No, I don’t mean write a small book. If you have a doorstop fantasy epic in you, write that. What I’m talking about is goals. Small goals are better than long term goals.
Let’s be honest. As humans, we have short attention spans. At least where goals are concerned. Personally, I far prefer instant gratification to waiting years and years to receive something. (Given the choice, though, I’d take a million in a year over a thousand at this second. Figure that one out.)
So, this means I don’t have the patience to wait years to reach my goal of becoming a professional author. Or I wouldn’t, if that was the only goal I was working for. But it’s not, and that’s the secret. That is how I keep writing every day, even if it’s only for a few minutes. Because, between now and when I become a professional author, I have a whole load of small goals. These goals would seem rather unimportant compared to my ultimate goal, but they are just as important. Each goal reached helps me find the motivation to work to the next one. (Celebrating doesn’t hurt either.)
I’ve actually hit a few of my small goals recently. One is to post on this blog fifty times, and another is to reach a thousand views. I actually hit both in February and definitely intend to celebrate.
But here’s where the tip really comes into play. If you feel like your fantasy epic is suffering as you try to force yourself to write every day, stop. Let it sit in your brain for a while as you accumulate more ideas and characters. Of course, this doesn’t mean you should stop writing. Far from it. Write short stories. Write character sketches.
Just write. You’ll learn as you do, and your big story will benefit from the break.
On that note, Screenshot, our short story compilation, is almost ready to be published. It’ll be a free ebook, but I’m not sure if we decided a print book was a good idea. I’ll keep you guys posted. Have a good week!
No comments:
Post a Comment