Blog, Blog, Blog

I've just built my third blog, Keep It Short & Sweet, because third times a charm, right? Well, I thought about it as I built it, and, honestly, I miss my old blogs. I miss what they represented. I miss writing on them and looking at them and spending time upgrading them.

My new blog is where I'm going to be posting short stories I write. So, it won't really be like a blog kind of blog, you know? Kyla's Not Normal was always somewhat like a diary. I talked about whatever came to mind and used pictures to illustrate what I was thinking. It was fun and carefree. I miss that. I don't even know why I just gave it up, never to come back again.

Maybe it was because of what it represented in my mind? A big, whopping failure. Another thing I couldn't stick to in my life.

I don't react well to failure. Never have, never will.

And so Some Are Made was born. I built that blog to document a life change. I wanted to change everything about my life. I wanted to work on and improve who and what I was. I still want to do that. I don't understand why I shouldn't pick it back up, if that's what I want.

I think it comes down to a mental image I have in my head. I have these blogs mentally stamped with that failed sign you see above. I come back to these blogs, and it hurts me inside, because I didn't do what I set out to do. I didn't stick to these blogs the way I was supposed to.

Looking over them, the last few entries of both blogs became sickeningly similar. I began to apologize, over and over, for not being able to write enough in my blogs. For not being good enough. For not trying hard enough.

Pfft.

Forget that. I'm not apologizing anymore. I'm only human, and it's past time I accept that and try to work with the shortcomings that come with it.

As an update, for anyone out there still counting: I've finished the first draft of Dragon Marked and am well on my way to finishing the second. Soon, I'll be starting Never Trust A Pixie, and I'll be sure to keep you updated with my progress.

Can I promise I'll stick to this? Not on your life. Can I promise to try? Oh, yeah! And I do promise. I'm going to give it my all to stick with blogging this time. So, here's hoping that the third time really is the charm, right?

Writing quote of the day/month/year: “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”
― Maya Angelou

Doing the Math

So I sat down today and did some equations. So much math, it made my head spin. And now I'm excited and hyped up to get my writing done.

Now, you may be asking yourself: What would math have to do with writing? It really depends on the math. As a fun project, I decided I'd figure up a projected amount of time until I complete my current writing projects. Of course, I had to make certain assumptions in order to come up with a figure.

Supposing I write every single day, without breaks; that it takes me 2-3 days to complete each 10-15 page chapter; and that there are 20-30 chapters per book, it should take anywhere from 40-90 days for each 1st draft.

I wrote in 1.5 months for each first draft (roughly 45 days), plus an extra month to work on any details needed to prepare for the next book and/or any excess chapters I may need to write. Then I put in a 3 month break from writing, where I spend my time planning and preparing for other projects and allow my 1st drafts to percolate before going back over to edit. In editing, I give the same 2.5 months as I did for the 1st draft. Then, as a final figure, I put in 1/2 of a month for publication readiness process (researching publishers, preparing letters for publishers, going to writers' conferences, etc.).

With those figures in place, I project it will be at least 1 year and 8 months before Dragon Marked will be ready for publication. If I am able to stick with this rigorous regiment, I could finish my currently planned projects in 29 years and 9 months. That would be completing 43 novels and 25 scripts (I have a lot of ideas) in less than 30 years...if I could stick to schedule.

While it would take a long time to see any sort of reward for this sort of schedule (almost 2 years before the first book could be ready for publication!), the end result would be extraordinarily profitable and prolific.

What do you think? Total waste of time? I kind of like it. It makes me feel excited and brings out an itch to write. I think this will help me keep my dedication going.

Writing quote: "Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. "
Benjamin Franklin

Anyway, great hearing from all of you, and I hope you like my latest odd writing tactic. Happy writing!