Good Ol’ Trent Reedy

My friend, Trent Reedy, is going to write one million words this year. A MILLION.

(I have written 3,000 words since the start of January.)

We’ve talked about that million words.

“What if they’re bad?” I said.

“Of course, they’re bad.”

“What about rewriting?”

“Oh, I’ll rewrite.”

“But . . .”

“Look,” Trent said. “I was only writing 800 words a day before. Now I’m getting words on the page. If I don’t write, I have nothing to edit. No books to work on.” (In case Trent reads this post, I have taken our conversation over several days, squished it together, and written the best parts here. All swears have been omitted!)

Trent makes a great point. If you never pen the words, you never have a book to edit, to send to an agent, to sell to an editor, to wind up on a shelf. Just this week a student came to my office and told me she’s had a great idea for a series for several years. No words were written. And when I gave her my advice several times during our thirty minutes together–Just write–I could tell I sorta bugged her.

Don’t dream.

Just write.

Just write.

Just write.

Do you write no matter what? I don’t. But . . . I’m lucky to have a friend like Trent who does just write. He encourages me daily, and has gently prodded me to write, maybe not realizing this is what he’s doing.

This year I had hoped to write four days a week, but I haven’t been able to for whatever reason. However, as I have watched my pal, I’ve taken courage. My new goal is one hour of writing–really writing–four days a week. If things normalize here, then I can increase that. If they don’t, I have four thousand new words a week. And that, as they say, is nothing to sneeze at.

But to do nothing? Well, the days still pass. The weeks do, too. And at the end, if I do no writing, I have nothing to edit.

Just as Trent says.

After a Week of

really rude people, surprises that were hurtful, and dumb stuff, it’s nice to fall in my novel and  enjoy it.

I love to write. Mostly. I don’t love writing middles. But I love ends.

I especially love to have written.

 

And to see my book in print.

A box of ARCs of NEVER SAID arrived on Friday.

 

There’s something lovely about slipping into my own made up worlds.

And into other people’s, too.

 

A dearest friend told me she had only one book left in her because she’s teaching.

Only one left.

No! I said. Stop teaching.

Just write.

 

My note today is this–YOU have something to say. There are PEOPLE who need to hear what you have to say. Stop waiting around. Stop giving excuses.

Write.

Write that mid grade.

That picture book.

Your YA.

 

Write instead of TV. Get up an hour earlier. Stop running three miles sooner.
Give us your book. Because someone, like me, needs it.

 

Someone needs YOUR book.