Sunday Support Group (A Day Late)

I've been posting notices about my book-writing project on Sundays, as a way of encouraging others to keep up with their own large 2018 projects. A day late today.

March was, to put it kindly, a setback for me. The Joni Cole Rule is "touch it every day," meaning, whatever you're working on, at least open it / sit down to it / pick up the instrument or the camera—whatever "touching it" means for your project, do it every day. Not to apply any porcine lip-gloss, I failed at that in March. We had a big snowstorm with a loss of power, I went into the hospital with a heart-attack scare and came out with the rather bizarre (under the circumstances) condition placed on me to not type for a week or two, and I lost willpower and momentum.

Then I found the last piece to the puzzle, which was to work on it first thing in the morning, when I have the most energy. My mentor said, "I think your idea of hitting the writing hard when you’re the sharpest is a good idea, but the best thing about it is that you’re on a schedule. Scheduled writing is critical; otherwise, it’s too easy to let go. It’s like exercise. You gotta do it, but if you don’t have a schedule, you’ll start skipping."

March was a month of skipping; April has been a month of regular work. It's been going great.

Overall, I'm really glad I didn't let the setbacks of March swamp the project. Could have happened. I'm now a little behind my original schedule, still, but catching up fast, and I'm getting work done regularly—six days a week. (Monday, when I play pool with the older guys, is my day off now—from writing, and, usually, or this is the plan, from TOP.)

Moral of the story: don't let setbacks sink the project. Keep working at the method, meaning the mechanics and the nuts-and-bolts of how you work, until you hit on the way of working that allows you to get the job done. Until you're working easily and regularly, without needing too much in the way of self-discipline or willpower, you're not there yet; keep trying. I'm thankful I did.

Lastly, although this isn't pertinent, I have to say I just love working on the book. It's so nice to be able to write without the pressure of immediate publication. I only work for 75 minutes, first thing in the morning after getting up, taking care of the dogs, and fixing coffee, but I look forward to it each and every day. I honestly want to do this for the rest of my life, or at least as long as I've got my marbles. I'm blessed that TOP allows me to work those extra 75 minutes every day.

Hope your own project is going well too!

Mike
(Thanks to J.C.)

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(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

David Maxwell: "Maybe a day late for you, but right on time for me. On Saturday I started a new book project. Time will tell if it is the one to break the 5,000 word barrier (I write very quickly and efficiently to that point, before rapidly losing momentum) or if it will join dozens of other abandoned projects. Previous manuscripts fell into one of two categories—books that I wanted to write or books that I thought other people would want to buy. The latter always fizzled out due to lack of passion while the former would usually die because what little pragmatism I possess would rise up and tell me that I'm wasting my time. Fortunately my newest project combines the two for the first time. I'm referring to it as a 'memoir/how-not-to guide.' It has been a fun few days of brainstorming, outlining, and writing. I have high hopes for this one. Thanks for the inspiration Mike!"

Comments

[Earl Jamgochian]

The screenwriter Stirling Silliphant once described to my college writing class his process for completing scripts. He set a personal requirement of writing 8 pages per day, around a schedule: breakfast; 2 pages; tennis; 2 pages; lunch; 2 pages; swim; 2 pages; cocktails and dinner. This way, he could complete a typical 110 minute screenplay in two weeks.

[Speed]

Rules based Discipline! When I finally got serious about college my rule was to never cut a class and do all the assignments. It worked.

[Richard Ripley]

Thanks Mike - that was helpful!!!

[David Lee]

Writing is easy: All you do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead.

Gene Fowler

[Roger]

Thanks for this, Mike. I’m on the verge of retirement; a future without a steady gig is wearing on me. “Touch it every day” will become my mantra lest I become a professional couch potato.