Happy 4th of July week! I hope you’re doing something fun this weekend with people you love (while staying 6’ apart!)
So, maybe you noticed, but the last two Monday’s there’s been, um, NO emails from me.
Sorry about that.
My arms decided not to work. 😊 No seriously, we’ve spend the past three weekends on a massive house transformation project, and really, on Mondays, my arms decided not to work!
It was a massive undertaking that included repairing our brick, taping off everything, spraying the house, spraying the shutters, repairing siding, gel-painting the garage door and hand-painting trim.
But now we don’t have the ugliest house on the block! We still have more projects, but the heavy lifting is done.
I’m also mid-project with a book series—a six book series, five books done, one to go. I’m tired. My words are gone. I’d like to sit on my porch for a week and read. But, I have a DEADLINE.
The show must go on.
So, how do you keep going mid-book-project? Here are some tips.
- Don’t look at the end…just cut your project up into bite sized pieces (but DO set a deadline, so you know how big those pieces need to be).
- Ask yourself: what scene am I MOST looking forward to writing? Having that scene in mind will help motivate you to getting there.
- Ask yourself: what trouble can I get my character into right now that would add tension (and be fun to write?) If you are bored, your reader might be also!
- Read the scene (or a couple chapters) before you start writing to put some wind in your sails.
- Give yourself a daily reward—for me, it was reading 1 chapter of a new book after I finished my daily quote.
And finally – keep track of your work count every day! I like to fill in a chart (I use the one in My Brilliant Writing Planner). It keeps me motivated and on track!
(BTW, I did these things for the house remodel, also. Along the way, I made smaller to-do lists, kept my Pinterest pictures handy for inspiration, and kept taking photos to remind me of how much I’ve progressed!)
Let’s be honest—writing a book is a marathon, not a sprint. But there are ways to keep motivated. Just keep moving forward…bite sized pieces until you get to the end.
Your story matters, and it’s worth the journey!
Go! Write Something Brilliant!
Susie May
P.S. It’s mid-year, but that means you still have 6 MONTHS to accomplish your goals for 2020. We have a great (FREE!) class in Novel.Academy about giving yourself a Mid-year tune up. Check it out here–and, if you want to bring your game up, try our Brilliant Writing Planner.
