Post #269 August 23, 2021 “Starting…” In recent days, our house has had issues with our 17-KW generator not being able to supply enough power to our AC compressor whenever the generator is running. It seems that the compressor requires about 115 amps for startup and 45 amps for running. This is at the maximum capacity of the generator to supply. We’re working on getting a new generator. Which leads me to the idea of what it takes to actually start a new novel. In the last week, I have done this. I have started on the newest novel in my Farpool Stories series. It’s called The Farpool: Diaspora and I hope to make it available in mid to late fall of 2021. Any start of a book-length work requires energy, just like our AC compressor. Along with energy, such an effort needs optimism, hope, attention to detail, determination and some kind of plan. Whenever I start a new novel, I feel a sense of infinite possibilities, and I’m not talking about that last glass of Riesling I just had. It can be a bit overwhelming. The best way I know to get a grip on that feeling and not be intimidated into putting the start off for another day is to have a detailed outline readily at hand. A few character bios wouldn’t hurt either. Structure makes the writer’s literary universe seem just a wee bit less intimidating. No race is ever won in the first few steps but the race can be lost in those steps. In the most recent Olympics (Tokyo 2020), one track and field hurdler missed his very first hurdle. He tried to finish but winning was naturally out of the question. Getting off on the right foot is important whether you’re running hurdles, swimming a 50-meter sprint or starting a new novel. It’s important not to be discouraged by the magnitude of the task before you. Most of my novels end up over 200 to sometimes 250, even 300 pages. You’re not going to be able to do that in one day. Just do a few pages every day and keep at it. Print out what you’ve done. If you’re like me, you enjoy the visual sight of pieces of paper mounting up, a tangible reminder of your progress. In anything involving a sustained effort over many weeks or months (or even years), discipline and persistence are key. There will be days when your resolve and energy flags a little. That’s okay. Don’t hyperventilate. Give yourself a day off. Then get back to it the next day. It doesn’t hurt to be OCD, like me. Writing 3-5 pages a day has now become, after many years of this, just another daily part of my life, like brushing teeth or eating lunch or working out. When that happens, you can say with some confidence that you’re actually a writer. After a month off from finishing The Farpool; Plague, it feels good to be back banging out 3-5 pages a day. Although I needed the time away from writing, it feels like an important part of me has reawakened. In the first week of my effort with The Farpool: Diaspora, I finished 25 pages of the first draft. I feel pretty good about that. The next post to The Word Shed comes on August 30, 2021. See you then. Phil B.