This past week it seemed like everything just piled up onto me. I had grand designs to zip through a few thousand words of my fantasy book when that idea fizzled out. More obligations pushed the creative side of my brain to the back, and I went into defense mode to make it through all the things that needed to get done in the real world.
As I was lamenting my lack of word count (barely 2,000 words this weekend) I realized that writing the epic novel is not a sprint – it’s a marathon. It needs to be paced, at least in my case. It’s more about the journey to get to the end than the actual culmination of the finished product. Because, let’s face it – as writers we get the most pleasure from actually crafting the story on the page. Once it’s all done, what else is there to do? Marketing does not give me the same thrill as going on a journey alongside my characters. Creativity is not endless, and the brain only has so much energy like the rest of our body.
So, if you too are writing a novel and frustrated that you can’t do a book every two months like the powerhouses of the indie world, just relax. As long as your bills are paid by the day job and you still have family and friends (when I can fit them in!) then you are doing just fine. The book will be finished and you will always have the memories of working on it throughout the months that it took to give it life.
Happy Monday!
Franklin Kendrick 
This is really encouraging as I always feel like I’m writing at 2 mph.
I try to remember that it’s a long-term commitment and I have to stick to a process that works for me.
I do hope to write faster eventually. I think this is something that I’m going to try to develop next year.
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I’m glad it’s helpful, Jim! I keep having to remind myself that Rome wasn’t built in a day. Yes, perhaps some great novels and literature were written in only two or three evenings, but what were the circumstances for that writer? If it was my only job to write books, then I would be much faster. However, I have become more productive with my time when I can find it. I hope that both our writing processes get more efficient in the coming months!
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