7000 Words In 7 Days Completed

On September 26, 2015 By Robert EvenhouseIn Uncategorized1 Comment

When I announced I was going to do a My Novel Recommit challenge to get back to writing every day again, I didn’t realize I’d selected one of the busiest weeks I’ve had in a while at home and at work to do it.

But I did it. 7012 words in 7 days.

4565122443_d23faab7c5 — Photo Credit: ®DS via Compfight cc

Many days I wrote until 1230am was up in the middle of the night with kids and then up at 630. It was rough. In the middle I knew I couldn’t do it. In the end I powered through. It’s always a thrill to meet a deadline.

If you joined me in the challenge, thank you. You helped me stay accountable. Special thanks to Maria Berg for competing.

I am going to put the books on the backburner for the next two weeks as I finish the preparations on my talk at the Breathe Writers Conference on Worldbuilding. I’ll tell you more about it later.

What I learned the most from this writing challenge is that no matter the tools or limited time that you have you must keep writing. That is the one and only key to being a writer and for some reason its the hardest thing to do.

I hope you find sometime this weekend to write. Create a challenge or be ready when I put another one up on my blog next month.

Would You Self -Publish? Why Or Why Not?

On September 25, 2015September 25, 2015 By Robert EvenhouseIn amwriting, author, My Novel, question, Self-publishing, Writing11 Comments

I first heard about the book The Martian on a list of books being made into movies in 2015. I loved it. Andy Weir wrote a thriller, memoir, and comedy all in one. I’d recommend the book to anyone. Then I heard it was self-published first and then picked up by a big publisher.

I was shocked.

Self-publishing certainly carries a stigma. Unless you have a huge following and already tested your idea, it can be extremely difficult to cut through the clutter and sell your work, even if you’ve done the diligence of paying for great editing and formatting services. Believe or not, many famous authors have done this. And they have been successful too.

Question And Caveat

Only if I’ve edited, had honest feedback, and built an enormous audience would I self-publish. Why? Because I want to be both proud of my work and give it the best chance to get in the hands of readers. Some would approach it differently and that is why I turn to you.

How about you? Have you self published or are you considering that? Would you ever consider it?

What To Do When Life Happens To Your Book

On September 24, 2015September 24, 2015 By Robert EvenhouseIn The Writing Process6 Comments

No matter how fool proof our daily word count goals or writing plans are, life will eventually have something to say about them. There will be a cold, a job loss, a move, a season of melancholy. Something will happen to stop progress.

Maybe you are stopped now?

Photo Credit: shumpei_sano_exp3 via Compfight cc

I know when a significant life event happens to me I curl inward. I read more, try to get time by myself, and journal. These are all good things. But you know what I don’t do? Keep writing!

I like to be serious about my work but I am no drill sergeant. But the fact of the matter is that I’ve stopped writing before because of something challenging that I knew was coming. If I’m honest, a hand full of times I’ve simply thrown in the towel instead of rising to meet it a challenging time in my schedule.

I view the routine interruption as a disruption rather than an opportunity to show my commitment the craft.

But how do you show commitment to your body of work when something interrupts your schedule? You prepare in advance.

Just like a dieter running into a tempting cupcake, we need to be ready when life events occur and say that we will not give up ahead of time. (Granted some we cannot prepare for and we need a break. It’s just that simple.)

Make up your mind right now. You won’t stop because of that wedding, job change, or move. You’ll be ready to write no matter what.

Meet the challenging time head on. Circle it in your calendar and don’t allow a life hiccup to derail you.

What Do You Need To Take Your Writing To The Next Level?

On September 23, 2015September 23, 2015 By Robert EvenhouseIn Writing Tips5 Comments

We’ve all said it. If only I had ___ then I would absolutely be a better writer. Come on, out with it. If you had more money to buy the tools, more education, less responsibility, didn’t have to work full time, had 29 hours a day.

What is that one thing you need to take your writing to the next level?

Photo Credit: Dave Catchpole via Compfight cc

A lot of time we compare ourselves to the greats and that’s not fair. We say things like, if only I had the writing gumption like Stephen King, or if I could just live in Paris when Hemingway did, I’m sure I’d be able to write something grand.

The problem with this thinking is that we are not focused on what we can do right now. I am not talking about a can-do attitude, but more what we are capable of doing at this juncture in out lives. Could you write 7000 words in a week? Could you write 10,000? 2,000?

I’d like to circle back to the original statement above. What do you need to take your writing to the next level?

Does it have to be all or nothing or can you start with 200 words a day? Give up one TV show a week? Buy a portable keyboard and write in the notes section on your iphone at lunch? Can’t do an MFA what about a free Coursera class on story telling?

