Day 2: Choose Your Book

The great thing about monthly challenges is that you are given a specific about of time to complete your goal. I don’t know about you but one of the reasons I started doing challenges each month was to keep myself on track. If I don’t have a deadline or specific timeframe, I tend to wander the fields aimlessly. I also get less done.

This is one of the reasons I look forward to this month and next month. Just like I put myself in vendor events for my art, I put myself in challenges for my writing. Most importantly, this method works best for me. It took me less than hour to lay out all my blog posts for this month.

On the flip side, when it’s a non-challenge month without a theme I end up taking days to plan my posts or just get more writing done. I guess I need the pressure and less time to get things done. For me, having all the time in the world means that I will take double the time to get anything done.

Remember that list that I spoke about at the end of yesterday’s post? Well, it’s time to write that list down and then choose which book you’re going to write. Don’t worry about the deadline right now. Just jot down books that are yet to be finished, or ones that you’ve kept in the back of your mind on hold.

When you’re done with your list, it’s time to narrow it down to one. Yes, you are going to choose. Think about which story calls to you the most. Which one can you picture the most in your mind? Which characters can you see and give personality to the easiest. Don’t think about whether the book is easy or hard to write, think about which one is filled with the most emotion.

You have may have a few but which one is dying to written down? Which one can you see with the most clarity? How much research would you have to do for this book? This does matter when it comes to a 31 day writing challenge. The point of NaNoWriMo is to help you feel accomplished, not defeated.

Finally, can you break the book into pieces and chapters in the next 30 days? Choose the one that you can see coming together over the next 30 days. I don’t need to ask if you really want to write it because you wouldn’t have put it one your list in the first place if that was the case. Selecting might be painful but it’s necessary. This is one step that all writers who’ve published have faced, and I stress the word published.

We’ll move onto the next step tomorrow. My posts are Monday through Friday.

Imagine Inspire Create: 52 Weeks of action and gratitude is available at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09S6XCLFY/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_Q7MHM9CFBSASDG56YMJQ

Get closer to your writing goals with my Writer’s Journal filled with writing prompts and exercises. You can find a copy at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0931QRL7C/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_VTHN0QSHXRYK6RJ1XSWQ.

~Yoon Ju