Help wanted – a magician to add more hours to the day

I used to want to be a personal assistant…and I always thought to myself, what fun it would be to become a personal assistant for some reclusive big-shot author (is Stephen King in the market?).  Even though that might still be an interesting gig, I think I’d like to hire my own personal assistant.  How else will I find the magic that would add hours to my day to allow me to do all it is I want to do?

Maybe I just want to do too much?

Maybe – but after a pretty stagnant year with regard to my writing, I feel a huge urge to get caught up, in addition to the multitude of non-writing tasks I still need to take care of (just having a senior in high school doubles my to-do list!). 

I saw a post today, reminding me that we all have 24 hours in a day…it’s just in how we use those hours that counts towards what we may, or may not, get done. And that’s very true. I was also watching a show the other day and the person being interviewed was asked whether they were afraid of dying. Know what they said? They said it wasn’t that they were afraid of dying…but of dying an unfulfilled life. Very well said, in my opinion. None of us know when we’ll take our last breath and if we wait to do what we dream about, or what would fulfill us, we may very well regret it.

But sometimes our “wish list” gets a little large or, as in my case, we get behind due to other circumstances, and we have to take a step back to cultivate a doable timeline so that our expectations remain a bit more realistic.

Here’s just a sample of what I expect from my writing self over the next year or so:

• Complete final edits on latest short story
• Come up with cover ideas for latest short story
• Publish latest short story by November 2015
• Continue with the WIP on the 4th novel in the mystery series
• Come up with a realistic timeline of the completion of the 4th mystery novel in order to get on my editor’s calendar
• Continue with the WIP on the YA novel first drafted in April
•  Begin the prequel for the mystery series (I’m really looking forward to this!)
•  Follow up with a second book in the ghost story (it’s an idea, anyway)
•  I’d also like to complete an author media kit, set up Pinterest pages for my books and characters, and possibly write and sell some non-fiction eBooks

Of course, these are all tasks that will take some time and effort, and some will require assistance from other people. This is my wish list of tasks that I want to follow through with and it’s only the beginning, as I continue to add to my WIP when new ideas arise, but this list is my main focus for the time being. Sometimes it feels like a whopper of a list – but then again, it’s what I will be working on for the next year or so. There are no firm deadlines, only those I impose on myself. The tasks on this list aren’t like the laundry that must be done today so we all have clean clothes for the week, but tasks I can work on every day until they are finally completed.

Even though this past year has put me behind what I would have expected from myself by now, I am happy with what I’ve accomplished so far because what I’ve completed continues to remind me what I’m capable of doing. What I have to remember is that any progress is good progress and that impatience is my enemy. And while I would love to have more hours in each day, I will continue to find plenty of time if I stick with daily writing tasks and remain steadfast with realistic expectations. That schedule and attitude is what I believe will unearth the magic I may be looking for. After all…

“Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.”  

~Roald Dahl~

I hope you find your own magic in every day - have a great week!