One-a-Day

I have admired people who are so well-organized that the old saw "when you want something done, give it to a busy person" applies to them. I experienced this somewhat when I was working with Warner Cable and they instituted a Management by Objectives (MBO) program for its divisions. The division's objectives for the year/month dictated my objectives and those who reported to me, tied their objectives to mine. I won't bore you with the difference between Common Objectives and Special Cause Objectives, nor will I debate the merits of MBO versus modern quality management techniques, but I will say that I was organized--by day, by month and by the year.

After considering for a while, how I can manage promoting my current book, "Cottonwood Pass, A Novel of Suspense... ," work on creating four musical Advent Hymns and Carols programs, visit with Children and Grand Children, occasionally go shooting, write articles for this blog, perform routine maintenance on home and cars, pay attention to my wife, and write pages for my next book, finishing it by March of next year -- I have come to a conclusion.

I have decided to commit to the "one page a day" discipline of other writers. Name the time and get to it every day. Obviously, if you fulfilled this commitment, then one would complete a 365 page novel in 365 days. Of course, I might write eight or ten pages every so often, so maybe that works.

Truthfully, I don't set out to write a book of a certain length but rather let the story dictate the length. So writing for 365 days is arbitrary and it sounds long. If I think about it as writing a single page a day--400 words or so -- it sounds do-able. Yes I can, Yes I can, Yes I CAAAAN.

“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.”
~ Ernest Hemingway