My First Quarter of Retirement

I retired on 1/2/2024, and this coming Tuesday marks three months of retirement. I couldn’t be happier. I retired early due to my inability to handle stress. My last year on the job was so stressful that it caused me to have physical problems.

The other reason I retired early was to become a full-time novelist. I have always read a lot of fiction. My first novel, published in 2023, helped me discover a creative spirit that comes alive and gives me peace when writing. In three short months, I have transitioned from a technologist to an creative one, and the results have been positive. So, now I read and write a lot of fiction.

When I tell people I write full-time, I write three to four hours per day Monday through Thursday. That combination of days and hours lets me produce 8,000 words per week. The word count for my novels is between 70,000 and 80,000 words. Nine or ten weeks is all it takes to create my first novel draft.

Following the first draft, I do many rounds of self-editing before sending a novel to a professional editor. I find the same peace when doing self-edits because edits often involve rewriting sections of the book.

I spent most of January researching items for the book, doing character development and setting development. In February, I plotted about 40 scenes based on the story in my head. I am halfway between a plotter and a pantser. I think about an NFL game when the offense has 15 plays to start the game. After that, they deal with whatever comes their way. I create scenes between those I already have or additional scenes as the story unfolds.

I hit this point near the end of my first act for my next novel. The characters, settings, plot, and my brain merged, and I was writing faster and creating new scenes. That was great because it meant the story started telling itself.

I have a lifetime subscription to AutoCrit, an editing tool and educational platform. They offer classes and workshops to help writers learn and grow their skills. Before I retired, I only attended those at night or on weekends. As a retiree, I can attend sessions during the week. Writing and doing training only on weekdays means my weekends are free.

When I dedicated my first novel, I promised my wife I wouldn’t write another book until I could do it on weekdays. I am happy that I kept that promise, and she is happy about it.

My schedule of doing everything on weekdays also works well for our movie attendance. We have an AMC plan enabling us to attend three movies weekly. We usually go to the first two on Thursday and Friday. If there is a third one, we go on Saturday or Monday. The AMC theater is within walking distance of our house. 

Movies entertain me and allow me to do research simultaneously. I monitor character development and where the plot points are in the story. One of my biggest struggles is getting enough tension into my scenes. I use my self-edits to fix that problem. However, movies provide excellent examples of scene tension. In this way, I am always learning.

It’s safe to say retirement agrees with me. Writing my second book reminds me that each book has several exciting milestones. For me, those include the first 10,000 words, the first draft, the completion of the self-edits, the professional edits, and the publishment day. I plan to publish one novel yearly for as long as I can write. I will spend eleven months between writing and editing to complete a book annually. The expense of editing and publishing also provides the restriction of one novel per year. 

 I can sum up my retirement in one word: delightful.