Seekerville: The Journey Continues

 

by Jill Kemerer

You’re sitting at your desk in front of your laptop, and every word you write takes a lifetime. We’re talking two, maybe three, words per minute. You hate those words. Delete them. And you’re right back where you started. This might last an hour, a day, a week, a month. Who knows? But when you’re in a struggle session to figure out the next sentence, your daily word count suffers.

Whenever this happens to me, I procrastinate. Then panic.

And all I can think is that I hate writing.

The longer I stay away from the manuscript, the more I loathe the thought of returning to it.

Call it writer’s block or just another day as a writer, but it’s not fun. How can we meet our goals if we’re staring at a laptop screen, scarfing down M&Ms, and the only thing coming to mind is duhhhh…

The book will not be written. Goals will not be met.

This happened to me regularly until about three years ago. I managed to finish all my projects on time, but I wasn’t looking forward to writing the way I used to. In fact, I dreaded actually writing the first draft.

I decided to come up with a strategy to eliminate as many of those struggle sessions as possible. How? By reading how other writers overcame them and by experimenting to see what would work for me.

I needed to be able to consistently stay in the groove when writing a draft. So I read productivity books written by authors. The two below really stuck with me.

First of all, I highly recommend the book 2k to 10k: Writing Faster, Writing Better, and Writing More of What You Love by Rachel Aaron. The Kindle version is only $2.99. It’s a short, informational book full of personal insights and tips. It helped motivate me to increase my daily word count.

I also recommend Allie Pleiter’s The Chunky Method Handbook: Your Step-by-Step Plan to WRITE THAT BOOK Even When Life Gets in the Way. For $4.99, the Kindle version is full of great advice.

After studying the above books, I realized my momentum in a draft stopped when I didn’t know what would happen next. Now, I’m a plotter, so I know where the story is headed. But I don’t know every scene in advance. It was those in-between scenes that were stalling me out.

Pantsers, I imagine, have the same problem. They’re discovering the story as it’s being written, and when you aren’t certain what direction to take, it’s hard to move forward.

This was an easy fix for me. After each writing session, I simply brainstorm the next scene. I decide whose point of view it needs to be in, where it is taking place, the basic idea of what is happening and how the scene will further the story. Then I think ahead to the following scene and sketch out its details.

Brainstorming the next 1-2 scenes at the end of a writing session takes me less than ten minutes. I’m no longer floundering around trying to figure out what happens next. Now I quickly jump into my draft every day because I know what I’ll be writing.

This step alone helped me increase my daily word count because I wasn’t wasting time.
I didn’t stop there. I was intrigued by the premise of Rachel Aaron’s 2K to 10K book (see above). I’m a math girl. Before I read her book, I typically wrote between 2000-2500 words a day. I know this because I keep a log of every writing session.

I keep three logs for every book.One is for plotting, one is for writing, and one is for revising. For the writing log, I note the date, number of pages added, number of words added and the total word count to that point. This gives me an overview of how long it reallytakes for me to write a book.

It wasn’t hard to see that if I could write more each day, the book would be finished in less time.

Since I’d figured out how to ACTUALLY WRITE and not stare off into space wondering what comes next, I began to experiment with word count. And I realized something that wasn’t flattering.

Every day I started too late, and I quit too early.

Now, I’m blessed to write full time. I know many of you are fitting your writing in around full-time jobs, children, spouses, hobbies, and other important things. We all have demands on our time. But I had to take a hard look at how I was spending my work days, and when I did, I made some changes.

I organized carpools for my kids’ practices. I exercised earlier. Planned my chores around my writing times. I cut back—way back—on interacting on social media sites. I still check in a few times a week, still blog, still send out a monthly newsletter, still promote my books. For me, social media is a low-energy task, an easy distraction, and it was hindering me from meeting my true goals.

Before you can sell copies of your book, you have to write it. It’s just the way it is.
I created blocks of time for writing. I also set aside a block each weekday (for me, late afternoon is ideal) for all the other stuff writers do, like writing this post! And I pushed myself to get more words on the page every day.

