Year: 2010

I am happy to say that I am on the chapter 6 of the second reading, and things are looking good, I continue in time with my personal deadline, and most likely will be on the hands of my private group of readers before the personal deadline.
I used to live in Colorado and part of this novel happen there, and had bring so many great memories, it has been actually a treat to remember how much I love Colorado.
I notice this last week something interesting, writer do certain things really well, like get into other stuff instead of writing, many times we called it research, other times we blame it on writers block, in many cases even that we are not willing to admit it the reality is that we are afraid of not have anything to say, or worse, have too much and too many dumb things to say. In my case I have been reading more and writing less, sound good, better than TV, I never call it research, but the fact is I reduce the amount of writing, including this blog and the other blog I write on Mind Like Monkey. The good news is that I discover that, and I am trying to go back to the discipline, in the way it works when I was in school, I can only read after my writing is done. When I got out of school, I though that discipline wasn’t going to be needed it again.
For now this is done, my word count for the day is not even close, but I better start, since I want to finish Catching Fire from Suzanne Collins.

Regardless what you do in life, change is one of those things that most likely you aren’t going to be able to avoid. Change is inevitable, grow is optional, someone once said.
I am working into some heavy duty changes, and I have been dealing with a lot of fear, the good news is that I have been embracing my fear, I have been choosing to grow out of this fear, continue moving forward and get to the place I’m going.
Today, I had a great conversation with someone else dealing with a similar change, and a similar fear, the cool thing was this person was looking forward also to grow, this person had choose the hard path.
Are you choosing to grow, choosing to embrace change or are just choosing to paralyze to the fear of change?

I have work really hard for years in learn to count my blessings, the good things, the things I am grateful for, the things I am happy that I have made. I made the decision years ago to be happy, to see the positive side, to see and count my blessings.
It is easy, especially in this economy to focus on our lacks, the decrease of our discretionary income, or the income, or the lack of sales, or commissions, the hard climate, make your choice, or choose to count your blessings.
The interesting thing is that one moment or other we all go to that pity party, we count our lacks, the stuff we can’t do anymore, or we feel we are loosing, and we begin stressing about it. The problem with that while you are celebrating your lacks you close the channels to see your blessings, your health, your family, your friends, your people, and instead of move forward you just sit in the corner missing the opportunity to enjoy all the blessing around you.
It is important for me to say, that I have been on many of this parties, I have create and invite myself to many of this parties, and require a lot of work on my side to end the party and noticed my blessings. Today continue been as hard as the first time I stop to contemplate my blessings instead of my lacks, and continue giving me that incredible feeling, every time I do it.
So what are you counting?

Telling a story is a challenge, when I am writing, that challenge is evident, how you tell the story and how you refined is usually a different thing, because when you tell a story, things change, they way you tell the story evolve. One of my readers have been asking me for the next version or the manuscript of the novel I am writing, and I am exited about it, because means there is something on this story worth to read, but as in any story, you need to remember that there are things that the first time you tell the story you include and after you read it again, you discover tell too much or too little or tell things that should not be exposed.
Telling a story is a challenge, is about make the the heart of the reader beats, is make the reader alive, is about bring the reader inside your words, make them feel the fear, the happiness, the sadness, and the excitement.
If I tell you:
Susan is running as fast as she can to survive for the killer, most likely you will read that sentence as fast as you can.
Instead read the following sentence:
Little Susan was breathless, but regarding of that she knew that he was close, she had seen him kill other people, and she knew that if she stop to take some air, he may catch her and kill her.
Same story, most likely the first one is the original telling, the second one is the revision version.
I have been learning that writing the first version is easy, building the second one is a challenge, and that is the challenge I am facing as a Writer.

Writers, like me, are a terrible breed, we procrastinate, struggle, and need something additional to kick out our rears to get us in movement. If I would have write a word every time that I sit to contemplate I will have the novel done. The good news is that the novel is moving forward, and I am getting back into writing on this, my blog.
I try to spend time writing and reading daily, honestly I do better the second one than the first one. Not because I am not a writer, not because I don’t like to write, but because I love to read so much, I love to write, to tell to explain, to create, but more often than not, I doubt my own style, my own writing, my own creations.
In a way, I remember those great moments, when I was a virgin writer, I didn’t believe on many things and I was sure this was the path. Then the dark cloud of doubt came, people was able to seed my fears, to feed my doubts and I simply decide to stop writing, to forget about the life I originally choose, the life of the writer.
So I went to Law school, and begin writing and researching law, so In order to avoid the writing I went and got an MBA, got into sales, and I have done during the last years many things in witch I am very good, the problem with the things you do really good, is that stop you and distract you for the things that you are really good, the enemy of the great is all those things that you are really good. I am focusing more and more effort into those things that I am extraordinary and less on those that I am simply good, in other words focusing more on my writings in a way to walk the path.

I have been a like missing in action. Sadly, I have not been writing as much as I should, I have been busy with things that should not entertain my head, but do, things that bring me to a dark place, a deep place that it is hard for me to get out.
I get the fear, the lizard, the resistance, writers block, doesn’t matter how you call it, the fact is that is a place that slow you down little by little until you simply freeze.
I have been in that place for longer that I am willing to admit, (see my last post for ideas) and this time has been harder to come out of this place, the reason, more fear, a bigger lizard and a lot of resistance, I am afraid, not what will happen if I failed, but what happen if I am successful, what happen if the success take away the time to do what I enjoy, or worse, that take so much time that I will don’t have time to do the other stuff.
I am confronting the fear, and I am working on get myself out of the deep and dark place, I hope you can see me tomorrow here, and little by little celebrate with me the getting out of this place to the new place I need to be.

