When is a Problem Not a Problem?

How many times have you heard someone say that they want to be a writer, but they just don’t have the time?

If you’re like me (and every other professional writer) the answer is always because they have a job or a family, or they don’t know what to write, yet they swear they have a novel inside them just bursting to be written. But things are always in their way.

All these these are excuses. They are not insurmountable problems. A problem is something to be fixed. If you don’t want to fix it, it’s not a problem.

When I first began writing, I did a writing course, a web design course, a copywriting course, I learned how to self-publish, I read many books about writing and working online, and I talked to others who were already doing what I wanted to do. And I did it all while having a job and a family to look after.

I tell others this and they’ll say, “Yeah, but you’re so energetic and have much more time than me.”

Well, I hate to disappoint them, but I have 24 hours a day just like them.

If you think that you’re not writing because something about your life is holding you back, then you don’t have a problem because you don’t want to fix it.

Just look at Stephen Hawking. He spent most of his life in a wheelchair unable to move, but he didn’t let it stop him from writing. And problems don’t come any bigger than that.

My advice to anyone who thinks they have problems that hold them back from writing, is to start writing.

It really is that simple. 

No problem at all.

 

Mission Critical For Life

Discover the 10 timeless life-changing lessons in this one little book and follow your own writing mission.

The Controversial Decent of NaNoWriMo

 

I’ve always loved the idea of National Novel Writing Month, which occurs in November every year. During this month, millions of writers worldwide write a fifty-thousand-word novel and upload it to NaNoWriMo to earn a certificate of achievement. In its early days, I signed up for two years running to write a novel. 

I finished my first novel (Playing For Real) in the 30-day window, but sadly, the second one I only half finished and cheated by copying and pasting it all back in so that I reached the required 50K word count. But I did finish it after that.

So it’s sad that after more than 20 years, NaNoWriMo is closing down and that the whole thing is shrouded in controversy. 

They began in 1999 and in 2006 became a non-profit. The closure is said to be for  “financial” reasons, according to the interim executive director, Kilby Blades.

In November 2023 complaints from members were made that a NaNo forum moderator was grooming children on a different website. The moderator was eventually removed a few weeks later for what was said to be an unrelated code of conduct violation. But the whole thing left a bad taste with many writers who questioned NaNo’s capability of keeping children safe on their site.

Then in 2024, when that year’s November novel writing month was announced, NaNo said that they would accept entries from novels written using AI. They were immediately criticised for it but they didn’t back down and stated that “condemnation of Artificial Intelligence has classist and ableist undertones.”

At the time, fantasy writer, C L Polk responded that “NaNo is basically asserting that disabled people don’t have what it takes to create art when they trot out the lie that scorning AI is ableist.”

The AI controversy received wide press coverage with NaNo standing their ground. Two authors stepped down from the NaNo board while many other writers spoke out against using bots in novel writing.

NaNo’s continual endorsement of AI in writing led to one of the world’s biggest backlashes against a non-profit.

Writers swiftly began to distance themselves from NaNo en-mass. Author Daniel José Older released a statement on his website stating that NaNo’s “position on AI is vile, craven, and unconscionable.”

Writers took to social media in droves, expressing their disgust at NaNo for endorsing AI software that is well-known for plagiarising authors’ work for training purposes, and that AI also spreads misinformation.

Many writers then began closing their accounts with NaNo to the point that the non-profit could no longer sustain itself and announced that it would close its website once all writers have had a chance to remove their work. To date, NaNo has not announced exactly when the closure will be.

The whole thing is sad because millions of writers have been able to get their novels written every November thanks to NaNoWriMo.

But that doesn’t have to stop. Any month can be the month that you get your book written. Just begin at midnight on the first of the month, and complete your first draft by midnight on the 30th.

And if you need help getting started, download The One Month Author and write your novel in a month, writing for just one hour a day.

https://www.cheritonhousepublishing.com/books/MCWS4.html 

The 2 Hour eBook Writing Challenge

 There’s a buzzword that writers like to talk about when it comes to writing and that word is procrastination.

    Oh yes, writers love to go on and on about procrastination and how it holds them back and how much they have to fight it every day.

    But it’s not procrastination.

    It’s laziness.

    Writing is a scary thing to think about doing because it’s something that can’t be done fast and that’s why many don’t want to start, because they know it will take ages to get a significant amount of writing done.

    Or will it…?

    What if you knew that getting a large amount of writing done wouldn’t take that long at all?

    Then how about taking a 2 hour writing challenge?

What does it involve?

    It involves sitting down and writing in a distraction-less 2 hour window of time.

