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Cynthia Morris

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A simple formula to meet writing deadlines

Break it down to meet your deadlines

Sometimes, especially when we’re starting a project, numbers can help us. We can track our word count. We can add up the number of writing sessions.

I came up with a simple formula that my clients have told me is SUPER helpful to stay on track with a project.

I’d like to think I am a genius for inventing this formula. But honestly, it was the method I used to wade through the tomes we read in my Classics Book Club. (Think Don Quixote.)

Applied to writing your own tomes, it can help you have reasonable expectations about how much you need to write in order to meet your goals.

Do the math for your current project:

  1. How many pages or words do you have to write?
  2. How many days do you have before your deadline?
  3. Divide the number of pages by the number of days.

The final digit is how many pages or words you need to write daily.

Try this and let me know how it goes! Share your experience in the comments below.

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Current Book Lust

You may know that I spend an inordinate amount of time with books. Reading books, reading ABOUT books, helping people shape their books, writing my own books, and going to the library every week to pick up more books.

I was delighted to be invited to a book club that had read my novel, Chasing Sylvia Beach. I drove into the mountains on a sunny afternoon for tea and book chat.

The big treat was that this group is an art book group. All the members are artists. So of course the food was artistic, the conversation was about art, and the home filled with art.

It was an honor to be invited and I’m always thrilled that people are reading my novel. I brought my fat binder of notes from my research at the Princeton Library.

But the best part of the day was when the host, Teri, mentioned that she has a huge collection of books on creativity. Can I see your books? I asked. You know how it is – you go into someone’s home and if they have a bookcase around, you can’t help but want to scan the titles. It’s like being able to Google someone’s brain.

She led me upstairs. Immediately I felt like I was in Willie Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. It was a wonderworld of books. Teri has two studios connected by a hallway lined with books. One of the bookcases was actually a hidden door! She reached behind some of the books to open the door into one of her studios. Of course, I was all aflutter with booklust. So many books! So many questions!

Do you read all these? Yes.

When do you read? In the morning for an hour or two.

Do you make notes? Yes, in the margins.

Teri reads so much that she had to start a second art book group. She sent me the lists of the books both groups had read. Scanning the list, I felt the need to stop everything, set up the hammock, and get to reading.

I was so inspired that I adjusted my reading habits. I am often awake at 3 or 4 am, much to my frustration. Now, I take that as my reading time. I haven’t made the leap to write in the margins, but perhaps one day I will.

Are you this bookish? I love that I am still able to feel the excitement I felt as a girl at the library or bookstore. I love that books are such a great social object, connecting us to the author, to the author’s ideas, and to other readers across time and space.

Great book podcast

I was perusing podcasts the other day and discovered The Book Case. What a treat! This is a father/daughter team who interviews authors. They also speak with independent booksellers around the US to hear about their bookstores and what books they are loving. What a great idea – and so well done. I am listening to every episode and particularly loved hearing from Anna Quindlen and Jennifer Egan.

Check it out, book lovers!

What I’m reading

I am loving Saved by a Song: The Art and Healing Power of Songwriting by Mary Gauthier. Teri recommended it after I confessed that I long to write a song. This is the songwriting book I have been craving – one that addresses the personal and emotional chops required to write a good song.

I have another songwriting book on the shelf but I will wait until I’ve dived into it to recommend that.

That’s it, book lovers! Share your current book loves in a comment below.

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Let me help make writing your book WAAAAAAAY easier

You will resist this but pretend you’ve just paid me thousands of dollars and my advice is GOLD.

Identify your reader early on. Know your reader, not just from a marketing perspective but from a writing perspective. Often when we sit down to write, we get overly formal and lose touch with our voice and our confidence.

If you have a business, you have identified your ideal client or customer.

When we know our reader, we can write directly to them. The connection between you, your ideas, and your reader is powerful. With a specific person in mind, your writing will flow. Decisions about what goes in the book will become super easy.

And yet, you will resist it. You will want the book to be for everybody. You will think of three or more audiences who will love your book.

But it’s not for an “audience.” When you think of that word, what comes to mind is probably a bunch of people or a big group. But when you think of one specific person, writing your book is infinitely easier. Trust me.

Have you identified your reader for your book or other writing? This isn’t needed as much for fiction but for non-fiction, yes, this is a power move.

Bonus homework from your writing coach

Free-write about your ideal reader. Who needs your book? They will recognize it immediately when they see it. Give them a name. Get very clear about who they are and why your book is important to them.

After you went through your homework, share your comments below.

