Trying to write during the summer–or anytime, really–is such a challenge. Interruptions come in a dozen shapes and sizes.

The following article has a brilliant answer to the problem–and is brilliant in its simplicity. (I didn’t write it, but full credits are at the end.)

I wish I’d thought of this years ago!

[Thank you, Randy Ingermanson.]

“Organizing: Taming Unpredictability”

If you’ve ever tried to make a daily plan and stick to it, you’ve learned an annoying fact about plans: Life happens. Life happens in all sorts of unpredictable ways:

• You need one extra fact for the scene you’re writing, so you go browsing the web and discover that it’s way more complicated than you thought. You spend the afternoon rethinking your plot.
• You get an emergency email from your editor that you MUST deal with right away, and you burn three hours of your day putting out a fire that you didn’t even know existed when you made your daily plan.
• Your computer’s hard drive starts making horrible noises, and it turns out to need a trip to the geek shop. Even with a rush order to fix it, you lose two days.

These kinds of things happen all the time to writers. You probably had at least a couple of days with unexpected roadblocks last week. You’ll probably have at least a couple of them this week. And every week for the rest of your life. That’s just how things are.

How are you supposed to stick to a daily plan when things like these happen?

My opinion is that you can’t.

Stuff is always going to happen. Unpredictable stuff.

What’s the Answer?

Here’s what I’ve been doing lately to keep my head in the game when the game keeps going awry: I still make a daily plan of things I’d like to get done, but I write this daily plan second.

What I do first is to write a WEEKLY plan. On Monday, my first task is to write down a list of the things I think I can get done during the week.

If I get them all done by the end of the day on Friday, then the week is a success.

It’s OK if bad stuff happens two days out of the week. Matter of fact, even three bad days isn’t a tragedy. Three bad days is normal.

I’ve found that I can almost always count on having at least one or two Xtremely productive days each week. I just can’t ever know in advance which days they’ll be.

When you have a day where everything goes right, you whip through your list at light speed.

I’m having a super-productive day today, as a matter of fact. Tomorrow might be horrible, but today is going great.

In one excellent day, you can get half your week’s work done. If you get only one terrific day per week, you’ll probably get most of the things done on your weekly list. If you get lucky and have TWO great days in a week, you can almost guarantee that you’ll knock everything off your weekly list.

Try This Experiment

• For the rest of this week, make a daily list. Count the number of days you actually finish everything on that list.
• Next week on Monday morning make a list of the core things you’d like to get done for the week — the minimal set of achievements that would make the week a success. Continue making a daily list each day and continue counting the number of days that you get that list all done.

You might not have a single “successful” day (in which you get your entire daily list done). However, you will probably have at least one and possibly as many as two highly

“Do the thing you fear, and the death of fear is certain.” (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

I’ve been re-reading James Scott Bell’s excellent book The Art of War for Writers, and he says that “the biggest mental obstacle–in writing, in war, in life itself–is fear.”

I would agree 100%.

How do we fear writing?

Let me count the ways… Bell mentions several kinds of fear that plague writers. Do you find yourself in this list? Do you have additional fears?

Fear of:

• not being good enough
• not getting published
• getting published but not selling
• getting published once but never again
• getting stomped by critics
• getting stomped by family members
• wasting your time

The Quality of Fearlessness

Bell wrote about the young Teddy Roosevelt who was a sick, frail, fearful child–and what changed him into the fearless leader of history. Basically, he learned the old adage of “fake it till you make it” or “act as if.” Bell says that fearful writers become fearless writers in the same way.

Sure, you will set goals and get prepared. And (if you’re like me) you’ll pray for help. But in the end you will need to act as if you’re a successful, fearless writer until (over time) your feelings catch up with your behavior and you actually become one.

Start Today

When fear in some form hits you today, what immediate action step could you take in the face of that fear? How would a professional, successful writer deal with that fear?

What is one way you can channel that fear into energy for your writing?

Be fearless today and, as battle buddies, share one tip you’ve used successfully to win the war on the many fears of writing.

Are you ready for some weekend encouragement?

Does your writing energy need a boost?

Look no more!

Encouragement Just Ahead

Read these articles to encourage yourself on the writing journey.

“Loving the Craft When We Tire of Writing” is such an honest article. Here’s one quote:

Let’s face it, every writer everywhere has known his (her) fair share of tough times. The words won’t come, the story dries up, or we grow weary from the process… It doesn’t mean we no longer love what we do. It does mean that we can still love the craft of writing, but be exhausted from effort expended. Especially when life happens.