I realized writing 10,000 words a day isn’t something I aspire to, but 5000 words a day is doable. I also realized I needed to schedule a day to review what I’d written so far about midway through a draft. This helps me keep all the threads straight in my mind.

Writing is my job. I treat it like one.And because I treat it like one, I stay ahead of my deadlines. This allows me to meet friends for coffee once in a while or play hooky to visit a museum or the library. I love having the freedom to make my own schedule, but I never allow it to become a free-for-all.

If you want to increase your daily word count, start by jotting down what has to happen in the next 1-2 scenes at the end of each writing session. Log your word count and the time you spend writing EVERY SESSION. Then push yourself to meet bigger goals until you find the number that seems to fit your life best.

You CAN increase your daily word count. And when you do, don’t be surprised when you experience a renewed love of writing. I’ve fallen in love with the process all over again. And you can to!
 
Mindy here. Jill is giving away a copy of her brand new release, The Cowboy's Christmas Blessings. (Paperback for US, ebook for International) Simply leave a comment to be entered.

The Cowboy’s Christmas Blessings

 

Will welcoming them for Christmas have him wishing for more?

 

Judd Wilson lives a solitary life…until he learns Nicole Taylor and her infant triplets need somewhere to stay. The cabin on his ranch is the perfect solution, but now his quiet Christmas alone feels a lot more crowded. Recently widowed, Nicole questions her swiftly developing feelings for Judd, even if the older man is wonderful with her babies. Is she ready to take that leap again?

 

Purchase The Cowboy’s Christmas Blessings

Jill Kemerer is a Publishers Weekly bestselling author of inspirational romance novels for Harlequin Love Inspired. Her essentials include coffee, M&Ms, a stack of books, her mini-dachshund, and long walks outdoors. She resides in Ohio with her husband and two almost-grown children. Please visit her website, jillkemerer.com.

 

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If there’s one thing that I pride myself on, it’s being organized. Which is why I’m embarrassed to admit that I came up short on time during the writing of The Solid Grounds Coffee Company. Typically, I start writing immediately after I get my contract, and I complete a rough draft of my book in eight to sixteen weeks. That gives me time to let it rest so I can return with fresh eyes when I do the first round of edits.

But in the case of Solid Grounds, an avalanche of events rearranged my schedule. I was working on the rerelease of my MacDonald Family books at the same time, which required some minor revisions and manuscript reviews. I released a stand-alone novella. Then my editor went out on maternity leave shortly after I turned in my book, pushing the edits out further, immediately followed by a month of marketing for the release of Brunch at Bittersweet Café.

Before I knew it, I was staring down the beginning of March, with a personal completion deadline of May. Not a big deal since I didn’t have to turn it in until October, except for the fact that when I started publishing, I promised my kids I wouldn’t work more than necessary during their summer breaks. In order to keep that promise, I needed to be finished by the time they got out of school the last week of May, then jump right into edits when they returned at the beginning of August.
Are you dizzy yet? I certainly was.

I sat down at my computer and attempted to write. But health problems crept in. Kid struggles. Family issues. Before I knew it, I was only 20,000 words into my book with only five weeks left on the clock.

I’d like to say that I calmly sat down and prayed for strength and guidance. But I didn’t. I panicked. I worried to friends. I started wondering if I was going to be able to write the book. Finally, after a few days of unprofitable whining, I made a schedule and forced myself to stick to it. And I discovered five pretty amazing things in the process.

1. I’m capable of far more than I think I am.

If you had told me that I would bang out the bulk of a 115,000-word book in five weeks, I would have replied that you were crazy. I write fast, but I rarely log more than 3,000 words a day. When you consider that I got a slow start for the first two weeks, I actually wrote the bulk of the book in three weeks: 5,000 words a day, 25,000 words a week. I wouldn’t rely on my ability to do that again, but it’s encouraging to know that I could if I had to.

It reminded me that so often we think we can’t just because we haven’t. In truth, we are capable of far more than we know; we simply haven’t tried.