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Your feeling tone

I like to think that each of us has a predominant feeling tone. We see this tone reflected in our writing or creative work. We connect with it through other’s art: movies, music, art often allows us to experience our feeling tone.

My feeling tone is a blend of melancholy/hope/joy. I love things that bring a sense of the poignancy of life to the forefront. Life is a mixed bag, right? It’s sad and hopeful and gorgeous and funny all at once.

Art gives me a way to honor that blend of feelings. We started watching a show called This Is Us. We’ve been trying to avoid getting into TV shows because, well, you know. You get hooked. The next thing you know you’re watching every night.

I ask myself what is it that pulls me in? It’s wanting to be in that world. To experience that feeling tone.

This Is Us is a show with wonderful characters, all flawed, all fully human, all doing their best to be themselves. The themes revolve around parenting, being a sibling, and being successful at what we care most about.

We just love it. It’s a sweet show, and with all the trouble in the world and the other dark stuff we have been watching (Ozark), This Is Us is the show I need right now.

Turns out we have tuned into this program just as it’s coming to the finale of its 6-season run. Steve came into the studio the other day to announce,“Sweetie. There are 150 episodes of the show.” I thought, Great! That’s a year of nightly watching. OY VEY!

What words describe your feeling tone in your art and life? What shows, music or art reflect that feeling tone back to you? Share in the comments below.

Last Call Ya’ll for Impulse Writing Club!

Registration for the Impulse Writing Club is still open. Want to join us for 16 weeks of writing? Register today!

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Why you must write your book

I promised my coachy genius in this week’s Impulses to help you get over inner critic POO POOing and write the book that’s inside you.

But first you may be asking, Who is Cynthia Morris to talk about writing a book? Some stats:

Reading books for 50 years. (Doesn’t qualify me around writing a book, but I do have unquenchable booklust. )

Wrote and published 8 books, including a novel.

Writing my 9th book now.

I’m a Certified Co-Active Professional Coach since 1999, focused on writing and creative process.

Former bookseller (Again, doesn’t qualify me about writing but gives me insider view to the book world.)

I’ve been coaching writers and creatives since 1999 = thousands of conversations to discover a) the path we all must hike when writing a book + b) how we all have to hike it in our own way.

Okay, here are a few of my best coaching inquiries to help you truly commit to your book writing. Give yourself a few minutes to answer these questions on your own. Respond in writing, without overthinking.

  1. What’s important to you about your subject?
  2. Why MUST you write about it NOW?
  3. What if it doesn’t have to be a ‘book’? Consider it a body of work that could be used in many ways. (Written series, audio, coursework or a program…) Unhooking from the enormity of a ‘book’ can make it easier to write.
  4. What will you set aside to make space to write your book? (No one seems to think about the need to make space.)

Are you in for the Impulse Writing Club?

Registration for the Impulse Writing Club is still open. Want to join us for 16 weeks of writing? We start next week. Register today!

Share your comments below.

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Let’s hijack the voice in your head that says don’t bother writing your book

My answers to last week’s questions that will actually get you writing your book.

Let’s hijack the voice in your head that says don’t bother writing your book.

Yes, the world needs YOUR book. Other books reflect proof of concept. Your voice will add to the conversation.

There’s only one way to find out if you can do it – try it and see. Really. Isn’t it better to give it a chance than to wonder what if for the rest of your life?

If you care about your idea, chances are, someone else will, too. And honestly, you are writing the first draft for yourself in most cases.

Choose the book that feels most alive to you and start there.

Don’t fret about finishing; just get started. Worse than not finishing is the pain of never giving your ideas a chance.

Which one of these statements/actions most ignites you to write your book? Share in the comments below.

Next week I will share my true coachy genius that gets people motivated, ready and in action around writing a book.

Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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Five unhelpful questions keeping you from writing your book

I want to be sure you know about the Impulse Writing Club August 25 – December 15

Every Thursday, I gather with writers to have a ‘writing jam’ for an hour. We write whatever we want. Some people work on their books or articles. Others write off the top of their head, letting whatever needs to flow to flow.

This is the Impulse Writing Club. It’s so simple, and yet so profound. Here are some of the comments at the end of a recent session:

“I feel a strong, positive mood shift.”

“Working alone is not as good as writing with others.”

“Profound insights – I’m grateful!”

“This was freeing. I feel lightness of heart and more energy.”

We meet every Thursday through December 15. (Except on Thanksgiving!) So far this year I have drafted my book and many articles during these weekly writing jams. We don’t share our work and we don’t waste time on chitchat.

If you could use this kind of weekly writing focus, get a subscription and join us! All the details are here to join.

