The Point of the Journey Is Not to Arrive (but Arriving is Nice)

I’ve been writing a lot about Dreamers & Misfits lately, but this’ll be the last post for a while. I don’t want to talk about the book or the band, but about how immensely satisfying it is to say you’re going to do something crazy and then do it.

I announced I was going to write a book about Rush fans on February 1, shortly after Neil Peart’s untimely death, and ended up publishing on November 6. Sure, it was a bit of a diversion that distracted from finishing The Second Sojourn–which I sent to my formatter a few days ago–but there’s something to be said about carrying through with a big project.

And here’s the kicker: remember that bit of “writing advice” I penned back in April? You know, “Announce and Complete”?

Where does the “announce” part come from?

I’ll tell you: From a great form of motivation called public humiliation. Use your web presence/social media platform of choice (seriously, get a job), and announce a project. Say you will blog once a week. And then do it. Even if your post is a picture, a link to something else with a bit of commentary, or just some stream-of-consciousness writing.

Even better, announce your project, whether it be a novel or short story or what have you. Keep updating your readers. And keep plugging away at it for fear that you will out yourself as a fraud and let everybody anticipating your work down.

Wait, that didn’t help, did it?

Good. That was hyperbole for a reason. There is always a danger in burning the proverbial ships behind you. This is great motivation, though, and why I recommend that you start small.

And focus on the feeling you will get when your work is complete.

I’m sharing this to demonstrate that not only do I walk my talk–I had a lot riding on this and a lot of pressure to deliver a final product, from soliciting hundreds of fan surveys to interviewing people for the book to the IndieGoGo campaign–but I also want to show you that the Internet can actually be a great tool to help you FINISH your book and not just endlessly distract you.

Don’t discount the immense sense of accomplishment you will feel when you get that crazy idea out of your head and into the real world. And then . . . and then it’s on to the next one. And you can snag the book here.

More to come.