Consider starting a Success Journal. It sounds like a daily help, and re-reading it from time to time should be a boost to one’s self-confidence.

Here’s an inspiring story of one writer’s break into traditional publishing: “A Dream Goes On Forever.”

“Writing for the Market”: why or why not? Food for thought here.

Do you dream of getting a lot of writing done on vacation? Here are some tips on making realistic goals–and then achieving them! “Make Vacation Work for You.”

Enjoy your weekend! Be encouraged!

After receiving a couple of pieces of very unwelcome news early last week, it took me several days to regain my writing focus.

Most mornings were spent getting my mental, emotional and spiritual act together, which resulted in having to work till very late at night to meet some deadlines. I got the work done, but I didn’t enjoy any of it.

Today something else happened. This time I found myself very mad–at ME.

Time for a Change

None of the situations were my fault. I didn’t cause them, I couldn’t cure them, and I can’t control what certain people are still doing. So it really, really irritated me that I spent so many hours this past week thinking, reading, praying, and journaling about it.

I’ve always been this way, as far back as age four, the earliest I can remember. Obsessive thinking doesn’t help the other person, and it sure doesn’t help me. It robs us of hours and hours of productive, HAPPY times. And for writers, it steals our time to write, our relaxed ability to create, and the focus so necessary for our projects.

Enough is Enough! Focus!

Yesterday I read a quote that really got me to thinking. In The Little Book of Letting Go by Hugh Prather, it said: “We talk to children about the ‘power of the imagination.’ We attend seminars that tell us our minds have immense reserves of untapped capacity. All in all, we have done a superb job of kidding ourselves that in our roomy ‘attic’ all is useful, worth keeping, and in good repair. But if we observe our minds closely for just one hour, we see that instead of a boundless chamber of magic and wonder, our minds are more like stuffed and stodgy refrigerators that emit peculiar odors.”

It’s time to clean out my refrigerator. I’ve come to realize that all this obsessive thinking and worrying is a life-long bad habit. It’s not a mental illness that needs a pill. It’s not an emotional illness that needs counseling. It’s a bad habit–and habits can be broken.

Identify the Culprit First

I’ve broken lots of harmful habits in the past, and nearly every time it involved discovering the lie I was believing about something. We all have them. (The obese person may believe the lie that “gorging myself will bring comfort.” The procrastinator believes the lie that “I work better under pressure.” The rescuing mom believes the lie that her grown children shouldn’t/couldn’t be responsible for themselves.)

Time to dig into this stinky “mind” refrigerator and find the spoiled junk emitting the odors. Look out! Don’t stand behind me. There’s gonna be some bad stuff chucked outta here!

Are you on the verge of waving the white flag with our writing?

Don’t!

Perhaps you feel like these writers:

“We’ve done everything right – we’ve thought positively, we’ve battled through rejection, we’ve honed our craft, we’ve attended conferences, we’ve networked…but we still can’t get published. What about us?”

Does that sound like you? If so, several very accomplished children’s writers have put together a free e-book dealing with this very issue. They’ve each battled through the ups and downs of children’s writing and have come out on top. What do they have to say to writers who are still in the thick of the battle to get published?

They had lots to say, and it’s all captured in a F*R*E*E e-book called “Don’t Quit! What To Do When You’ve Done Everything Right — And Still Can’t Get Published.”

Thi is an e-book from Children’s Book Insider. It won’t cost you a cent. They just ask one thing: Send out a Tweet or a Facebook Like about it, so that other writers can benefit from this inspirational e-book. Don’t worry — the Twitter and Facebook buttons are right there on the page for you. Just click, send and download your free e-book!

Here’s the link:

http://cbiclubhouse.com/2012/06/free-ebook-dont-quit/

Enjoy….and keep writing!

Writers don’t need discipline, do they? Not according to one well known author.

In one of my favorite writing books (Escaping into the Open: The Art of Writing True by Elizabeth Berg), there’s a chapter on writing myths that the author says you should ignore.

I was reading the list and nodding and “Amen!”-ing my agreement all the way up to Myth #8. It said to ignore the warning that “you have to be disciplined to be a writer.” Really!

No Discipline? Shocking!

