Ken Fite

June 2021

Hello from Orlando!

After spending most of May working on paperback files, in June I got back into writing Blake Jordan #8 as my cover designer needed a few more weeks to complete the paperback versions of the covers. He should have them all done this week, so I’m hoping to have Blake Jordan paperbacks available really soon.

I’ve also started reading more paperbacks myself, starting with Vince Flynn’s Mitch Rapp series (if you’re looking for another series to read, definitely try this one). I love my Kindle but when I find a great series, there’s nothing like holding the physical book. I may even start a small library of my favorites to keep in my office. What do you think… would you be interested in getting my books as paperbacks? Let me know!

I’m on chapter 17 of Blake Jordan #8. This is right around when I start thinking of the perfect title for the novel. It’s also when I start having doubts about how good it is…

This is the stage when most people give up. They think, this isn’t very good. It’d be better to start over with another idea. They throw away whatever work they’ve done so far or set it aside indefinitely. How many people start over instead of just finishing?

For me, at least, I can attest that I’ve felt these same feelings for every book I’ve done. Not some books. Not most books. EVERY book. That doesn’t mean this story won’t be any good. And it doesn’t mean it’ll be a bestseller, either. It just means having doubts is typical. And being unsure if the book will be good enough is normal.

In fact, when doing any kind of creative work, it’s expected.

When I think about all of those other stories I’ve written, I shudder at the thought that if I had listened to my self-doubt and given up at this point, those stories wouldn’t exist.

What I have to keep reminding myself is that I’m a finisher. Not a perpetual starter.

I’ve heard lots of stories of authors with countless half-written manuscripts, collecting dust somewhere, stacked high inside a desk drawer. And I have to wonder… what if they hadn’t given up? Would their stories have been my favorite? How many authors never shared what they have with the world because they couldn’t push forward and finish it, good or not? Even the late Vince Flynn, who struggled with dyslexia, pushed through his difficulty and got the words written. If he’d given up when things got tough, I wouldn’t be reading his amazing series now. It’s sad if you think about it. Because it’s not just authors who struggle when things get tough. It’s all of us. We’ve all been there.

So I’m moving forward, whether it’s good or not, to see where the story leads me… knowing when I get to the end, I’ll not only have the perfect title, I’ll look back and see the journey wasn’t that bad… and the story is exactly what it’s supposed to be. -Ken

May 2021

Hello from Orlando.

I hope you’re doing well on this Memorial Day as we honor the fallen, those who gave their lives in service to their country and paid the ultimate cost for our freedom. I’m reminded of the unattributed quote:

“Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you—Jesus Christ and the American soldier. One died for your soul, the other for your freedom.”

Thank them both today.

For a personal update, I have good news and I have bad news. The bad news is I didn’t work too much on Blake Jordan #8 this month other than adding another chapter or two. One reason is we did a lot of traveling in May, including driving up to the small town of Slade, Kentucky for my sister-in-law’s wedding which took place against a backdrop of waterfalls, cliffs, a lush forest, and yes… was just as amazing as it sounds.

I’d planned on waking up early and getting some writing done while out of state but the cabin we stayed in had really squeaky floorboards so I’d wake my boys up whenever I tried to write. So I gave it up after the second day. And at the hotels we stayed at, I got a little bit of writing done, but with 15 hours of driving each way, I didn’t have much time to spend as we had to hightail it out of there and get on the road as quickly as possible.

Now for the good news. The other reason why I didn’t get much writing done is I had an opportunity to work on creating paperbacks for my series so I spent most of my time on that. I tend to focus on one thing at a time until it’s done, so I figured it’s now or never. My cover designer is still working on the paperback covers, but as soon as he’s done, it shouldn’t be much longer before I can have proofs shipped to me to check out.

One of my goals this year, other than writing another novel, is to broaden my footprint. For the past five years, I’ve only sold Kindle books in the US. But what about paperbacks? Hardcovers? Audiobooks? What about the UK? Canada and Australia? I’ve done amazingly well in the US, but this morning as I was pouring over the stats during my monthly review, I found that less than 1% of sales come from those countries. Not because my books don’t do well there. I’ve just never focused on them.

But what you focus on you get more of…

I have to remind myself that, yes, I am a creative, but I’m also an MBA. And I’m realizing that this is a business. Something I’ve always known, but never embraced. The truth is smart businesses focus on growth. They offer new formats. They enter new markets. Yes, they come up with new products (in my case writing new stories) but they’re either growing or dying. I want my stories available wherever and however my readers want them. But the struggle will be balancing this with writing new books.