Unhelpful questions stopping you from writing 

I like to get in your head and listen to the things that prevent you from writing your book. Just kidding! But after decades of coaching conversations with writers, I do see patterns.

See if any of these questions prevent you from writing your book

Does the world need another book on my topic?

Do I have what it takes to write a book?

Will anyone care about my idea?

Should I write this book or that book?

What if I don’t finish it?

Do these questions get in your way? What question do you ask yourself that does not help you to write? Share the doubts that stop you in the comments below.

Next week, I will share my answers to these questions. They will be my voice in your head that will remind you that yes, if you have the impulse to write, you must follow it.

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Who would you be if you didn’t write?

I love the question I’m asking today. It’s one of those that’s impossible to answer. 

I ask it because I always want my clients to feel and appreciate the impact writing has on their days. 

At the end of my Impulse Writing Club sessions, I invite writers to jot three words that describe their state of being. We do this at the beginning, too, to see a contrast between before and after writing. 

Atelier

This notion of who you would be if you didn’t write is really at the core of why I help people bring their ideas into form. I think the projects we harbor but don’t do have a negative impact on us. 

What if this were the time for you to focus on your project? Perhaps all you need is a supportive container to keep you on track. 

Applications are coming in for the Atelier. This eight-month program gives you all the insight you need about your process so you can keep going with your project. Find out how you can be part of it here. 

Writing to Heal 

I have been writing steadily since 1994. I’ve written poetry, plays, dramatic monologues, a novel, non-fiction books, short stories, video and podcast scripts, and articles about the creative process.

Can you even imagine who I would be if I did not have this inky channel to get my thoughts and feelings out onto the page?

I imagine a dark, crowded, cluttered garage full of unprocessed ‘stuff’ and unacknowledged ideas. I imagine I would be a very cranky, mentally and emotionally constipated person.

So of course I loved Nancy Slonim Aronie’s book Memoir as Medicine. I work with a lot of people who are writing pieces of their life story.

Most people want to get their experiences onto the page to help others. But in the process of writing their stories, they are transformed. Nancie’s book offers a great range of short, poignant exercises to help us come to the page with new eyes and fresh angles.

If you have been wanting to write your stories down to get them out and unclutter your inner landscape, Nancie’s book is a great resource.

You don’t have to want to write a whole memoir or book to use this helpful book full of prompts.

If you want to write, please do it. Make it easy on yourself to pick up a pen and ink your ideas.

Meanwhile, share your thoughts in the comments below.

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What do you get from finishing a passion project?

I published my first novel ten years ago.

It took 12 years and 17 drafts.

Whaaaaat?!?!

I learned so many things from writing that book. One gift I received was learning that I am a tenacious person.

When committed to something, I will stay with it to the end. I finish and publish books, launch programs and lead workshops in France.

Writing that book gave me those ‘finishing skills’. It gave me the confidence to try all kinds of things that seemed beyond my reach.

Every project we finish has a gift for us at the finish line. What have you gained from completing a major project?

What project are you finally ready to commit to? A book, a body of artwork, a professional project all benefit from focus and support. 

Enrollment is open for the Original Impulse Atelier. This is my eight-month coaching group where we all dive into one project each. It starts in September, but there is some pre-work that can be done in August if you’d like to get a head start. 

All the details are here. 

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What makes for good writing?

Plan ahead for a productive season with us 

Hey! If you are already thinking ahead to autumn and to the deliciousness of focus that season brings, consider the Atelier. This coaching program runs along the school year calendar. In it, each member – me included – focuses on one project. We make great progress and learn a ton about our creative process. 

The Atelier is accepting applications now – if you want to make serious and fun progress on a project, this is the program for you. All the details are here. 

A cool reading job I did this month 

Recently, I was invited to be a juror for the Courage to Write literary grant sponsored by the DeGroot Family Foundation. Two other jurors and I read 33 applications. They included a letter and a sample of the writing. We were judging on several criteria, including of course the quality of the writing. 

I accepted this invitation because I have never done this. I knew I would learn from doing it. 

It was fun and an honor to peek into these writers’ worlds. To learn about their passion projects and to appreciate the commitment they have to write even when life is super busy and complicated. 

I also wanted to be a juror because pitching your idea in a succinct and compelling way is vital for anyone wanting to bring their work to the world. I help my Atelier members learn how to present their ideas. It’s not easy!

After reading through all the applications, I have one piece of advice for anyone who wants to present their idea to the world. 

Make it easy for people to talk about your work. Some might call this the ‘elevator pitch’. Whatever you call it, get the central idea of your project into one short sentence that’s easy for people to remember. 

