The Writing Life

What’s inspiring me

My friend Constance started a new podcast this year. Dear Constance is a wonderful accompaniment to my morning coffee-making. Her episodes are short and inspirational. I feel like I’m getting wisdom and love from a cool New York friend. You might like it too!

Sea Wife by Amity Gaige was such a good read. I love her writing and how she creates dramatic tension. This book made me want to write. I even drafted some things late one night on vacation because I was so inspired by this book.

Lastly, have I told you about The Bookcase? Forgive me if I have already raved about it, but I just love it. This is the best book-related podcast I have heard. I love the host’s banter, and interviews with authors and booksellers. Plus it’s got a great theme song. It’s where I heard about Amity Gaige. I marched right to the library to get Sea Wife when they raved about it. I think you’ll love it!

Leave a comment below! 

What kind of feelings do we need to commit to a project? Does it have to be WOO HOOO!!!! Or can it be something else? 

I just realized that for me, I don’t need to feel WOW THIS IS GOING TO BE SO GREAT I AM SO EXCITED TO WRITE THIS. It doesn’t have to be a sparkly rainbow party kind of energy. 

It can be a different level of commitment. Right now I feel committed, curious, a bit scared but mostly inspired to write this story. I have a range of feelings that are motivating me. These emotions run underneath every decision we make. 

Most of the external stuff – when, where to write – is easy enough. The emotional undercurrents require a bit more tending. 

When these feelings threaten to force me to the sidelines, I lean in on curiosity. I can’t live with this possibility. I must live with the effort to see this story to its conclusion. In an exercise from Story Genius, we’re asked to write the point of the story. Here’s the point of my Portugal novel: 

Taking big risks is worth it even when it’s scary, hard, or doesn’t turn out the way you hoped it would. 

This point underpins everything I believe about creativity and life. It’s what I want for you and for everyone. 

I am curious to see what happens when I take on this project that’s been on my list for almost a decade. 

I wonder about you. What energy/feeling/vibe do you feel is required to commit to a project? Does it have to be bright and shiny? Or can it also be a bit of something else? 

I’m curious to know. Share your thoughts about what emotions you require to commit to a project below.

Leave a comment below! 

You’re working on a book, and it’s not quite working. You know you need help, but what kind? Some kind of editing?

There are many kinds of editing, each required at different phases of book writing. Developmental editing, content editing, line editing, and proofreading are types of editing we all need.

As a book coach, I help authors in a couple of ways.

• I orient them to their motivation and vision for the book. This helps writers stay on track when the work gets tough.
• I bring typical coaching skills of sounding board, accountability, and cheerleading to my clients.
• I help people manage their time, their projects, and their emotions.

I also help with developmental editing. I love helping writers sculpt their ideas into a book. Each book has its unique blueprint and style and will reflect the author’s deeply held point of view and voice. As a coach of over twenty years, I use my reservoir of great questions to help authors pinpoint the purpose and structure of the book.

As a businesswoman, I know how to help writers craft a book that meets their goals. Identifying the reader and the reader’s needs right away is essential. Clarifying a vision for the book and its impact is also vital to understanding how to write the book.

When you need a developmental editor

Most authors need some sort of developmental editor help. It’s hard to imagine someone crystal clear about their concepts would need help putting them together in a book. But all books benefit from a caring outside perspective to bring it to coherence and cohesion. Here’s when to get help with designing your book’s contents:

• You’ve written some pieces but feel all over the place. Your manuscript is a chaotic mess.
• You haven’t started writing yet, but have a bunch of ideas. You don’t know how to put them together.
• You don’t know if your ideas cohere, make sense or are complete.
• You don’t yet know the shape, style, or organizational structure of your book.

A book is its own beast

Pulling ideas into a book form is a much bigger project than just writing one-off articles or blogs. Most of my clients are writers and have written articles and course curricula.

No matter how smart or accomplished my clients are, they still suffer from these inner challenges. Writers are often:

• blind to what’s there, both on content and quality levels.
• uncertain about how to make their book different than ones in their genre
• insecure about their voice or writing style
• done with an outline but keep veering away from it and returning to the uncertainty that plagues everyone at the starting line.

Helping people sort all these things out so they can write their book or book proposal is my total joy. I’m honored to be in on such a profound creative project with them.

I work with clients for six or twelve months to get all this hammered out. By the end of six months, most people have a blueprint for their book. They also have a committed practice and know how to stay on track and avoid getting derailed by insecurities or life’s challenges.