So I’m going to start slow and focus on adding one thing at a time as I continue working on the new story which I know you’re going to love. I’ll keep you posted. -Ken

April 2021

Hello from Orlando!

Just a quick update on Blake Jordan #8. I’ve started writing. Finally! And I’ve made great progress. I try not to share too much about how things are going during the writing process. Especially when the words are flowing like they are now. I tend to be overly cautious. I’m not superstitious, but I am a little stitious and I don’t want to jinx things. Just know the new book is coming along and I’m very happy with it so far.

I always try to get the story perfect before I start. And of course, it never is. I plan my work. I work my plan. But when I dive in, when the words get written and the story begins to takes shape, the direction it goes in is often very different from what I had planned. You need an idea to get started… but that idea isn’t always what the story ends up being about. It reminds me of one of my favorite sayings for getting started:

Be bold and mighty forces will come to your aid.

The truth is, I’m never ready to start writing a new story. My idea is never perfect. And there are always excuses to delay. Life’s too crazy to start this right now. I’ll wait until things get back to normal. I’ll sleep in and start tomorrow (my personal favorite).

But I don’t want to sleep my life away.

I don’t want to sit around watching life pass me by, wondering what I should do with it.

I don’t want to delay and squander whatever little talent God has loaned me.

Talent we all have, in one form or another, but not everyone will do something with…

If I’m completely honest, I think what keeps me going and helps me fight the good fight and to add, as I tell myself, ‘just one more page’ to the manuscript each day is… when it’s all said and done, I want to leave a dent in this world. A big, massive dent.

Don’t you?

I checked this morning and, across the Blake Jordan series, you’ve left 5,250 reviews. For a relatively unknown writer, that’s a lot! Whenever I read them, I’m left speechless. The stories have meant something to you. Enough to write a few words so others know about it. Enough to remind me when my alarm goes off, I need to get up and work on my craft. Because someone, somewhere, is counting on me to share it with them…

Just like someone, somewhere, is counting on you to share your talent with them, too.

So here’s to working on that dent… and for adding ‘just one more page’ each day, knowing that if we’re bold and if we’re brave, mighty forces will come to our aid. -Ken

March 2021

Hello from Orlando!

Just a quick update on Blake Jordan #8. I’ve loosely plotted the story and met with my developmental editor last week. Later today, I’ll be having a follow up meeting with her. This is going to be a great story! I’m excited to start writing it tomorrow (no foolin’!).

It always amazes me how these stories develop and take shape. Usually it starts with months of procrastination, just sitting around watching cat videos, waiting for the ‘perfect’ idea to come to me… and it ends with me getting frustrated with myself and scheduling a meeting with my editor to force myself to come up with something—anything—just an idea to work with to bring to the meeting with her. Mostly it’s a trick I play on myself. Because I don’t want to show up empty-handed, and to get past the procrastination phase, I schedule the meeting so there’s a deadline to have an idea by.

I run the idea by my editor and we bat it around back and forth. She pokes holes in it. She asks questions I don’t always have the answers to. She asks about motivations and why people, good and bad, would do what they do. Then I take that away and come up with a second, more beefed up version of my story idea and we meet again.

What I’m learning during all of this is that there’s really no such thing as writer’s block.

There’s only procrastinators block. Or maybe it’s really just plain old perfectionism.

But perfection is achieved not when there’s nothing left to add, but when there’s nothing left to take away. Way after a first draft is written… and a second draft and a third. A first draft on any creative project should be fun… with a focus on the journey, not on the outcome. To explore. To follow a trail into the woods to see where it leads.

My youngest son has gotten into legos again. The other night he was totally focused and in the zone. I asked him what he was building. He said he wasn’t really sure… he only knew that when he was done, it’d be awesome. And about an hour later, it was!

I’m starting to understand that this is how the creative process works. You don’t have to know everything… you just need to get started and have fun and see where it all leads.

So tonight, I’ll meet with my editor again and I’ll tell her all of the great ideas I’ve had since last week’s meeting. She’ll give me feedback and she’ll ask more tough questions. Then tomorrow morning, I’ll start writing… not really sure what I’m building.

But knowing when I’m done, it’ll be awesome. -Ken

February 2021

Hello from Orlando!

I’ve spent the last few weeks brainstorming ideas for the next book in the Blake Jordan series… trying to figure out where book #8 should start based on where #7 ended. There are a million directions it could go in. Most are wrong. A few could work. I need just a little more time to plan before I dig in and start writing. But I’m close, don’t worry!