2. Resolve is far more important than inspiration.

By the time I got through that first 25,000-word week, inspiration was in somewhat short supply. Yes, I was enjoying what I was writing, but half the time, I didn’t know if it was making any sense. I would check my outline to see which chapters I needed to write each day, and then I wrote them. I didn’t look forward. I didn’t look back. It helped that I parked myself at Starbucks each morning and didn’t allow myself to leave until I finished my word count for the day. After several hours of sitting in a hard, slightly uncomfortable chair, I would do anything to get out of there . . . even finish my chapter. It certainly wasn’t inspiration driving the story at that point. It was resolve (and maybe a little bit of desperation).

The prize doesn’t go to the person who is the most inspired; it goes to the person with the resolve and the diligence to get something done to the best of their ability.

3. Writing is like a sport: put in the practice so you can reap the performance.

You would think that the words that I wrote quickly under pressure were pretty terrible, but this was among the cleanest first drafts that I’ve ever turned out. I partly attribute that to the fact that I didn’t have time to tinker as I went or second-guess myself. And because I wrote it in such a short period of time, I was able to hold the full story and the character arcs in my head as I wrote. But most importantly, I’ve written almost a million words for publication. If you count all the rewrites and the numerous unpublished manuscripts that came before, I’m in the range of 2.5 million words of fiction written.

That’s when I realized that I’d been unconsciously training for this writing marathon like an athlete, with dedicated practice over the course of the last twenty-three years. I’ve spent so much focused time on the elements of plot, style, and pacing that I’ve internalized them. Or, to use a terrible sports metaphor, thousands of practice free throws allowed me to nail the half-court shot at the buzzer.

This clearly illustrated to me that time spent writing is never wasted, whether the books are published or not. You’re strengthening your writing muscles and your endurance for when you need them. Every time you employ a technique of fiction writing, it becomes your own, and over time, you can pull it out whenever you need it.

4. I can’t do this alone.

It sounds like I wrote this book through sheer determination, but the truth is, I would not have completed it but for a single faithful friend. Each morning before I started writing, I would check in with my BFF, Lori, and she would pray for me. Had it not been for her faithfulness in praying for my strength and productivity, I know I never could have pulled it off. I could feel her prayers as I worked, and I’ll always be grateful that she stepped in when I needed it so desperately.

5. When God provides an opportunity, He also provides the means.

There are always moments along the writing journey when we question our path or our purpose. I’ve always wanted to write for a living, and yet I’ve struggled and resisted the process every step of the way, mostly because it’s so much harder than I expected it would be. (If I would just learn to rest in God’s provision, things would go so much more smoothly, but that’s a topic for another blog post.) My friend may have prayed for me, but it was God who showed up when I needed Him. Above all else, The Solid Grounds Coffee Company is a story of redemption, of what happens after the Prodigal Son returns, so I can only believe that someone out there, somewhere, needs to read it . . . and God wasn’t going to let that be thwarted by a stressed-out, behind-schedule writer. I wish every book involved the same level of co-creation with God, but even if it never happens again in quite the same way, I’m grateful to have experienced it once.

About the Book & Author

The Solid Grounds Coffee Company by Carla Laureano

Analyn Sanchez can handle the long hours and arrogant clients that come with her job as a crisis management associate at Denver’s largest publicity firm. The high-powered job, expensive condo, and designer wardrobe are all part of her plan to prove to her family that her life choices haven’t been in vain. But when she’s asked to cover up a client’s misdeeds with serious moral and legal ramifications, she can no longer sacrifice her conscience for her career . . . and the cost is no less than her job.

Ever since a devastating climbing accident in South America eight months ago, and a bad decision that dried up his sponsorships, professional rock climber Bryan Shaw has found himself at similar loose ends. When the opportunity to buy a coffee farm in Colombia arises, he jumps on it—only to discover his wandering ways have left him utterly unprepared to run a business.

