October 2018
What a whirlwind these last 30 days have been. Thank you so much to all of you who downloaded my new Blake Jordan thriller, THE HOMELAND. The Amazon reviews coming in have been incredible along with the hundreds of emails pouring in as well. If I haven’t responded to yours yet, I promise I will reply back soon!
The most common question I’ve been getting is this: When will Blake Jordan #6 be ready?
I just have to smile. It’s amazing to me how it can take eight or nine months to write a new story that can be read in a sitting or two and then readers are ready for the next one.
I have some ideas on how I can write faster to come out with new stories, both with the planning/outlining process as well as the actual writing. And I’m pretty excited about it.
But first, I’m going to rest. Why? Let me explain…
One of my favorite nonfiction books I’ve read over the years was The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. I remember reading it years ago while in college. I wanted to learn how to be MORE effective. How to get MORE done. And how to be MORE productive.
But I remember that I stopped reading when I got to the last chapter.
It was called “Sharpen the saw,” the last habit that author Stephen Covey wrote about.
If you haven’t read the book, you should. But I’ll explain what this last habit means…
Sharpening the saw is about devoting time to renew yourself physically, spiritually, and mentally. It means eating well, catching up on sleep, exercising, and resting. It means taking the time to get your head right and put first things first so you can be more effective with the other six habits.
The habit reminds me of the Lincoln quote I’ve read many times over the years: “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I’ll spend the first four sharpening the axe.”
I remember rolling my eyes the first time I read that quote. Just like I remember skipping that last chapter on sharpening the saw when I read the book in college.
But eventually, I went back and reread the book and read through that last chapter…
I could be wrong, but I think a lot of people are like me. They skip the last chapter. Who wants to ‘sharpen the saw’ when you can just go out and get started on the next big thing we want to accomplish? We need to be MORE and get MORE and do MORE!
The world demands more of us. And we demand more of ourselves. It’s the way it is.
Right?
Well… I’m starting to believe that this is a mistake.
I see a lot of writers cranking out a new novel every couple of months, one after another. I want to get faster and like I mentioned earlier, I have some really good ideas.
But right now, I must sharpen the saw.
Because I have five fairly good novels out in the world. But most of the world doesn’t even know that they exist. I’ve spent so much time working on the next big thing, I’ve never taken the time to learn how to find new readers to share my stories with them.
But I also need to rest, exercise, and spend a little more time with my family…
Because the truth is, the most important chapter in most books is the last chapter. That’s certainly the case in my books. It’s the chapter that brings it all together. The last chapter is what the story is really about. It’s the truth the writer wants the reader to know.
If I’ve learned anything, it’s this: Don’t ever skip the last chapter.
So I’m excited to start writing #6. But right now, I’m more excited to sharpen the saw.