I believe, firmly, that you should begin exploring the path of the next level now so in three to five years to can be past that obstacle or more at peace with your schedule or financial situation. But it starts with knowing what you need or what your main challenge is. Then being creative enough to get around it or write within the confines of it.

My 7000 words in 7 days is what helps me. I needed a challenge to get me writing at full speed again. Thus far I’ve written 4113 in four days.

What do you need to get to the next level writer?

Does Writing Give You Joy?

On September 22, 2015September 22, 2015 By Robert EvenhouseIn Writing Tips12 Comments

I am in the middle of a challenge of 7000 words in 7 days. Yesterday I wrote 1011. In total, I have written 3087 in three days.

At first, I thought this would be easy. I love my YA story and the world I’ve created. I love the idea and the challenge. But through the first few days I’ve lost the love a bit. Does this mean I should wait to get inspired or is this the stretched place I intended to reach?

Whenever I get here I read My Why and the joy returns.

My Why reminds me why I am doing this work in the first place. The goal is to finish another book not to feel good every time I write.

I want to be consistent at putting words on the page, this much I know. Since the start of the challenge I have been able to get 1000 words or more written and put together a blog post every day.

All in all, I’ve written about 4000 words in three days. To some, that may be nothing to write home about, but that has been quite a feat for me.

I don’t write this post to brag but to share that the act of writing may not always be incredibly inspiring and joyful. But maybe writing is not about what satisfies now. Maybe finding joy in our work is a combination of the work of writing (filling the quota) and knowing how far we’ve come. From idea, to planning, to writing, to finishing.

And the truest part of all of this? No one will ever know what parts I wrote while uninspired. They will just know I’ve finished my book.

I hope that when you read this you know that anyone who has a full time job, three kids (soon to be four) can write on the side. That sometimes writing can feel like filling a quota and other times be the most thrilling thing in the world but you must keep going either way.

I hope you find joy in your work today or joy in knowing how far you’ve come.

Do You Laugh At Or Fret Over Your Mistakes?

On September 21, 2015 By Robert EvenhouseIn Personal Growth3 Comments

On yesterdays’ post, I made a hilarious typo. I am in the middle of a self imposed challenge called 7000 words in 7 days (Yesterday was great, I finished at 1012 words) and instead of writing 7000 words in 7 days, I typed 7000 words in 7000 days. Three or four times.

I got comment on my blog that said 7000 words in 7000 days? I also had the same correction on the link to my FaceBook page. I’m tired and I laughed it off.

This morning I woke up and thought, why did I do that? Five years ago I would have been mortified that I shared that with the entire internet. I’d worry about it, fret over it, try desperately to change it and make it look right.

Why are we so afraid of what others think? Of looking unprofessional, or more accurately, of looking normal?

Failure or errors or inconsistencies are all part of being human. We have this imperfect perfectness about us. But we all make mistakes and thankfully I am at a place where I can laugh at them now. It even inspired this blog post.

I hope this inspires you to laugh more. Also you can get working on a novel and just work at the slow pace of 7000 words in 7000 days.

My Writing Update

On September 20, 2015September 20, 2015 By Robert EvenhouseIn MY Writing Update4 Comments

Today, I’m excited about my update. I’ve begun a challenge of 7000 words in 7 days. Writer Maria Berg has also decided to join me. Day one was a day of victory. I wrote 1079 words on my novel.

The 7000 words in 7 days challenge is to help reignite our love of our stories. If you plan on doing it, please mention it on the post yesterday.

Also, please don’t edit, just write. The good stuff will come. I understand the compulsive desire to edit but you have to learn to finish things. Then you can mold and shape your story through editing.

Once this week is done it’s back to preparing for my talk at the Breathe Writers Conference October 9-10th.

Click on the hyperlinks below to see what I’ve been up to lately.

On Monday I wrote about why art needs community. My writers group put on the Jot Conference, a free one night writers conference in Three Rivers, Michigan. It was a night of encouragement and connections.

On Tuesday it was all about the roads we take. Many times we want things to happen overnight or just be plain old easy. In this post I write about why the hard road is sometimes the best road to take.

Wednesday I asked a question to fellow novelists – How committed are you to your work? Some authors stay up through half the night and some get up horrifically early. But there are some incredibly dedicated writers.

Thursday I wrote about the struggles I have with details. We all struggle with something. Do you use your struggle as a crutch or are you creative enough to figure out a way to move forward despite it?

Friday was about restarting. We all arrive at the messy middle or lose momentum on our stories I wrote about my plan to move forward with mine.

Saturday I wrote about the challenge mentioned in the first paragraph of this post, 7000 words in 7 days. If you gave that effort once a week for a year you’d have 84,000 words. Think about that.

