Last Updated on by Michael Brockbank
Recently, I wrote a post about my challenge to write for 100 days. This goes above and beyond the blogging and client projects I handle. This is purely for my next book or two. And yes, I am ready to go!
I’ve prepared the Asana tasks, moved a few things around for the day, and am looking forward to publishing my next book. I suppose it’s a great day to start, especially since it’s been raining for almost 24 hours.
And I do love the rain!
Feel Free to Follow Along
There are a few different ways you can follow along if you’d like. First, I have widgets on MichaelBrockbank.com that I use to show my progress of the next book as well as how many words I’ve written for the year.
Something else I’m toying with is updating MichaelBrockbank.com every week with my progress. Mostly, this is because the blog is linked to my author profile on Amazon. If I get some fans interested in what’s coming next, they can easily find it there.
I’m also going to share the progress during the live shows on WriterSanctuary’s YouTube channel every Monday night, at 7 pm mountain time. The show usually centers around us writers essentially hanging out with the occasional question.
I’m debating on using Goodreads more often when it comes to the books I write. Instead of being a hodge-podge of writing content, such as blogs and freelancing, the Goodreads content will purely focus on the books.
This will probably be a Friday night thing, though.
Throughout the year, I also keep track of words and goals on my NaNoWriMo profile. If you’re an author, feel free to add me as a friend. I wouldn’t mind growing my network of other creators.
And lastly, here is the spreadsheet I am using to track my progress. I’ll try to keep on it regularly, but I will most likely forget on some days. Luckily, I always track my days in my primary spreadsheet, so it won’t take much to update this one.
What is the Plan to Start Day 1?
Unfortunately, I was a bit of a slacker over the last few weeks and have yet to finish moving Kingmaker over to the Reedsy writing app. Today, I’ll finish migrating from LibreOffice.
I quite enjoy the Reedsy app and look forward to testing out the other services with the next book. Kingmaker, on the other hand, is more of an experiment to see how much I can do without spending a lot of money.
Once Kingmaker is moved over, then I’ll continue writing.
Now, I am nearly two-thirds of the way through the book, so I am pretty confident it’ll be finished before this 100-day challenge. In that case, I plan on rewriting VII on Wattpad and possibly polish up the other short stories.
If I have time left in the challenge, then I’ll work on the second book to Kingmaker. Yes, I have four of these planned, but for a very good reason.
What am I Sacrificing for This Challenge?
I had to do a bit of jockeying around to fit the one hour per day for this challenge. My weekdays are relatively full as it is, and I need to be realistic with what I can handle.
However, I really didn’t have to sacrifice much.
Now, keep in mind that this challenge is centering around spending at least an hour per day writing my books. I’m sure I’ll go beyond that on some days. And if I stick to my blocked time in Asana, I really don’t have to sacrifice anything.
Of course, that really depends on what I need to do for my clients each day. Sometimes I am done in a matter of a couple of hours. Other days, I could be working for 12.
On average, though, I should be able to get everything done…knock on wood.
What is the Overall Goal of This Challenge?
Primarily, I created this challenge for myself because I know I am a procrastinator. Kingmaker should have been done and self-published on Amazon by now. But I often put some things off until the last minute.
Though, it’s not totally the fault of being lazy. As I said, I am exceptionally busy on a daily basis and prioritize the things that pay. However, there have been a few days as of late when I could have easily put in a bit of time writing Kingmaker.
Also, keep in mind that I am exceptionally hard on myself. I doubt anyone who knows me personally would call me, “lazy.” If I don’t hit a certain level of efficiency, I am extremely hard on myself. It’s something I’m working on, currently.
At the end of the day, I would love to see more of my books being read. But that’s not going to happen unless I prioritize them after my client work. Otherwise, I’ll keep putting them off indefinitely.
If all goes well, 2022 should be quite the productive year for me as an author.
Why Challenge Myself with Writing in the First Place?
I am constantly setting up challenges for myself in a myriad of ways. From blogging to losing weight, some of the better challenges have been greatly influential in my success.
Instead of competing against others, I focus on competing with myself. After all, that’s how you build momentum, confidence, and overall self-improvement.
By going above and beyond what you perceive you can do.
It’s easy to give up when faced with overwhelming odds. But what would happen if you put in the effort to overcome those mental blockades?
You’ll never know until you try.
I am in a constant state of self-improvement. And every year, things are getting better and better. This is partly because I never give up, even when I ultimately fail a challenge.
I simply try to figure out how I can succeed the next time by objectively analyzing why I failed. At that point, it’s no longer a “failure,” but a learning experience.
It’s this mentality that helped me succeed as a freelancer while using content mills, how I managed to lose and keep off the last 80 pounds, and why I have A Freelancer’s Tale available now on Amazon.
Sorry…seemed like a perfect place for a book plug.
Anyway, setting up challenges is a great way to push yourself to achieve some great things. Sure, it may not happen overnight. But just the act of going further than you had before can be monumental in affecting your mindset for the positive.
Will I Be Able to Publish My Next Book Before My Birthday?
I really don’t have much left to write for Kingmaker. I have no doubt that I’ll be done writing long before my birthday at the end of July. Will it be published? That I can’t really answer.
I suppose it falls on how long it’ll take me to have the book edited and get a good cover design.
Ideally, I would love to order the first copy as a birthday present to me. So, that’s the goal. In any case, I’m truly excited to get some quality time writing the book for the next 100 days.
What kind of writing challenges do you make for yourself?
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- How Long Does It Realy Take to Write a Good Book? - November 27, 2024