After many years of writing short stories and starting
longer novels, I have finally finished writing my first full length novel
called “The Election”. It will soon be available for sale on Kindle. Here are
the top things I learned:
Goals and deadlines are important
It’s not enough to simply want to
write
a story. You need support in getting to the end. I’ve started several stories and stalled after around 30,000 words. With this one, I set a goal of writing 1,000 words per day until my story was done. I also set a deadline – my story is focused on the UK General Election and it had to be done in time for the start of the campaign, otherwise I would have to wait another five years before telling it.
a story. You need support in getting to the end. I’ve started several stories and stalled after around 30,000 words. With this one, I set a goal of writing 1,000 words per day until my story was done. I also set a deadline – my story is focused on the UK General Election and it had to be done in time for the start of the campaign, otherwise I would have to wait another five years before telling it.
Time can be squeezed from the most unlikely
of places
Looking back to my days as a
student I can’t believe how much free time I squandered. Now I have a full time
job and a 2 year old daughter. I spent a lot of time researching procrastinating
about how top executives and leaders get the most out of their days. A lot of
people get up really early and I’ve
read all sorts about delegation, outsourcing, etc. At the end of the day it’s
important to find a routine that works for you and I managed to carve out a
daily writing habit.
Stop when you’ve still got enough steam to
carry on
I think this is a tip from Ernest
Hemingway, who suggested that we should always stop writing when we’ve got
enough interest to come back to the work the next day. It’s incredibly
demoralising to exhaust myself writing 10,000 words and then completely run out
of energy or inclination to go on.
Enjoy the process
At the end of the day, how many
authors actually sell millions of books and make a living by writing? Very few.
I wouldn’t want to rely on writing as a full time job and I’ve got other
interests. Writing is a part of me. It’s something that I enjoy doing as often
as possible. With a bit of discipline I could call myself a writer but I’ve
heard from too many authors who feel jaded and unappreciated. Even if no one
else reads my books, at least I enjoy writing them. Write for yourself, not for
anyone else.
My book, The Election, is
currently on Kindle. Get it on Amazon now - http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00VJ39ILE
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