When Bryan returns home and offers Ana a role in his company as a solution to both their problems, she’s desperate enough to consider working with the far-too-flippant and far-too-handsome climber, even though he’s the polar opposite of her type A nature. As they delve deeper into the business, however, she begins to suspect there’s much more to Bryan than she’s given him credit for . . . and that sometimes the best plans are the ones you never see coming.

By Seekerville blogger Ruth Logan Herne

Okay, I did a switch up for today.

I blame the farm.



It's just so busy right now, and that's a good thing, but I wanted to do an #ownvoices post for September, but I didn't have time to follow up on my contacts with authors of color, so I'm doing that now, and we'll talk about that in October. Which means I'm switching October's post about how to balance those plates we're given in life and keep them spinning with as little breakage as possible.

It's not easy.

You can quote me on that.

First, if you're a woman, you probably don't have a wife. Most likely no one is going around picking up laundry and delivering it to your drawer, freshly washed, folded and put away. There may be someone making meals, but it's probably an 80% chance that they are not. :) You are probably doing dishes, most likely working a job, and depending on age, taking care of aging parents, running kids and grandkids to school, games, meets, dance class, study sessions, church, youth group, volunteer places, doctors, dentists, etc.

It is quite possible that you do most of the shopping, gift buying, gift organizing, party and holiday planning, set up and clean up.


Are you tired yet?

The good Lord gave us 24 hours in a day. Plus a smidge that we tuck into place every four years.

How do we make 24 hours work for us, not against us?

Habit.

Habits can be our blessing or our downfall. The ability to create a habit is inherent. We train ourselves to do a lot of things habitually. If the waste company is coming on Tuesday, you put out the trash on Monday night. If the post office closes at 5:30 PM, you get your mail there by 5:25 so you don't miss it. If your child is slow to get going in the morning, you wake that one up fifteen minutes earlier than necessary to build a window of time.

Habits can make us or break us. You've heard us talk about 1K/1HR. That's a writing habit that encourages one thousand words a day in a one-hour time period. There's a Facebook group you can join and there was a Twitter group developed by author Donna Alward. A bunch of us in Seekerville are part of the Facebook group. For aspiring authors, that's a great habit, because it prioritizes your writing. When you're still uncontracted, it's easy to view your writing as a hobby instead of a job.

That's a Real Bad Habit because when that "call" comes, you want to be in the habit of getting things done. Meeting expectations. Delivering. Because if you're not in that mode, there are literally hundreds of folks in line, waiting to take your place.

Four authors recently received The Call from Love Inspired as a result of a contest... I cannot stress enough how important it is to be ready when that phone rings.

Developing daily habits helps me. My early rising time is devoted to writing and marketing. I adopted that mode because I'm a total jerk at night. When I'm  tired, I'm snarky!!!! Snarky is not how I want my stories to come out, so my biologically-driven writing time is morning.

Then the work day begins and if I can get back to writing (winter!) I do it, but during farm season I have to put on other hats.

Monkeys can be trained to do all kinds of things.

So can we! :)

If you're visually inclined, plot out a daily schedule and keep to it.

If you're self-disciplined, plan your day but leave a margin for error.

One thing I do that is a HUGE HELP is to work ahead of the calendar. To get work done early, pre-deadline, because I don't do panic mode.

If there's a family emergency, I don't want to be deadlocked or nervous about getting my work done. It it's already done, I've built myself a time cushion and can attend to the emergency with full attention. Driving yourself crazy isn't the result of unforeseen circumstances. It's often the result of not preparing for the fact that unforeseen circumstances happen to everyone ALL THE TIME... and if we don't prep for them, that's on us.

Altius, Citius, Fortius.

Higher. Faster. Stronger. It's part of an athlete's creed passed down from the earliest Greek and Roman Olympians. It's simply about holding ourselves to a higher standard.



There's an old running adage that goes something like this: "If you take a day off, no one notices. If you take two days off, you'll notice. If you take three days off, everyone notices."

Habits are like that.

