Don’t Be A Cover Band

On August 11, 2015August 10, 2015 By Robert EvenhouseIn Writing Tips3 Comments

I listen to music while I work and enjoyed Grooveshark.com before the site went dark. Now, I’ve settled on Pandora. Many of the artists blend together with my suggested band and often there is little distinction.

Have you ever had that experience?

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This can be true for novels as well. You see people following someone else’s formula or ground breaking achievements and instead of producing a work that only they can produce, they write recycled stories.

The book might sell, but it’s a fad and not something that will be remembered in fifteen years.

Then there is that magical time, when I am in the middle of filling out an Excel spreadsheet and I freeze. The music and lyrics are fresh and new. A chill runs down my spine and I forget to click the thumbs up button because I am enraptured.

Have you ever had that experience? Where you are pulled out of the monotony and surprised by a book or a song that instills wonder and captivates you? I hope we all strive for that kind of uniqueness in our work.

One of my favorite podcasts is by Todd Henry founder of Accidental Creative. His closing quote is always the same “Cover bands don’t change the world, don’t be a cover band. You need to find your unique voice if you want to thrive.”

Create your art. Don’t get distracted by other people. Write what matters to you. Write the sort of book you’d like to read, the type that sets trends and stands alone.

How To Always Have Something To Write About

On August 10, 2015August 9, 2015 By Robert EvenhouseIn The Writing Process6 Comments

Do you have that writer friend that is an amazing blogger, short story writer, or novelist? Yeah, I’ve disowned that person too.

I am in awe of the constant do-er, the everdayer, the consummate professional who always seems to have something to write about.

I struggled with this for a while as I reviewed my plan for my blog re-launch. How will I be able to sustain a pace and not give up like the pros?

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A few months ago, I started seeking out the top echelon of successful bloggers and platform builders. I found a lot of people I admire. You know what else I found out? They all knew each other.

Part of this should not have been a surprise. Once you reach a certain level of anything you want to be with people who have done the same thing. If you play a sport for two decades and want to grow, you can’t do so playing with a first timer. You have to compete with those at your level.

But this was not the main take away from this search. The real point was that they were all conversing about similar topics. And they talked amongst each other on one another’s blog or podcast or Vlog. They endorse each other’s books and attend each other’s book launch.

This gave me a huge nugget of insight. Conversation. This is what blogging, or any art, is about. Interaction, digging deeper into subjects, and then coming away with a response is all part of being an artist. Suddenly I found myself furiously writing down responses or ideas that sprung to mind when I interacted with them.

This is the key to blogging. You want to be a novelist? Read books about authors, by your favorite authors, and write about them. Your answer could be what you’ve learned, things you’d do differently, or ideas for books you may have. Stuff your head full of this material.

Art is not expression in a vacuum. It’s reciprocal.

So get in the conversation. Part of it is listening well. The other part is responding. If you do this, you’ll never run out of things to say.

My Writing Update

On August 9, 2015August 9, 2015 By Robert EvenhouseIn Writing UpdatesLeave a comment

This past week I’ve had a writing renaissance. Here’s a bit of what I’ve been up to lately.

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I’ve been consistently writing on the Jot Conference website for the past few months in an attempt to see if I could get passionate about blogging again. It was a struggle. But this past week, after revamping the theme and some widgets here at Part-Time Novel, I relaunched this blog. It’s not perfect, but this past week I’ve wrote nine posts here and two more at jotwritersconference.com a total of about 3000 words.

Books

I worked on a book series for over a decade and decided to set it on the shelf. Then I started a new book, but I’m not going to share details about it yet. I have completed about 50 pages so far and hope to have a rough draft between now and the next Jot Conference (September 12th). I wrote about 1500 words on it this week.

Speaking

The Jot Conference is moving to Three Rivers in September. I will be speaking about blogging basics and how it can help you in your writing career.

The Coming Weeks

You can follow my posts on creativity, writing tips, and, chasing your dream job here and also on the Jot Writer’s Conference website. My goal is to write 10,000 words on my book this week and fulfill my blogging goals. Wish me luck.

Creative, Where’s Your Hustle?

On August 8, 2015August 7, 2015 By Robert EvenhouseIn Chasing Life1 Comment

If you’ve ever read Jon Acuff you’ve heard of the word hustle. Hustle is the willingness to beat your body until it does the thing you want it to do. This could mean cutting out sleep, movies or TV, and even time you would normally be eating, in order to get something done. It’s the all nighter, the first months or years of the business, or the last push right before a product launch.

