Midway Through the First Draft

I’m midway through the first draft of a new book and the going has gotten tough. Inspiration is not enough here. It’s a matter of work and pure determination, of saying this is my job, of reporting to duty at my laptop, the same way I would if I had a nine-to-five, the same way I would if I were still working in a news room. It’s a matter of remembering that this is my only way of earning a living.

It’s so easy to spend hours on the Internet, surfing, researching, watching television programs on Hulu, and I’ve done it. But no matter how many times I allow myself to get distracted, I go back to work and write until I’ve reached my goal for the day, or am simply tapped out.

I have a goal for the coming year — two books. I’d like to complete two manuscripts. That doesn’t sound as incredible as it may seem.

Yesterday, I used the program Idea Knot to list all of the story ideas and incomplete manuscripts I’ve got on my hard drive. The sum total was more than 80. That’s right. Eighty! Now that includes everything — the complete and the incomplete, short stories as well as novels. Of that 80, I’d say I have at least 10 incomplete manuscripts, at least three of which are nearly complete, as in 80% or more.

As I write this, my cat McPherson just walked into the room. He’s rubbing his head up against my shoulder and making little trill sounds. I ignore him much too often. I’ll go play with him for fifteen minutes, then it’s back to the creative grind.

P.S. Spoke to Lukas yesterday. He’s sent out copies of my latest manuscript to editors “for a quick read.” I do hope the response is overwhelmingly positive. Let’s keep our fingers crossed, shall we?