Live Life In The Present Tense: Why Ambition Can Be Negative

As a writer I am a naturally driven and ambitious person. I constantly seek out each day ways in which I can improve myself, my life and my craft. I have lists of goals as long as my arms and I often find myself thinking if only I could achieve more than my life would be better.

But I have read several blog posts over the past month that stress having this particular thought pattern isn't always good for us.

People can waste hours each day thinking about things that are sometimes unachievable. How many times how you thought that by winning the lottery your life would be so much better? Of course I am sure it would be in many ways but realistically - how are you going to achieve something like that?

Having goals and ambitions is great so long as you keep a sense of realism and perspective about them. If you lack the last two things your goals and ambitions are likely to become something negative. If you always think about the future and what your life would be like if you had the things you wanted, you are actually missing out on life's present tense and what you have to do now in order to achieve these goals.

I once had a friend who was exactly like this. He was always thinking that his life would be better if it was easier to find jobs that the current recession has stolen. He was unemployed but instead of actively seeking out ways to resolve this he would blame anyone he possibly could for his current issues. In the end I concluded the man was a lost cause because he failed to see that the only person who could do something about his life was himself. No matter how hard you tried to help him there was always an excuse for why he hadn't followed anything up.

So, whatever your ambitions are in life make sure you're doing everything you possibly can in life's present tense to achieve them.

How Reality Differs So Much From Fantasy

As a writer I have written two non fiction books and now I am over 14,000 words into my third book.
But although I have written before, I find writing my third book to be very different indeed and that's because my current WIP is fiction.

When writing my travel memoir books I recalled vivid memories to help me tell the stories. And although I had copious amounts of diary notes to help me with bits I couldn't remember, I still wrote my best material from memory.

But now writing is not the same as it was before. Now I have absolutely no memories to recall and I find that if I want to write I have to make entire scenes up which is more than an obvious thing to do when writing fiction. But I find writing takes me so much longer these days as half the time is spent thinking up the next scene. Even though I have written a detailed chapter outline I still find my writing takes on a life of it's own.

And that is where my inspiration came from when I thought about writing my current blog post.

Don't you find that fantasy is so much different to reality? You have enthusiasm for your new job only to find out your job role isn't what was advertised. You start a new relationship that's full of hope and promise only to find that somewhere down the line your beloved isn't the person you thought they were. You buy a house that looks stunning from the outside only to find it crumbling on the inside.

But sometimes the cruel reality works in your favour. Your rose tinted glasses have been yanked away from you but then you're forced to look at life in a different light. How can you get out of the job that was falsely advertised, how can you end the relationship your heart is no longer in? How can you fix your house?

As you're forced to view things differently you're forced to come up with different ideas.

Sometimes life has a funny way of making you appreciate the things you already have by showing you your perceived fantasy is actually worse than reality.

Does Keeping A Journal Make You A Better Writer?

I've always kept a journal, or a diary, as I prefer to call it. Especially when I was growing up I couldn't wait to transfer my emotions onto the four lined section I had for that day. Telling my diary just what fun, exciting times I had during my teenage years. Writing how much I loved my life on every single page. That's a complete lie by the way - growing up I hated pretty much everything about life.

But I always found that writing down my feelings helped me a great deal to process them and to put my emotions into some kind of logical order. I had a better insight to why I felt how I felt, instead of just trying to work out the thoughts in my head. 

It's no wonder I felt better because countless pieces of research have proven that writing down your problems does actually help you to solve them. Your brain can see the physical evidence through your writing that there's a difficulty which needs to be solved and it quickly goes about finding potential solutions to the problem.

I had a huge diary when I was travelling. I went out and bought a A4 one to keep a record of my experiences throughout the year. And I wrote in it every day, something which most of my fellow travellers could not understand.

But I am so glad I did because it was these diaries that gave me the inspiration to write my first two books. I wouldn't have had this inspiration if it wasn't for them.

So the pivotal question of this blog is does keeping a diary make you a better writer?

I believe it does, even if you're writing pure fiction books. You don't have to write memoirs for it to be helpful. Keeping a diary helps you process your thoughts, condensing them into succinct notes. It forces you to cut the bull and focus on the main points. And this tool is invaluable to all writers. When you're faced with writing out plotlines I believe if you're used to keeping a diary you'll find the process easier.

So, what about you? Do you keep a regular diary of day to day life? Do you find it helps when you're writing?

Why Having Goals Can Sometimes Be Negative

I thought I would have this topic as my first blog post of 2013 because it's so fitting. Across the globe people have spent the past week thinking about their goals for the year and what they can do to achieve them. They may write them down in a list or just have them floating around in their head. They may talk constantly of them or speak a word to no one.

Having a goal to focus on is great but sometimes the goal itself can get in the way of actually achieving it. You may become obsessed about what it is you want to achieve and over analyse it. Your goal is so big that you waste all your energy just solely thinking about it. Your thoughts are like a washing machine full of socks, turning around in your head over and over again.

