I’m undertaking a 1000-day reinvention project, blogging here daily to track my progress. In Sunday Planning, I plan for the week ahead.
Last Sunday, I said that my plan for the week was to create some writing momentum going. And I’ve done it! Except it’s not exactly writing momentum, it’s thinking and organizing momentum. I came up with a new way to structure the book, around nine principles of recklessness, along with a plan for at least two if not three more books using the same nine principles (reckless in relationship, reckless reinvention, and reckless retirement to go with reckless romance).
I created so much momentum that upon getting up this morning I did not write a blog post, as usual, but instead dove right into Obsidian, where I was outlining the latest structure for Reckless Romance. Ultimately I decided I’m going back to Scrivener, so now I’m rehashing the structure there. All of this moving chunks and chapters and quotes around makes me think: there must be a better way. This way will do for now, though. For now, it’s just time to finish a first draft.
[Update at 4:05 pm on Sunday]
My new structure is working well; I suppose if writing isn’t proceeding with some sort of flow it probably means the structure is wrong. A good structure encourages easy writing. A poor structure hinders it.
I have 5 of 11 chapters drafted, a total of about 10,000 words written. I don’t intend the book to be any longer than 20,000 words, so I’m halfway to a first draft. I can probably finish that first draft by the middle of next week, then do a one-pass second draft. I think then it may be ready for my trusted readers (probably my mother and Ray) to review.
I keep reminding myself that I don’t need to simplify this work anymore than it bears simplifying. The ideas I’m writing are complicated and sophisticated, and based on similarly complicated and sophisticated philosophy. If I simplify it too much, I will remove its power. If I don’t simplify it enough, it won’t be engaging; no one will understand it. I feel I’m hitting the right balance with what I’ve produced so far, but we shall see. I keep in mind the idea I got from Dean Wesley Smith: you can just trust your own skill and art. You don’t have to live in fear of doing something wrong or bad. You can just do your art, do your writing, and then share it with the world, without thinking, “I’m doing this wrong. This is bad.”
I do think that painting has helped me understand the process of creation better. Though my visual art hasn’t been picked up by some critic or gallery who said, “Look at this incredible talent!”, I found a belief in my work in developing my own style and craft.