Digging Deep

As some of you know I finished my first book.  Since the day I published the book, many friends have told me they want to write a book but don’t know where to start. They never pursue writing by sitting down and putting pencil to paper, or like me, typing like a madwoman in my tiny office.  They don’t dig deep inside themselves to commit to the project or have the discipline to give the time and effort it takes.

Over my lifetime I have had discipline when needed.  Once I decide I will follow through with whatever I want to do. The book I have published was one of those projects.  It all started with a journal to work out emotions during the last few months of my mother’s life.  I soon realized that I was writing more than my feelings and a mental light bulb went off. I decided her life story needed to be told. 

So how do you write a full-blown novel about another person?  First you put together an outline to follow.  It’s easy to get mixed up on time and when certain things happened.  What you believed to have happened in one decade may be out of whack when relying on memory. Next you should to do a little research, whether it history, events, family ancestry or someone else’s view on the past. The hardest part, even though it may seem the easiest, is sitting down and writing. Time is the enemy. Where do you fit in the time to sit, think, write, re-write, investigate, interview, and all the other things needed when working on a project of this size? I found the best time for me was in the early morning.  I scheduled myself three days a week to go to my office, type on the computer for an hour, and tell the story of my mother’s life. Three years later the story was done.  I sent it off to my editor and for the following year we worked on edits and re-writes.  

The project took four years before it finished. I was shooting for a date to get it in print and I accomplished my goal.  It was not always easy.  There were many days I stared at the computer screen wondering what to do next.  Often, when my alarm clock rang and I would force myself to get up to work on the book. I kept at it and recommend you do the same.  Keep at it and find the discipline and commitment.  Once you do that, you can find your way to the end of the journey and accomplish your dream. 

You can achieve many things in life but you must get out of your comfort zone and push yourself.  I encourage you to look for whatever you need to do what you want in life.  Take the steps to dig deep and begin your journey to what may feel uncomfortable at first, but can bring great accomplishments later.

“It is necessary to dig deep within oneself to discover the hidden grain of steel called will.” - Ryan Shay