Sometimes I feel guilty about taking time to plan my work before I start working my plan. But planning is important to me. It helps me think through the story before I spend months of my life writing it. I’ve always liked the Lincoln quote about planning:

“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I’ll spend the first four sharpening the axe.”

Sharpening the axe can mean a lot of things to different people. It can mean getting organized… clearing your desk, getting everything you need before you start work on a new project. It can mean reading up on a topic your project is related to, doing research, learning how things work, making sure you’re ready before you get started.

For writers, it can mean outlining your story before you type the words ‘chapter one.’ After my last book, I realized I don’t need to know every single detail to move forward. And I found that not knowing everything before writing actually made the story more fun for me to write because writing into the dark is a lot like how a reader reads. Still, I like having a general idea of where I’m headed before I start.

For me, sharpening the axe means clearing my mind so I can focus on writing.

Last year for lent, I did a 40 day sugar fast. This year I’m 12 days in to a social media fast which is more than just not logging into Facebook… no, because I’m a glutton for punishment and I tend to take things to the extreme, I took it a step further and cut way back on my daily news consumption, too, which has been torture since I’m such a news junkie and I like to keep up with what’s happening in the world.

It got me thinking: how much would I miss if I disconnected completely for 40 days?

My guess is a lot.

But that might not be a bad thing.

Here’s what I’m realizing a week into my fast: attention is the new currency.

Think about it. How often do you get distracted from doing something you promised yourself you’d do today which you’ll decide to just do tomorrow (which never happens)?

In my case, it’s writing the next book.

But if you’re really honest with yourself, like I’m trying to be, you’ll see how distracted you truly are all of the time. I just checked my daily average usage on my phone over the last week. It was 2 hours and 93 ‘pick ups’ a day (the number of times I picked up my phone and looked at it hoping for a little dopamine rush like a rat finding cheese).

And my total screen time on my phone for the week was 15 hours with 650 pick ups.

Wow!

I know what you’re thinking. That’s ridiculous! And I’d have to agree. But then I’d say, you should check your own screen time stats, too. Because, as the clichéd villain says to the hero in a low, gravely voice, one way or another in pretty much every bad movie, “We’re not that different, you and me…”

But it’s not just our phones. It’s Facebook, it’s YouTube, it’s the news, it’s all of the rabbit trails we allow ourselves to go down that waste so much of our time every day.

It’s our attention that’s suffering.

I watched a really interesting documentary a while back called The Social Dilemma. (And if your easily distracted self just clicked on that link to watch the trailer before reading the rest of this newsletter, you’re in good company, I would’ve, too.)

Social media companies design their platforms to be addicting. Facebook studies you. They show posts they think will get a reaction out of you. YouTube’s default mode is to play the next video their algorithm thinks will keep you watching (which I’ve turned off). If you don’t, you’ll keep watching the next suggested cat video that that autoplays. Sure, these platforms are free. But if something’s free, it’s because you’re the product.

Think about that…

There’s only one way to stop it: by not allowing our attention to be pickpocketed.

Because attention truly is the new currency. The world no longer goes for your wallet. They want your attention now, first and foremost, more than anything else. Because they’ve figured out that once they have your attention, they have everything.

The truth is, if we want to do work that matters, we have to quiet our mind. We can’t hear our own ideas if our heads are filled with other people’s voices and opinions all the time. And we won’t see our dreams come true without a plan to keep us on track.

There is a balance, of course. Especially now when we’re all more isolated than ever before. If we totally shut ourselves off, we’ll miss out on important things going on in our friends’ lives and news we need to know about (and yes, maybe the occasional cat video to help us get through the day). But taking time to shut down the distractions and take a good, hard look at the things of this world that constantly demand our attention and keep us from creating things that are worthwhile is, I think, a very good thing. -Ken

January 2021

Hello from Orlando!

I’ve started a tradition where in January 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.

You’ll notice a lot of white space at the beginning of the year. There are whole months where, no matter how hard I tried, the words didn’t come. January came and went and I didn’t write. Same with February. In March, I got tired of the blank calendar and started “planning” for 7 weeks which included brainstorming story ideas and may or may not have also included watching a bunch of cat videos. I was confusing movement with progress. Just because you’re doing a lot doesn’t mean you’re getting a lot done.

Then I started the book with 4 weeks of solid writing followed by 9 weeks of not writing.

Not a single word.

I got back to it at the end of July but then I quickly ran out of steam again by August.

