Finding Focus When Life Derails You
I’ve gotten a bit off the path…more than a bit. These past two years I’ve been as poor as J.K. Rowling pre-Harry Potter (and I have a job). It’s been one of those things that make absolutely no sense. I got 2 master degrees to avoid this situation.
But, there’s only so much flailing I can do. I’ve been depressed. To get out of it, I have to focus on my writing. I’m not big on plans but I need to make one. At the very least, I need to plot out my releases this year. I’ve usually published one book by now.
It’s all right to be derailed. Life can do that sometimes…often. I think it’s time to get back on track.
Publishing Calendar
First of all, I need a more elaborate content calendar, one that includes my other social media accounts. Winging social media is no longer effective now that I have a full-time job. Advanced planning for sites like Twitter and Instagram would do wonders, especially now that you can schedule Instagram posts with Hootsuite.
I’ll have to add more lines to this calendar to incorporate updating my photography portfolios.
Focus on One Story at a Time
I learned in college that I can’t work on two or three stories at once. I’ve tried it but they never get finished. I forgot the lesson. Recently, I’ve been going back and forth between writing two or three different stores. At this rate, none of them are getting done. Before I got sidetracked, I was working on Book 4 of The Jura series. I’ll be going back to that. I’ll still do world building for Book 4 of The Merging Words series but I won’t be writing the story until I finish Book 4 of The Jura Series.
Deadlines
The “I’ll finish it when I finish it” mindset is not working. I need some release dates. Even if I don’t make it, dates give me something to work towards. I plan to release Book 4 of The Jura series on July 11. I’ll release a fantasy photography book in November or December. Then, there’s the paperback version of The Lost Sciell: Book 3 of The Merging Worlds Series.
I hit a snag formatting that and it’s taking me a long time to fix it. Since, technically, I’m not writing that story, I’ll probably switch between formatting this book and writing Book 4 of The Jura Series. I’ll see how that works. If it doesn’t, I’ll readjust my schedule. I’m a pretty open scheduler. I look at each entry as goals and not set-in-stone deadlines.
For book releases, though, if I say it’s coming out on this date I work really hard to keep that deadline since I already put it out there online.
Life can suck sometimes and it’ll make no sense. Roll up your sleeves, gather what little energy you have and dig through the garage. It’ll take some work but you can find a bright spot in any moment. Stay positive and never forget your end goal. Talk to someone. Depression is not something to be taken lightly.
