NEVER TOO LATE: SPEEDBO 2014

It seems impossible that a year has flown by and in just a few days Seeker Villagers will once again launch into Seekerville’s very own “book in a month” -- Speedbo 2014!

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Knowing that it’s on the horizon, some of you have been preparing for our write-a-thon. Perhaps you’ve fixed freezer meals, arranged for babysitting or recruited a friend or family member to lend support. Maybe you’ve scheduled 3-day weekends away from the day job for the whole month or otherwise scrutinized and cleared your March calendar as much as possible to maximize writing time.

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You’ve possibly given great thought to the details of the story you intend to pursue, have written a detailed synopsis or a chapter-by-chapter outline to follow. Perhaps you’ve got the whole story mapped out in your head—an inciting incident, escalating tension, black moment and a happily ever after to guide you. Maybe you’re confidently starting out with only a solid goal, motivation and conflict for your characters.

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But with only a few days remaining until kick-off, is it realistic to think that if you’ve made NO preparations whatsoever that Speedbo has anything to offer you? What if you’re only now realizing you’d like join the others who are excitedly crowded around the Speedbo starting gate? Can any good can come from attempting to participate at all? Isn’t jumping in at the midnight hour setting yourself up for failure and disappointment?

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Not necessarily. Let’s find out why...

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1 – Expectations. Unless you’re a chip off the old block of a few Seekers (who shall remain nameless but don't go by Glynna Kaye), starting a story from scratch on March 1 may very well not result in a completed book in four weeks. But is that such a bad thing? Isn’t making any progress a worthwhile endeavor? Set yourself a reasonable daily or weekly word count, but one that pushes you just a bit. Then set your mind on meeting that goal, recognizing how much farther along you’ll be at the month’s end than you would be if you didn’t try at all.

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2 – Focus, Focus Focus. When I deliberately focus whatever scraps of time I can glean to immersing myself in a story, the ideas come much faster. They flow more easily as my subconscious steps in to tie together a jumble of disjointed “ideas.” We spend a lot of time thinking about nothing of importance—a lot of it negative self-talk. So in addition to carving out writing time, make a deliberate effort to think about your story when you’re fixing breakfast, showering, folding the laundry or driving to work. Then sit down to write what's in your head. Isn’t a month-long focus on your story (perhaps more attention than you’ve given it in months or even years) a worthwhile project even if you don’t write “The End”?

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3 – Team Spirit. Take advantage of our Seekerville cheering squad—and prayer power. Long before “Seekerville: The Blog” debuted, the Seekers drew strength from knowing we weren’t alone on Unpubbed Island. There is an amazing camaraderie and sense of purpose when you know others are stretching themselves toward a dream, putting in extra effort—and praying for you to be able to do likewise. It’s almost as if the very air you breathe becomes charged with “I CAN do this, too” and you’re carried along with the momentum of others and the power of their prayers.

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4 – Alternatives. Maybe, for whatever reason, you’re not in a place to launch into building a story’s word count. You may only have a sliver of an idea. Or no idea at all. But set a goal this month--to come up with that idea. To flesh it out with a goal, motivation and conflict that will sustain a full-length novel. Dig deep for a moral premise that will drive each scene. Perhaps target producing a synopsis to guide you in the following months or finally finishing that manuscript that’s been gathering dust on the shelf. Or revising and polishing your completed manuscript for submission. Find something to focus your writerly energies on so that at the end of the month you can still have a sense of accomplishment.

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5 – Attitude. Vow that you will NOT beat yourself up each day if you don’t have as much time to devote to your writing as other Seeker Villagers or can’t generate as many words. We’re not all free to write twelve hours a day. Not all of us can generate 3000 words an hour. We all have jobs, families and church and community responsibilities. Perhaps there are health issues in the way or maybe you’ve scheduled a Spring Break vacation with the kids. But so what if you don’t finish a whole book in a month? If you give this write-a-thon a shot, you’ll still be farther along than you would otherwise be, right?

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As Seeker Tina has previously pointed out, don’t rule out Speedbo even if you can’t write all day for 31 days non-stop. Work it into your schedule as best you can. Set a goal for yourself, then sign up for Speedbo 2014 and join in the fun! Make it work for YOU!

IT'S NOT TOO LATE!

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Today please share with us in the comments section what’s holding YOU back from signing up for Speedbo—then let’s see if our fellow Seeker Villagers can help you come up with ideas for a realistic obstacle “work around.” Be open minded to suggestions. Expect to find at least one idea that will settle into your heart as a possibility, one that will grab your imagination and motivate you throughout the month.

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If you’ve already signed up for Speedbo, share with us what compelled you to do so? What are your hopes for the coming month? What have you done to get ready? What obstacles do you foresee that will need to be overcome? Do you need help brainstorming strategies to do so?

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Okay! Ready...set...GO SPEEDBO!

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Glynna

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If you’d like to be entered in a drawing for a copy of Glynna’s April Love Inspired release, “Pine Country Cowboy,” please mention it in the comments section, then check our Weekend Edition for the winner announcement!

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No Place Like Home. Abby Diaz longs to reestablish a relationship with her father, so she heads to Canyon Springs, her Arizona hometown, with a painful past she can’t share with anyone. But then she’s needed to care for her young nephew. The little boy takes a shine to a happy-go-lucky cowboy, a handsome man who’s everything Abby can never have. The more time she spends with Brett, the more she realizes he’s harboring a heartache of his own. As she works on repairing family ties with her father, Abby knows that opening up to Brett is key to forging a new future...together.

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Glynna Kaye’s debut book “Dreaming of Home” was a finalist in the ACFW Carol and Maggie awards, as well as a first place winner of the “Booksellers Best” and “Beacon” awards. Her 4 1/2 star “At Home In His Heart” was chosen as a Reviewers Choice finalist by national magazine RT Book Reviews. “Pine Country Cowboy,” her seventh Love Inspired book (and the sixth set in the mountain country of Arizona), releases April 2014--with a Christmas story coming out in November 2014!