Author reflections

When My Writing Habit Took Off

The moment when I became a committed writer.

Four years ago, I had to re-write a textbook. New chapters, as well as considerable re-structuring.

I had only one week off work to do it.

I was up against it, so I wrote and wrote… Each day, I worked on the book for about 16 hours, stopping for a brief walk just once.

It wasn’t healthy, but I got it done. And the textbook still sells well four years later.

More importantly, that week fundamentally changed my view of writing and of my own limits. I no longer looked at writing or editing many thousands of words in a day as impossible.

It was part of a transformation that turned me into an author.

What about you? Was there a time in your life when your writing took off?