The Summer is Over

I have been goofing off most of the summer. I finished 2 books when I wanted to write 8-10 (8,000 words each).  Now that the kids are going back to school, maybe I can find a regular weekly routine to write everyday. 

I want to find a writing trigger. I want to find something I can look at that will make me want to write. Once I get started, then I will continue as I get excited about what I am writing.

I am pondering an app that will provide triggers that will get you writing. I just need to find all the triggers that will help get me started.

Just Begin. The Rest is Easy.

The founder of Publix supermarket, George Jenkins, was quoted as saying, "Just Begin. The rest is easy." I find beginning is the hardest part of any project. Beginning to write each day is the hardest part of my writing routine.

When I think about writing each day, i write an outline of what I want to write for that particular day. If I have a plan, then I have more success finishing the books I want to write.

I have created a formula separating each book into 21 parts. Most days I write 1 of those parts. If I can write several parts at one time then I can get the book completed quicker. Sometimes I am able to write a book in about 4 days depending on how motivated I am. 

Editing each book tends to be the most labor-intensive part of writing. Usually I go for a two or three day editing session where any free time I have is been editing.  If I can edit 5 parts every day, then I can publish each book fairly quickly. 

Here are a few things I do to help get me started.

1. I look at my notebook and outlined several ideas at once. I will look back at some of my other outlines and complete them or use them to start new outlines. This inspiration will sometimes give me writing.

2. I will look at blog posts that I have written in the past and use them to either write new blog posts or I edit them to make them better. Sometimes editing these posts will jumpstart an idea and I can set it aside and get started writing something new. If nothing comes out of that blog post then I have just created a stronger post for anyone who might be reading.

3. I go somewhere different. If I can find a park or a quiet spot in the woods or take a walk down the street. I can write by dictating into my phone. This allows me to remove myself from distractions and I can get started by focusing on what I'm writing. The walking is the way I begin.

Mailing lists and email

I'm trying to decide what I want to do when it comes to a mailing list. There are a lot of good services out there that charge you a nominal fee to keep track of email addresses from your fans. These companies are great and do wonders for most people. My problem is I don't want to spend money on a mailing list I'm not sure is going to help me in any way.

What I'm thinking about doing is using this blogger account to send notices to everybody who subscribes to it. This means I will use it just to update everyone on finished projects and where they can get them.

I guess I could use it to talk about things that interest me. I can use it to create a conversation between me and my readers. I could use it to let people know about what I am reading. If I do all these things then I guess I am using it for what most bloggers use their blogs for.

What I might do is make a point to get people to sign up for the email notifications. This means if you are opted in to receive notifications on this web blog, every time I make a post you will see it.

I am also thinking about making my email address public. I'm thinking about letting people email me when they read my books. I know that's asking for a lot of punishment. I know people are going to start emailing me all kinds of good and bad comments. I will set myself up to receive a lot of spam. This is all part of the decision.

The reason I'm thinking about doing this is for the feedback. If I have a lot of negative comments coming my way through email then I know I have to do something about it in future projects. If I'm getting good feedback, I know I'm doing something right. I can also use the feedback to inspire new projects. There may be questions I can answer in long form, as a book I can offer to my readers. 

I can also use the feedback to figure out what my audience is really interested in. If I'm getting a lot of responses about the same thing then I can focus on that one thing and create a solution.

Whatever the case, I think I'm going to start making some small changes to my workflow. 

I need to find a way to write every day and to edit every day and to release books on a more regular basis. I have allowed myself to fall into a rut, not writing for the past three or four weeks. I am going to find a way to inspire myself to write more. I'm not sure how I'm going to do this yet but I am hoping you will be active and respond to me and let me know how you get yourself to sit down and write every day.

Don't worry about what other people think

Today I am trying to decrease my #stress and #anxiety by being #happy about what I #amwriting and #love getting any response people might have to it, be it good or bad.

I find I worry about what other people think about my writing. I pondered the reason why today when I sat down to write this post. There are several reasons I might feel a little uncomfortable with people reading what I have to say. For one, they might disagree with me. They might disagree and then in turn, try to prove me wrong.

These readers might also laugh at what I might have to say. They may not take me seriously or find my writing thoughtless or insignificant. They might go to their friends and point and laugh. I just picture being on a elementary school kickball field, A group of kids standing together pointing and laughing because I had just missed the ball and landed on my rear end. Maybe that's what might happen if I put my writing out there. Maybe I will miss the point, land on my proverbial rear end, everybody in the world laughing at me.

I've come to realize over the last 10 years or so that most people are not even aware of what you're trying to do. They may read your writing, think about it for a brief moment and then continue on their way without a second thought. They might agree with you and send you a small note saying they do. They might disagree and let you know why they disagree. That's okay. Every person has their own opinions.

Most people are not out to get you. They're not interested in pointing and laughing. They have their own problems and their own concerns. They're probably worried about what they might be doing that you might laugh at.

