How I Found My Running Legs

I recall a fairy tale about a girl who was abducted by a killer.  She asked if she could tell a story first.  The smart young lady teased her captor by withholding the end and told him she would gladly finish the story the next day.  Her life was spared and she repeated her tactics every night, eventually winning the heart of her kidnapper.

We live in a society where we want instant gratification.  We become bored easily.  We don't like obstacles.  I found my running legs by learning creative ways to jump over all the hurdles on my race track.  This book project I'm working on is a solution to by own time constraint challenge:  How do I find the time for all my family activities, maintain a daily blog, write books, and work a full-time day job?  The answer is simple...

1. Put my family first when it comes to the activities they care about.
2. Re-arrange the editing phase so that it comes after blog readers comment on the raw chapters as they are released, one week at a time.  This is a big time saver.
3. Use modern technology to write and share my books on-line in cyber-space.  This allows for easy editing and real-time virtual publishing.
4. Cut out all the fluff.  If you keep a log about how you use your hours each day, you will find nooks and crannies that can be better utilized if you do some organizing.  I prefer to write one hour per day while my family is still sleeping.  My mind is alert and I avoid interruptions.
5. Leave your audience wanting more.  Sure, I would love to have enough time to publish an entire book according to schedule.  However, this traditional method of book publishing leaves no crescendo, the kind you get when you tune in to a television show and they cut you off before something big happens, leaving you biting your nails until the next episode.  I want my readers to come back every day at the same time, 8:08 AM, to pick up where they left off yesterday.

You can find your running legs.  You can accomplish any important task if stay on the race track long enough.  Don't be afraid to go against conventional wisdom.  My family is happy I'm putting them first.  My readers are happy there is always a new chapter to look forward to.  And I'm happy because I finally found my running legs, one chapter at a time, on a course beyond where the pavement ends.  I'm a long distance runner who believes in fairy tales and happily-ever-afters.  How about you?  Do you have something to share about how you found your running legs?  Please add your thoughts below.

Click here to enter Caveman Reflections Cyber-bistro and read chapter two of The Caveman in the Mirror, released on Friday, March 22.

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