A couple of days ago, the following insight came to me:
Let's fill my first book with 22 Hypersensitivosaurus stories ( a selection of the dozens of stories that I've written in the last two years or so and mayhaps some new ones ).
It's 2022, after all, and 22 is my favorite number.
Also, I was looking for a way to make things easier on myself ( I usually tend to do the opposite ) and, one way or another, I just can't seem to get myself to finish "Hypersensitivosaurus and Cold Turkey", which was supposed to be my first ( Hypersensitivosaurus ) book.
For those who were wondering/ worrying about this:
Yes, I still plan to finish and release 'Hypersensivosaurus and Cold Turkey', it just will not become my first book release ;<)
It's also, still, likely that I might release a couple more 'Hypersensitivosaurus and ...' books ( where the three dots stand for another animal ). But, right now, my focus isn't on those.
Nevertheless I have a bunch of stories on - and thoughts around - a book on Hypersensitivosaurus and Mildly Mannered Wolf ( on chess and pancakes, among other things ) as well as on Hypersensitivosaurus and Mrs. Mosquito.
I couldn't help but think and feel, though, that it would be fun to start out with 22 stories starring Hypersensitivosaurus and a bunch of other animals. So that's what I will be focusing on for the time being.
I really don't like the word 'deadline', it sounds far from positive, and deadlines usually mainly make me stress out ( something I try to be more aware of, lately ), so I will set a target date instead:
The 22 of February this year or 22 02 2022 or 02 22 2022 depending on where you live.
No need for me to explain why I picked this exact date.
To make it more likely that I hit this target, I plan to start out with a self published version of my first book. One that I can literally print myself. That should be doable
An E-book release can follow later. No rush with that.
Since I came up with the above idea, some days ago, to make my first book one with 22 Hypersensitivosaurus stories, I have actually been able to focus on my book, once again.
I started selecting stories and the illustrations/ sketchies/ drawings/ paintings that accompanied them and am putting them in a word file. The picture above this post is an example of that ( although I still plan to slightly edit the text ).
I am also planning to link to the stories behind these individual stories ( that I shared on my blog ).
Let's conclude with the following:
Whether I struggle with focusing or not ( forget the not ), it really helps to be creative. No matter how long it takes, I will always find a way.
VENI, VIDI, VINCENT!
( A Latin word joke on "Veni, Vidi Vici": I Came, I Saw and I Conquered, which isn't much of a word joke, as the name Vincent literally stems from the verb vincere ( to win or to conquer ). Reminding myself of where my name comes from often helped me to feel less like a 'loser' and trust that I will make it, in the long term ).
TO BE CONVINUED...
P.S. If you like the above, you might want to check out this post by my good friend @selfhelp4trolls : Falling in Love with your Own Work, where he talks about his writing and (upcoming) book release(s)