I recoiled. Such blasphemy! How could she claim that writers didn’t need self-discipline? “Everyone” knew you needed to discipline yourself to write every day, to study markets, to read in your field. How could she say that? It went against my deeply ingrained beliefs.

And yet…as I read on, her words resonated with me much more than I would have believed possible. If you don’t need to be disciplined, what do you need? She wrote:

“What you have to be is in love. With writing. Not with ideas about what to write; not with daydreams about what you’re going to do when you’re sucessful. You have to be in love with writing itself, with the solitary and satisfying act of sitting down and watching something you hold in your head and your heart quietly transform itself into words on a page.”

Major Paradigm Shift

Hmm…You don’t have to be disciplined–but instead, you have to be in love with the act of writing. For some reason, that rings true for me.

Of my 42 published books, I can only think of three that I had to “make myself” sit down and write. (They were a work-for-hire assignment on a subject that I had no interest in.) But I loved writing the others.

Yes, I ran into occasional rough spots. Yes, sometimes I felt physically or emotionally shot, so writing wasn’t as much fun on those days. But I didn’t have to discipline myself to write.

In each case, I had a story I was burning to tell, and I couldn’t wait for private, uninterrupted time when I could immerse myself in my fictional world–where I could make life turn out like I wanted, like it should be.

Fueled from Within

In the early years, the inner passion for writing fueled me–not discipline imposed from the outside. If I recall correctly, the need for discipline didn’t occur until I was juggling a full-time day job along with raising a family PLUS writing.

I think Ms. Berg is onto something here. Maybe on the days we can’t make ourselves write, we should check our passion quota about our current project.

Passion for writing versus self-discipline–I think I need to investigate this further! Is it one or the other–or both? And if we’ve fallen out of love with our writing, how can we get that back?

How about You?

What does “being in love with your writing” look like for you? Can you describe one of its attributes? If so, please leave a comment!

Once we are refocused on our goals and have regained a clear vision, there’s one more step to take to get back on track.

It’s time to double-check our “creativity routines” and our time management. Then we can attain those writing goals.

Need some ideas that work?

Help is Right Here!

First, download this free ebook on “Time Management for Creative People.” I have been reading one short chapter each morning before I start work. It has definitely helped my productivity. Chapter Three alone has worked wonders.

This short article on “Routines, Systems, Spontaneity” talks about “the creative process,” which is really several interlocking processes. The magic happens at the point where they intersect. Here’s how to coordinate these three critical processes.

Maybe you totally embrace all these ideas, but your calendar is just too full! If that’s your issue, check out “Is It Time for Calendar Triage?” Here are some short, practical tips for cleaning out an over-stuffed calendar.

Focus + Time Management = Productivity

Don’t try to implement every tip you read about, at least not right away. Choose one to try for a week or two, until it’s a new habit. Then choose another one, and so on.

Do YOU have a writing habit you want to develop? What needs to change in your ability to manage your time? Be brave and share an example!

The end of June is a month of reckoning. And I’m not satisfied–not even close–with what I’ve accomplished the first half of this year.

I’m great at making goals, writing them down, setting deadlines, posting them on my bulletin board, and getting to work.

Until fairly recently, I was also very good at accomplishing whatever I set my mind to. Throw me an obstacle? I’d climb over it, tunnel under it, or go around it to meet my writing goals.

Hmmm… So what happened?

I’ve been reviewing my 2012 writing goals this past week, and (it’s embarrassing to admit) I only accomplished three of my nine goals. I think at least six of them were do-able too. I truly was puzzled by this. It is so NOT like me. Admittedly, I had added a writing project that lasted six weeks, but that wasn’t enough to make so much difference.

Luckily I journal a lot, so it wasn’t hard to go back over the year and see where my time went. Some of it went to paid critiquing, but not enough to account for my dismal showing. I babysit grandkids weekly, plus extra weekends, but it didn’t account for the failure either. Even the new community volunteer job didn’t explain it.

It explained the fatigue, I suppose. But not one of these activities actually caused my failure to meet many writing goals.

Lightbulb Moment #1

Then I realized that although none of those activities took more than 7-10 hours per week, when I added them up, it came close to 20 hours per week of “extras.” Sometimes it was more, when I did some special event.

I need to remember in the future to add up EVERYTHING I’m doing already before taking on something else, even if the solicitor promises the job will only take one hour per week. I need to add prep time, travel time, and time to answer email from people–and factor it all into the equation.

