Amanda Hocking is one of the first self-published authors to earn millions through paranormal romance novels on Amazon. Hocking started writing at a young age, & vy the time she was working in residential care in her mid-twenties, she had already written over a dozen books, many of which she pitched to agents without success. 🌟 As the story goes, her turning point came in 2010 when she posted her books on Amazon to make $300 for a trip to see an exhibition about Muppet creator Jim Henson. 🌟 Little did she know that this decision would change her life dramatically. Her stories quickly found a devoted fanbase and, within a year, she'd sold over a million copies! You can do this too! It's a great time to be a writer. No more rejection letters from publishing agencies. Take matters into your own hands! There is an audience for everyone. Put your work out there so your audiences can find you.

Ernest Hemingway rewrote the ending of A Farewell to Arms 39 times. Not drafts of the whole book, just the ending. Over and over again. When he was asked why, his answer was simple: “Getting the words right.” No sudden flash of genius. No big breakthrough moment. Just… going back, again and again, until it felt true. It’s easy to think good writing comes out “right” the first time. But a lot of it is just: staying with something longer than most people are willing to. If you’re stuck on a piece right now, maybe it’s not a sign to abandon it. Maybe it just needs more time, more passes, more honesty. This week might not be about starting something new. It might be about staying with what you already started. What are you still working on, even if it’s taking longer than expected?

I've been thinking about this one today as I start my week. Octavia E. Butler used to wake up at 2 or 3 a.m. to write. ⏰ Not because it was ideal. Because it was the only quiet time she had. 😓 She was working, dealing with real life, and didn’t have perfect conditions. So she built her writing around what was available. 🌟There’s a quote from her that stuck with me: ✨ “I wrote myself into existence.”✨ No waiting for the perfect setup. No waiting to feel ready. Just showing up… consistently… over time. It’s easy to think we need better conditions to write more. More time. More clarity. More energy. But a lot of great work comes from people using what they have, not what they wish they had. 📆 If your schedule isn’t perfect right now… that’s okay. You don’t need perfect. You just need something you can return to. ✅ This week, maybe the goal is simple: Find your version of “2 a.m.” Whatever that looks like for you. Curious, when’s the easiest (or most realistic) time for you to write right now? 🤔

In a 2004 interview, Haruki Murakami discussed his physical and mental habits… "When I’m in writing mode for a novel, I get up at four a.m. and work for five to six hours. In the afternoon, I run for ten kilometers or swim for fifteen hundred meters (or do both), then I read a bit and listen to some music. I go to bed at nine p.m. I keep to this routine every day without variation. The repetition itself becomes the important thing; it’s a form of mesmerism. I mesmerize myself to reach a deeper state of mind. But to hold to such repetition for so long — six months to a year — requires a good amount of mental and physical strength. In that sense, writing a long novel is like survival training. Physical strength is as necessary as artistic sensitivity." 🖋✒️🖋✒️🖋✒️🖋✒️🖋✒️🖋✒️🖋✒️🖋✒️🖋✒️🖋✒️🖋✒️🖋✒️🖋✒️🖋✒️🖋✒️🖋✒️🖋✒️ What is your writing routine? Do you write daily? How long are your writing sessions? Share ⬇️