I have always wanted to write more, but time, life, and work always produce excuses to not take time out and write more. In the past I have written manuscripts on my phone while bouncing on a ball putting one of my sons to sleep, in a notebook while my kids play outside, or on my iPad while a sleeping child is lying on me. Finding time and making time to write more is always difficult not because there isn’t time, but because there is always something else to do in that time. It isn’t always something that has more priority like reading a book, playing a game, spending time on the internet, or watching a movie/show. These are just easier to start and more immediately gratifying. However, I am going to challenge myself publicly to write more.
After reading about a project by one of my favorite artists, Sleeping at Last, and his commitment to writing better music through his Yearbook project, I was inspired to attempt to write one good picture book manuscript a month for the next year. Setting up this challenge will provide extra motivation and blogging about it will create accountability for me. I hope to start in the month of December with the first manuscript. The greater purpose of this project is to focus on developing my writing skills as well as to produce 12 new manuscripts that I can be proud to have written.
In each of the manuscripts I will try to focus on current areas where I feel I have weaknesses and explore new topics and themes I haven’t written about previously. It will also provide me more time with my sons telling them stories in the evening before bed or during bath time since it is my sons who inspire me. This will also help me schedule my time around writing more. I have some stories I am telling my sons currently that I just haven’t had time to sit down and write.
Luckily for me, my sons like me telling them stories enough that I don’t forget the stories because they remember them for me. Telling them the stories over and over again allows me to also “rewrite and revise” these stories each time I tell them. However, when I feel they are at a point of being “good enough” to write down, I often am lying in bed with one of my sons trying to get them to go to sleep. It’s never an ideal time to write.
At the end of each month I will post the manuscript (or excerpts of stories) I have written for that month. I would appreciate any comments or feedback about the stories. Thank you for holding me accountable to this challenge.
Live Long and Read Often 