Lightbulb Moment #2

Several years ago I signed up for Mark Joyner’s free Simple’ology course, so I read through the workbook again. One thing struck me forcefully. “The Law of Clear Vision states that in order to hit a target, you need to see it clearly.”

The author had you do an experiment where you stand in the middle of a room and try to reach a targeted object on the wall. In the first try, you close your eyes, turn around five times, then (still with eyes shut) guess at the target’s location and wander toward it.

The second time you do the same turning around, only you keep your eyes open and head to the target. “It’s obvious that Method #2 will get you to your target 100% of the time. Method #1, on the other hand, will get you there only rarely.”

Bingo! Regain a Clear Vision

As soon as I read that statement, I realized why I hadn’t met too many of my goals. I had written them all down (much like hanging the target on the wall). But instead of keeping my eyes open and on the target, I blindfolded myself and twirled around, hoping that I’d somehow hit the target by accident when I was wandering around doing a lot of other things.

I learned (again) that it does no good to write down your goals or even post them on the wall if you don’t look at them. I lost that “clear vision” of what I wanted to accomplish this year and why. I did accomplish many good things for some very deserving people, but when I lost the clear vision of my own goals, things got way out of balance and off track.

As I mentioned last week, I now plan to blog on a “first aid” topic on Tuesdays, then give you links to helpful free articles and downloads on Friday. So…

Ready, Set, Read!

Here are four things to add to your treasure chest!

A Writing for Children’s Magazines Ezine is full of up-to-the-minute information about writing for the changing magazine market. Be sure to read the extra articles listed near the bottom of the page, plus bookmark those current market listing links at the bottom.

The Often-Disregarded Advantages of Traditional Publishing has much, much food for thought! Sherryl Clark has had nearly 50 books published, and she speaks from experience here.

The Ultimate Editing Checklist is a free chapter from a new writing book. This chapter is downloadable, and it has a lengthy excellent checklist for what to do after you’ve finished a rough draft.

Last, you will enjoy this 8-minute video by a writing coach talking about The Three Ps of Success.

Read. Listen. Enjoy. Learn.

Nearly every month–sometimes every week–I receive an email from a new writer that concerns me.

There has been great emphasis in recent years on setting lofty, out-of-the-ballpark goals. You are to spend daily time visualizing these highly ambitious goals happening.

You are told to repeat daily affirmations about accepting a major writing award or being sought after by top agents.

Not the Same as Being Positive

It’s hard to succeed without a positive attitude. I’m totally in favor of regularly eliminating negative thoughts from your brain. But I’m talking about something else altogether.

Although I changed details so as not to embarrass anyone, such emails express this in various forms, like:

• “I am writing a trilogy that is like Lord of the Rings meets Twilight.” (From a writer who is on her second lesson at the Institute)
• “I’m working on a Newbery book that will be a major motion picture.” (From a writer who couldn’t spell)
• “My novel-in-progress will probably go to auction, and I plan to quit my day job next year.” (From a writer with no sales, just free online publishing like his blog)

Is anything wrong with this kind of talk? No, not wrong, but maybe unwise. You can tell by the effect it has on you.

Reaching High–Reaching Realistically

So…is it wrong to have lofty goals? Not at all! But choosing goals that are way beyond your current skill level will often backfire. It can lead to writer’s block, increased level of fear, procrastination, and giving up.

Goals that are too far “out there” can kill your desire to write, not spur you on to greater success.

Instead, set a goal that will stretch you, but with practice and hard work you could attain. Then take time to study more and learn more. Set another goal that will stretch you more. Examples of goals that “spiral” include writing a longer story, selling to a better paying market, writing a novel, or writing a series.

This is backed up by research. As Jim Stone said in “How Lofty Should Your Goals Be?“:

Set goals that are still lofty, but in line with your skills… Alternate between a phase of strategy acquisition and skill development, and a phase of aggressive but realistic goal pursuit…If you avoid focusing on too big a goal at the start, you’ll save yourself a lot of frustration over the years as well. At least that’s where a lot of current research points.

How About Your Goals?

Study your current goals. Will they stretch you as a writer and help you grow? Or will they snap you like a rubber band?

Are you taking the necessary time to also study, grow, practice and learn–so that you can spiral up?

Just food for thought! Share you

After blogging just once per week for five months, I’ve decided that this frequency isn’t often enough to share what I want to share.