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For most of us, hustle is the last thing we have in our arsenal when sleep tugs at the corner of our eyes and our rational side tells us to not work so hard, that this dream of yours can wait until tomorrow.

The truth is that our dreams can never wait until tomorrow. The promise of tomorrow is the first step down a slippery slope. You’ll find yourself watching reruns and HGTV. I know I do. Then your dreams will be just dreams – someplace you’ll get to in the murky future.

I assure you of this. No successful person wakes up one day to find that they arrived at someplace they never intended to go. Mr. Acuff himself says in his book Quitter that writing for him is not something he wants to do in his free time.

But why does he do it?

Because he wants to be intentional with his limited time. He wants to focus on the things he loves, that matter, that will last.

And I believe this is the true meaning and sweet spot of hustle. It should feel awkward. It is usually hard. But it is worthwhile.

So fellow creative, if you are working hard on your dream and it is more difficult than you than ever imagined, you’re in a good place.

So push hard. Don’t give into easy. Instead, hustle.

Turn Your Day Dreams Into Action

On August 7, 2015August 5, 2015 By Robert EvenhouseIn Chasing Life4 Comments

If you’ve ever seen the movie The Secret Life of Walter Mitty you’ve been inside the mind of a dreamer. Someone who desires to say hello to the girl, stand up to a bully, and speak their mind. The film grows from the absurd internal thoughts of a shell of a man to an individual who goes after the life he wants.

This is fiction of course. Or is it?

Have you had thoughts like that before? Where you had a glimpse the life you wanted, the job you crave, or the hobby you just didn’t have time to invest in? Then you let it sink into the chaos of a life filled with the churning waters of busy. Good. I’m not the only one.

The problem here is not the dream. The issue is action. We are dreamers. Ideas come and go all day. But then we go to bed, to a meeting, back to the grind.

Have you ever stopped and asked yourself what your life would look like if you started to move toward your dream, even just one inch in that direction?

What if you began to write every day no matter what? Or took one night and did a pottery class? What if you volunteered for a campaign? Maybe asked someone to lunch who is closer to where you want to be and picked their brain?

Life is not easy, and we aren’t promised one more day. But is not a life lived with the desires of our hearts far better than one lived only in our mind?

There is, of course, no guarantee that we’ll get to the place we want to be. But I assure you of one thing. You’ll be closer to realizing it than you were yesterday. And if you stick with it, you’ll have the best chance of reaching it some day.

Writer, Why Do You Keep Writing? Find Your Why.

On August 6, 2015August 5, 2015 By Robert EvenhouseIn The Writing Life5 Comments

In yesterdays post was about treating your writing like a job. This I said will help you get out of bed, stay up late, and place it on a higher level of importance. But one commenter brought up a great point that I failed to mention. Getting out of bed and getting to work is much more compelling when we know the reason we are doing it.

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Discovering Your Why

Do you have a dream or project that you enjoy and want to work harder at but just cannot bring yourself to do it consistently? I totally get that. Many writers bail after the first year or so. I once read that the average blog lasts eight months.

Writing day after day without recognition or any growth that we can see is tough. Part of the reason is the “I want success now” mentality of our western culture. The other part? Maybe we don’t have a ‘Why’, a reason we are doing it.

Have you ever sat down and thought of your Why? The reason you are writing or chasing your dream in the first place? If it is money you have most likely figured out you may have a better chance of making more money doing part time shifts at Starbucks for years than making millions on your creative endeavor.

Okay money may become part of the equation, but I firmly believe your Why must mean more than this. It must give you a thrill or a tickle or a vision of a life worth living when you think of it.

Give Your Why Some Space

Don’t know what your Why is? It can be tricky if you haven’t given it any thought. I encourage you to take a chunk of time and go somewhere you get clarity. Go visit a park, a coffee shop, or a dark closet where no one can find you.

Then think for however long it takes you to give you clarity. You’ll most likely have to revisit this time and time again and it may change as you grow. But the overall purpose of discovering your Why will go a long way toward motivating you to work harder and invest more in the life you want.

My Why

My Why is twofold. One, I love encouraging people. I love to bring energy to projects and help people realize their potential. Second, I’d love to write and speak for a living and hopefully elbow out more time with my family.

