Ken Fite

Well, it’s officially the hottest summer ever. My electric bill was insanely high this month and I don’t care, because it’s nice and cool and comfortable here in the Fite household. And while we’ve been hunkered down inside, for the most part, I’ve been making great progress on Blake Jordan #10 and added 8,000 more words in June. The story is coming to me in bits and pieces, and I’m trying to ride the wave as long as I can each time I figure out a new sequence until I lose the thread and have to plan some more.

I’ve been really distracted lately. The year is halfway over and I know I need to finish this story. I’ve been trying to become more productive and find a routine that works.

But productivity isn’t about burning the candle at both ends until you finish your goals. It’s about making priorities, planning, and fiercely protecting your time. The only way I know how to do that is to pay myself first, to wake up early and work on my dreams before the world wakes up and asks me to help them work on theirs. I’m getting there…

Another distraction I’ve had (in a good way) is I’m finally starting to get my books out in audio! We now have book #1 in the can with book #2 scheduled to be recorded in September, then I’m planning on having one done a month until all nine, soon to be 10 are completed by the great John Pirhalla, finalist for this year’s Best Male Narrator of the Year. His performance in The Senator is amazing and really brings the story to life. Yesterday I listened to a few chapters while running some errands around town and my eleven year old was listening too and kept saying, “Play another chapter!” and “Daddy, you really wrote this?” If he’s hooked, I know you’ll be, too. I’ll keep you updated and will let you know when the audiobooks are released and available for download. -Ken

Well, summer is in full swing at the Fite home. The boys, 10 and 14, each graduated from their schools and one will be starting middle and the other, high school this fall. I had to do a double-take when I received a text message from my oldest’s teacher asking if he had my permission to take driver’s ed (um, no!) but, I of course texted, yes.

We were outside talking about summer with a neighbor last weekend and how they always take a trip each year. I remember growing up thinking when I was a parent, life would be like a National Lampoon’s movie every summer with a new road trip to go on.

But he said something that really stuck with me: “We only have four more summers with our oldest.” Which then made me think, I only have four more summers with mine.

Years ago, I wrote a blog post called The Timeline of a Boy’s Life which is linked below. In it I told the story of my oldest’s first night as a new Cub Scout and a demonstration the scout master had made showing how little time we truly have with our kids. I remember experiencing that night and getting choked up. Then writing about it and getting choked up again. Then the message slowly faded away until I was reminded of it as my wife, Missy, started writing a book of her own, and mentioned the post I wrote.

Now, most of what I wrote back then has come true. As much as I hoped it wouldn’t.

We only have four more summers…

I never became Clark Griswold. We’ve had many trips, to Iowa, to the Blue Ridge mountains, and many staycations, but I never took the kids on a cross-country expedition from the Orlando suburbs to a southern California amusement park, or to the Grand Canyon, or on a European vacation, or even a cruise, but maybe I should.

Now that my eyes are open, and I see how little time we truly have left with the boys, I’m looking forward to being a little more intentional with creating memories while I can.

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I only added about 3,000 words in June to the next Blake Jordan story. Part of the problem of writing a book by the seat of my pants (writing in the dark) vs outlining is that, while the story is better and way more entertaining, it’s also way more likely that I’ll write myself into a corner and get stuck. This has happened before, many times, and I always find my way out, but it takes a while. I should be back on track soon. -Ken

P.S. Here’s the post I mentioned earlier: https://kenfite.com/the-timeline-of-a-boys-life/

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

There’s only one creature the dares to peck at an eagle: the crow. A crow will land on an eagle’s back and sit there and peck at him, bothering him, until the eagle flies away. They do this for a lot of reasons: food, defending a territory, but often just to be a pest. The crow doesn’t always leave. Sometimes it stays and keeps pecking.

The eagle doesn’t fight back. He just does the one thing he’s good at: he flies higher.