The good news was my novel was halfway done. The bad news was my novel was only halfway done. I looked up. Saw how much more of the mountain there was still left to climb. I turned to look back down the path and saw how easy it would be to stop.

I think this is the place where most people give up. I know, because I’ve been there.

They set their dreams aside. They tell themselves they tried their best. They move on.

But it’s always darkest just before the dawn. And if you’ve read my last few newsletters, you know the rest of the story. I prayed, I got inspired, and in a burst of writing, I finished the second half of the novel in 9 days and wrote what I think is my best book yet. Without any planning. Just fingers on the keyboard, writing like a reader reads, typing until I was done and coming up with a better story than I ever could’ve planned.

Why am I telling you this?

Because it’s January 31st and once again I haven’t started the next book yet. And because you probably have a goal for the year that you haven’t started yet, either.

Failed January goals never surprise me.

January 1st is when most dreams are born and January 31st is when most dreams die.

But this is what separates those who dream and those who see their dream come true:

They do ‘one more.’ They write one more word. One more sentence. One more paragraph. One more chapter. The athlete takes one more shot, does one more rep.

They wake up and wonder if they’ve reached their peak, if they can outdo themselves again… if they’re destined to live on the plateau or if they can climb another mountain. Then they decide… and they push through the pain, and they do one more, anyway.

I woke up this morning not wanting to write this newsletter. And tomorrow, when I start working on the next book, I know I’ll wake up not wanting to. Because starting is hard.

But without commitment, you’ll never start. And without consistency, you’ll never finish.

I have to remind myself that the days I don’t want to write are the days that count.

Because winners keep going when there’s nothing left in the tank. And because who you want to be tomorrow, you’ve got to start working on becoming today. Every day we’re either preparing or repairing, getting closer to or farther away from our goals.

The truth is, if you have a dream, you will experience some kind of pain.

Because there are two kinds of pain in life: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. Jim Rohn taught that discipline weighs ounces… but regret weighs tons. I don’t want to live with regret. I’m willing to bet you don’t, either.

So let’s make a commitment.

Let’s decide today that we’re going to do ‘one more.’

When the inner critic says you can’t, ignore it and push through to the other side.

There’s no passion to be found in playing small and settling for a life that’s less than the one we’re capable of living. Embrace the pain of discipline, and just do one more.

I can’t wait to write my next story, knowing the tough days are the days that count. -Ken

December 2020

Hello from Orlando!

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. It’s where I take time off from writing to focus on the things I’ve neglected during the year. It’s when I rest and recharge before I start the next book. I watch countless episodes of THE OFFICE with Missy. I play with my sons. And I sleep in longer than I should.

But it’s 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 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 2021… 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

November 2020

Hello from Orlando!

In case you missed it, I released my new thriller THIN BLUE LINE last week. It’s a story I worked on for most of the year, started in January and finished earlier this month. And it’s a story I loved writing. I always get a kick out of reading the reviews that come in and the emails asking when the next one will be out (trust me, I wish it was that easy).

Because what the reader reads is the finished product. They never truly know the story behind the story. Whenever I read a book from one of my favorite authors, whenever I get lost in the story, I have to remind myself that there’s more there between the lines…

Because when you read a book, you’re not just reading a bunch of words…

You’re reading countless hours of errors and rewrites and plotting… second-guessing yourself and trying to find how to tell the best possible story for the reader to enjoy.

You’re reading moments of complete frustration.

And you’re reading moments of pure joy.

You’re reading a book the author is so proud to share with you.

And you’re reading a book the author is terrified to share with you.

You’re reading a piece of their heart, something that took them away from doing other things they deemed to be less important than putting this new story out into the world.

You’re reading a piece of their soul, a part of their life they decided to share.

Accomplishing any big goal you have for yourself is risky. Because when you say you’re done, when you put what you spent time creating out into the world, you realize something you may have never thought about before: it no longer belongs to you.

The story belongs to them now. The reader. It’s theirs to read and live with.

They say stories are never finished, just abandoned. At some point in the writing process, you have to say to yourself, This is the best I’m capable of doing–for now.

Then you have to put it out in the world and see what happens.

Can you be a writer without someone else reading your words?

Yes, of course. But to share what you’ve spent a piece of your life working on with someone else is the ultimate trust-building exercise any writer could ever take on.

To trust yourself enough to let it go, to put it out into the world, and then to start again.

