June 2018
I did it! I just finished typing the last chapter of Blake Jordan #5 a few minutes ago. What a relief to reach my goal of finishing the project I started on 2/1 by the end of June. I have to tell you, there was a little while there where I didn’t think I was going to make it. I kept looking at my “Seinfeld calendar,” as I like to call it, where I place a big “X” on each date I hit my daily word count goal, and saw so many empty squares.
Forty-four of them, to be exact.
You know, when you have a big goal, a big dream you promised yourself you’d achieve, it’s so easy to notice the empty squares. They almost stare back at you. Haunting you. Taunting you. Forty-four empty spaces, telling you to give up. Showing you all the days you failed, all the days you didn’t make progress on your dream.
It’s so easy to focus on the empty spaces. But that’s not where we should look.
Because all around those empty calendar dates are Xs. Lots of them. A hundred and six, to be exact. Days where I pressed forward, determined to win that day’s battle.
I’d love to say we should focus on the Xs and not the empty spaces. That sounds good and feels like the right thing to say. But it’s not true. We really should focus on both.
The reality is, I sat down at my desk all 150 days. I had some losses, days where I wrote nothing. But I had even more wins. So it’s not the 44 or the 106 that really matter.
It’s the 150.
Because both numbers matter. In life, we have to enjoy the adversity and the success. Because the truth is, if you look hard enough, you can learn something from both.
Just an update on what’s next: I’ll take the next 30 days to write the second draft. I’ve asked my editor to be ready for the manuscript on 8/1. I hope to have this in your hands to enjoy on your Kindle in September. I can’t promise I’ll make that date, but you know how I am with goals. 🙂 Thanks for all of your encouraging emails–they’re helping!
P.S. I might send the July newsletter a little early. I’ll be in New York City for ThrillerFest in a few weeks where I hope to meet the greats like Lee Child and just as important, I hope to learn something from all of the writing classes I’ve signed up for. I’m sure I’ll find some insight I can’t wait to share with you. Until then, enjoy the weekend. -Ken