Do You Have Angst?: One Sentence at a Time

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

One Sentence at a Time

Saturday:   Today I'm going to write my blog post…
Sunday: …and then I'm going to work on this great idea of the next chapter…
Monday: …oh, and finally I'm going to squeeze in some marketing time for book 1 and #amediting.
Tuesday:  Where did Tuesday come from, I haven't even finished my Saturday blog post yet.

Shh.  Don't let my calendar know but I'm trying to sneak this post in between meetings, family time, needy friends, exercise, house projects, tweeting and maybe a nap but probably not.  This reminds me of a time six months into writing Angst, I was frustrated for not getting enough done.  Not by anyone else's standards, I simply had a story that needed to come out.  I quickly found it wasn't the instant gratification of winning a video game or an evening out with friends, this novel required a commitment like training for one of my marathons.

Amidst my frustrations, I happened to catch an NPR bit about some established writer (don't ask me his name because I can't even remember where I put my keys yesterday).  The gist of his wisdom during the 15 minute interview boiled down to … it's okay to write just one good sentence a day.  Progress, any progress, counts.  It's really good advice when I remember to heed it.

I get upset when I intend to write War & Peace and Les Miserables in one sitting and end up with a paragraph, or even just a sentence.  But, on those rare occasions when I experience flashes of realistic expectations I remember how important that one good sentence is, I remember that it counts as progress, and I'm a little less frustrated.  A little.  Since this post counts as more than one sentence, I'm gonna throw my cape back on and go fix something.



4 comments:

  1. Wait, what? Writers exercise? Who knew?

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  2. Hey David,
    Hope you have been adding a few sentences to the next chapter, well, should I say, the next mid-life crisis of 'Angst'. Geeze, I feel like my next crisis is right around the corner! I am anxiously awaiting the 'rest of the story'.... Hye have a great day and keep us posted! KB

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  3. I just happened to read this post at the right time: after having managed to add perhaps one entire paragraph to my story last night. It's good advice to keep in mind.

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  4. @Kyle Thanks, I can't wait to share the second book, I think it's going to be fun!

    @Katie It means a lot that you got something out of this post. Keep it up, it's worth it, I promise ;)

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