Last month I wrote about a plan I had for making slow but steady progress towards finishing my next novel. But, as they say: no plan survives first contact with the enemy.
The problem was with the last several news cycles. Former presidents and assassination attempts, current presidents no longer seeking reelection, and as a political thriller writer, doing my own research around conspiracy theories for both.
If I was writing the story, would agents be in on it? Would there be a second shooter? Would there be powerful men in dark, smoke-filled rooms threatening to invoke the 25th amendment against a sitting president unless their demands were met? My imagination shifts into overdrive as I wonder what’s happening behind the scenes.
The enemy, as it turns out, is distraction. The enemy we don’t like to admit is there. Because, if we’re honest, doing the work is a lot harder than giving in to the distraction.
But I’m learning to embrace the craziness. To limit consumption. To protect my time. I don’t need a lot of it to get my writing in each day. There’ll be time to catch up on the news of the day. But it has to be later. After the words are written. After goals are met.
The world will always have its headlines, but our dreams are worth prioritizing.
No plan survives first contact with the enemy. But it’s how we respond that defines us. And the battles worth fighting are the ones that brings us closer to our destiny. -Ken