K-Love radio does a 30-day challenge. It's a great ploy, because research shows that anyone who does something repeatedly for thirty days has created a habit. And when we're in the groove of habits, we get the job done.

What are your bad habits? What are your strengths? What can you deep-six or downsize or give up to make your day/week/month more productive?



Leave a comment below to get the conversation rolling. I've got a copy of my newest mystery "Just Over the Horizon" to go out to one delightful person today... all commenters will be entered.

And I brought coffee and donuts to tempt you in. Coffee. Donuts/doughnuts and great books.

What could be better than that?

USA Today Bestselling Author Ruth Logan Herne writes the kind of books she likes to read, so that's a total bonus, right? And she's been known to make herself (and others!) cry, but she makes them smile, too, so she figures it balances out. Friend her on Facebook, follow her on Twitter, visit her website ruthloganherne.com or email her directly at loganherne@gmail.com. She loves to chat with writers, readers, and pretty much anyone who comes along because she talks a lot, but has managed to have over 50 books published, so she must stop talking occasionally! We think...

By Seekerville Blogger Ruth Logan Herne 

 Last week I asked some very successful authors what they do... and what they don't do. How do they balance their careers and their lives, their families, their homes, their commitments? How often do we hear aspiring authors or newly published authors fret/worry over having so much to do? Fairly regularly, and these established and money-making authors have taken time to advise us. Their common denominator?

SELF-DISCIPLINE.

Now if you cannot handle that, we understand. We get it. No one said it's easy! It is not. But if you're still reading and not faintly or heartily disgusted with me as I tell you that one doesn't become an author: One makes themselves an author by repeated effort, day by day..

Read on, then tell me in the comments where you think  you could improve and what you think you're doing right. With over fifty published books to my credit, and more to come, I can tell you I absolutely copy-catted Margaret Daley, Lenora Worth and Linda Goodnight when I was pre-published because they were:

1. NORMAL 
     By that I mean these women are relatable, they talk like normal people, they never talk down or act pretentious and they really long for others' success. I wanted to be like them in proficiency and attitude. They kept it simple and set a great example!

2. THEY WORKED HARD
     I respect hard work. I am the Mike Rowe of the publishing industry in my mental attitude, I like to see people succeed, but I'm not a big fan of hand-outs because we do better when we have to expend effort and work toward something. Hard work isn't a bane. It's a blessing and we could use more of it.

3.  I LIKED THEIR WORK
     It's hard to emulate, copy or be affected in a good way by work you don't like or admire. I like being able to talk to the race that knows Joseph, the simple people, the everyday Joes of this world. The ones pulling a grocery tote down the streets of Brooklyn or tying up a baby swing in a tree in central Iowa. The ones stopping to pick up their mail at the miniscule post office in a Midwestern town and the ones getting 17 boxes from Amazon a day. I like people and I like to uplift them, and these ladies were accessible with work I liked. #HUGE  I'm going to pick two names from the comments and those two people will be able to pick any book from these authors (kindle edition) and I'll send it right out to you.

From Award-winning, bestselling romantic suspense author Lynette Eason:

I found that I simply had to make a choice. When I wasn't spending time with my family, I had to choose between writing or scrapbooking, writing or television, writing or......fill in the blank. Most of the time I  chose writing. Unless there was something on television that I was just dying to watch, I spent the time writing. Often, I got up earlier than everyone else and wrote. Or, I stayed up an hour or two later than everyone else and wrote. If I was going thru a drive thru line, I never minded if it was long. I'd write on the notes app on my phone or a scrap of paper in my car. I found the word, "no" really was in my vocabulary. I said no to a lot of things. They weren't bad things (like teaching Sunday school! LOL--after all, think of the prep work that goes into teaching!), but they weren't things that would move me forward in my pursuit of publication. I think people just have to find what works for them and do it. :) NOW, after seeing the reward of my perseverance, I could say yes to teaching a Sunday school class. If I felt God leading me to do so. :)

Lynette's newest release is available from AMAZON:




From Award-winning, New York Times bestselling author Linda Goodnight: