10,000 Hours

 This post is dedicated to a writer friend who is just getting started and feeling a bit down about his ability. It's also for all those who are working to accomplish anything.

Do you know how long it takes to become a master electrician? I googled. 12,000 hours working under a master electrician plus at least 2 years as a journeyman. I mathed, too.  Divide that by 40 hours which would be an average work week, and you get 300 weeks...and since there are 52 weeks in a year, it would take almost 6 years to get those 12,000 hours. So, let's say about 8 years to become a master electrician.

To become a master welder takes anywhere from 5 to 6 years.

A master carpenter at least 5 years.

To become a dentist is a minimum of 8 years. And if you want to specialize, add a couple more.

Doctors take anywhere from 10 to 14 years. And again, if you specialize, it's more time learning.

Want to go into music?

To become professional level classical pianist takes 10 to 15 years of study with a master pianist along with hours of daily practice.

If you want to play the violin and only practice an hour a day, it'll take about 27 years to master it.

Flute more your style? If you practice only a half hour a day, count on about 22 years to be proficient. If you just want to be decent, you can get there in about 500 hours or 3 years.

So, to my writing friend...

They (I'm not sure who they are but...) say it takes about 10,000 hours to be proficient as a writer. And, if you only write 4 hours a week, it'd take you about 48 years.

That's a long time. A real long time. And a lot of words on the page, or screen if you are using a computer. 

All that to say, you're doing fine. Yes, you have some things you need to work on, but you'll get there. You'll write, rewrite, write some more, and then rewrite that. And you'll study your craft. You'll read a lot. You'll read how-to books, and study books of those who write professionally. When you read a novel, you'll see things like how characters change and grow over the story or how the author makes the reader care about what's happening to those characters. 

And then, you'll write some more. And rewrite. And you'll get better. 

To those of you who aren't writers...learning a new thing is hard. It takes time and work. Don't let slow progress get you down. Progress is progress and you'll get there. 

Now, I'm off to put words on the page. I've still about40 years to go. 

Shoulder Vultures

 Yep, something to go along with yesterday's post. Anyone suffer from shoulder vultures? 

For us writers, they says things like, "No one wants to read anything you write." Or, "You're the worst writer, ever."  Or, "You have nothing of interest to be blogging about."

For some, it's a lack of self-confidence. Maybe it's the fear we can't live up to the expectations of others. Or, we put so much pressure on ourselves, it's easier to not do things that challenge us.

Years ago, a lot of them, I took an online writing course. I sent in my first assignment and eagerly awaited the day it would return with comments from my instructor. At least, I waited eagerly until it came in the mail and I had it in hand. Then, I sat on my bed and stared at it for a couple hours before daring to open it. Her comments were much better than I thought they'd be and I felt silly for not opening the assignment sooner.

This online school had a chat room. Like I said, this was a LONG time ago. Chat rooms were a great way to meet people and socialize without leaving your house. In this chat room, I met another instructor who explained about shoulder vultures. 

Shoulder vultures are sneaky. They show up when you least expect them and they whisper just the right things to make you question everything. They aren't pleasant.

But, you can get rid of them. At least temporarily. For me, I kept copies of critiques with all the positive comments highlighted. After a while, I kept rejection letters that encouraged me with an "almost, but not quite, try again with something else" comment. Then I added acceptance letters and emails from contests I'd won. And when one of those shoulder vultures showed up, I'll pull out my pile of encouragement and show them that, yes, I'm a darn good writer. They'd squawk a bit and leave.

So, here's the thing. We are all going to have doubts. Some days are going to suck. And, that's okay. 

My daughter and I are members at the same gym and we both have personal trainers. Which I highly recommend. Her trainer is the male version of Jillian Michaels but we both really enjoy him. He tells her that yes, it's hard, it's gonna be sore, and sometimes it's just going to plain suck. He says for her to embrace the suck and move forward. And that's good advice for all of us. 

So, I leave you with this thought. Have you ever noticed how one negative comment or criticism can wipe out and make us forget the 99 positive ones? Writers are really bad about this. We get one negative review and we focus on it instead of the 99 good ones. Let's be more mindful of the good ones. 

Imposter Syndrome

The fear of being found out that you aren't as competent as people think you are.

I read that about 70% of folks out there have some form of imposter syndrome. And yes, imposter is spelled both ways. I'm not sure which is more correct. I'm sure someone knows, but I'm not going to look it up. But it's a strange thing. I once had frequent bouts of  imposter syndrome. It doesn't happen as often now but still, it does.

For example, I had a critique partner that no matter what I wrote, found major flaws. Or at least, that's what this person made them out to be. I let this person get in my head, screw with my self-confidence, and stop me from doing what I love. It took a long time for me to get over it.

