Hey Folks.
It’s been so long since my last update that some of you may have forgotten that you subscribed to my blog or my book updates list. In fact, so much time has passed that it is entirely possible that this content is no longer of interest or of relevance to you. And if that is the case, please know that you can easily unsubscribe using the instructions provided at the bottom of this message.
To those of you who decide to stick around, thank you!
What happened!?
Life happened.
As you know, things don’t always go according to plan. And progress on my book(s) is one of them.
In the spring of 2017 — as I neared completion of the first book (in a series of 3) — my progress began to slow. Despite spending several hours each day in front of my laptop, my productivity on my books would come and go in spurts. While the lessons that encompass all three books have essentially been finished since 2016, the personal narrative I decided to weave through the series has been… tricky. The narrative has been difficult for a number of reasons — most of which have to do with the constraints I wrote myself into (Though some of them have to do with the nature of the content itself. Personal stuff is, to re-use the word, tricky.)
In any case, there wasn’t a day that went by that I didn’t sit down to spend several hours writing. And as spring turned into summer, I became increasingly disappointed with my progress and productivity.
And then, in July 2017, a friend of mine — who is a general contractor — surprised me by asking if I’d be interested in helping him with his business. He had more work than he could keep up with and was looking for extra labor. I thought it sounded like an interesting opportunity and one in which I could learn a number of new skills — and get paid in the process. And it seemed like a good way to shake up my routine with the hope that the changes would allow me to make more progress on my books when I had the time to work on them.
So my friend asked me if I would help. And I said yes. And I was excited to be doing something completely new for a change. And while I knew my new routine would change things, I had no idea how much or in what ways.
At first, I thought I could work and write. But, um, no. I quickly discovered that after spending 8 or more hours each day performing laborious activities, I was too exhausted (mentally and physically) at the end of the day to even think about writing.
“Ok. Fine. I’ll write on weekends,” I thought.
But here’s the thing, the nature of what I’m writing requires me to be intimately aware of what I’ve written, what I’m writing, and where I’m heading. And this means being able to retain over 1,200 pages of information (if not intimately, then at least generally). And the more time I spent away from book writing, the further removed I felt from the content. So although I had two free days a week to write, it would always take me a bit of time to re-wrap my head around what I was trying to do and get back into the frame of mind to write.
And as time passed, this became more and more difficult to the point that I just stopped writing.
And even more time passed.
And lots of things other than book writing happened. And lots of lessons were learned. And, as usual, lots of past experiences are still being processed.
It’s funny how we can get swept into things (of our own choosing) that can sort of take us in directions we didn’t intend to go. And it isn’t that these are necessarily bad places to go — there are always lessons to learn — but boy, they can sure mess with one’s game plan!
So why the update now?
This update comes as a result of that fact that I recently stopped working for my friend. And, in a way, it feels like I’m finally able to gather my bearings after being caught up in something that swept me far away from where I intended to go.
What’s the plan now?
Although I hope to get to book writing sooner, my plan is to begin writing again in earnest in January 2019. In the meantime, I’m venturing back into portraits photography — for a few reasons. Not least of which is it’s something I can get excited about (but also because I can no longer make ends meet without an income).
A possible twist…
One of the things I’m currently considering is releasing one or more of my books — as they were originally written — without the personal narrative. While I feel that the personal narrative adds a vital element to the books, I also feel that it is the lessons contained within that will be the most helpful to people.
So I’m thinking about publishing an “alpha” or “beta” version of my book(s) or release them in “editions” that will be updated, improved, and added to over time. Ie. Lessons Learned from the Path Less Traveled (Book 1): Not Everyone Will Understand Your Journey — “Edition 1” or “2018 Edition” or something along those lines. Of course, I may be shooting my book sales in the foot by releasing them before they are presented as I ultimately envision them, I also feel that the sooner I release my books, the sooner some people may be positively affected by the lessons contained within.
So that something I’m thinking about.
Will I be writing/posting more content (to my blog)?
I’d like to. Despite the lack of progress on my books, I have been taking notes over the last year and there are a number of things I’d like to write about once the spark to write them hits. Generally speaking, the content I write is most often triggered by events that happen in my life. Now that I actually have a bit more time to write and think, I suspect that will happen with far more frequency.
Questions? Comments? Concerns? Ideas?
You are more than welcome to get in touch with me to discuss any of the above!
That’s all for now.
I hope this note finds you happy, healthy, and enjoying the journey of your life.
Zero