I found myself wanting to share a couple of the project ideas with my husband. The easier it was to refer to the project, the more likely we are to share it. 

What makes for good writing? 

I recently finished Maggie O’Farrell’s This Must Be the Place and Tana French’s The Likeness. Now I’m reading The Magician’s Assistant by Ann Patchett. 

It’s a rare book that I LOVE. So I’ve been curious about what I consider good writing. In this post, I share some thoughts from my book group and also what I consider ‘good writing’. 

This piece focuses on fiction. I read a lot of non-fiction, too, and that kind of book has different criteria for me. 

This is of course highly subjective, but this is the kind of thing I ponder in the middle of just about everything: what makes for good writing? 

My book club had a couple of less than compelling picks last year, so as we prepare to choose our next set of books, we collectively asked ‘what makes for good writing?’ 

I took some notes and by the end of the discussion, of course it was obvious that we all have different takes on ‘good writing’. And we also realized that we want that variety. If we all had the same metrics, the discussion would be uninspired. 

Here are some of the things we want when we are reading fiction. 

  • Easy to get into and read
  • Be able to relax, enjoy, and be immersed in the book
  • Don’t want to be distracted from the story
  • No didacticism, teachy, preachy stuff (sorry Barbara Kingsolver)
  • Emotionally intelligent
  • Want a challenge/want to learn something/makes you think/changes you 
  • Like when the author is trying to do something different/unique storytelling (How Much of These Hills Is Gold)

For me, I love lyrical prose. I adore sentences that move me, stop me reading, make me go WHOA. I want to be moved emotionally and I want a peek into a world. 

I mostly read historical fiction by women featuring strong female characters. I tend to avoid contemporary fiction that mirrors real life too much. Honestly, I read fiction at night to shut off the world. I don’t want something that is more of the same. 

That’s it for today! What is ‘good writing’ for you as a reader? As a writer? Share your thoughts on the Original Impulse blog here.

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The Thrash

Away from the computerI am away this week on a retreat, totally off-grid. Not looking at the screen at all.

I’m writing this in advance and as an advocate of stepping away from the fray. I do take weekends off and I do get more space in the summer. But a whole week away from all my obligations and routines?

It sounds good and it’s also scary. I noticed all my fears and patterns pop up like popcorn before I left. Would the food be enough for me? Would I get along with the other participants?

This summer I have really noticed how uncomfortable change is. DUH, right? It’s easy to feel the discomfort of where we are. It’s easy to feel desire for where we want to be. But between the two, we encounter a lot of thrash. We don’t easily let go of beliefs, habits, and fears that want to keep us in the known.

I witness my clients as they go through the thrash around writing and creating. Like most things, wouldn’t it be nice if it were just a matter of a slogan – Just do it! Or a schedule we could stick to?

But no. Life is meant to challenge us. If we want to grow, we have to go through the growing pains.

Here’s to giving yourself permission to have growing pains. Here’s to being kind to yourself as you go through the thrash.

What helps you get through the thrash? Feel free to share your thoughts on the Original Impulse blog here.

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Seasons and the creative life

Summer is my favorite season. It seems the most potent reminder to soak up the moment. If I don’t stop to notice the roses in our yard, next thing you know, they’re faded and falling away.

Summer gets my attention like no other season. Biking around the neighborhood, splashes of color attract my eye. I can’t help but oo and ahh over them just like my mom did when we drove around our town when I was a girl.

It’s easy for time to rush past. I think, what have I done? I see all the things ahead and the projects I want to do.

But when I do a mid-year review, I tap into that slow summer vibe. I pull over and reflect on my efforts. I notice that so far this year, I focused mainly on curriculum development. I love designing experiences for people and this year gave me the chance to develop a bunch of new programs.

My new courses include Your Creative DNA, Paris Sketchbook, Write Your Heart Out in Paris and Write Your Book Coaching Group.

I also pivoted two live courses, The Devoted Writer and Write Your Travel Stories into self-guided programs you can take any time.

We also produced 15 episodes of Stumbling Toward Genius. AND I wrote a draft of my new book.

Time for a break, right!?

I’m supposedly taking my summer ‘break’ but if I’m honest, the only thing I have paused for the season is hosting my coaching groups.

There’s a lot on my plate…I have a handful of new clients I am excited to work with. I’m finalizing the curriculum for my two Paris workshops. I am a juror for a literary grant (more on that in an upcoming issue).

I had grand designs for designing my current book. It’s going to be illustrated! I also considered putting together a book proposal for the book.

What happened to slow, easy summer? Does this happen to you – despite your intentions, life revs and drags you along?