The crow doesn’t give up; it stays there and keeps pecking. The eagle will fly higher.

The crow will start to peck at him even harder. The eagle will fly even higher.

The crow will bite it’s neck and become relentless. The eagle just flies higher.

It doesn’t take long, but there comes a point where the crow stops pecking. Not because it gives up or has a change of heart, but because it can no longer breathe.

The eagle flies so high that oxygen becomes sparse. And the crow simply falls away.

I think of this sometimes when I’m working on my books and goals I’ve set for myself. There are lots of crows out there, and you’ll see them all, if you start looking for them.

A crazy news day with news host firings. I’ll write my thousand words anyway.

Indictments, laptops, wars to be distracted with. I’ll write my thousand words anyway.

Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, posts, likes, reels. I’ll write my thousand words anyway.

And if I miss a day, if there’s something more important I need to do today, that’s okay. Because life happens… and I know I will write my thousand words tomorrow, anyway.

One thing I’ve learned about crows is, they’re always there. Pecking, biting, cawing, ready to distract you from becoming who you’re supposed to be. You can’t avoid them.

But you can outsmart them.

Because without oxygen, they simply fall away.

When you have a goal you’re not making progress on, don’t blame the goal. Don’t say it’s too hard. Don’t move the goalposts. Look around. Find the crows. They’re there.

I’m well into writing Blake Jordan #10 and making great progress. I know the next month will have many distractions. I plan to write my thousand words, anyway. -Ken

When comedian Chris Rock starts to work on a new comedy special, he’ll show up unannounced to a little hole in the wall comedy club called the Stress Factory in New Brunswick, New Jersey. He’ll walk on stage with a yellow pad full of notes and a pen. Rock will test new material, fumble through lines, stop to refer to his yellow pad, and write notes to himself in between laughs or awkward silence to improve the joke.

But this is the process.

This is how you create something new.

If you were there and didn’t know who Chris Rock was, you might think he was an amateur. You might stop paying attention to him. You might even get up and walk out. The material is untested. Eighty percent of what he tries won’t work. He knows this.

But he’ll do it again, forty or fifty more times, until his jokes are the best they can be. Until he’s got enough good material where he can do a Netflix special full of great jokes. Until his new act is so polished that we wonder to ourselves, How does he do it?

Writing a novel is a lot like this.

You show up and work like a mason would, brick by brick.

You write the words, unsure if they’re any good, knowing that’s future you’s problem.

You go through them many more times, revising, deleting, and adding to them until they’re as good as you are capable of getting them. Eventually you’ll publish your book and then you start over again, from the beginning. Fumbling, awkwardly. Amateur hour.

That’s where I am now, at the beginning stages of writing a new book. The beginning is always hard for me. The writing is hard. It might not be very good. The words may end up on the cutting room floor. Or they may get turned into even better words before they’re read. Either way, the words still have to be written. One by one, brick by brick.

When we doubt ourselves, when look up at the mountain of our dreams and we see how far up we’re going to have to climb, there’s one thing we have to remember, and keep reminding ourselves of it like a light we can use to lead our path up to the summit.

We’ve done it before. We can do it again.

I’m making good progress coming up with the next story. My goal is to make it great.

Stay tuned. -Ken

I’ve started a tradition where in January of each year I share with you my what my wall calendar looked like from the year prior. Maybe it’s an accountability thing. Maybe it’s to show you how many blank days there were where I didn’t work on a book. Or maybe it’s to show you that in spite of yourself, you can still reach your goal if you keep trying.

Whatever the reason, here is my calendar, with Xs representing the days I worked on a first draft, and numbers showing the chapters where I went through additional reviews.

Similar to the prior year, you’ll notice a lot of white space in the first few months (I need to do something about that). In my defense, it was a very busy year! This year is turning out much the same as I work on getting the series out in audiobooks soon.

