Drawing from the Well
Fifth Eighth
Chapter 45/91
Scene 281/508 – 55.3%
Word Count: 70,992 (+10,702) – 55.31%
Wow! I wrote a lot more than I thought I had. If that’s not encouragement, I don’t know what is. I’ve made it past the halfway point but lost my motivation. I know looking at the numbers posted above that doesn’t make much sense but I have had no consistency since New Year’s, really since mid-December. That lack of consistency has really affected me. That said, I’m starting to turn the corner. I’ll get into the details below. I’m not going to bother sharing the graphs right now because there’s not much to see. Soon, though!
Filling the Well
Books 1-7 of 36 for #ProjectBookworm2020: Predator’s Gold, Infernal Devices, A Darkling Plain, The Way of Shadows, How to Say Anything to Anyone, The Coaching Habit, Painless Performance Conversations
The Lies of Locke Lamora: 87%
Shadows Edge: 59%
It’s been a busy reading year already! I might have lost consistency and motivation in my writing but reading is going strong. It’s nice to be ahead of the strong pace I set. Granted, the last three books were short but they count and I got some good tips about management out of them. Plus, I’m about to finish the EXQUISITE Lies of Locke Lamora. It is so stinking good, y’all. If you like fantasy or heists or cons or just really smart fiction, go read this book. Now. Go. I’ll wait here.
Well Chat
Yesterday I had a chat with an author friend of mine. We’ve been trying to schedule this for months and ran into real-life conflicts. Those finally cleared and we got to talk for about a half hour.
It was fantastic.
I got so much out of being able to identify the stresses and pressures I have felt recently in someone else. It was like all of that pressure was released because I wasn’t the only one feeling it. On top of that, I got encouragement not only that I could do the work but that the work was good.
Let me pause here for a moment. Sidebar. Authors are notorious for suffering from Impostor’s Syndrome. I’ve written about it here before. The struggle to remind yourself that what you’re doing is good or, barring that, the best you can do in this moment is constant. So to hear from a fellow author, one with two self-published books, that I am “a good writer” was like a salve on my soul.
Hence, I’m back. At the beginning of the year, I wanted to write a blog twice a week and build up to a newsletter. The newsletter is still a goal but I’m pushing it out a bit because of financial strains. However, the blog is back up. Whether it’s twice a week or once a week or less is yet to be seen but I want to keep putting my writing status out there. On top of that, I’m energized to get back to my novel. I’ve got some magical cookies to write soon and want to get to them. I looked ahead to the next chapter I plan to write and it’s a good one. It’s not one of the typical magical cookies but a character makes a significant decision that changes things for her for quite a while. I’m really excited about it.
And that’s the real power of community. A burden borne by two is lighter than when it is born by one. Excitement borne by two is greater than when only borne by one. A weight is constant so when more people add their strength, it’s easier to carry. Joy, on the other hand, is like a fire: the more people pouring energy into it, the greater, brighter, and hotter it becomes. So let your joys be greater and your worries lesser because you have plugged into a community. It has done wonders for me already. I hope it does the same for you.
May the tide carry you to safer shores.
BSG