For 1 week, write 30 – 60 minutes every day. It doesn’t have to be a continous 30 minutes; 5 minutes, 6 times a day will work just fine. At the end of the week, review what you’ve done and ask yourself if it’s something you can maintain.

That’s it. That is the challenge. At the end of the week I’ll let you know if I’ve managed to stay faithful to Nano and my editing.

Deal?

Personal Update

At the time of this writing I had 10,000 words in 3 days for Nano and I’m only days away from submitting my fantasy novel. A new episode of ‘Get Published’ was released on November 1st and I’m preparing for several interviews for upcoming shows.

Tags: Get Published, irreverent muse, Michell Plested, nano, nanowrimo, scouts, time management, writing