By Dana R. Lynn, @DanaRLynn
“I’d write a book, if I could find the time.”
I have heard this sentiment many times since I first became published. The assumption is that most authors have an abundance of free time to spend leisurely creating stories. Or that since I write romantic suspense, somehow these stories are “fluffy” and easy to write.
The truth is you will never have enough time. We tend to fill up every available moment with busy-ness. Many of us have a variety of other commitments. Our family. Friends. Our careers. Church. Charities. We like to help and to give. Then there are the moments when you might have a few moments, but it’s more fun to sit and watch television, read a book or scroll through videos on our phones.
Been there. Even when I have a contract, the motivation isn’t always there. Sometimes we need our accountability to someone else to be our motivation, rather than trusting that we will make the most of our time and be productive.
Let me give you an example. When I was first trying to get published, it was easy enough to write a chapter. The second chapter might even get drafted. Then I’d get busy and set the manuscript aside, sometimes forever. This changed for me in the fall of 2013. I had seen the So You Think You Can Write contest through Harlequin before. It intrigued me. I decided to write up a quick chapter and enter. I even wrote a few more chapters. When my manuscript was picked to deliver a full, I had the motivation to write faster than I ever had and complete a draft with 55,000 words. Mind you, they weren’t all good words. To this day, that manuscript remains unpublished. But I had written a book.
The second contest I entered had more success. I met each deadline. 1st page. Synopsis. Three chapters. Full. When Presumed Guilty was bought in 2014, I was over the moon. I had done it!
But could I do it again? My editor wanted to see another full before I could sell on proposal, but I had no deadline. I had no set time to get things done. Y’all, let me tell you, writing the second book was harder than the first simply because there was no external pressure to meet a deadline.
I tried making deadlines to meet, but personal deadlines did nothing for me. I’d watch them slip by without writing another word. Then a friend gave me an idea. I wrote an email to my editor telling her where I was in the book and when I planned to have it to her. I also told my agent I would keep her updated. She assisted by asking me every two weeks how far I was. Finally, in January of 2015, I turned in book 2, six months after I had sold book 1. I had learned a lesson.
These days, I have deadlines set up for my contracted books. But there are still projects I am working on. A few years ago, I decided to share my deadlines with my agent. Every December, I write a “Plan” of what I will work on each month and when she can expect to see different projects. I revisit and revise as life changes, contracts are signed, or books rejected (as happens in every author’s life).
Do I follow my plan perfectly? No. but knowing that my agent is expecting something for me is an added motivation. She once told me that is amazed by my productivity. What she didn’t realize was that part of the reason I was so productive is that I had made a commitment to her, and commitments are not something I take lightly.
So, maybe you don’t have an agent or an editor yet. That’s fine. Do you have a critique partner or a writing friend you trust to remind you of your goal? Someone who will be your cheerleader if you feel your motivation is lagging? Writing might be solitary work, but we are social beings. Sometimes having someone to keep you accountable is what you need to make time in your life and get those words on the page.
Stolen from the Amish…
with no memory of her past.
When her mother is shot as they flee an unknown threat, Josslyn Graham discovers her entire life is a lie. Not only is she adopted but she’s the target of armed assailants—and she doesn’t know why. With an old doll the only clue to her true identity, Joss needs Sergeant Steve Beck’s help to find the truth…before a deadly criminal ring buries the remaining evidence: her.
Dana R. Lynn grew up in Illinois. She met her husband at a wedding and told her parents she had met her future husband. Nineteen months later, they were married. Today, they live in rural Pennsylvania with their three teenaged children and enough pets to open a petting zoo. She is a teacher of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing by day and writes stories of romance and danger at night. She believes in the power of God to touch people through stories. She has been on the USA Today and a Publisher’s Weekly Bestseller lists. She has been a Holt Medallion finalist, a Selah Award Winner, and a New England Readers Choice finalist and Award winner. She is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of the Steve Laube Agency. She is an avid reader, loves cats and thinks chocolate should be a food group. She enjoys engaging with readers and can be found on social media or contacted via her website www.danarlynn.com.