There's the old adage that says, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Well, something needed fixing. And fast.
The last handful of novels I had written, I had maintained a daily spreadsheet to analyze my word count. I was curious. Nothing wrong with that. Other writers would comment how many words they wrote on a daily basis and even a bestselling author has publically stated he writes 2000 words a day, even on his birthday and Christmas.
For my projects, I would notice that there were a number of days where I had a word count of zero. My goal with my new current project was to have absolutely no zero writing days. Even if I wrote one word, it still counted.
Seems good in theory. And, under normal circumstances, it would work great. Turns out, it was either horrible timing or not good at all when applied to real life. At least, my life at this very moment. My stress level had increased dramatically these past few weeks. Now, some of this could be due to health reasons. I get that. And, on top of it, I chopped my current novel into three parts. I'm at the very end, where there is an epic battle, and with a variety of superheroes with a wide range of powers, I was getting confused on what was going to happen. I had to stop and go back, to see who I had written and brainstorm powers.
Enter: zero writing days. Not just one. But several.
This past weekend, again while sitting in my deer stand, I came to the conclusion that I had to scrap the spreadsheet. Immediately, I felt relief wash over me. I am taking time for myself.
In December 2016, I went on a podcast fast. I needed that change. It freed up my time. Now, within the last month, I am listening to more podcasts than ever before. But what podcasts I am listening to may surprise you. While I do still listen to a handful of writing-related podcasts, the majority are of the true crime nature.
True crime? Really?
Well, to put it simply: I am looking for stories. I love stories. Some true life stories are fascinating--I know, listening to the horrible things serial killers like Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy, Dennis Rader, Edmund Kemper, Aileen Wournos, and Gary Ridgeway did to their innocent victims are in no way glamorizing or fascinating. But knowing what makes them tick, and injecting those into the characters into my own stories, is fascinating.
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