Sometimes I think I’m spending too much time in prep and need to just start writing, but I can’t help but want to pick the right book for a variety of reasons, most importantly, a compelling enough story to keep me writing and one that people will want to read.  As I pitched my ideas to two of my finest amigos, I felt the need to throw another story that’s been dancing around my head for the hell of it, and of course they both thougt idea #3 was their favorite.

So now I’ve got another option to cloud my decision.  This 3rd idea is an action/adventure/love story type.  I really like it because I think the idea would be an interesting read for just about anyone whereas the baseball or sci-fi idea won’t resonate with as large an audience.

In an effort to really see if this is the direction I want to go, I picked up The Husband by Dean Koontz as it has a similar premise and it should be really interesting to see how Dean worked with the idea.  Should definitely either give me the inspiration to set this book in motion or at the very least lock me into one of the other ideas.

Good thing I gave myself a year.

I’ve actually struggled with choosing which point of view to write in during my attempts at writing a book.  I always seem to defer to 1st person storytelling, and I wonder if that’s just the easy way out.

There are some great resources that discuss this step in the writing process.  One I found particularly useful is an excerpt from the book The Power Of Point Of  View by Alicia Rasley.  Here’s another great resource that breaks it down pretty simply with some useful examples of the different points of view.  Alicia gives some great suggestions on how to come to a decision on which POV to choose, and based on her article, I feel pretty confidant that 1st person is the way to go for my first book.

I’m leaning towards the baseball drama, and I think it makes sense to write in the 1st person for this one.  Any success I have in writing this book will most likely fall on whether people connect with the main character or care about him in any way.  I think the best way to accomplish this is to be able to have that character narrating the story to capture what they are experiencing first hand.

A week ago I launched the site as excited as I’ve ever been about anything I’ve created online and so far so good I suppose.  I certainly did not expect huge strides in just a week, but based on the feedback I’ve gotten, most people seem to think that this is a good idea.  We’ll see if that rings true with those I don’t know over time.

I’m pushing hard to get this blog some visibility.  Mainly all the major social network sites and tools at this point.  You’ll see at the top right of this site, I have links to all my social profiles.  Probably useless to most, but the delicious links can certainly be useful to those of you that hope to take on some writing projects of your own.  Anytime I find something useful, I add them there.

Only 8 votes so far on my book topic choice with the baseball drama leading so far.  I’ll probably give it another week or two to get some more feedback.  I’ve added the poll to the sidebar, so if you haven’t done so already, check out the my post on the subject and share your vote/thoughts.

Some people might be thinking to themselves, “A year to write a book?”  True, that’s a long time, but there are a lot of factors that contribute to me thinking a year is a realistic goal.  For one, it’s not a full time gig by any means.  Job, family, life, they all come first, so this venture is fighting for time.  I also just didn’t want to churn out a book without taking the necessary time to plan things out effectively. 

I’m a realist, and know that chances are, while I may actually write a book, and maybe self-publish one, the chances are extremely slim that it will ever go beyond a few copies being sold to family and friends.  And that’s okay.  But that doesn’t mean I’m not going into this with every intention of it being more.  There are varying degrees of success for me in this, but I’m definitely going to do everything I can to make it everything it can be.

So the reality is, I may not even put a word on paper for the first few months as I gauge the best tools, resources and tactics to use to write this book.  I’ll continue to share my experiences here.  One of the biggest tasks I see is establishing some sort of writing routine.  Everything I’ve read regarding people that have had any level of success with writing, is that they had a set routine for their writing.  For everyone it’s different, but in some way, these authors had a set period of time, regularly dedicated to just writing and nothing else.

I’m going to have to find out how to make this work for me, but there’s no doubt I’ll need to do so to have any chance at pulling this off.  Chances are I’m going to have to carve out time very early in the morning or late at night as to not sacrifice too much time from family.  It’s not going to be easy, but who ever said writing a book was?

Now that we’ve got the 411 out of the way, it’s time to zero in on the book that I want to write.  I’ve been thinking about this for a few weeks now, and I think I’ve got it narrowed down to two distinct ideas that are vastly different options.  I’d love to get some feedback on which direction to go, but seeing that the site is brand new, most of my feedback is probably going to have to be proactively sought.  Regardless, here are the options I’ve narrowed down to.

