Did I say I’ve been writing for six years? Double that is closer. I started my first book about six years ago, but I’ve been writing far longer than that.
 
I was a pastor for fifteen years (yes, I was a pastor before I was a bartender). During that period I wrote and preached almost 400 sermons. At the time, I had no idea how well that prepared me to write a novel.
 
Here’s are some of the lessons I learned:
 
I learned the habit of writing on a regular basis.
 
I learned I couldn’t wait for the muse to show up, I had to write whether I felt like it or not.
 
I learned that my first draft was always crap and always made me feel like crap.
 
(I’m not exaggerating about that last one. I’m pretty sure that after every single first draft, I felt like a loser who should be put out of his misery. But by the time Sunday came, I always had something I was excited to share. The crappy “first draft” feelings still haven’t gone away. I’ve just learned to laugh at them.)
 
In his book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell talks about the “10,000 Hours Rule” – gaining mastery in any endeavor requires approximately 10,000 hours of focused practice. Rough math tells me my sermon writing got me about half the way there.
 
I’d hardly say I’ve mastered writing, but I’m convinced that the thousands of hours I spent writing sermons were the reason my very first book was picked up by a traditional publisher, without the help of an agent.
 
What if you never had an outlet like preaching to help you accumulate “time in the saddle”?
 
There’s a fair chance you’ve been doing something else that has contributed to your writing hours. My wife, for instance, has literally hundreds of pages of journaling to her name. You better believe that counts.
 
Putting everything I’ve said in the past couple posts together: if writing is important to you, you absolutely must set time aside to write regularly. That may require certain sacrifices. It may require creative scheduling. It will certainly require learning your own rhythms and what works best for you.
 
Okay, I think these four posts have laid out the fundamentals as I see them:
 
1.       Know that writing is a craft that is learned.
2.       Evaluate your reasons for writing and how much you are willing to sacrifice.
3.       Read a lot.
4.       Write a lot.
 
From here, I think my posts will be a bit more eclectic.
 
In the meantime, what are some unexpected ways you’ve been able to practice the craft of writing? How do you get your writing time in?  
 

About Josh Kelley: I’ve written a spiritual living book, Radically Normal (published by Harvest House). My current project is a general market novel, Double Vodka. I’m also a writing coach that specializes in helping writers see the big picture of their strengths and weaknesses, offering an affordable one-session model.

I think all writers hit some tipping point when they go from “I want to write a book” to actually writing the damn thing. For me, that tipping point was reading Stephen King’s book, On Writing.
 
It’s as fun to read as it is informative and inspirational. On Writing helped me believe I just might have what it takes to write a book. Add several years of grueling work and voila!, there I was, holding the author’s copy of my first book. (Objects in the rearview mirror might be easier than they appear.)
 
The one key point King makes again and again: A writer must write a lot and read a lot. If either of those doesn’t sound good, don’t bother.
 
In the past six years of writing, that statement has gone from “good advice” to “iron clad law.” In the next post I’ll talk about writing a lot. Here, I’ll focus on reading a lot.
 
I’ve lost count, but if I were to guess, I’m pretty sure I’ve read well over fifty books on the craft of writing. I’m not going to guess how many blog posts and articles I’ve read. And that doesn’t even touch on the hundreds of other books I’ve read, fiction and non-fiction.
 
I read to learn what works and what doesn’t. I read to understand my topic better. I read because I love reading. I read because it is water to me.
 
Let’s get back to last week’s question: How badly do you want it?
 
If you want to be a good writer, you absolutely must make time to read. There is a lot of “if it works for you” advice. This is not one of them.
 
Speaking practically, this means you will not be up on all the latest TV shows and your Candy Crush score will suffer immensely. When my mom recently asked me, “How can you not watch ‘Madam Secretary’?”, my answer was the same as to everyone else when they ask me about Viking/Game of Thrones/Flash/[insert latest “must see TV” here]: I watch extraordinarily little TV.
 
This doesn’t mean I never watch any shows; I have my one or two shows. What it means is I watch far less than the average American.
 
It also means the shows I choose usually do double duty: entertainment and improving my craft. For instance, I faithfully watched “Black List” when I wrote the first draft of Double Vodka because it inspired me to ratchet up the pressure on my characters.
 
Because reading is so important, I’m sure a fair number of my posts will be about things I have read or am reading.
 
What about you, how has reading inspired you to write?

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About Josh Kelley: I’ve written a spiritual living book, Radically Normal (published by Harvest House). My current project is a general market novel, Double Vodka. I’m also a writing coach that specializes in helping writers see the big picture of their strengths and weaknesses, offering an affordable one-session model.

A couple years back, a friend told me he was writing a book, a little Bible study type thing. I offered to help him and he laughed.

“Josh, I’ve seen how much work you put into writing,” he said. “I don’t want it to be that good. I just want something I can use in my church.”

My hat’s off to him for 1) understanding how much work he was willing to put into his project and 2) having a realistic expectation of what he would get for that amount of work.

The problem comes when someone only wants to put in a blog post effort but still get a New York Times bestseller result. 

It’s impossible to map the writing journey into some sort of “one size fits most” format. But asking yourself these two questions is as good of a place as any to start:

1. Why do I want to write?
2. How badly do I want it?

The only bad answer to the first question is a dishonest one. It isn’t wrong to say you want to change the world with your writing. It may or may not happen, but it isn’t arrogant to pursue it.

There’s also nothing wrong with saying “I just want to write something for my friends and family.” That can be very rewarding both for the writer and the reader. And it doesn’t make you any less of a writer – a writer is someone who writes, regardless of the audience size.

By the same token, the only bad answer to the second question is an unrealistic one. If, for instance, you want to change the world with your writing but aren’t willing to cancel your cable.

This is where the rubber meets the road.

I want to write books that change the world. That drives the decisions I make: I got a job as a bartender so I can write every morning. We live simple lives (a supportive spouse is pretty helpful). I turn down a lot of offers to write other stuff so I can work on my novel.

Regardless of why you write, I think you’ll find useful stuff in this blog. But those answers will drive how much effort you put into improving your craft.

Said another way, you may not like all of my suggestions and ideas. If that’s because you think I’m wrong, fine. If that’s because your writing goals don’t require putting forth as much effort as I suggest, (again) fine.

But if your goals outstrip your willingness to work...well, we’ll see how that works out.

So why do you write? What are some sacrifices you’ve made?

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About Josh Kelley: I’ve written a spiritual living book, Radically Normal (published by Harvest House). My current project is a general market novel, Double Vodka. I’m also a writing coach that specializes in helping writers see the big picture of their strengths and weaknesses, offering an affordable one-session model.