Let me know how you are furthering your writing career below.

My Novel Recommit – 7000 Words In 7 Days

On September 19, 2015September 19, 2015 By Robert EvenhouseIn Writer15 Comments

Books are arduous things. They can start off with the thrill of a new idea or, if this is your first book, the thrill of seeing your words on the page. The beginning can be the best.

However sooner or later we arrive in that messy middle. Either a life event or work gets in the way or the book becomes difficult. This is the place where questions start.

Am I good enough?

This idea is stupid, right?

Then statements follow.

No one would read this. I am not a writer. The End.

The fact is, the middle is where novels and dreams die.

But we can stop this. We can continue. It starts with a recommit.

Today I am restarting in the middle. I am allotting time to my book that went to conference planning, blog writing for conference website, and developing my talk. I am going to write at least 7000 words in 7 days on my YA novel.

typewriter Why 1000 words? Because that’s a bit of a stretch for me to do daily while prepping for my workshop in three weeks at Breathe Writers Conference and keeping up with my blog.

A novel is a struggle but its also like lifting weights. If you can do 80 lbs don’t try to do 150lbs the next day. Try 85 or 90 and work your way up from there so your body can handle the stress.

If you plan on joining me this week please comment below. Also, share your word count goal. I like a good challenge. Write well today. I’ll let you know how it goes tomorrow.

How about you? How can you recommit to your novel? What word count or goal is a little more than your current output?

Five Ways To Restart Your Book This Weekend

On September 18, 2015September 18, 2015 By Robert EvenhouseIn Writing Tips3 Comments

Todd Henry recently came out with a book titled Louder Than Words. It discusses the idea of creating an authentic voice that makes your work stand out. It’s a good read thus far.

In the book he discusses the U shaped journey of pursuing our passions.

We stand on one end of a gorge. On the other side, we see the business, the book, the career. It looks so easy. We just need to hike down into the canyon and then up out the other side.

We start this journey with gusto and optimism. In the middle we start the hear cry of wolves and lose our bearing. The trees are tall at the bottom and we have to forge a river. The path gets spotty and it’s harder to follow. This is the part most people give up.

But, Mr. Henry says, this is when we need to dig in. This is where we start to move above our comfort level. Soon enough we break through this uncertainty, find the path again and get out the other side just before we are attacked by the wolves.

Why do I bring this up? Because we’ve all lost steam on a book or project and started to question if the journey was worth it in the first place. Below I list five ways to get excited about the rugged book writing journey again.

Go back to the original idea or content. Why? Because this will get you in touch with the excitement you had at the beginning.
Recommit. Tomorrow I’m going to start a new challenge on my blog. 7000 words in 7 days. This does not include my daily blog.
Write with a friend. Having a companion, even if they don’t talk to you, can keep you accountable.
Be honest. Are you not working on it because the idea is no longer good or because you are in the thicket in the story above?
Don’t wait for the muse. Neil Gaiman said if you want to be a novelist you must learn to finish things. You can’t wait to be inspired.

If you are not committed to your book and know deep doing it’s a great idea and you want to continue but don’t know how, join me here tomorrow.

I’ve said this on my blog a hundred times, books are marathons not sprints. You cannot expect to get far and be great right away. It takes time and practice.

Creative, What Do You Struggle With Most?

On September 17, 2015December 13, 2015 By Robert EvenhouseIn Creative, Entrepreneur, grow, Kryptonite, Organization, Spreedsheets, Struggle, Writer3 Comments

The creative life demands a lot. Whether you are a writer, artist, new business owner, or entrepreneur, we all have kryptonite of one kind or another.

Maybe it’s spreadsheets. Or organization. Maybe it’s being alone in your own world for far too long where you start to change the way that you think, and not for the better.

I think it’s important to know what we struggle with the most.

I had a conversation with my boss a few months ago and I asked her to name one thing that I need to improve on. She brought up the fact that I excel in a lot of areas but I sometimes struggle with details. As much as it hurt, this is entirely true.

I got back to my desk and thought about it. I could see it in my work files and even the pictures hanging on my cubicle wall. I started to think about my home organization and my lawn. I noticed a lack of polish in places I didn’t expect.

After a brief stint where I licked my wounded pride, I realized I had an opportunity and decided to use it as fuel.

This struggle may never end. But at least I am aware of it and I can try a few different methods to help improve.

Some may think they are not a detail oriented person but I don’t buy categories. It seems too much like a safe place to live or an excuse to not grow.

I can be impatient and I need to work on that. I’m not detail oriented and I need to work on that too.

What do you struggle with the most? How do you feel about it?

PART-TIME NOVEL

Author: Robert Evenhouse