Last year when I joined a local gym, I definitely had imposter syndrome. The feeling of not belonging. That's getting better too. Thanks to great gym staff, an awesome personal trainer, and time. 

So, what do you do with it?

First, realize it for what it is. It's a feeling, self-doubt. It's not the truth. Take an honest look at your abilities. If you need to get better at whatever, then do so. But don't be so hard on yourself. Which leads to the next thing.

Perfection...let it go!!! No one is perfect and striving for perfection is only going to lead to anxiety and stress. Always do your best, of course, but don't stress over what you can't control. Which brings us to...

Have self-compassion. Again, don't be so hard on yourself. 

And finally...celebrate your successes. 

For me, that means continuing to go to the gym and working out. And when I reach a new personal record, I celebrate it. Even if it seems insignificant, it's still important that I acknowledge each milestone. For my writing, I've changed to a different critique partner who knows my genre. I've also realized that I'm a darn good writer and the opinion of one person doesn't change that.

So, are you one of the 70%? If so, how do you deal with imposter syndrome?

Tick, Tick, Tick.

What motivates you as a writer? Fame? Money? Glory? We all hope for those to some extent, but what really gets you to sit down and put words on paper?

If your anything like me it's pressure. Unless there's something that makes me feel a real need I just can't bring myself to do it. I think that's why deadlines came into existence, to get people like me to do it.

So what use is this to us? Well like I said before the best way to improve is to write, a lot. You can't always be writing for publication. Sometimes you just need to write for practice. But how do you motivate yourself if you're writing for something as nebulous as practice?

Set your own deadline. Make it something real, something with consequence. When you write to publish the consequence is simple. You don't get published. Do something for yourself to make it real. Whether the outcome is positive or negative depends on you. Personally I'm not much for self flagellation. I bribe myself with a pack of trading cards for a game I enjoy. It works for me.

Now just figure out what works for you and get to it. The clock's ticking.

Exploring the 'unknown'...

My novel is done. It's editing and cut and in the hands of others now. Three years of my life, my blood, sweat and tears are wrapping up. Is it the end of that project? No. Not by any means - but it is the end of me working on it. I don't have the excuse of it sitting there waiting to be written, to be edited, to have another thousand words cut.

Now I see how much of a safety net it was. I have another full-length novel in mind, but it's unfamiliar territory. I have lived in the world of my characters for so long, it frightens me to meet new characters. I'm terribly shy, you see.

So now it's time to bite the bullet. To explore the 'unknown' that I've avoided so long. I've written a historical romance...and it's sequels (we won't discuss how many words I've written in the past three years). They have all focused around one group of characters.

I will meet new people now. They've already begun to introduce themselves. There's Elijah Corey - the insanely logical male witch that only believes in his own power because he's used it. He's also my first-ever center stage male main character. Gwendolyn Cobleigh - an old friend of mine, but she's changing like a chameleon into a character more fitting to the novel. She doesn't like playing second fiddle, but for the chance at this role, she's willing to swallow a little pride.

I will also write a different kind of story. I will challenge myself to write a short story. I've had a short and spicy romance in my head for some time, so I have to attempt to write something shorter than anything I've written in a long time.

It's an exciting time...and a terrifying one. New challenges, new people. It's all 'unknown' to me. I'm stepping out of the 1870's and into the modern world. I hope I make the transition all right.

Sadie

~Of course - just because I'm in the modern world doesn't mean I'm going to change my plans to make, from scratch, a dress appropriate for the 1870's....

The Internet is my friend...

Kate Monster: The internet is really really great!
Trekkie: For Porn
Kate Monster: I've got a fast connection so I don't have to wait!
Trekkie: For Porn

I apologize for the Avenue Q quote, but any time I talk about the wonders of the internet this song pops into my head and gives me a great giggle. This post is so not about what's on Trekkie's mind, but what's on Kate Monsters mind - RESEARCH!

I have recently begun research on my upcoming novel, Descendants of Salem. In order to write this novel I have to have a fair bit of knowledge on the events of the Salem Witch Trials, and on witchcraft itself in the modern day.

So I went to my local library to see what I could find.

Have I mentioned I live in the bible belt?

I found two...count them...TWO books on the Witch Trials! Woohoo!!

Did I mention I live SMACK DAB in the middle of the bible belt? And in the most conservative, backwoods town in my county!

One of the two books I found - The Crucible. In the non-fiction section they had The Crucible. Um, that's not exactly the most accurate reference to use. I didn't bother correcting them, I just came home.

I booted up my computer, and pulled up the internet.

