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Ben

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  1. Hi Quiver. I've had that problem in the past, and I’m sure that I’ll experience it again someday in the future. I guess it’s one of those things that we’ll have to deal with over and over again. For me, the key to the problem is motivation. It’s like waking up in the morning on a holiday and you had to find the right motivation to get out of the bed instead of pulling the blanket over your head and get back to sleep. I’ve finished my first book and self-publish it, but during the writing process there was a major obstacle I had to overcome. Near the end of chapter 3, I felt that everything was wrong so I stopped writing for almost 2 years. Getting back to the book after so long was not easy. At first I wanted to rewrite everything - which might just be a good thing to do - but then I decided against it. After revisiting the three chapters (and the prologue) a few times, I found some things that I really liked and I don’t want to lose them. So instead of rewriting I decided to put a carrot on a stick in front of me. I detailed most plots and subplots on the later chapters, especially the ones I think were ‘a stroke of genius’. Well, they were not, but I really liked them. The ending was of course one of them, so it motivated me to go all the way to the end. It took me more than a year after I restarted, including the proofreading and editing. The problems in chapters 1-3 were finally dealt with during this step. Between chapters 4-18 there were relapses of the problem. There were days when I stared blankly at the monitor although I knew what had to be written. During the first few times I just left the computer to do something else, but then I realized that I was wasting precious time. If I can’t continue the novel that day, at least I must practice things related to writing. So every time these ‘blocks’ show up, either I write plots for a new novel or I write short stories not directly related to the book. The book itself is a mammoth consisting of 215,000 words, too large for a newbie with limited ability to find a decent publisher. So I decided to choose self-publishing without even trying to find one. Having the book published and holding a copy of it in my hand now served as my new motivation, I wanted to have the second volume in the series next to it in my bookshelf. So, Quiver, what motivated you the most? With the right motivation, you can overlook all those problems and kept on writing. Don’t worry that it might be a goofy light-hearted adventure. Get started, continue, finish and then fix them. Newbies like us were meant to have those flaws, don’t let it stop you. I might turn into a decent writer after my 5th, 10th or 50th book. I don’t mind, I know my limitations and I also know this was not going to be an easy ride. If you really wanted to be a writer, during the long process you are actually living your dream, there’s nothing better than that.
  2. This is from the paperback edition P 955.8 : "Sigzil signed audibly" - perhaps it should be "sighed"
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