It less than a week ago when I posted about being stuck. My new project was giving me fits. It wasn’t “writer’s block”. Personally I thing the whole writer’s block idea is a bunch of crap. That doesn’t mean writing something can’t be a chore. It’s just harder to write when the inspiration isn’t there. Now there’s a rub.
To put it bluntly, I felt the concept for the project was inspired. I like the idea very much but I’m just not wrapping my head around the whole thing. After I wrote the above post, I decided to shelve it and work on another idea that came to me. This second one was equally inspired, though possibly not as commercially enticing. Then again, maybe it would be more. All of this brings me to the point of this post.
You see, I started writing the “new” new project. It flowed. If flowed really well. No, it was the sort of “I wrote entire novel in a single day” flow, like the first version of “No More Mr. Nice Guy”. (Not published to date.) But filling in around the concept is coming much easier than the previous project, as well as others on the back burner. Why? Why is this flowing much better? For whatever reason (the other “why”) I am simply enjoying writing about this. Then came the epiphany.
Joy. At this stage of my life, everything else is off the table. I am writing for myself, for my own joy and enjoyment. If I complete the novel or should I write several more novels, more than anything else, I’ll do it for the pure joy of writing them. Now for those three people reading this who might actually want to read or at least start to read one or more of my novels, do not despair. I do expect to publish at some point. When or what order I’ll publish, I do not know.
It shouldn’t take me long to finish a first draft of my current project. Generally speaking, after that, it doesn’t take to long to buff it out so it looks pleasing. Being a firm believer in the principle of “good enough is better than perfect”, I’m not one to agonize over anything. Nor am I one of those “unfinished novel” authors. I’ve completed two already – start to finish. My reasons for not publishing those are logical (to me). My first novel, is something I feel the timing is just not right. As for the second, timing is not so critical but I do want it to sell well, but I don’t think it is something that would just “take off”. To that end, I’d rather wait until I’ve had a chance to build my writer’s creds a bit. I think this current project stands a better chance for a successful release. As series tend to be far more successful these days, I plan on rapid releasing at least three titles on this one. If I do stall, burn out, or otherwise decide not to move forward with the current work, I’ll reconsider publishing “No More Mr. Nice Guy”. I really do want to publish another book, but rather than churn out another dredge on the market, I’d like to put up something that stands a chance of success. So I will publish, I promise!
Meanwhile if there really is anyone out there who might want to consider reading one or more of my novels, please sign up for my newsletter. You’ll be among the first to hear any news. (Yes, it really IS a newsletter!) I’ll also give subscribers the first option to become beta readers – meaning you’ll get to read and comment on a new project if you like that sort of thing. (Beta readers are sent a couple of chapters at a time and can thus opt out if you get hammered, bored or you just can’t stand to read any more.) On top of all that, I plan on coming up with some special perks for subscribers. This could be anything from a free coffee mug to signed book copies to additional materials not available to other readers. Nothing is set in stone here but I’m a big believer in rewarding loyalty.
Whether you read another word of mine again or not, what I’d like you to take away from all of this is:
Pursue your joy.
Granted, the context of this is to do so in a godly manner but God is far easier to get along with than many suspect. One of the projects I’ve been working on was about the very topic of joy. I even posted an article on this. I’ve written far more extensively on this than I’ve published. In fact I am well on my way to having enough material for a book on the subject. Why did I stop? It got to be tedious. Few things could be more ironic to me as finding no joy in writing about joy. At some point, I expect I’ll pick this back up but for the time being, it’s on a back burner.
That said, I’m off to find my joy.
