Archive for the ‘Success’ Category

I had a conversation with my oldest daughter today regarding writing, and I don’t remember exactly what we were talking about, but it was in relation to my plans for my writing. And I said something along the lines of, “If I can write 2000 words a day.” She stopped me right in the middle of my thought and said, “That’s not a good way of thinking about it.”

It took me a moment to figure out what I’d said, and what she was talking about, and then I saw it. The word “if”. There is no better hedge word in the English language. It allows for the possibility of failure, and when used for something that is entirely under your control, using the word pretty much facilitates failure. I’ve been using the word “if” to avoid commitment to my goals. Goals which are completely within my ability to control the outcome.

“If I can write 2000 words a day.” OF COURSE I can write 2000 words a day. It’s not an onerous chore. It’s a couple hours in the morning before work, or in the evening before bed. The question is not “if” I can write them. The question is “will” I write them. Will is the key. Effort. Choice. “If” And “Can” are not what we’re talking about. I have complete control over the choices I make. Do I want to write 2000 words a day? Yes. Do I want it more than I want to watch a movie? Do I want it more than I want to play World of Warcraft? Those are the questions I need to be asking.

What words are you using in the conversation in your head? Are you giving yourself opportunities to make excuses for why you’re not doing what you want to do, just by the choice of words you use to speak to yourself? Avoid “if I can” in areas where you are in complete control of the outcome. Change it to “I will” and see if that doesn’t improve your odds of doing what you set out to do.

Maker’s Schedule, Manager’s Schedule is an article by Paul Graham that should be required reading in every management course that’s ever taken by anyone. And If they have to read it several times, so be it. Understanding the difference between what I do, and what a “Manager” does, and what I need and what a “Manager” needs is critical to getting the best performance out of me and people like me.

Who me? No. But this guys got a pretty neat free ebook on the subject. As I’m trying to find ways out of building other peoples projects, it was sure interesting. I should check my stats. I wonder if there’s more than five people reading this blog.

Certainly, if there are, I’ve never managed to say anything to provoke any of them to actually make a comment. Ah well.

I like writing and recording music.

I like writing fiction.

I like making games.

Why do I never get anywhere fast with any of them?

I think I’ve stumbled across the reason why.

Mostly it boils down to not being able to accept the output of my effort for what it is and moving on to the next project or song. Hell, it’s kept me from finishing another novel for something like fifteen years, and I’ve written, on average, a song a year since I took up this recording thing. As for games, I’ve started any number of projects since Derelict, but I always seem to see the end result as not being worth the effort of doing it.

On Dean Wesley Smith’s site, I ran across Heinlein’s Rules For Writing:

1. You must write.

2. You must finish what you write.

3. You must refrain from rewriting, except to editorial order.

4. You must put the work on the market.

5. You must keep the work on the market until it is sold.

And I realized that I was a miserable failure at following these rules. I am bound up in the thought that my crap is really crap and no one will enjoy it, which really is crap, if you think about it.

DWS states, over and over again, the first big step to becoming a professional writer is to write and submit and don’t think about it too much. Just do it, like Nike. And well, I think about it too much. And certainly, I apply that thinking to all of my endeavors.

I’m working up my New Years Resolution right now, probably the first one I will ever have made in earnest, and I’m definitely going to keep those rules in mind as I do it. I’ve created a fairly comfortable life just going with the flow. Time to push it in a direction I want it to go, for a change.