Welcome to my ongoing series "The Road to Cloudale". I am currently writing my first major novel, the first part in a trilogy called 'Cloudale'. In my previous blog about it, I discussed what has lead up to this moment and how this has been an idea that has been gestating in my mind for the longest and it just feels good to finally write it out. Well it has now been a full month (to the day) since that first blog and I am now at 10,000 words.
Personally, at 10,000 words it feels like a achievement all in its own. I previously thought this story would remain unwritten and that I would keep wondering what could be but now the dream is fast becoming a reality. So now I want to share what may have been the biggest key to getting here. Consistency.
For the last couple years now I have realized that consistency and tracking is my secret weapon to getting things done. In only the last few years, I went from only reading graphic novels to reading full sized novels again and it is because of consistency and tracking. I exercise on the regular, nothing wild but enough to get my blood pumping, every day now, no days off. I drink a full glass of water (sometimes even more), something I used to barely do back in the day and every day without fail I study the Bible. All of these things I have now consistently done for almost three years. I started tracking it on simple post-its and eventually upgraded to a calendar which I ticked off the days to my current and final form, a goal tracker app on my phone.
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| Each of the dots represents a day, 7 dots per week, shaped in a 'H' standing for Health |
This tracking gives me the accountability I need to keep going and when ether I go through a day and I get closer to the end of the night and I have not done all of my goals, it drives me to complete it. It is my checklist and whenever I complete it I always feel a sense of accomplishment for the day. So how does this tie back into novel? Well it is simple, I am now taking the slow but steady approach to my writing as well. Once upon a time I used to write until I ran out of gas but I realized if I kept writing that way it would lead to burn out. I know some novelists can approach writing novels like that but I realized that was no longer what worked for me. Taking my consistency and tracking mentality into my writing I started telling myself to just work on my novel every day and have something to show for it and that was sufficient and so far it has been working pretty well. When I do write; I write at least a chapter and these days I find myself writing Tuesday to Friday. I use Saturday to Monday to plan and again I need something to show for it so I work on my outline, do some research and revise chapters, something I might even write a blog about it lol. I also keep myself accountable by reading the chapter I wrote out-loud to my wife who gives me feedback and who is fully invested as well. This planning and consistent writing has been paying dividends and I can honestly say I would not have got to 10,000 words without it.
Another key factor that is helping me is consistency in my daily routines as well. Back in the day I used to sleep until 11 am, wake up and just go about my day and most of the times only accomplish a little. These days since I have attuned my focus to writing, the mornings when I write are much more routine. I normally get up at 8 am or earlier, I complete my daily chores and cleaning (or as I call it up keep) of my house. I have lunch around 11 am to noon and after fueling up from lunch, I start writing and do not stop until I finish a chapter and read it out-loud to myself to check for any errors. Most of the times I am done by 3-4 pm so I take a nap before my wife gets home from work and than we eat dinner and have family time. During this family time I read to her the chapter I wrote for the day as well and get her feedback which I always appreciate. On average I normally go to sleep around 2 am and the cycle begins again when I wake up. There are little breaks in this cycle of course. Saturdays I might be working with the youth for my job and helping out where needed, Sundays are for church and my routine is flexible enough that if anything comes up during the week I can adapt to it.
I feel putting this down is my accountability for today and even if this blog does not get plenty of views I do not mind because it is more for me than anyone else. I just wanted to talk about has helped me. My next blog in this series might go more into depth on Cloudale but we shall see. I leave with some music I have been listening to which has also helped me focus, the name of the song is 'Untitled' by TripleS Hatchi or Infinity. The words "Begins from now our story" really resonates with me lately.
AV
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