How To Finish

So…

I’ve just finished the first draft of my book.

Pretty sweet, right?

Right. It’s glorious, and soon to be shipped off to my beta readers for testing, while I compose the second draft.

But enough congratulating myself for a job well done.

I’d like to talk about all the hard work and crazy stuff that goes into finishing projects.

The Beginning

My good friend recently mentioned to me that he hates the phrase “almost done”, along with its brothers “almost there” and “pretty much done.”

Getting close to finishing a project, but never actually taking that final step is one of the most common things I see around me. The writer whose screenplay is almost there. The painting that just needs a few touch ups. The apartment that’s basically clean, minus laundry and dishes.

Even I’m guilty of it on a regular basis.

For instance, a year ago, my mother left town, leaving me her old, broken computer. I took out the parts I needed, and said “all I have to do now is take it to the eco centre for recycling.” Super easy. Well, guess what? It sat on my desk for nearly 8 months before I drove 20 minutes up the street, dropped it off, and finally crossed the finish line.

It’s very common to see this: when you start a project, you’re excited. It’s fresh, new, and oh so rewarding to take that first step. You can even announce it to all your friends.

“Hey, I’m writing a book!”

“I’m going to lose 20lbs!”

“I just started building my own video game!”

People ooh and aah, you’re excited, they’re excited, everybody’s excited! This is going to be so great!

And then the reality of it kicks in. Doing what you’re doing is hard work. It requires perseverance, discipline, commitment. There are hurdles to overcome. Sometimes you’ll want to cry and pull your hair out. Other times you’ll convince yourself what you’re doing isn’t worthwhile, and no one gives a shit if you stop.

So eventually, unfortunately, you do.

The Project 

Why do we have trouble crossing the finish line?

I can’t speak for everyone, but in my case, it has to do with two obstacles.

The first, of course, is hard work.

A good friend of mine is a former Olympic athlete, and he told me something special a few years ago that I’m going to share with you.

Speaking about his Olympic career, he said: “the only difference between me and anyone else out there is hard work. I put in the time for this sport that no one else did. Anyone can be an Olympic athlete, because only about 10% of it is talent. The other 90% is hard work.”

Most people want the glory without the pain and suffering. I hate to say it, but that only exists if you win the lottery, and you’ve got a better chance of being struck by lightning. Twice.

The second big hurdle is fear.

When you start a project, no one’s judging you at first. All you’re getting is encouragement. As time goes on, your project is no longer in the limelight, and people don’t care as much. Now it’s all on you, and fear starts creeping in.

“What if my project sucks?” you ask yourself. “What if I finish it, put in all this work, and it’s a big pile of shit? Even worse, what if it’s great, and no one cares? What if I make the best game ever, but no one buys it? What if…”

Every worst case scenario on earth sets in. You become afraid to finish, because when you finally do, it’s ready for consumption, and it can be judged.

As long as it’s unfinished, you’re safe, and the good possibilities, the ones where your book is a bestseller, your movie is a hit, and your workout yields a sixpack, these possibilities are still available.

The moment your work’s done, you’ll know what it’s worth. People will tell you if it sucks, and your dreams of being rich? Maybe they were simply delusions.

The Solution(s)

The key to hard work, believe it or not, is discipline. I had to finish my book because I made a bet with Chris Guillebeau. I decided the best way to accomplish it was to have some help, and I hired a writing coach, Cynthia Morris of Original Impulse fame, to help me out.

Cynthia helped me establish a routine where I wrote at the same times on the same days every week. For the last six months, at 8am every Tuesday and Thursday morning, I would write for approximately 1 hour.

It took a lot of discipline to get into that habit, and even more work not to break my routine. It was seriously worth it though, because hey, I have a 1st draft of my book done now.

So get a routine going. It’s better to work on your project 15 minutes a day, every day, than to work on it sporadically for hours at a time.

The solution to fear though?

That’s tricky. In my case, Cynthia helped me identify the evil voice in my head that was telling me my work was garbage. I dubbed him Mr. Asshole, and identified him as the bad dude who’s been psyching me out.

I eventually determined his purpose was to keep me level headed, to make sure I didn’t have delusions of grandeur, and to save me from disappointment.

Once I identified him, it was much easier to keep his good advice, and throw away the bad.

Don’t let Mr. Asshole psyche you out, or you’ll never get your projects done. 

Again, the 1st draft of my book is done. I’m super excited, and elated that I made it this far. But this is not the end, this is just round 1. Round 2’s coming up, and I’m going to hit it with the same passion, verve, and discipline I used for round 1.

Sign up for my mailing list for some cool stories, and you’ll be the first to know when my book’s released! And I’ll probably be giving away free copies too.