I did it! I started another book. It's much too early to say much about it since the first chapter is making its way onto my computer very slowly, just four pages so far. A book has a beginning, a middle, and an end. I'm very much at the beginning. This part, at least for me, requires a lot of thinking, a lot of research, and a lot of getting to know my characters. That usually adds up to a lot of rewriting too. I will say it's going to be a murder mystery with a bit of romance.
One and a half more books and I'll have all of the adult Whitney finalists read. So far I'm impressed with the nominees. Well there's one I'm not sure how or why it even got nominated, leave alone chosen as a finalist, but the others are either impressive or super impressive. I'll be glad when I have these last two books finished because it will give me more time to read the new books I'm given to review and to do my own writing.
Thinking about time, it's my theory that no one actually finds time to write. Most writers I know are busy people. Most are parents, most have another job, and many have strong community or church (sometimes both) commitments. In order to write, it is necessary to take time; not find time. Some writers call this the fifteen minute rule; I've always tried to make it thirty minutes, but either way it simply means I carve fifteen or thirty minutes out of my day as an absolute priority to write. I take more time whenever I can of course. That means no facebook, no phone calls, no TV, prepare in advance another diversion for the kids, and do planning and research in advance. I just do whatever it takes to claim fifteen minutes of solid writing time. Fifteen minutes isn't long and many writers feel they can't get much done in that amount of time, but most writers are pleasantly surprised by how much can be accomplished in a quarter to a half hour.
I also give myself a minimum of fifteen minutes daily reading time. Again I take more as often as possible. That's another pet theory of mine. I don't think a person can be an effective writer if they're not also a reader.
It seems to be the fashion now to ask readers to suggest titles or characters' names for a work in progress. I'm not that far along. So far my book has a number, not even a working title, but I may consider doing this a little farther down the road. For now it just feels good to be back to thinking through a story.
One and a half more books and I'll have all of the adult Whitney finalists read. So far I'm impressed with the nominees. Well there's one I'm not sure how or why it even got nominated, leave alone chosen as a finalist, but the others are either impressive or super impressive. I'll be glad when I have these last two books finished because it will give me more time to read the new books I'm given to review and to do my own writing.
Thinking about time, it's my theory that no one actually finds time to write. Most writers I know are busy people. Most are parents, most have another job, and many have strong community or church (sometimes both) commitments. In order to write, it is necessary to take time; not find time. Some writers call this the fifteen minute rule; I've always tried to make it thirty minutes, but either way it simply means I carve fifteen or thirty minutes out of my day as an absolute priority to write. I take more time whenever I can of course. That means no facebook, no phone calls, no TV, prepare in advance another diversion for the kids, and do planning and research in advance. I just do whatever it takes to claim fifteen minutes of solid writing time. Fifteen minutes isn't long and many writers feel they can't get much done in that amount of time, but most writers are pleasantly surprised by how much can be accomplished in a quarter to a half hour.
I also give myself a minimum of fifteen minutes daily reading time. Again I take more as often as possible. That's another pet theory of mine. I don't think a person can be an effective writer if they're not also a reader.
It seems to be the fashion now to ask readers to suggest titles or characters' names for a work in progress. I'm not that far along. So far my book has a number, not even a working title, but I may consider doing this a little farther down the road. For now it just feels good to be back to thinking through a story.
1 comment:
Yay! Exciting news!
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