You stop achieving your dreams because you think about them too much.

What a waste of emotion!

Here's a classic example of what I mean by this.

While I'm writing, I'm obsessed with my word count. It affects me so much that I spend more time counting words than I do actually writing them. Keeping track of my word count significantly slows down my writing instead of speeding it up. You may think I'm encouraged if I effortlessly type out eight hundred words in an hour but I've always got one eye on my word count.

Instead I have found that I work much better under a time limit. Having goals is one thing but make sure you give yourself ample time to reach them.

Looking Back Over 2012

This year is finally drawing to an end and there has been many unexpected twists and turns throughout the past twelve months.

I published my second book back in August and have written over 10,000 words on my third novel. I  secured myself a second job last month and so far that is going well.

But for various reasons, good and bad, 2012 hasn't ended like I had predicted. At the start of this year I had many different business goals to accomplish and I am proud to say I have achieved them all. I did exactly what I had planned to do and the results were instant. But the fantasy of achieving these goals and the reality of every day life has turned out to be very different.

And that is life through and through.

People often think that if they changed their life in a certain way they would be much happier. And maybe they would for a short time. But whatever the situation, good or bad, there will always be pros and cons. You may think being a millionaire is a guaranteed road to happiness and it probably is, but only in the financial area of your life.

True happiness doesn't stem from how much money you have or how many flash cars you drive. It stems from a much deeper satisfaction of being true to yourself and expressing your personality in a way that only you know how.

My true happiness stems from writing and spending time with loved ones. I don't care that I haven't updated my phone in ten years to a iphone or Blackberry - I am quite happy with my beloved, trusted Nokia 3410. After all, it's only a phone and all I need it for is to call and text. No device like that is really worth much. It's never going to find a cure for cancer.

Nothing materialistic is ever going to bring me much happiness.

Now I'm not saying that I can get by in life without money - nobody can. We all need money to eat, be warm and clean, and to surf the Internet in the hope of connecting to people overseas. I could not live without broadband and I need money to keep that! But society today places too much value on fame and how people look. And if you don't look a certain way then you end up being accused of all sorts.

Where has kindness and compassion gone? Has it left human souls forever more? The tragic events in America over the last couple of days seem to answer this very well, and it's here that I'd like to say that all the victims are in my thoughts.

So, as it's Christmas, the very time of year that we should make an effort to be nice to each other (although why we can't have that mindset throughout the whole year really baffles me) Make an effort and do a random act of kindness for someone.

I'll be away from this blog until after New Year so may I wish all my followers a very happy holiday.

Why It's Good To Write Less And Rest More

If you're anything like me normal life is just one challenge after another. Whenever you need a rest to prevent your head from exploding, there's just one more crisis to be solved. Sometimes it can feel like your running on the spot but making no further progress.

Sometimes life can ruin your creative spirit.

I started a new job several weeks ago and I was determined my writing wouldn't suffer. And so far it hasn't. I still write but unlike before I don't write everyday.

But yet here is the funny part, and it's the pivotal part of my post. Even though I don't write everyday, my total word count for the week remains about the same. I spend less time writing but my productivity remains constant.

At first this took a while for me to get my head around. In a world where everyone claims to be too busy to write, I always thought you had to devote the amount of time as you would to a full time job to write books. But I am gradually learning you don't.

So where is the logic to this? How can I spend less time writing but still produce the same amount of words?

Well obviously before I was spending too much time writing and I was tired without realising it. I constantly had to push myself harder and harder to do the same amount of work. Basically I was writing more or less everyday. I didn't allow myself to recharge my batteries. I could manage this at the start but after a while my creativity obviously sapped and I had to work harder to achieve less.

I was running on the spot but made no further progress.

So the key to successful writing isn't how much time you devote to the art, it's the amount of writing you produce at the end.

How To Be Patient And In Control

After my first successful week in my new telesales job I am pleased to say I'm writing again. The positive side of my new job is I have more money to play with, but the downside is I have less time to write. However, I am still determined to keep writing and I have demonstrated this by producing 9,000 words in just over a month.

But there is certainly one thing I need more of and that is patience.

In a world where everything is instantly obtainable, one's writing goals are indeed never ending. Sometimes it seems there is no light at the end of the tunnel. Every project we hope to complete seems to increase in length the closer we are to finishing it.

So how do we achieve our goals and put everything back into perspective?

Well we must find the courage to carry on, the determination to succeed while warding off doubts, fear and depression. And most of all, we must learn to ignore impatience.

There are certain things in a writer's life that we have no control over. When we send our finished manuscript to an editor for a final polish, we have no control over how long it's going to take them to get the job done. When we are liaising with artists, arranging our book covers, we have no control over how long it will take them to produce the final piece of art. And when we put our finished product up for sale we have no control over how many people will buy it.

These are things we cannot change or have any control over so it's best just to focus on the things within our control. Things like continuing to write, continuing learning how to write by taking courses or reading books. Researching different writing styles, and putting energy into maintaining our online presence.

How do you conquer impatience?