Dear Writer:
The most crucial thing you can do is this: finish.
Neil Gaiman tells us in his MasterClass that writers should not get in the habit of abandoning projects completely. Will there be times that you will have to come back to the work? Yes. But, you must come back to the work.
Finish things (even if you think they are ‘bad’), so you can write other things. Better things even.
Go forth…and finish.
With Love & Ink,
JBHarris
Writer To-Do List:
1.) Create the space.
2.) Fill in the space with words.
3.) Repeat.
May the odds always be in your favor.
With Love & Ink,
JBHarris
As we go forward in this particular series, I must stress to you all that every writer has a horror story about story they lost, a draft they couldn’t find or an idea they believe someone stole from them (sometimes that last part is more accurate than you think!). But for this section, let is concentrate on lost work.
Brief Storytime-
I was working on a sequel to my novel RUBY (currently on Amazon! Kinda proud of that!), on Isabella. That is the name of the computer my husband (now ex-husband) got me for Christmas. I had been in the habit of saving my work in two places since my Junior year of college, but since this was a new computer? I didn’t back anything up.
I didn’t think I needed to!
When the computer gave me the update notification, I knew I saved the work, so I proceeded with the update. And what happened next had me crying on the floor with all of my 35+ year old self. The update called my computer to crash.
CRASHED. I screamed and cried and called my sister in a panic. After pulling myself together an hour plus later, I took Isabella to the Windows store. Two days later they rescued almost everything on it (YAY!) except my novel–with 3 chapters of my book.
Now, in owning that this was my fault (not the crash, but the not saving of my work!), here is what I should have done:
1.) Save the work to a jump drive or Cloud.
2.) Invest in Google Dropbox and put all information there.
3.) If nothing else, get a dump email account to just put all my WIP’s there.
This would have saved me 60 minutes of freaking out and I would have finished that book.
I’m still mad about it. Don’t be like me. Save your work.
Find this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play & Spotify. Thank you for all your support!
May 16, 2019, I started this podcast with a free app, a pen and a notebook. I sat on this podcast for the better part of a year, since 2017, really. I am still in awe of this platform!
As of this posting, there are over 115+ podcast episodes, streaming across 3 platforms, and 4 complete seasons. At the time of this publishing, I am working on Seasons 6 and 7.
I am an independent writer, writing coach, and producer, with a podcast which was created because I was tried to Black writers giving up. This indeed is a love work, a passion project, and a work necessary for Black writers.
Roxane Gay said that writers have to be good literary citizens–being able to give back to a community which gives them so much. This podcast is one of those ways that I give back to a community which has given me to much.
Black Writers Matter…and we always will.
Dear Writer:
Are you going to keep going…or are you going to quit?
The choice is yours.
With Love & Ink,
JBHarris
We are almost at the halfway point of the year, and this is a time of reflection for me. It always has! I think about the plans I have made, things I have completed, and stuff that I forgot to do.
But the great thing is that I get to reflect! I get the opportunity to revisit things, to readjust deadlines and follow through with the things I quit as well!
But now is the time to reassess, to count the wins, and pick up the pen and try again.
With Love & Ink,
JBHarris
Follow the miniseries The Burden Of The Pen on I Breathe Fire by clicking here.
Dear Writer:
I know that writing is going to be hard. And the more that you are willing to share your writing journey, the more your work or voice is recognized, the more people are going to demand that you say something. The more the world outside and outside your bedroom door like/respect what you have to say, then they want you to say it more often.
Beware of the people whom want you to talk all the time but never encourage you to listen.
With Love & Ink,
JBHarris
The most irredeemable thing to a writer, the thing what we chase is time. It’s always going to be time! And for a writer, there is nothing more maddening that losing time.
Time.
It’s always time.
As a writer in order for you to come to grips with the time you have lost, ask three questions:
1.) What things could I have been doing?
2.) When you should be writing, what do you find yourself doing?
3.) What is stopping you from writing?
Own the time you have lost. That you have squandered and that you have wasted.
Own this. Learn from this. Do better.
Dear Writer,
Sometimes you have to write it down, even if it doesn’t make sense.
With Love & Ink,
JBHarris
From the Rough Patches, I want you to take three things which will serve you well (I promise):
1.) What were you doing before the Rough Patch started?
2.) What worked the best for you to get out of the Rough Patch?
3.) What do you plan to do that will help you come out of the Rough Patch sooner?
I know this seems redundant, but this will absolutely help you in the future.
With Love & Ink,
JBHarris
JBHarris Writing Services 