My father, Don Sanders, is Vietnam veteran. For years, we have talked about putting together a book about his experiences in Vietnam. Last year, we decided this was a great time to get started.

After all, he’s 75, and I’m no spring chicken, either!

Father’s Day of last year, I gave him a nice leather journal and asked him to start writing down some stories from Vietnam. I figured that he would write ten or twenty pages of notes for us to discuss, then he would verbally tell me the stories. This is how I approach most ghostwriting projects.

A couple of months later, when Dad came to my house, he handed me the leather journal. I said, “What’s this?” I was confused and didn’t understand why he was giving it back to me.

Then, he explained that he’d been working almost every day to write down all his memories from Vietnam. When I opened the journal, I saw that he had filled nearly every page, top to bottom. Then, later on, he gave me even more pages he wrote in a notebook.

In just a couple of months, Dad had hand-written the first draft of the book—over 200 pages! And this is from a man who has struggled with multiple health problems from agent orange exposure, as well as arthritis in his hands.

I’m still in awe of this accomplishment.

So, the next time you think you can’t write one more word, or you’re feeling a little tired… remember Don Sanders, the Vietnam Veteran, who hand-wrote a book in two months.

Today’s Challenge: Think about the biggest writing challenge in front of you. How do you think my Dad would handle it?

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