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| Lao Tzu |
The idea for this blog
came when one of my fellow authors asked me, “What are your goals for the next
five years?”
This should have been an
easy question to answer. In my previous profession as a business owner, I lived
on a steady diet of goals: annual targets, monthly objectives and even daily goals.
There was no way around it. Businesses need goals and without them, become
directionless. I felt a constant need to compare myself to my
past achievements and to others in the industry. Indeed, a business without goals
is one destined to die.
Several years ago, I sold
the business and became a writer. Just as with a new business venture, I
planned what books and how many I would write over a given time period. I tied
everything together with timelines and spreadsheets. In other words, I brought exactly the wrong mentality to the writing world.
Not long into my
first book, I realized that my plans were holding me back. Constantly checking
back to where I was “supposed” to be became demoralizing. Worrying about plans
interfered with the creative process. Ideas don’t magically appear on schedule
nor does the imagination heel to spreadsheets. They take their sweet time and,
in my experience, usually blossom outside the time spent at the keyboard---during
evening walks or drives in the car.
I concluded that writing
success should be measured by how satisfied I am by what I put on paper, rather
than by writing a certain number of pages per day. The passion and engagement
that I pour into my work give my story more impetus than any number of tick
marks on a to-do list.
Is this an argument for
anarchy? Of course not. I use planning devices to help me maintain the arc
of the story or to chart the progress of my characters. But in the actual
process of writing, it is better to remain in the moment and let feelings and
emotions flow freely from the imagination to the page. And, if well written,
the reader shares in this engagement and passion.
Lao Tzu wrote 'A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.' I find this to be the correct approach to writing: to take joy in the process. It made me a better writer.
Mohan Ashtakala is the author of "The Yoga Zapper," a fantasy, and "Karma Nation," a literary romance. Please check him out at www.mohanashtakala.com. Published by Books We love: www.bookswelove.com.
