Tales from a Bruised Mind

I have to apologise: it has been quite some time since I last wrote here.

The truth is that well, I’ve just been super busy with life. Since I last posted on this blog, I have commenced a new diet, have taken on new and exciting challenges at work, have travelled (and driven) interstate, met up with friends, seen extended family, and what is probably the biggest challenge of all – I’ve been writing my next book.

Because I have been writing with the same intensity as a timber house on fire, I haven’t been able to write here so much.

But that’s all about to change.. i think.

What you should know about my new work

I have decided that my new book, my second-ever book, will be called Quadrants of my Mind.

QOMM is a part fiction, part non-fiction story told from the perspective of a 80 year old writer on his 80th birthday. On celebrating the occasion, he decides to look back on four periods of his life that were particularly pivotal in his existence and that helped make him into the man he is in the current day.

Without any spoilers, the book deals with themes of endurance, love and relationships, trauma, grief and mental illness and wellbeing.

There is more to come, but I have finished the first draft and can’t wait to start working on the second version.

How I battled writer’s block and commitment issues with my first draft

When you sit down and decide you’re going to write a book, you’ll likely find yourself involved in the following:

• You become completely dedicated to it and therefore somewhat entranced by it over a period of time
• You spend a lot of time thinking about and living in that world
• You write SO much and yet it still seems small by the grand scheme of things
• You will likely get writer’s block at some point in the journey
• You will at times lose faith and struggle to commit to actually finishing it

But all of those things are totally okay. Totally normal.

I guess all you can do is let them all happen. And they will happen.

Battling writer’s block is an issue that most writers will experience. It’s not easy, but i find that stepping away from the text for a while and coming back, sometimes even a week later, can be very helpful.

Committing to a book or novel is a huge thing. It takes months or years to write a book. It takes dedication and planning and very decent chunks of writing. Even if you don’t feel like it, sometimes pushing through can be good. Trust me, I had to do that a few times!

Most of all, enjoy the world you are creating and make sure you get people to read your work!

My next post will be more about my book, so stay tuned!

Love,

Zak