I plan to go back to blogging here twice a week. On Tuesdays I will discuss some “first aid help for writers” topic. On Fridays I plan to give you resources I’ve found helpful: other blog posts, articles, apps, books, and methods to make our writing lives better, more productive, and more fun!

This Freebie is Great

Five weeks ago I signed up for “The Creative Pathfinder,” a free 26-week course on creativity. You receive one lesson per week in your email.

I hadn’t planned to write about this until I finished the whole twenty-six weeks. However, after just five lessons, I think I will pass this along now. It’s a perfect course to begin during the summer months. It will keep your creativity bubbling along despite interruptions from vacations, kids, and visitors that come with summertime.

How It Works

Each lesson builds on the one before it. Each lesson comes with additional articles to read (if you’re interested), worksheets to download so you can apply the lesson, and links to books that are quoted.

To whet your appetite, here’s Lesson #5: “The Four Most Powerful Types of Creative Thinking.”  If you like what you read, there is a link at the bottom of the lesson to sign up for the entire free 26-week course.  

We hear so much lately about building a platform and social networking and “getting the word out” about our books. It’s true, and it’s important these days.

However, let’s not overlook one very critical factor. As one marketing guru said, “Great marketing only makes a bad product fail faster.” Don’t let this happen to you!

I’ve read some good marketing books lately. I’ve tried–like all writers these days–to make the change from publisher advertising to the much more do-it-yourself marketing that is required.

The Cart and the Horse

But remember! Writing (plus studying and practicing to write even better) comes first. That’s your horse, and it is most important. Do NOT lose sight of that fact. Marketing is your cart. It won’t go far with a lame horse. [More about that in a moment.] But while you’re learning to write better, you can begin your own marketing if you want to. There are great resources to help you do that.

Helpful books on the new marketing?

• Michael Hyatt’s Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World is full of practical, hands-on tips for building a platform.
• I also enjoyed Self-Promotion for Introverts: the Quiet Guide to Getting Ahead by Nancy Ancowitz.
• Another one is Networking for People Who Hate Networking: A Field Guide for Introverts, the Overwhelmed and the Underconnected by Devora Zack.

Remember from our previous discussion that an introvert gets recharged in solitude and starts to feel drained after being around people too long. It has nothing to do with your social skills. Depending on which study you read, introverts comprise 40-55% of the population.

Put on the Brakes!

With all the concentration these days on building a platform and social networking, it’s easy to overlook one critical factor. It will make you or break you as a writer.

The first 25 pages of Hyatt’s book deals with this issue. It is about creating a compelling product. In our case, that means a book or story or play. As Hyatt says, “There is no sense in wasting your valuable time and resources trying to build a buzz about a ho-hum product…The purpose of marketing is to prime the pump. But if people don’t want to use your product and–more importantly–if they won’t recommend it to their friends, you’re hosed. You can’t spend enough money or be clever enough to overcome a lack of word-of-mouth marketing. It just won’t work.”

To get noticed in today’s over-crowded publishing

If trying to be creative feels like slogging through mud lately, you may be trying too hard.

If so, I’ve got good news for you!

Several articles I’ve read lately disputed the idea that “thinking outside the box” is the way to be more creative. It’s given me hope, as I don’t tend to be an “outside the box” thinker.

I actually like my box. It’s cozy. It’s nicely decorated–but unoriginal, I fear.

Inside or Outside the Box?

Who’s most creative? Read the following articles and decide for yourself.

• “Spark Your Creativity by Thinking INSIDE the Box” and “Don’t Try to Be Original” by Mark McGuinness (two articles)
• “Do You Recognize These 10 Mental Blocks to Creative Thinking?” by Brian Clark.
• “Do More Great Work: an Interview with Michael Bungay Stanier”  The subtitle of his book Do More Great Work is a good summary of the article: Stop the busywork and start the work that matters.
• Are you looking for that idea that fits you like a glove? The one you can be passionate about for many months as you write your book? Mick Silva says to “Write About What Disturbs You.”

One Last Thought

Are you thinking that the articles sound good–but you just don’t know if you’re up to it? Then I have one last post for you to read: “3 Things You Can Start Doing Today to Build Your Self-Confidence“ by Henrik Edberg. They’re simple–but effective. And they work no matter what side of the box you prefer.

Now, have at it! And if you’re brave, leave a comment and tell us which side of the box you prefer!

Look out! I’m getting ready to preach!