Having just released Blake Jordan #9 a few weeks ago, my plan is to spend the next few days thinking of where the series should go from here, and what could be next. Then I’m going to start writing the first draft for book #10… whether I’m ready or not.

Because just like you, I can’t wait to see what’s in store for Blake Jordan. -Ken

I love New Year’s Eve… not only because it’s my wife Missy’s birthday, but it also marks the end of the year and the start of something new (which we’re all ready for).

For the last few years, December has been a down month for me. But that hasn’t been the case this year. Sure, I’ve taken a little time to rest and recharge, but I’ve also been busy with my new release, ABUSE OF POWER (in case you missed it… it’s out now!).

December is also when I like to reach out to my readers to ask them a few questions…

What do you love about the Blake Jordan series? What do you want to read more of? Last year’s survey responses were so helpful to me. Like TV shows that listen to their fans, your feedback helped me write a story this past year that many of you loved.

Would you please take a moment to complete this year’s reader survey?

I consider your input invaluable to help me write the best stories possible for you in 2023… and you’ll enjoy many hours of reading in return. It’ll be quick, I promise!

Just click here and give me your thoughts. Thank you so much. -Ken

Hey there,

I’m writing a short newsletter again this month because I have exciting news to share and then I need to get back to work: today I finished the final draft of Blake Jordan #9! I’m working on a few last edits, and in a few minutes I’ll send the manuscript to my editor so she can work her magic to help the story come to life.

In the next few weeks, I’ll send you an exclusive cover reveal, along with the title.

Then I’ll reach out again when the new book is ready for you to enjoy.

I can’t wait for you to read this story. I know you’re going to love it.

Thanks again for all of your support. -Ken

Hey there, Happy Halloween!

I always look forward to today. I love walking around with my sons as they go trick-or-treating, watching them have fun as they go door-to-door adding to their stash while I stand back knowing I will be collecting the dad tax on their candy after they fall asleep. It should be a fun night and I’m really looking forward to spending the time with them.

As an update on the new story, I’ve spent the last few weeks working on a lot of things, including Blake Jordan #9. I’m so close to finishing the book, and accomplishing a lot of other personal things I’m working on. When I think about what I hope to do, I think about a quote from a former coworker of mine… one that always puts things in perspective: Hope is not a strategy. So I’m putting a plan in place: to be done by November 30th. Then I’ll give the manuscript to my editor who will need it for about a week to do her magic. Then I’m hoping—no, planning—to have it ready for you to read.

Tomorrow I’ll start the final draft and plan to have good news to share next month. -Ken

It’s been an interesting month, to say the least. Last week I drove over to St. Pete Beach for the annual writer’s conference that I’ve started going to. It was my fourth year and I had a blast hanging out with my author friends, going to all of the writing and advertising sessions, and meeting new people. Missy always drives over on Friday and brings the boys for the weekend to have fun at the beach. Great memories were made!

While at the conference, I kept hearing rumblings about this hurricane called Ian making its way toward Florida. The track even had it making a beeline for St. Pete Beach for a while, so the impending storm was on everybody’s mind. We drove home on Sunday then the next night they evacuated the hotel, so we made it out just in time!

Ian hit early yesterday morning. Before it did, I picked up my mom when there was a lull between two of the feeder bands and managed to get home safely with plenty of food, snacks, and most importantly, coffee. Then we settled in and hunkered down…

Everyone is safe. No damage to our house, except for maybe some shingles we’ll have to get checked out. Lots of flooding at the entrance to our neighborhood, so we’ve been staying put until it recedes some. I’m very thankful. It could’ve been a lot worse!

As far as my new story goes, Blake Jordan #9 is coming along. My update last month was that I had just finished the first draft, and as I type this, I’m almost finished with the second draft. Then I’ll write a third and final draft, then I’ll send the manuscript to my amazing editor. It’s always exciting to see the story start to take shape with each draft.

Thanks to those who reached out to check in this week. I have the best readers! -Ken