Zechariah Barrett's Blog: Pushing the Limits

In the next few weeks we'll be seeing the release of The Order of the Sleepwalker.

This is a book that I originally wrote while a Junior in high school, at about 17-years old.

I had written books prior to this, but none at such a scale or length. This will be my largest published book to date.

Originally, upon finishing the book a year later, I had sought out literary agents to get it published. After multiple submissions, I realized it was getting nowhere.

I looked into independently publishing it, like I had done with some short stories. I successfully did so and had some printed copies made for friends and family. But I didn't opt for wider distribution.

Instead, I began writing more stories. I wrote The Detective Games, which shares some characters with The Order of the Sleepwalker.

I looked back at The Order of the Sleepwalker and thought I could do better. So I began a rewrite called Project Ordine. It's been delayed a few times, in the midst of life events and needing to reread and overhaul most of the original story.

Project Ordine is no longer a simple rewrite. While sharing many similarities, it has diverged with key plot points and characters.

I decided to give The Order of the Sleepwalker another try. I did a release without much fanfare under a pseudonym that I've used before.

It was well received. And so, I decided to give it a wide release. The Order of the Sleepwalker is preserved much like it was when teenage Zechariah wrote it. Only with some light edits.

As I mentioned before, there's other stories like this, ones that have never been published before. However, I think those will need full rewrites before publication, or heavy editing.

That said, there's more to come!

The Order of the Sleepwalker is almost here. The release date is July 15th at most online retailers, and it's already available to order in paperback at most physical retailers.

Thank you for your support! It's a privilege to share this early work of mine, and I hope it is enjoyed.

Until next time,
Zechariah

Lately, it seems I've been losing steam, and have had trouble keeping up with writing deadlines. The motivation just isn't there. It's the common condition that writers dread — writer's block.

The last time I blogged about writer's block, I noted different writing strategies to take into account. However, while jotting down thoughts and writing spontaneously can be great, it doesn't take into account common psychological aspects.

Sometimes the trouble is more than coming up with words. Sometimes motivation is being smothered by an internal force — self-efficacy, or rather, the absence thereof.

At this time in my academic career, I'm taking a human relations class, and I'm being forced to probe inward. Previously, I took an intro to psychology course, which also prompted some self-reflection, but it wasn't so poignant. I was able to identify why I should get to sleep on time (circadian rhythm tendencies), how to utilize positive and negative reinforcement and punishment (e.g. if you add a stimulus, you may increase a particular behavior [positive reinforcement])... all wonderful concepts, but now I'm forced to confront things I hadn't considered much before.

One of those things is my tendency to procrastinate. Procrastination is a many non-splendored thing — a close cousin to writer's block. Procrastination and I are terribly familiar. We've danced one too many times, until it's become a pervasive condition. I delay book releases, homework, language studies, meditation (specifically, time with God), service projects, and any number of other things. Anything that can be delayed, I tend to delay.

Alors... (fr. So...) the question is, how to confront this condition?

I've tried asking others to keep me accountable (e.g. "tell me to write, if I get online!"), but that only works for as long as they remember, and I may just avoid getting online where that person will be. Therefore, this strategy is terrible for me, with only a partial success rate. But this is bound to work better for some than for others.

One surprising boon to my motivation is list-making. I'm an INFP personality. Organization and I don't usually mesh. I like clutter (except in my bookshelf!)... But forcing myself to schedule things out, and compile a task list (on my smart phone, with notifications), serves to keep my priorities in mind. So long as these priorities are scheduled within a reasonable time frame (e.g. not three days for finishing a big writing project, but perhaps two weeks), I have better confidence to finish them.

Also, ensuring my motivations are clearly linked with primary life goals (e.g. becoming an established author), is key.

Another way I'm motivating myself is to increase the urgency of meeting deadlines, and hey, readers benefit as well! This time, the motivator is a giveaway. For an unspecified period, The Detective Games: #1 - Trial by Firefight eBook will be given away at Lulu, the iBookstore and on the NOOK! And the next installment The Detective Games: #2 - Beyond Chivalry should see a release in early May, with the giveaway ending sometime around then.

Thanks for reading, and stay strong against writer's block!
~ Zechariah Barrett

Some time ago, I wrote a bit of a 'poem' on Writer's Block.

"I grunt and I yawn,

I spot a frolicking Faun.

The Faun says to me,

Why so pouty?

It is Writer's Block I say,

Oh if only I had a day,

Where I could write with ease,

Instead of getting words by a squeeze.

It’s Friday again,

Just look at Big Ben,

When it hits midnight,

I’ll have a chapter to write!

Sir, the Faun says to me,

Do not be so whiny!

The words await you right here,

Amdist the trees and the deer.

You see that one nibbling there?

He doesn’t have such a care!

He’s living life but with eyes open wide,

He doesn’t have such a need to decide,

Which words to keep and which words to throw,

It’s as his footsteps in the snow.

They just happen, I say!

In the course of the day.

So shall the words come,

Says the Faun, like the beat of a drum,

They are consistently there,

Just look about somewhere,

And let the inspiration flow,

The story shall come to you, I know!"

I've certainly had my share of times when writing doesn't come as easily as I would hope. It is then that I'm often inclined to break, and yet more often to procrastinate.

---

During the course of writing my last novel, I had more than a few bouts of Writer's Block. At some point, however, I produced an assumption. What if the block could be reduced by changing my writing location? My typical spot was in front of our computer at home, so I decided to try somewhere a bit more 'bookish."

This determination led me to, lo and behold, a bookstore! Specifically within the café section. There I took my briefcase (with my collection of manuscripts), my most reliable mechanical pencil, and a few blank sheets of paper.

For the next few hours, I munched on crumpets, sipped hot cocoa, and reflected on my story thus far. I brainstormed ideas on what would happen next.

Would kind of dilemma was the protagonist to encounter next? What were the characteristics of this dilemma? From where did this dilemma originate? Had there been other dilemmas like it? What help could the side characters offer? What internal dialogue was there for the protagonist or side characters? If the dilemma could think, what thoughts were passing through its mind?

I wrote down many thoughts that I deemed plausible. I would, in turn, reflect on those thoughts and generate further questions, until at some point I received inspiration. Then I would begin to write some of my story. Perhaps it was only a bit of dialogue, or a scene in the story that I hadn't gotten to yet. The important thing was, I wrote.

Other times, when inspiration was slow in coming, I might scribble and sketch, but with the story in mind. Perhaps I'd try to draw the protagonist, or a creature that he encounters. These sketches could provide me with further ideas for descriptions, characterizations, etc.

And then there were the times that I just relaxed, munched, and sipped.

The end result of these endeavors was that my book was completed without so many delays, and I was less inclined to procrastinate. Writer's Block had not been totally overcome, but it had been frequently fought back.

---

My method likely won't work for some other writers. That's to be expected.

I think that an important part of the writing journey involves strategy. Formulating battle plans that may increase the writer's chances of success in the war against Writer's Block.

A vital part of my strategy is prayer, for to me, it provides purpose, assurance, and passion for the fight ahead and in the thick of the action.

It is imperative that one finds what works for them and their personality, so that they may persevere in the pursuit of their dreams. Without the annoyance of Writer's Block.

So march on writers! Strategize, conceptualize, observe (a deer, if you must), and most of all, write!