(Or How to Grow As A 10 Minute Novelist)
Back in 2006, I did a pretty small thing: I decided to take my writing career seriously. Now the problem I had, besides a lack of confidence, was that I didn’t have any time to do this. My time was consistently taken up by the other small things in my life: my five children, who were, at the time between the ages of six months and eight years old.
I decided that whatever effort I could put toward my dreams of writing would be worth it, even the smallest. So I set my timer and did my best to write ten minutes a day. If I was lucky, I could get several ten minute increments of writing in between laundry, meals, homeschooling and other domestic duties. Because I am a mother, I understood then and I understand now that true growth doesn’t come in leaps and bounds. Growth comes in the tiniest of disciplines. My children grow because I feed them daily. They learn how to read, how to be a decent human being, and how to become who they were destined to be by slow, steady growth.
It made sense to me at the time (and it still does) that my writing can be treated the same way. Over the course of five years, I wrote that first novel in mostly ten minute increments. I blogged about my journey. I called the blog 10 Minute Writer. Then, in 2012, I wrote another one. Then, out of the blue, I got a contract by a non-fiction publisher to write Write A Novel in Ten Minutes A Day.
Back in 2014, I did another pretty small thing: I started a Facebook group for time-crunched writers like me. I called it 10 Minute Novelists. Back in the beginning of this group I took small steps: telling jokes, making fun graphics, asking questions, and slowly this little group grew. The community was built on little names and photos who all lived inside my laptop screen. As time went by, these little names grew into precious friends. What was once small was growing larger and larger as I went on. In fact, it got so big, I had to ask friends to help me organize it. These small things grew so big, that we celebrated Author Happiness in every corner of the world. We made friends on every continent. We were a community of writers that surpassed all of my expectations.
More importantly, we didn’t look at our collection of “small things” as an excuse to keep from following our dreams. We made time even when there wasn’t any. We got advice from each other. We took chances. We excelled, where before we wouldn’t have tried.
I am constantly amazed at what has happened in my writing since those small steps back in 2006. And I’m delighted to surround myself with writers like me who want to do the best with what they have.
Vincent Van Gogh is reported to have said, “Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.” How fitting it is that we, a bunch of rag-tag wannabe writers, have finally come together for our first ever conference. And we want to world to join us!
10 Minute Novelists invites you to join us for the first ever 10 Minute Novelists conference! www.10mincon.com Share on XIt’s the anticipation of great things that 10 Minute Novelists cordially invites you and writers from all over the world to join us for the first ever 10 Minute Novelists conference.
Our theme is Small Things Brought Together.
We’re featuring widely-sought award-winning and bestselling authors Donald Mass, Janice Hardy, and James Scott Bell, will be held August 9 -11, 2018 at The Embassy Suites in Covington, Kentucky. Our intention is to bring together hundreds of virtual friends and mentors to meet in person while honing their craft. In addition to pursuing their writing goals 10 minutes at a time, many attendees are full-time employees, parents, homeschoolers, and caregivers whose time is already stretched to its limits.
It is no small thing to pursue your dreams. 10 Minute Novelists understand this. Join us this next August for a chance to learn and grow with us.
For more information about the conference, including the schedule and registration details, visit www.10mincon.com. For more information about 10 Minute Novelists, visit www.10minutenovelists.com.
Katharine Grubb is a mom of five, homeschooler, baker, comedian wanna be, former running coward, Challenge A Director with Classical Conversations, and independent author. Her biggest joy in life is meeting aspiring novelists with big dreams and showing them how to meet their goals. She founded the Facebook Group 10 Minute Novelists and works with her staff of volunteers to create a vibrant and fun community for writers. She and her family live in Central Massachusetts where they cheer for the Patriots.