I had to pull the bus over and admit it was time to let some things go.

In my current book, there’s a chapter about how we are affected by the seasons. How each season has its creative vibe. For me, summer is time for my artist to be in the lead. She is painting the summer CSA share and filling a sketchbook of garden delights and more.

Summers are where I replenish, recharge, and get in touch with my wild nature. I need time in the summer where I am not fully booked with work. Summers are for reading more. Summers mean more time outside, away from the screen.

That doesn’t mean no work, just less of it. So, how to lower my expectations and workload? I can defer the book project to this fall. It will be my Atelier project. (Yes, I do a project alongside everyone else!)

Do the seasons affect your creative cycles? Do you dial back the expectations in the summer?

Share your thoughts on this at the Original Impulse Blog here.

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How Our Creative Ancestors Influence Our Art: Adri Norris on Stumbling Toward Genius

Who are your creative ancestors, and how can their stories influence your creative journey?

Your creative ancestors are those people who make you, you. They build you up and inform your creativity through the things they teach you, even from a distant past. Their legacies inspire you to share their stories with future generations through your art. They are part of what I call your Artist’s DNA.

Adri Norris’ successful “Women Behaving Badly” series was born out of a desire to share the stories of important women whose stories have largely gone untold. These works are a window into their truth, created to inspire today’s generation with role models they might not otherwise be exposed to.

Adri says of the project, “It was basically combining my love of learning with my love of drawing and painting faces and learning how to tell a story with my work.”

Listen in to hear Adri talk about how she infuses her work with the power of storytelling, as well as:

  • How she’s using her mural work to inspire both the community and the next generation of artists
  • How she’s proving that you don’t have to pick one area of art to work in as long as you’re clear on your core
  • Her Artist Residency and the long-overdue surprise project she’s working on now.

Plus, she’ll share what her biggest challenges have taught her and the big shift that changed the way she views her work.

If you’ve ever wanted to dive deep into storytelling through your art but don’t know where to start, this episode is for you.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Afro Triangle Designs

Women Behaving Badly

Adri on Facebook

Mango House

Cleo Parker Robinson Dance

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Memoir as Medicine: Book Recommendation for Non-Fiction Writers

Who would you be if you didn’t write?

I have been writing steadily since 1994. I’ve written poetry, plays, dramatic monologues, a novel, non-fiction books, short stories, video and podcast scripts, and articles about the creative process.

Can you even imagine who I would be if I did not have this inky channel to get my thoughts and feelings out onto the page?

I imagine a dark, crowded, cluttered garage full of unprocessed ‘stuff’ and unacknowledged ideas. I imagine I would be a very cranky, mentally and emotionally constipated person.

So of course I loved Nancy Slonim Aronie’s book Memoir as Medicine. I work with a lot of people who are writing pieces of their life story.

Most people want to get their experiences onto the page to help others. But in the process of writing their stories, they are transformed. Nancie’s book offers a great range of short, poignant exercises to help us come to the page with new eyes and fresh angles.

If you have been wanting to write your stories down to get them out and unclutter your inner landscape, Nancie’s book is a great resource.

You don’t have to want to write a whole memoir or book to use this helpful book full of prompts.

If you want to write, please do it. Make it easy on yourself to pick up a pen and ink your ideas.

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The Link Between Spirituality and Creative Inspiration, Stumbling Toward Genius With Kim Roberts

Have you ever had a spiritual awakening that opened your eyes to a new or deeper creative practice?

My friend Kim Roberts did. Her long-time yoga practice opened her eyes to the deeper dimensions of life, eventually leading her to Paris, where she started painting.

Kim is multifaceted, sharing her gifts as a yoga practitioner and instructor, psychotherapist, coach, artist, and writer with the world.

She joins me on Stumbling Toward Genius today to share how her many daily practices feed into one another, as well as:

  • Her art-making process and how she opens herself up to express what’s inside
  • From Paris to the San Luis Valley, how place inspires her work
  • The one thing that holds her back and how she is facing her fears

Plus, we talk about her book, Toward a Secret Sky: Creating Your Own Modern Pilgrimage, and she shares a glimpse into her new online program that offers women the practical tools to navigate any life transition with confidence, courage, and grace.

Did you enjoy hearing about Kim’s artist origin story in Paris? I really believe many people find their creativity in Paris.

My creative life continues to be sculpted by this amazing city and I would love to share that with you.

If you have wanted to connect with your creative self for a long time or believe you are being called to a deeper level of writing, join me for Write Your Heart Out in Paris.  There are only three spots left!