My book stalled

I stalled on writing my sci-fi novel.

I got to that dreaded 65%-through point a few weeks ago and have found it really hard to get back into finishing it.

Life got in the way. I bought some land, flew to the UK to visit family, had to set up my car for car camping, and hit the road.

But life didn't really get in the way.

And the book is still just worth finishing as it was starting.

I had just forgotten one principle that has been at the core of all the previous eight books I've written.

The Ten-Minute Rule.

No matter what happens in life, I spend at least ten minutes per day on the projects and habits that matter.

And I had not made that a non-negotiable daily.

I let it slip.

I let the excuse of how hard the middle of a novel is supposed to be let my fiction-writing habit drift.

Last week, I opened the novel up again in my Obsidian app.

I read over the most recently completed chapter.

That took about ten minutes. That was it. I was re-acquainting myself with the book.

It felt good.

And this counts.

Just be present with the project you've temporarily abandoned. Even if it's just to look over it again. Or holding it in front of your eyes.

It makes a huge difference.

So does sticking to a minimum of 10 minutes each day.

Because the most important element of any creative project is often overlooked: momentum.

Now I have it again, and I'm feeling more interested in working on this again.

Even while I'm in the middle of this road trip.

My novel characters are stirring to life.

Stay tuned for the release of the novel...

Alex (last day in Bucharest)

P.s. if you'd like to support me as a writer, and learn my story on how I took a writing habit and turned it into a career, you might like my Never-Retired Writer book, here to purchase on Amazon.