I’ve been making great progress on Blake Jordan #10. I wrote 7,000 words in April and added another 12,000 in May, so I’m getting there, slowly but surely. I decided to completely “pants” this book, meaning I’m not outlining any of it, I’m just flying by the seat of my pants. I’ve done this many times before, when I get stuck, or when I don’t know what to write next. I once pantsed half of a book in a week, which was ridiculous and amazing all at the same time since it would normally take me six months to write that much! I’ve also learned that sometimes the best stories get written when I write like a reader reads and stop being so analytical with planning out every little detail. Very often I end up surprising myself… and I know if I’m surprised, you will be, too.
This month I started reading a book by author Greg McKeown that’s really helping me. Years ago, I read his first book called Essentialism, which was about building up the discipline of discerning what is absolutely essential, then eliminating everything that is not. Something I’m still working on, but keep in mind during the course of my day.
The new book is called Effortless, and it’s a real eye-opener. The essence of the book is this: if you’ve done the work and figured out what is essential in life, what if you still have too much to do? How do you do it all? Well the answer just might be to cut out some steps. Not take shortcuts, but to think though each step and see if it is needed.
Starting a project, like writing a book, is like playing the game Jenga. There are some blocks in the tower you build that you can remove and still keep the tower standing. There are always a few blocks you can take out without knocking the structure down.
That’s where I am with my writing. How many steps can I remove in my process and still produce a great book? Do I really need to painstakingly outline every little detail? And if it’s true that the best stories I’ve written have happened organically and not planned out, do I really need the step of outlining the book and each chapter? In the corporate world, we call that waste… tasks that don’t contribute and actually do more harm than good. Being on book #10, I think it’s time I eliminate what isn’t essential in my process, and see if I can write more books more often, but with the same quality.
I’m willing to push the limits and see how far I can go. In the meantime, I’m planning on adding more words to the story in June and I’ll keep you updated on my progress. -Ken