If they do take the time to tell other people how bad your writing is or how wrong a specific point was, they just advertised your writing for you even though it was negatively. There'll be a percentage of people who will come read your writing just to see if their friend was right. They will want to make their own choice. That means more people will read your writing.

I don't know if anybody is actually reading my blog. I think a few people have come back on a regular basis whenever I post something new. I definitely don't have the largest reader base but that's not really why I write these posts. I write them to help myself write every day. This is the third day in a row I have written a blog post. I'm not really setting myself any goals as to how often or how long I will be writing, but I like the idea of writing every day even if it's only a paragraph or two. We will see if I can keep the interest of my readers and possibly draw new readers to the blog. If I can, that's awesome. If I don't, well, I can live with that too.

I am trying something different today on this post. I added a few hashtags to the beginning of the post to see if I can draw any readers from Twitter. When I post this blog entry, it automatically sends a tweet on Twitter with the first line or two of the post. If I can get it to show up on some of these popular hashtags then maybe more people will come read the blog. It's an experiment and I don't know if it will work. I will let you know what comes of it.

Baseball excitement and battling self-doubt

I have ignited my own excitement about major-league baseball this year. It all started last week when a friend and neighbor came over with his baseball cards wanting to trade with me for a couple of rookie cards I had shown him. It made me think about all the fun I used to have watching baseball and collecting baseball cards.

This week I started looking for news and score apps to help keep me up-to-date with what is going on in baseball. I found MLB actually airs their baseball games on YouTube so you can watch them a few days after they have played. I think this will be a great way for me to watch some baseball on days when I'm home by myself and need to get a little writing done but want to watch something on TV as well.

Spring training is almost over and my team the Atlanta braves are just about ready for the beginning of the season. I am getting myself acquainted with some of the new players. What I find intriguing is many of the players these days can throw with both her left hand and their right. Some of these players on the Braves include Eric Young Jr., Nick Markakis, Freddie Freeman and Christian Betharcourt. I am interested in seeing how some of these players stack up to the other teams they will play playing over the next few months.

One of the other things I've come across is the Alanna Braves are now worth more than $1 billion. That amazes me.

I started writing some of this stuff down and hoping I will be able to use some of it in future writings or to be able to expand upon them. I don't know if I'll ever be able to use anything about baseball but people like baseball and maybe I can use it to expand on some of the things I think about.

One of the things that occurred to me this week is my reluctance to write about sensitive material. I have outlined three books about the love of God and having a relationship with God. I find many people have opposing views on some of the subjects. I have allowed the fear of what others might say keep me from writing. 

Twice this week I have been told to just write what I want to write and not to worry about what other people might say. When I allow that worry to control me then I'm allowing someone else to stop me from doing the things I enjoy. When I worry and allow my actions to reflect that worry then I automatically lose. So instead I need to sit down and write these books. So that's what I'm going to do starting today.

Well I was going to try and write something...

I'm sitting here on my lunch break trying to think of something to write about. I wanted to update my blog but what to write about has been rather difficult. 

I'm trying to find something I can write about on a regular basis. I am thinking about letting you read my thoughts as they come out of my brain. Sometimes they makes sense but most of the time what comes out is utter nonsense.

I am hoping I can find something I can share with you every day when I am on my lunch break. I will sit down and write several things that I have been thinking about and then spend time dictating it on to my blog. This will allow me to release some of the creative juices that don't get released when I am working in the store.

One of the things I have thought about doing is writing sections of the books I have outlined in my notebook. There are probably about two dozen books I have outlined and have yet to sit down to write. If I can get myself to write for at least 15 to 20 minutes then I will have a decent size blog post to send out to you. 

My only worry is it won't be interesting and you will just laugh at me and walk away from the blog. I guess it's not really the reason I write the blog. Usually I write to focus my mind and think about the things I want to write about. I write about things that are going on in my day so I can leave them on the blog instead of allowing them in my writing. 

I think what I'm going to do right now is to finish some of the outlines that are towards the last few pages of my notebook. I started them with a chapter number in mind and I write down the ideas for each chapter. If I can come up with enough ideas to make an entire book then I can go ahead and start writing it. I have three of these notebooks I have filled up. There are dozens of outlines in them so I will never run out of things to write about.

Ignoring Negative Reviews

I noticed this week I had a few reviews on a couple of my books. Two of them were negative. They really didn't say anything of value that would help me in the long run. One of them said the book was boring and too short. The other one said it was providing common sense and not worth the dollars spent on it.

I know it is self punishment to read your own reviews. Many people write reviews just to be mean to writers. I should not let it get to me and honestly it doesn't. What it does do is help me think about how to improve my writing in the future.

I am thinking about how I can make my writing more interesting in the upcoming books. I am also thinking about how I can go back to some of my previous books and add more content. I have some ideas to double the length of one or two of the books I already have out. I think there's more information I can provide.

I have decided I will allow these reviews to drive me rather than put me down. If I allow them to get under my skin, then I run the risk of put my writing down and never returning to it. That's not how I need to look at negative reviews. I need to use them to fuel future projects, to drive me to improve my craft and provide more valuable information for my readers.