How come Maya Angelou and SARK write so many books?
What would Maya Angelou do? What would SARK do?
They would write. That’s what they do. (Well that’s what Maya DID) SARK still writes.
Is it lucky that SARK is a best-selling author and artist, with over 17 titles in print and over 2 million books sold?
Is it lucky that Maya Angelou has written several works that are equivalent to millions of books sold?
I do not think so. What I know to be true is this; achieving anything takes time, commitment, effort and discipline.
What choice are you making?
When you choose to do one thing, conversely, you choose not to do something else.
When I’m writing a book, I’m willing to give up a couple hours of night’s sleep to complete a book. Often my natural sleep patterns change when I wake up at one or two in the morning.
When I wake up, I can choose to stay in bed or I can choose to get up, turn on my laptop, and download whatever information is trying to pass through me.
What I know to be true for me is this; I am very happy when I write. Especially if I’m writing something that will eventually become a book.
For years, I have talked about writing a memoir. And for years, talking was all he did. Periodically, I made a feeble attempt to start my memories.
a lightbulb moment
When I finally got serious about the book, there was no room for excuses. It happened at a recent conference I attended.
It was for Platinum members of EWomenNetwork. Founder, sandra yanceyHe shared his personal thoughts on the strategies he implements to achieve more in a day than most people in a month.
A light bulb went on. My memories were not going to write themselves. It was up to me to get off my ass and make it happen.
I promised right there to get my first draft done within 66 days. That would put the first full draft on May 1, 2017. A couple of weeks before my 63rd birthday.
It was not enough more than a calculation to know that if I write 500 – 1000 words per day, seven days a week I can easily have 35,000 – 70,000 words in the first draft. Not bad!
What motivates you?
I am driven by a few main motivators. One is that my word to myself is important. Equally important is my word to others. Hence, the reason why I announced my writing goal in a Facebook group that I manage.
I invited members to make their own writing pledge. Whether it is a manuscript, 30 days of blog posts, an information product that requires writing, or writing letters to loved ones for 30 days, each person can choose for themselves.
Since I started, I haven’t missed a single day. I have written a minimum of 500 words and have had a few occasions to write more than 1000 words in a single session.
Of course, this is not the only writing that I do in my day. I still blog, post on social media, and other things I write about in the course of my business.
In a perfect world, I would have hours and hours to write every day, but the fact is, I don’t have hours at a time. I have fragments of time. 30, 45, 60 minutes.
The temptation for many people is to say that 30 minutes is not enough to write a lot.
“Shoot, it takes me 30 minutes to get the mindset to write,” can be heard from many aspiring writers as they put off fulfilling their dream.
Truth be told, you can accomplish more in 30 minutes of extremely focused effort than most people can with hours of unfocused effort.
Try the following four steps to let your writing flow.
1. Go out the same way. Go for a walk, walk, go to a body of water. This tends to open up the creative channels.
2. Whatever your writing preference, keyboard or pen and paper, set the intention to write your 500 words. The mere act of “intention” tends to open the creative channels.
3. Avoid saying, “I just can’t think of what to write.” This will block you. Rather, it states: “Ideas, words and thoughts flow through me.”
4. Commit that no matter what, you will write a minimum of 500 words per day for a minimum of 30 days.
When we think too much about the task of writing, we get stuck. When we just do it, we do it.
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