Below are some of the amazing reviews I’ve read on Amazon (thank you so much!). I hope you had a great Thanksgiving and I’m grateful to call you one of my readers. -Ken

Here’s what readers are saying about THIN BLUE LINE…

★★★★★ “Spellbinding.”
★★★★★ “I couldn’t put it down.”
★★★★★ “A nail-biting must-read.”
★★★★★ “Kept me reading long into the night.”
★★★★★ “Unable to put it down. THIN BLUE LINE doesn’t disappoint!”
★★★★★ “This book is worth your time to read.”
★★★★★ “Another great story in a great series.”
★★★★★ “Grabs you from the very first page and never lets up.”
★★★★★ “The best Blake Jordan novel yet.”
★★★★★ “Lots of twists… highly recommended.”
★★★★★ “The story was full of twists that kept me guessing.”
★★★★★ “Another outstanding addition to the Blake Jordan series.”
★★★★★ “I’ve read all in this series and they keep getting better.”
★★★★★ “Action packed and so believable.”
★★★★★ “The twists just kept on coming… great story!”

Are you ready for a great story? Click here and start reading now.

October 2020

Hey there, happy Halloween!

I’m excited to be wrapping up the third draft of Blake Jordan #7. In another week, I’ll be sending the manuscript to my editor and should have it back a week after that.

This is a story I’ve really enjoyed writing. Its had its ups and its downs, but everything came together in the end and I think it’s the best story in the series yet.

I’m not sure if I’ve ever written about the process of bringing you a new book. A lot of readers think they come easily. I just write them and put them out, ready to be read.

But the truth is, there are a lot of people involved in bringing you a new Jordan novel.

The first thing I do is brainstorm an idea and meet with my developmental editor. She’s out in LA and is a screenwriter by trade. I’ve always believed if you want to write a good story, don’t study books on writing novels, study books on how to write movies. While I love TV series like 24 and Jack Ryan, my books are written so they could be movies. So I pitch my idea to her and she takes it all in and then asks a lot of really good questions. What if the bad guy is really the good guy? What if the good guy is bad? Because she’s written and watched countless movies, she’s great at mixing and matching lots of twists and turns and story beats for me to consider. But ultimately, I have to then decide if I will use any of her ideas. Most of the time I stick with my own. It’s still helpful to bounce my thoughts off of someone who understands story structure.

Then I have to write the thing, obviously. That is difficult. Even seven books in. If I’m honest, I think it’s because I always feel like I need to outdo myself. And certainly, I want to continually improve as a writer, but I need to realize that all I need to do is just keep hitting singles. I don’t need to swing for the fences. Although I still do, every time.

Then I have my cover designer create a new cover for the book. I love my cover guy. He used to design covers for Stephen King back in the day. His covers are the BEST!

While that’s being designed, after I write the first draft, I’ll go in and write a second draft… then I print it out and write a third draft. It’s always amazing to me how many mistakes you will find, bad grammar, sometimes missing words, if you look at your work printed out. I learned this tip early on and it’s helped me become a better writer.

Then I give that third draft, with my handwritten changes in red ink, to my wife, Missy. My first reader. She’s AMAZING! She finds so many things I never saw, even with the manuscript printed out. She writes her feedback in purple ink and I’m always amazed at the things she finds and the problems I need to correct, and if I do my job right, she may add a “wow!!!” or a smiley face. Those are my favorite things to find in purple ink.

Then I take that third draft, with both my changes in red and hers in purple, and I write the fourth draft. I then go through what I call “Peg’s list” which is a lot of grammatical things I need to watch out for and fix based on feedback from my friend Peggy and I make those changes and I send the manuscript to my proofreader who is also great. She makes the books come to life. She doesn’t change the words themselves, per se, but she does find so many additional things that could be punctuated differently to make the book a better read. The goal is to put the reader in a sort of trance, to transport them as they read. I try to give her the best possible book I can… so instead of making a bad book good, hopefully she can make a good book great. When I get her changes back about five days later, I review every one and I accept most of them.

Then and only then is the book is ready for you to read and enjoy.

This isn’t just the way I write. This is the way most professional writers write books.

Sometimes I think about that whenever I read a good book… how so many people were involved from start to finish. But the truth is, nobody should be thinking that when reading. A good book should suck the reader in and transport them to another place and time and keep them turning the pages late into the night. It should take them on an adventure. One they don’t want to end as they draw closer to the story’s final chapters.

I know if I do my job right, it’ll be a wild ride.

Be on the lookout for the cover reveal in the next few weeks.

I hope to have Blake Jordan #7 out before the November newsletter. -Ken

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