I’m so excited about an answer to my pain condition, a condition aggravated by decades of sitting at a desk. If you’ve read my blog very long (or my Writer’s First Aid or More Writer’s First Aid), then you know I talk about health issues for writers.

I’ve had headaches, upper back pain, and neck pain (and multiple surgeries)–and all these conditions are made worse by hours slumped at a desk. (Yes, no matter how straight my posture is at the beginning, it’s not long before my shoulders are rounded and my head is forward.)

I wish I had taken out stock in Excedrin years ago. I’m sure I’ve kept them in business.

Not anymore!

My New Exciting Work Station

My dear writing friend, Maribeth Boelts, wrote to me a couple months ago about her new treadmill desk. It was helping her with a chronic pain condition of her own, and she urged me try it. I researched the idea (see sources below), read about the benefits, saw how some writers had constructed their own inexpensive treadmill desks, and decided to try it.

Maribeth had assured me she got the knack of typing while walking in less than 15 minutes. I figured I would give it a week–I don’t think I’m that coordinated. But she was right–it took less than 15 minutes!

She also mentioned that the constant walking took care of her “ants in the pants” feeling while sitting at a desk. I have found that to be true too. I think better when I’m moving, and since you’re always walking, you don’t feel the “itch” to get up all the time. In fact, I use a timer now to remind myself after an hour to get off and walk on “dry land.” The first week I had the desk, I worked once for three hours without stopping, and it took a while to get my “sea legs” back when I got off. But what a nice problem to have! Concentrating too long!

Dangers of Sitting

A New York Times article sums up some dangers of sitting all day–and this also applies to people who exercise at a gym or run:

“It doesn’t matter if you go running every morning, or you’re a regular at the gym. If you spend most of the rest of the day sitting – in your car, your office chair, on your sofa at home – you are putting yourself at increased risk of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, a variety of cancers and an early death. In other words, irrespective of whether you exercise vigorously, sitting for long periods is bad for you.”

And consider this from “Sitting All Day: Worse for You Than You Might Think”: “If you’re sitting, your muscles are not contracting, perhaps except to type. But the big muscles, like in your legs and back, are sitting there pretty quietly,” Blair says. And because the major muscles aren’t moving, metabolism

More, more, more! Faster, faster, faster!

Some of you probably read the NY Times article last weekend called Writer’s Cramp: In the E-Reader Era, a Book a Year Is Slacking.

Here is the gist of it, before I add my two cents’ worth.

Authors on Assembly Lines

Apparently authors are being pushed, prodded, and persuaded to write more books per year, plus short e-stories in between books to promote upcoming books. One popular author, James Patterson, writes twelve or thirteen novels per year! He writes some and co-writes some. Here are some quotes from that article:

“Authors are now pulling the literary equivalent of a double shift, churning out short stories, novellas or even an extra full-length book each year… The push for more material comes as publishers and booksellers are desperately looking for ways to hold onto readers being lured by other forms of entertainment, much of it available nonstop and almost instantaneously… Ms. Scottoline [a thriller writer] has increased her output from one book a year to two, which she accomplishes with a brutal writing schedule: 2,000 words a day, seven days a week.”

Bear this in mind: that’s 2,000 words per day in addition to all the promoting, travel, speaking, and social networking required. One author (who has to write short stories between his novels for his publisher to sell cheaply or give away) said this: “It does sap away some of your energy. You don’t ever want to get into a situation where your worth is being judged by the amount of your productivity.”

But isn’t that exactly what is being done here?

From Quality to Quantity

If this is the future of publishing, can the quality of writing go anywhere but down? We see this all the time.

A debut novel is a hit, often an award-winner. The new author explains that it took 5-10 years to write and revise. The author’s new agent and publisher want another novel from this author RIGHT NOW–while she’s still hot property.

Is it any wonder that often subsequent books are of inferior quality? [I'm not picking on anyone here. I've written series with very short deadlines, and you just can't write with the same quality when you only have six weeks to do a whole book. There is no down time, no extra think time, and little revision time.]

Great Books Take Time

Oddly enough, just before the NY Times article came out, I was re-reading Chapter After Chapter: Discover the dedication & focus you need to write the book of your dreams by Heather Sellers. In one of her chapters, she discussed how writing needed to be slow. Does this resonate with you?

“Writing books is, and should be, really slow. The great books are still around–just like the great recipes, the great songs, the great trees–because they took a long