Hello again!

I did it!

I started my first draft of book 3 of the Elixir of Power series! Hooray!

Have I made much progress? No, not so much.

Have I written more than a page and a half?

Well, no, also not yet.

But I've started. And as countless Instagram posts and fridge magnets have told me, starting is always the hardest step, and also I should dance like nobody is watching.

I had been having terrible trouble getting started (as you will know from countless previous newsletters) so I decided to simply open a document, type 'Chapter 1', and start typing.

The stuff I've written so far probably won't end up in the final book, but it's more about getting started than being perfect. In fact, aiming for being perfect is the biggest obstacle you can have. If I was in a procrastination competition, I would win so easily just by aiming for perfection.

Therefore, doing the opposite—writing the sloppiest, worst page-and-a-half I've ever written—is actually a genius move to get the book written.

I'll be writing in little dribs and drabs over the coming months, with spelling errors and plot holes on every page. But the more I write, the more my vague ideas will solidify, and the easier it will become to keep going.

In the meantime, there are a bunch of books from writers like me below. Check them out! Enjoy.