    You may be wondering how writing for 2 hours will prove anything, but don’t doubt it till you’ve tried it.

    It’s actually possible to write a short report or ebook in 2 hours and many writers have done it.

    So how about you? How much can you write?

    You really should try it because not only will you be able to get a surprising amount of writing done, it also gives you a small thrill just to complete it.

    Sitting and writing solidly for just 2 hours also gives you a great feeling of accomplishment which motivates you to do it again.

    Just try it to see if I’m right.

    And even if I’m wrong and you don’t feel motivated to do it again, at least you will have achieved 2 hours of uninterrupted writing.

So what exactly should you do?

    First you need a 2 hour window of uninterrupted time. It doesn’t have to be a quiet place (a busy coffee shop is fine), it just has to be 2 hours where no one needs your attention.

    Turn off your phone and get rid of any other distractions like your internet browser.

    Before you begin make sure you’re able to focus. Don’t let your mind wander to thoughts about chores that need doing or bills that need paying. Set a timer so that you don’t get distracted by watching the clock.

    I use audios to help me focus when I’m writing. They help cut out the background noise as well as help me to concentrate. Make sure you know exactly what you’re going to be writing about.

    This is where a detailed outline is a must.

    If you know your topic, make a list of 10 main points you want to cover. Break each main point into 3 sub-points and have an opening and closing statement ready.

    Then get to work. Start writing and don’t stop till the 2 hours is up.

    No excuses. No toilet breaks. Just write.

    At the end of the 2 hours you’ll probably be impressed with how much you’ve written.

    After this you can arrange a 2 hour writing session every day so that no matter what else is on your agenda, you’ll get plenty of writing done.

    And even if you can’t manage it every day, do it often.

    Giving yourself 2 hour writing challenges will quickly help you to build a strong writing habit.

    You’ll also achieve much more because you’ll be writing consistently and consistency breeds success.

    And ultimately it will enable you to earn more money from your writing, especially when you can write short reports or ebooks in 2 hours.

    This is an old article that I wrote and published it on my website in 2014. I've republished it here because the information is still relevant and it can still help you to write more and earn more. You can see the article in all its original glory at https://ruthiswriting.com/articles/2014/2-hour-challenge.html

The One Habit That Transforms Writers’ Block Into a Book

  

 I’ve recently been working daily on my latest horror novel, trying to get it ready for publication later this year. I’d slacked off on it for quite a while, so now it has been a race to get it ready for publishing.

But it wasn’t easy. I had to coerce myself to sit in my writing chair consistently every day and work on my manuscript, no matter what mood I was in or how much I wanted to go and do something else.

And that was the ‘secret’ to getting my book finished. Consistency. It’s not big bursts of energy and motivation that get writing done, it’s the consistency of showing up and doing the writing every day. Consistent progress over time compounds into something greater.

It’s too easy to fall into the trap of thinking that those who have success in life are the ones with lucky breaks or who work 80 hours or more a week. But the truth is that those who keep showing up every day are the ones who have success. It’s the same compounding effect that got my book manuscript written, edited and proofread. I took action on it daily, no matter what.

And this compounding effort works for anything you want to do in life, no matter how big or small, like finally getting around to cleaning your car or to starting your own business. Consistent effort will get you everywhere. 

To be more successful than others all you need is consistent, compounding effort. While I was working away on my manuscript, I also kept reading about other writers who were complaining that they just didn’t have time to write and so weren’t currently working on anything.

I also found some bad habits I knew nothing about that I had to eradicate. It seems I am an incredibly distracted person and would stop and look up things or I’d want to go and watch TV or think that I’d rather be doing my sewing or going for a walk. But I didn’t I used strenuous amounts of discipline to stay in my writing chair. And once I did, I found it easier than I thought to let these distractions go.

I also learnt that I was a lot more disciplined than I ever thought I was once I was motivated enough to get my book written. And the word ‘motivation’ has the word motive written right in there, which is the real meaning. To be motivated you need a big enough reason to do something. My motive wasn’t to finish my book but to prove to myself that I could be disciplined if I tried. And I did try and I was right (because I didn’t want to be wrong).

One big takeaway from my recent efforts is that I realised that people who we think of as super achievers, when you look at their efforts, the one thing that stands out is that they are consistent with what they do.

There’s a book I recently came across on this subject that I recommend to any of you who want to do more and achieve more. It’s called, “The Compound Effect: Jumpstart Your Income, Your Life, Your Success” by Darren Hardy. 

Don’t let your big writing dreams escape any more. If what you want to do is be a super-achieving author, the time to start is now. All it takes is daily consistency to create a compounding effect.

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