Hey Crew,

Got another 1100 words knocked out today. I remember when I’d be happy to write 1000 words a day. It’d be an achievement. Now I look at these low word counts and know I’m capable of so much more. I will get there. Fear not. I want to finish Almost-Super Heroes 2 in 2 weeks, so I can finish another book before NaNoWriMo, and I plan on writing an entire novel during NaNoWriMo.

Yes, I want to knock out two books before the end of November that I haven’t started yet.

For some people, that’s crazy talk. For me, it’s crazy not to try.

Speaking of crazy, I was going to talk about my writing process, but I need to vent a little. I won’t name names even though I’m certain none of the incidents I’m about to mention will be seen by people who read this blog.

First off, I was watching a video of a writer who stated “I’m almost done with my first draft and I’m so excited to begin on the first rewrite. I know it’ll be months and several rewrites before I’m done with this book, but it makes me so happy to be done with the first draft so I can start my favorite part or writing. The rewriting.”

This hurt me. By no means am I a first draft and done kind of writer, but neither am I the type that will do dozens of rewrites. I write once, do a read through to fix any major issues, and another round for line edits. That’s it. Yes, some of my books are a little…raw. But hopefully the passion I put into my work is there. I couldn’t rewrite the soul out of a book. These characters told me their story and I convey that story to you. Yes, I have a vague idea where the story is going and major story arcs I’d live to cover, but sometimes that’s not the book that happens.

Again, I’ll get deeper into my process another time. I just had to share my frustration of this author who has one, traditionally-published book out. It almost makes me want to cry for this author.

Another one I saw, was an author who has a few books out, far fewer than I would have thought, saying they’d finished their latest book, and couldn’t wait to submit it to a publisher so they could tell them what was wrong with it so they could fix it.

I wish I could help both these authors break free from that mentality. There’s nothing wrong with the book. Publish it, write another one, and keep going. You will never get better at writing by rewriting the same book over and over. It’s like trying to sharper a pencil more by sharpening it again and again. Eventually you’ll lose what you started out with and have less than you wanted.

If you’re a writer and reading this blog, I’m not filled with writing advice. I can pass you on to http://deanwesleysmith.com. He’s a professional author who’s been making his living at writing books for decades. Check out his myths of writing series. It’s worth it, and there is so much more that’s free on his site. If you like what he says, you can check out his online video tutorials (those aren’t free) and he also does writing classes in Vegas with his wife (Kristine Kathryn Rusch who has also been a professional writer for decades). If you’re looking to stretch beyond your own thinking, check them out.

Thank you for letting me vent. Jay is tired and I’ve a busy day tomorrow. I’m off to bed.

Until Next Time!

Stay Awesome!