I know this is a controversial one! I found it challenging to write. My inclination is to keep going and to encourage people to stick to their projects. But that is why it is so important for us to sometimes stop and consider what is best, for us, for our creativity for the long term. I'd love to hear what you think.
Thank you for this! Have been wrestling with this question w/ my non-fiction book project that I can't seem to finish. At a few moments along the way, I thought — maybe I should cut my losses and move on to something else? And each time I decided to soldier on with it instead . . . and to be honest I'm not sure if that was the right call.
I feel you, Bec. I went through this in January, shelving my novels in exchange for building my business and my podcast this year. Such a painful decision! I read a good quote from Steve Jobs that really made me feel like I was doing the right thing, though: "People think focus means saying yes to the thing you've got to focus on. But that's not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are." I want to do all the things! But spreading myself too thin led to none of them getting done. So I chose one thing, and set everything else to the side. For now, lol.
As far as your decision goes, I can't make it for you, but I know that whether you write another non-fiction or a fiction, I'm all in to read it! Thanks to both you and Chris for being there for all of us, we appreciate you!
I faced this very decision in 1991 and again and again. I wanted to write novels and had begun when my former boss suggested we write about Judy, the woman who didn’t eat, whose life my father had saved by developing home TPN with complete nutrition. The idea grabbed me for the same reasons as you gave for going with non-fiction. But crucially, I also believed it was a story worth telling. I don’t think it’s sufficient to write non-fiction and give up on novel writing simply for business reasons; the non-fiction must feed your soul in some way, either by sharing what others need like WRITTEN did or telling a valuable story. Although my former boss quit the project and a car crash stalled me for 2 years, costing me an agent for LIFELINER, I kept going. Another car crash in 2000 set me back so much that in 2005, I decided the universe was telling me to quit. I wrote to Judy’s family; they sent me to a guy who gave me the organizational and practical support I needed to finish it. It came out in 2007 and is my most successful book to date because of the built-in audience who loved it. I went on to write novels most every year from 2009 on. I could be your quitting coach, I have so much experience with grit versus quitting!
Now I’m facing a sort-of quitting decision. Do I return to writing novel one of a trilogy I set aside in 2022 to write BRAIN INJURY, TRAUMA, AND GRIEF: HOW TO HEAL WHEN YOY ARE ALONE? Or do I first try to get the eBook version done (the paperback has been out for just over a year)? I’ve been searching for someone to design it in an accessible ebook format; but that seems impossible for at least another few months. I could produce an ebook then later update to accessible format. On the other hand, I have only for the next 6 weeks access to Fictionary for free to run my novel through its structural edit software. And I just finished attending Storygarden Summit, which got me back into the mindset of writing books. Decisions. Decisions.
I know this is a controversial one! I found it challenging to write. My inclination is to keep going and to encourage people to stick to their projects. But that is why it is so important for us to sometimes stop and consider what is best, for us, for our creativity for the long term. I'd love to hear what you think.
Thank you for this! Have been wrestling with this question w/ my non-fiction book project that I can't seem to finish. At a few moments along the way, I thought — maybe I should cut my losses and move on to something else? And each time I decided to soldier on with it instead . . . and to be honest I'm not sure if that was the right call.
I feel you, Bec. I went through this in January, shelving my novels in exchange for building my business and my podcast this year. Such a painful decision! I read a good quote from Steve Jobs that really made me feel like I was doing the right thing, though: "People think focus means saying yes to the thing you've got to focus on. But that's not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are." I want to do all the things! But spreading myself too thin led to none of them getting done. So I chose one thing, and set everything else to the side. For now, lol.
As far as your decision goes, I can't make it for you, but I know that whether you write another non-fiction or a fiction, I'm all in to read it! Thanks to both you and Chris for being there for all of us, we appreciate you!
I faced this very decision in 1991 and again and again. I wanted to write novels and had begun when my former boss suggested we write about Judy, the woman who didn’t eat, whose life my father had saved by developing home TPN with complete nutrition. The idea grabbed me for the same reasons as you gave for going with non-fiction. But crucially, I also believed it was a story worth telling. I don’t think it’s sufficient to write non-fiction and give up on novel writing simply for business reasons; the non-fiction must feed your soul in some way, either by sharing what others need like WRITTEN did or telling a valuable story. Although my former boss quit the project and a car crash stalled me for 2 years, costing me an agent for LIFELINER, I kept going. Another car crash in 2000 set me back so much that in 2005, I decided the universe was telling me to quit. I wrote to Judy’s family; they sent me to a guy who gave me the organizational and practical support I needed to finish it. It came out in 2007 and is my most successful book to date because of the built-in audience who loved it. I went on to write novels most every year from 2009 on. I could be your quitting coach, I have so much experience with grit versus quitting!
Now I’m facing a sort-of quitting decision. Do I return to writing novel one of a trilogy I set aside in 2022 to write BRAIN INJURY, TRAUMA, AND GRIEF: HOW TO HEAL WHEN YOY ARE ALONE? Or do I first try to get the eBook version done (the paperback has been out for just over a year)? I’ve been searching for someone to design it in an accessible ebook format; but that seems impossible for at least another few months. I could produce an ebook then later update to accessible format. On the other hand, I have only for the next 6 weeks access to Fictionary for free to run my novel through its structural edit software. And I just finished attending Storygarden Summit, which got me back into the mindset of writing books. Decisions. Decisions.