Oh, so close!
The experts tell you that to be successful you need to set goals for yourself. I guess I didn't get the part about setting realistic, attainable, specific goals. Let me elaborate.
A year ago when I was getting into writing at full speed, I told myself, "I bet I can get Raw Vengeance done by the end of the Summer and Kingdom of Rage by the end of the year". Well, life happens. As 2011 came to a close, I flip-flopped (my favorite political term) and set December as my end date for RV.
Forward ahead to January, 2012. My first book was initially a success and I enjoyed seeing sales numbers climb. It took a good month before I got the writing bug again. I adjusted my deadline for Kingdom to March 11th, the one-year anniversary of the planned uprising in Saudi Arabia during the Arab Spring. Guess what happened? Tomorrow is the eleventh and I'm about five-to-ten chapters short of finishing the story—that's roughly another forty pages or 15-20k words. Can I write fortyish pages in twenty-four to forty-eight hours? Fat chance. I have a full-time job and I have to pay attention to my wife when I'm at home. That leaves most of my writing time at the airport or in the hotel room. But who wants to sit down and write when there's HBO and Letterman on? Priorities are a bitch. If I worked for a publisher I'd be screwed if I was trying to reach a deadline. That's the luxury I have of being an Indie writer.
Can I finish the story by the end of March? Most certainly. I may not be able to brag about finishing the manuscript and celebrating the anniversary to the exact day, but does the month still count? I don't think the Arabs or anyone else will give a damn, personally.
Here's to Kingdom of Rage's first draft being done by the end of March. Cheers!
A year ago when I was getting into writing at full speed, I told myself, "I bet I can get Raw Vengeance done by the end of the Summer and Kingdom of Rage by the end of the year". Well, life happens. As 2011 came to a close, I flip-flopped (my favorite political term) and set December as my end date for RV.
Forward ahead to January, 2012. My first book was initially a success and I enjoyed seeing sales numbers climb. It took a good month before I got the writing bug again. I adjusted my deadline for Kingdom to March 11th, the one-year anniversary of the planned uprising in Saudi Arabia during the Arab Spring. Guess what happened? Tomorrow is the eleventh and I'm about five-to-ten chapters short of finishing the story—that's roughly another forty pages or 15-20k words. Can I write fortyish pages in twenty-four to forty-eight hours? Fat chance. I have a full-time job and I have to pay attention to my wife when I'm at home. That leaves most of my writing time at the airport or in the hotel room. But who wants to sit down and write when there's HBO and Letterman on? Priorities are a bitch. If I worked for a publisher I'd be screwed if I was trying to reach a deadline. That's the luxury I have of being an Indie writer.
Can I finish the story by the end of March? Most certainly. I may not be able to brag about finishing the manuscript and celebrating the anniversary to the exact day, but does the month still count? I don't think the Arabs or anyone else will give a damn, personally.
Here's to Kingdom of Rage's first draft being done by the end of March. Cheers!
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