These are the reasons I write.

What is/are your Why(s)?

Why You Should Treat Your Book Like A Part-Time Job

On August 5, 2015August 4, 2015 By Robert EvenhouseIn The Writing Process4 Comments

Have you ever woke up and thought, I’ll just go into work late today? We all have. But we get up anyway. Its work and we need to go. Our family and our mortgage depend on us.

A few weeks ago I got up at 5am to work on my book. I did this for a week. My life, much like yours is stuffed full and this was quite a feat. Then a vacation came and I stopped. It’s been a few weeks since and I’ve yet to get up early again.

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There is a huge problem with this lack of consistent effort. This is my dream, and that’s not reason enough to wake early? I decided to sit myself down, much like any manager would, and have talk about the importance of punctuality. Do I care enough about writing to do it full time? The answer was a quick yes. It is my dream. I knew I needed to challenge myself in the way I thought about my work and maybe you do too.

If we wrote like we were punching a clock, we might be more successful at putting our time in. After all, could you imagine telling your boss, ‘I was just a bit too tired from doing yard work yesterday, so I thought I’d just come in later’? If that doesn’t work for you, maybe you volunteer at your church, or a charity or museum. Can you imagine telling the people who count on you that you didn’t show up because you wanted a few extra hours of sleep? Or that your got carried away in your Netflix queue again?

Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not saying sleep or recreation is unimportant. We all need more sleep than we get on an average night and it’s okay to stop and recharge. My point is to ask the serious question about your craft. Is this worth it? Is it my dream? If so, why don’t we pick it up, dust it off, and place it on a higher shelf of importance?

I finished this blog at 5:37am. It matters to me.

Does it matter to you?

How To Not Be Intimidated By The First (or Blank) Page Ever Again

On August 4, 2015August 4, 2015 By Robert EvenhouseIn The Writing ProcessLeave a comment

Have you ever perused a gallery of half finished art? How about watched an unedited movie? Bought a book that has no ending?

Of course not. All of those things would be a waste of time. But this is what we do with our books. When we start, we think they are already on display and worry over every word.

We fret over the first line as if once it’s typed it’ll cure and we can never change it again. And then our book dies because of unfair expectation. But does it have to be like this?

Perfection on the first try is a myth. Or if it is perfect the first time it’s because the individual put in constant hours of play and practice out of the public eye. They tested new methods or perfected one and seemingly burst onto the scene.

But our pages, as well as a lump of clay or canvas, are places to grow and learn. They are what software developers call a sandbox. A place to test. A place to see what happens.

While it’s easier said than done to separate ourselves from our work like a software developer does, we’re doing the same thing and just need to change our mindset.

When you say to yourself that you’re creating a piece of art the pressure to be prefect shoots through the roof. What if you just call it a project or a product? Will this make your work cliché or a business rather than an expression of who you are?

I say do whatever you have to do to keep going. I trick myself all of the time to see where my latest project will go.

Put it this way, if you are backpacking across the Appalachian Trail mile marker one is not the place to gauge whether or not you are a professional hiker. If you stop there, you’d miss the bad weather and a possible bear encounter, sure, but also the views, other people who can share in your journey, and the joy of the distant finish.

So writer, don’t put too much pressure on yourself at the beginning. Writing is hard work as it is. Before you struggle to perfect the backstroke, there came the thrill and joy of just swimming. So just jump in and enjoy it.

Writer, It’s Your Turn

On August 3, 2015August 1, 2015 By Robert EvenhouseIn The Writing Life3 Comments

As a husband, parent of three (going on four in November), full time cubicle dweller, and writer, I know what it’s like to be busy. I also know what it’s like to have these important and life giving things crash into each other and all over my writing goals.

Spotlight But I realized something lately – I’ve been waiting : For the perfect time, the perfect idea, and the perfect platform to go after the writing life I crave – more time with the kids, chances to meet other authors, and spread a message to websites yet un-pitched.

But we cannot wait. Life is a current and we need to swim.

I’ve been waiting for someone to tell me that I am an author and that I can have permission to chase it. Affirmation is wonderful but the life of an author is one of constant rejection and resistance. It is also the life of trailblazers not ones who keep trying the first ten feet of path after path and turning back when it doesn’t feel right.

Don’t delay anymore friend.

You are a writer.

Claim it.

Live a life that speaks it.

PART-TIME NOVEL

Month: August 2015