And the Writing Beat Goes On …

Let the goal-setting challenges (for writing book #2) begin. Yes, book #2 is underway and my expectation for the successful completion of this book by the end of the year is goal #1. Right now, my writing goals are very broad, but you’ll increasingly notice how specifically they’ll be fine-tuned as I get deeper into this phase of my writing journey. Believe me when I say that you’ll be the first to know the SMART goals that will develop for this go-around as they come around. And, strategic implementation of very specific writing techniques is going to be of paramount importance in the next few months.

Overall goal #2 is to write my next non-fiction book in 20,000 to 25,000 words . . . a slightly lengthier book than my first but still a piece of self-improvement hardware that can get its point across in a compactly-designed package. And to accomplish this huge undertaking in the prescribed timing, I’ve commissioned the assistance of my own made-to-order version of a modified dictation and writing sprints system to create the bulk of my manuscript. (Remember: for the first book, I already had material typed up and saved from a failed book start that I was able to incorporate into its content. I won’t have a head-start for this second book. All 20,000 to 25,000 words will be brand-spanking new and need to be written and finalized to allow for a self-published release date sometime in November/December 2019.)

I don’t have all the groundwork laid down for how this system will operate, but it’s in the making. I’ve experimented with a premature version of it already and there’s no expensive software or formal training required. It simply involves myself, an inexpensive recorder, any kind of timer, and my office computer. Here’s how it works: I’ll be using my portable recorder to capture my verbalized content for the book and then personally transcribe my recorded message onto the computer. (I haven’t determined how often I’ll move the content from the recorder onto the computer or do the editing once the content is saved in the computer, but I should have it all hammered out by next week. Then, I can share the specifics of my SMART goals with all of you.) Overall, my new process will virtually eliminate the middleman, represented by the transfer of the written words from the mind to paper and from the paper to the computer.

Utilizing this makeshift dictation system, while incorporating “writing” sprints, for the bulk of my manuscript is definitely a new challenge for me; but one definitely worth trying. I envision that the sprints will keep the modified dictation running in a more efficient manner. My goal is to set specific periods of time (for example, 30 minute sessions with breaks in between) to record as much of my free-flowing thoughts as possible. I’ll use a timer to keep me on track as far as my start and stop times for each individual session as well as breaks. And I’ll repeat this record-and-take-break pattern for the total writing time that I allot myself each day.

As I’ve mentioned previously, going forward in my self-publishing endeavors, I plan on working in a structured (need I say organized) manner for the second book. And, I think my new “writing” process may just be the strategy to do it. I won’t know for sure until I try it out and see how it goes. It’s a good thing that I have a positive outlook on trial-and-error writing training, because it’s pretty much the learning approach that’s been presented to me thus far. Boy, have I learned a lot already and continue to realize how much more there is to learn.