1. Science Fiction/Time Travel/ Idea

No doubt about it, I love Sci-Fi and especially the whole concept of time travel.  It completely fascinates me, and I’ve had countless ideas that I would love to develop.  I have one particular concept that I’ve danced around my head for years that could feasibly work.

• Pros - Sci-Fi is a pretty popular genre, provides countless twists and turns to keep readers engaged, and provides a higher potential for possibly getting picked up by a traditional publisher.  I also think that if I actually did end up being a strong writer and had a future with it, this is a genre that I could maintain with the passion and “bank” of ideas I have.
• Cons - Sci-Fi & time travel are going to require a good deal of research.  Sure I could write it without that, but even though time travel is pure fiction, I think the best books and movies that have tackled it, have done it from a place of some plausible feasibility.  If the writer seems to have some level of understanding of the “real” science related to the Sci-Fi portion of the work, I think it will be more successful.  I also do not have any background in this area so I’d be coming in fresh which would most likely take me more time to write.

2. Baseball Drama Idea

I wouldn’t consider myself an “expert” in too many things, but if I had to pick my short list, baseball would be near the top.  It’s one of my true loves, and I’ve played and been a fan for as long as I can remember.  I’ve had a story here as well I’ve played around with that I hope to write someday as well.

• Pros - I know this topic very well.  Very little time would have to be spent researching the intricacies of the game and the dynamics of the types of relationships formed in this environment.  Much of this story would actually pull from real life experiences that I think would add to the drama and characters throughout the story.  This would be an easier story to tell, thus easier to write.
• Cons - I wonder if a baseball drama would be that interesting to anyone outside of baseball interests.  The story would actually be much more character driven, and really baseball is just the backdrop, but baseball is definitely the “face” of the book.  Really my only concerns here are would enough people be interested in reading this story?  Yes, making money is not a primary concern the first time around, but I certainly want to choose a story that has the potential to be picked up.  I’m spending so much time writing the story and keeping up the blog, certainly I should be thinking about marketability.

So those are the two ideas I’m debating between.  Which one do you think I should choose?

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For years I have invested countless hours in “thinking” about writing a book.  Lots of ideas, lots of dreams of being a published author, but no not one word has found its way to a page.  All kinds of reasons have contributed to my inability to actually write a book, but the bottom line is I obviously wasn’t serious enough about doing it.

I also have invested countless hours in trying to come up with a blog that I could write that would attract an audience.  I figured, if I couldn’t get my act together writing a book, how’s about something easier like a blog.  But I could never come up with a topic that either I was interested enough about, or an expert enough about.

I’m not exactly sure why it took me so long to marry the two together, but that’s how WritingVenture.com was born.  I thought to myself, why not create a blog about my journey of writing and publishing a book?  In addition to creating accountability around the actual writing of a book, I could share my experiences with others that may at some point in there life, wanted to write a book as well.  In one fell swoop I satisfy my urge to have a meaningful blog to contribute to, and add the missing motivational piece I need to get my ass in gear to actually write a book.

So how will it work?

Let’s get one thing straight, I am no author, nor do I have any experience with what it will take to become a published one.  The whole point of this blog, is to be an open book (no pun intended) as to what I will experience over the next year in my quest of being a published author.  Everything from what I experience in trying to stay motivated to write regularly, to what resources I find that help me in my quest.

I’ll share excerpts of my writings, links to resources I find valuable, and all the musings in between that help or hinder my progress.  I’ll be open and honest about what works for me, what doesn’t, and my experiences along the way.  My hope is that in time, others will find this site, and find value in it one way or another and contribute by sharing their opinions and experiences as well.

So that’s it.  Write and publish one book, one year from today.

I couldn’t be more excited about this.  Chances are most of my posts won’t find there way to anyone until I’m well into the thick of things, but that’s okay.  If you are reading this, and have ever considered writing your own book, I hope you’ll visit often and share your experiences as well.

Here we go!

It’s most likely no one will ever see this post, but in the rare case you do, just know that I’m finishing up the final touches and will launch shortly.  See you soon!