If you have never read Stephen Pressfield Book, ‘The War of Art’ stop reading, go and read it, then come back.
My friend Tara recommend this book to me, and I am eternally grateful for that, I have read the book at least five times, and is a great testament of the War we constantly have with what Pressfield called ‘Resistance’ with capital ‘R’
We all suffer from Resistance, the difference is how we confront and act in front of this Resistance, you can act as an Amateur or as a Professional. I am a writer, I am also a Sales Person, on my day job, I act as a Sales Manager.
I have been a Professional Sales Person for the last seven years, I make sales regarding of the economy, how difficult it is, regardless if it is saturday, sunday or holiday, I learn my product, I observe my competitors, and I try to get the most out of every opportunity, and honestly, I am good at it, I am a professional and my hard work over years has bring me here. Until recently, I was an Amateur Writer, I want it to be a Writer, but I had not turn Pro, the Resistance and the fear was getting the best out of me.
I have join a MasterMind Group, as well as work in this issue for over a year, and I begin writing, and then stop, and begin again and stop.
Recently, I happen to listen to the War of Art while driving to work, and for the first time I got the change from Amateur to Professional, and I turn the switch. I am now, also a Professional Writer. At the same time I decide to begin publishing in Twitter my daily count, even if I don’t write, I need then to Tweet Zero Words Down Today.
What has change from the amateur to the professional is that I am showing up everyday, regardless of weekends, holidays, or any other type of excuse, i am showing up to write regardless of any excuse I have, I am investing on improve my craft, in the same way I continue learning business and sales books, I am trying to be patient with the art as well as my self, and I am acting in face of fear, regardless how terrified I am on this, I am writing everyday. Finally, I am not afraid to failure, but I will finish this novel.
I had over the years begin three novels and two business books, and the fear of failure, and starvation has always stop me. This time “The Novel” will be finished and revised. If it is terrible too bad, we will write another one, and if that one is also bad we will write a third one.
Around the same idea of this novel, I had wrote two manuscripts, this is the third one, and I think I make the mistake of not work hard enough on revise the two I had wrote before, and the Resistance is telling me to go back and revise them, and we will (me and the Resistance) but not know, in the next months we will write everyday “The Novel”, after that, my dear friend Resistance, you will be more than welcome to revise the other ones.

Just before I wrote this post, I went ahead and print what I have write on the first draft of my novel. The Pages file so far is 8,786 words, or 26 pages.
One of the things I notice on this draft is that I am having much more fun than the previous two, and I think that has been actually really cool.
Also you may have notice if you follow my twitter, that I am posting my daily word count. I have never done this on the past, and I am doing it in a way of motivate myself. Stephen Pressfield on his great book ‘The war of Art’ talkes about the difference between an Amateur Writer and a Professional one. I have been an amateur writer for more than twenty years, and is now that I have grow to be a professional, and for that reason I am posting my progress, and talking about it, and doing it even when the Resistance (with capital R) play against me.
So far, all that I can say of my novel and character is that we are running out of Los Angeles and are at this time in Denver, Colorado, trying to make sure we are alive long enough.

I took a month off this blog, almost a month off, my last post was May 25th, and Today is June 14th.
As I share on my last post, I was beginning with the third first draft, and is working fine so far. I had wrote 8,000 words in the last days, after two weeks totally off.
I need it to get back in the groove, I need it to reinforce the writing, toss that second draft was extremely frustrating, so I want it to have fire on this third draft idea, and I think I have it.
So Starting Tomorrow, I am back in the blog, and I will be sharing about my Novel, and the process of writing and the other stuff I share and write about.

In case you haven’t notice, I was missing in action yesterday. In case of doubt I was writing, yesterday and the whole Blog post pass by me. For that reason (and since I also miss my post this morning) I  decide to make tuesday’s my Writing Journey Report Day.
So I am writing the third draft of my novel. This is the first time I am writing this draft in Spanish, I don’t know why, but I can say that I have been enjoying this draft a lot. I think I enjoy the other 104,000 words (51,000 and 53,000) but there is something about this draft in spanish that I am enjoying.
I made peace with Mr. Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Yes, laugh now, I fight with Garcia Marquez in 1998, and since then I had not read a book or want to have anything to do with his work. Don’t ask me why, and don’t ask me how we make peace but we did. Actually, not only I made peace, the character now, is leaving the last train from Macondo, and that’s what I am going to share with you today, on this Writing Report Day.
…”That was the morning I leave Macondo, I knew that I was never going back. You know, my mother never told me who was my father, but I always knew was one of the Buendia, my mother, who was a really good woman, but not so bright, give me Jose Aureliano as my name. I don’t know if you know this, but the kings of Macondo, were the Buendia, Don Aureliano Buendia. As I was telling you I got the last train that was leaving Macondo, my mother got me a ticket that was going to take me with a distant cousin, far, far away, and ask me that I should never come back, she told me that we will never see each other again, but she want me to be sure that she love me very much”…
…”I got distracted, and forgot what I was telling you, oh, I remember now, I was telling you that my mom cousin teach me to read and she send me to a school, I remember that as is was yesterday, I read my first book, when I was sixteen, and was that the day that I told myself that I was going to spend my life writing, I wasn’t going to do anything else. Of course, in case you don’t know, write is one of those things that are hard to do, not because write is so complex, but because every time you write, you feel that fear, or should say, I feel that fear”…
This is part of the first chapter, and I am happy to report that I have been constantly writing the last week and a half on the book, not so much on the blog, but planning to begin posting again tomorrow.
If you are a writer, I will love to connect and read what you write, so let me know.