A Realization After Noticing Something

Have you ever just had a realization about something that made you speak like some character in a classic JRPG with a text box that reads: “……………….???!!!”

I truly don’t have time to play games these days (not to mention creation takes time) but I thought it was the closest example I could think of for true realization.

How did I not realize this after all this time? Sometimes you feel like you didn’t notice something that was there the whole time, and you feel like an idiot. It could have been right in front of you the whole time, and you just didn’t have that moment of realization.

When you do the math, writing becomes a matter of numbers, ironically enough. When I’m writing, I always tell myself that 8,000-10,000 words is only 800-1,000 words 10 times.

You’ve got to take things in small increments and stages to make it anywhere.

That doesn’t mean that writing 10,000 words of fiction will be the most aesthetic prose you’ve ever constructed from the outset, but my point is to realize these things come in escalating steps.

There’re so many writing opportunities out there that want human input to edit AI output because it is constructed from machine-learning drivel, but we don’t have to subscribe to such methods to get prolific results with our writing.

I never seek to do such things, seeing as they turn writing into some mechanical formula.

I will never tell another writer they must do things a certain way or they’re not a real writer.

For me, writing is found in the drive to make a story or recollection of facts into something with structure and meaning.

A story needs a certain structure to make it a story. I write kishotenketsu-structured stories, and most American writers write using the three-act method. I refuse to do this because I want to differentiate myself from others, but the fact of the matter is, they’re still using structure.

My ultimate point here is to have the realization that the structure and output you choose are all up to you at the end of the day. If you think of it like time zones, your morning will not look like someone else’s evening. If you’re a morning writer, that doesn’t mean the evening method will click with you.

Find the method and output that works for you, and you will make it 90% of the way there.

Doing the math, if you write 500 words a day, you can write 120,000 words a year. If you write 5,000 words a day, that makes 1,200,000 words a year.

I assume that the number of words in both instances is calculated with weekends off and a small vacation per year.

But do you see how even a bit of forward momentum still leads to 1 or 2 books in a year?

Writers should never be afraid to practice the craft, and they should also work hard to make their books a reality.

Ironically, this is something I hadn’t quite noticed before, but it merits being said.

Whether 500 or 5,000, the words will come and lead you to the execution of goals and grand fulfillment.

I’m definitely noticing a pattern here.

Work equals results.

Who would have thought?

There’s no disillusionment to be had here. I simply guarantee putting in the time on the keyboard, voice, or paper will be worth the effort.

If you want to make something work, tell yourself, “I’m open to making something happen here.”

Just a small train of thought as I unwind for the night on a pre-fall evening.

Happy writing!