September 2020
Hello from Orlando!
If you’ve read my newsletter for the past few months, then you know I’ve been focusing on finishing Blake Jordan #7… and not getting as far with it as I’ve wanted to.
And avoiding talking about it too much. I’m not superstitious, but I am a little stitious…
After last month’s newsletter, I was lamenting to my friend about my situation, how I was six months in writing the new book, but only halfway done. It just wasn’t flowing.
“Pray,” he said. “Ask Him to open up the floodgates.”
I rolled my eyes and said thanks for the advice and moved on with my day.
The next morning, I started a week-long vacation. A full week and two weekends. Nine days. I wasn’t sure how much I’d get done, but I didn’t have high expectations.
Before I rolled out of bed, I stared up at the ceiling. Whispered, “Open the floodgates.”
Just three words. Then I started my day just like the previous hundred and eighty.
But something had changed. It was like Phil Connors at the end of Groundhog Day, which I wrote about last month, when he woke up on February 3rd. Something was off.
The day felt different.
“Anything different is good,” I said to myself. Then I brewed my coffee and got started.
Up to this point, I’d written the novel just like every other story. Lots of thinking, lots of plotting, lots of building the story, carefully, like a mason, brick by brick.
Only this time I set the yellow pad and pencil and outline aside and I just wrote… like a Wallenda performing a high-wire walk without any safety netting below. I thought to myself, Just write. If it’s bad, you can just delete it. (Even though I hate deleting words.)
And so I wrote… and wrote… every day, adding thousands and thousands of words to the manuscript… careful to follow story structure rules, but writing like a reader reads. Focused on the next word, surprising myself at times, smiling at the dialogue. Worried by the corners I’d written myself into, delighted by the ways I’d found to get out of them.
Nine days later, I found myself with a completely finished first draft of the manuscript.
Six months to write the first half.
Nine days to write the second half.
That’s just mind-blowing to me…
With everything going on in the world, it’s hard to believe God would care about my silly first world problems, epecially something like writing a book. But it does make me wonder more about prayer… how maybe it’s not so much about always asking God to do something for us, but maybe it’s asking God to help us do something. And maybe it’s less about elaborate prayers and more about just using two or three simple words.
I’ve loved reading your emails asking about the new book. But I’m learning that it doesn’t matter if thousands of people believe in you unless you believe in yourself, too.
Sometimes we’re tested, not to show our weaknesses, but to discover our strengths. I was obviously overthinking my writing and had to change my approach.
And it worked.
Because when you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.
My dad used to say, “God helps those who help themselves.” Then he’d pause and add with a smile and a small little chuckle, “but God help those who help themselves.”
In other words, dreams don’t work unless you do.
If you want to keep your dreams alive, then make plans if it helps you feel better, but then take a step, ready or not, and see what happens.
My youngest son was playing with legos last night. I asked him what he was building. He looked at me, confused, and said he didn’t know. He was just focused on playing.
He said figuring out what he had built would come later, when he was done playing.
I think that’s pretty solid advice, not just for creatives, but for anyone when you’re stuck.
Stop focusing on what you’re building. Start focusing on just having fun. Judge it later.
I’m now halfway through the second draft, then I’ll start on the third, then the new book will go to my editor. I can’t wait to share this story with you, I know you’ll love it. -Ken