*gasp* Hundreds of Thousands of hits on the Trials. I won't go into how much I found on witchcraft (or the fact that I have a first hand reference for that).

First rule of internet research, of course, is always make sure you double check any facts you find. Anyone can put anything on the internet, and it doesn't have to be true. But if you can verify sources and check against verified references, you're in a good place.

But beyond that - here at our computers we have the world at our fingertips. We can research things that years ago would have taken so more than a keystroke to find! It's wonderful and I'm happy to abuse use such a valuable resource.

The internet has been a key figure now in my research for this book. It helped me immensely with getting everything down to the names of every person involved in the Trials. To getting a lot of information on the modern day Wicca religion, and all the side effects that go with learning this information.

What has the internet done for you?

Taking Stock of 2007

It's hard to believe that another year has come and is almost gone. Do you remember your goals for 2007? My list looked a little like this:

* Complete edits to The Sisterhood and begin agent search
* Get articles ready to submit to Writer2Writer http://writer2writer.com/ for review
* Perform research for A Shepherd's Journey and continue writing
* Revise Betrayal(now Montezuma's Revenge) and submit to Wolfmont Publishing
* Write and submit short story Rage

What did I get done? Not a lot from this list. Actually, only one thing, which was submitting my articles to Writer2Writer. This turned into a multi-article assignment and my time management and organizational tips for writers now appear on the site once a month.

But as for working on my manuscripts or increasing my overall number of submissions, I fell flat. I guess I should be upset and angry with myself...but I'm not. I still got a lot accomplished this year.

* My articles for Writer2Writer are so popular that the editor asked me to go from once every other month to once a month.
* I revised the prologue to The Sisterhood three times and finally feel it is up to snuff.
* I began interviewing authors of various genres at my blog, The Book Connection http://thebookconnectionccm.blogspot.com/
* Due to the interviews I was writing for The Book Connection, I began working with Pump Up Your Book Promotion PR http://pumpupyourbookpromotion.com/. Pump Up specializes in virtual book tours. I started off hosting their clients and now I am a Tour Coordinator.
* I review books for The Book Connection and The Muse Book Reviews http://themusebookreviews.tripod.com/

So, while everything that I've worked on did not directly work towards my goals, I am still promoting myself and my work. The Book Connection's rating and ranking continue to climb as I interview more authors and post book reviews. I network with people in the industry through virtual book tours and being a member of various writing related groups. I maintain my website and blogs so that people have a reason to come back.

Overall, I'm very happy with how 2007 turned out.

Next year already promises to be a good one. I have three clients signed up for virtual book tours for January and one for February. I plan to cut back on the number of reviews and interviews I offer outside of Pump Up Your Book Promotion's clients so that I can make time to submit more of my work. And, I am going to have the opportunity to present a workshop on time management and organization at the 2008 Muse Online Writers Conference http://www.freewebs.com/themuseonlinewritersconference/

I don't know how many of my goals I will achieve in 2008. All I know is that everything I do to promote myself is one step in the right direction towards becoming a published author.

So, don't beat yourself up if 2007 wasn't all you wanted it to be. Just keep plugging away, setting realistic goals, working towards them, and being flexible and forgiving enough to realize that goals can change quickly throughout the year. Believe in yourself and what you do. Persevere no matter what and be persistent in working to make your writing dreams come true.

That's what is is all about...and I know you can do it!

Clarity in Our Communications

I slid into a hot bath last night and pulled Judo Moreo's latest book, You Are More Than Enough Every Woman's Guide to Purpose, Passion & Power off the corner of the tub and found my place (marked securely with the attached blue satin bookmark).

I read the words "Powerful Communication" and stopped. Communication is something I've always struggled with. I think that's part of why I'm a writer--it gives me time to compile my thoughts instead of trying to scramble them together with people surrounding me, waiting for an answer.

Judi shared the eight realities about communication that exist at any given time.

* What I mean to say
* What I actually do say
* What you heard me say
* What you thought you heard me say
* What you mean to say
* What you actually do say
* What I heard you say
* What I thought I heard you say

I thought about these realities for several minutes and then I started reading again to see how I could apply what Judi had to say about powerful communication to my life.

But, then I had another thought--the first four realities also apply to our writing.

When I sit down and create a story, I can see the picture of it clearly in my head. I know what I mean when I write those words. I know what I am implying through the actions of my characters. I know what message I want to send to the reader.

But often times, what I have written and how the reader interprets it, are two different things. I usually discover this during a critique when a comment comes back and I think, "That's not what I meant at all."

When we sit down to write, it is important to remember the realities of communication and to strive for clarity so what we say on paper is the same as what the reader sees in his head, because we are not standing in front of the reader to explain what we meant.