Brick By Brick

Daily practices and laying bricks. Eventually you will have a wall, building, or whatever it is you are building. The daily devotion of habitual practice towards a goal is very rewarding. And the benefits are reflected in character.

As I've gotten older, I have fallen in love with longer, more difficult, and technically more complicated projects, sports, hobbies. Things like writing a book, playing golf, playing ice hockey, skiing, playing the guitar. They are all very technically difficult activities to learn and require many hours to hone and develop. And I have fallen in love with the process. My younger, high energy, short attention span self did not have the patience required to focus on the technical movements and precision.

I am writing a book now for NaNoWriMo, and half way through to achieving the 50,000 word goal the challenge has set. Every day I have to write 1,667 words whether I feel like it or not. And I am a pantser, not a plotter, so I have no clue what I am going to write when I sit down. Now, as it is to be a successful writer you have to do two things, according to Stephen King in his memoir On Writing: you have to write a lot and you have to read a lot.

I have wanted to write a book for many years. Yet, I have also never been a big reader (I'm more of an action oriented guy, a physical guy who much rather move his body and interact with his environment people and things). I struggled to read as a kid and getting me to sit down was impossible. So, yes reading and comprehension was my lowest scoring subject in school. How I wrote top class papers is beyond me. But I did. Could I write a fiction book without reading much fiction. Maybe, but I have pushed myself to read a lot over the last few years. And I can tell you it shows in my work.

I love reading now. Since 2021, I have averaged around 80 books a year. Cover to cover. I have yet to DNF (Did Not Finish) a book and I should (but it's all for my learning process– you learn more from the bad ones than the good ones). I am a much better reader for this daily practice (my personal goal is to read at least an hour a day). My speed has doubled and my comprehension has increased.

Just like my reading, my writing has gotten better. I'm loving it: the process, the art, the technical aspects. It's fun and very rewarding to see the progress and work through the struggle. And once the goal is reached, start over with a new project. And fall in love again. Brick by brick