If you’re stuck with your book and need help organizing your time and structuring your content, reach out. I’m a pro at helping navigate the inner and outer challenges at the beginning of getting our book brain on.

Schedule a call with me to see how we can work together to bring your book to life. 

 

 

You know the writing back burner. It could be crowded with ideas, things you insist you still want to write. They silently simmer in the background. I don’t think these sidelined projects are benign. I think they linger in the background until we set them aside or give them their due.

I speak from experience as a coach, and as a writer with my own crowded back burner.

I’ve got two books that have been on my back burner since at least 2014. I’ve done some work on them. I haven’t ever truly committed to finishing these books. 

But no matter how much I ignore them, they won’t disappear. Somehow this year feels different. I’m committed to these two books in a deep way. A knowing way. I know I will finish them. I also have the incredible (required) hubris to know that these books are going to make a big difference in the world. 

Gulp.

I’m shifting priorities to pull these books off the back burner. I am getting help to stay committed. Mostly, I am excited to learn and grow as I move into the real work of bringing these books to life.

Do you have a writing project that won’t leave you alone? I invite you to join me in committing to making great progress on them. 

Beyond just getting words on the page, we’ll work some magic on your inner resources, too. I bet you’d like to: 

• Build your self-trust
• Be true to yourself
• Channel your abundant ideas into projects you finish 
• Discard envy and resentment of accomplished writers. 

Let’s do this together. It will be a blast to finally be the writer you’ve wanted to be for far too long. 

I’m hosting a coaching group for writers that gives you the right amount of support you need to pull a project to the front burner. Write ON starts soon. All the details are here. 

The trend of writers enrolling paid subscribers is one I celebrate. As someone who has published a newsletter since 2001, I know how much work goes into producing content that people want to read. I’m happy to be able to contribute to these writers and honor their work. 

Secrets of Paris Heather Stimmler has been delving into the Paris we don’t always hear about for decades. I always open Secrets of Paris right away because there’s always news and information about the City of Light I wouldn’t find elsewhere. Heather, a friend of mine, always shares something useful to me and the creativity retreats I lead in Paris. Subscribe here. 

Paris by Mouth by Meg Zimbeck and Sara Garcia If you’re like me, you never want to have a bad meal. I will go the MILE to make sure the restaurants I eat at will produce a good experience. Good service, great food, lovely ambiance…it all adds up to a memorable experience, and I want that memory to be a good one, not a cringer. Paris by Mouth offers a thorough database of reviews for subscribers of restaurants and other foodie spots in Paris. You can search by type of establishment, by type of food, or by arrondissement. I happily pay for this curated information. They also do food tours. 

David Lebovitz I’ve been following David Lebovitz’s Paris food blog since 2005. When he moved to a subscription model, I was happy to put some moola in his pocket. David’s writing has gotten better and better over the years. I love his voice, his humor and his obvious passion for food in Paris. Reading his newsletter gives me insights about Paris and the French that make a difference in how I think about Paris and what I do when I am there. 

Department of Salad: Official Bulletin by Emily Nunn Who would think that food writing could be so funny? I love salad, of course, but Emily’s writing makes me pay to subscribe to this newsletter. She’s HILARIOUS. I feel like I have a really funny friend in the kitchen with me and I get lots of ideas, too.

Craig Mod I’m new to Craig’s world and so far I love what he’s doing. He’s crafted an interesting business model for a writer. He’s got several different newsletters which you can find here. Craig lives in Japan and writes essays and articles about walking in Japan and many other things. His members-only newsletter is called Special Projects. Craig also makes books, and sells limited editions of these photography and writing books. He both writes and makes videos.

One of the cool things he does are subscriber-paid Pop Up Newsletters. These are limited series newsletters around a topic. I got sucked into subscribing – willingly! – when he mentioned his Tokyo walk project. He’d walk for half the day and then go to his lodging and write a long newsletter about it. I have access to the archives as a subscriber, and I am fascinated by the project and the way he structured including subscribers in it. I was recently walking around London and this model for walking/traveling/writing came into my mind.

Not a paid newsletter, the Farm Share newsletter was a total delight this summer. It was fun and useful to get info each week on what the farm was producing and what to do with all that produce. Being a member of a local farm is one of my life’s greatest joys, and this newsletter added to that joy.

What newsletters do you pay to subscribe to? Leave a comment below!