The Writing Life

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.

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.

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.

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.

Have you been waiting to write your book? I assert that now is the time to get that idea off the shelf and into your heart. Now is the time to pick up the long-held dream of writing your book and let it go. Let it go onto the page. Let your ideas become ink. Let your ink roll into sentences. Let your sentences form into paragraphs that lead up to the holy container of a chapter. Let your chapters pile up in the best way into the shaggiest, most glorious draft of a book. A manuscript.

If you hesitate, I ask you:

• What are you waiting for?
• Who will give you permission?
• How will you know you are good enough?
• When will you know that you are ready, that you are able to finally write that book that has been haunting you?
• What would your year feel like if you were writing your book?

I am not here to try to convince anyone that they should write a book. I am speaking to you – the person who wants to write a book, the person who has always wanted to be an author.

I will be working on a book that has been on my to-write shelf for way too long. It’s outlined, it’s sketched out. It still speaks to me. It still calls me. It got a fancy new title and concept and I’m excited to get going and put some flesh on those skeletons.

When I think of writing this book – and painting it, because it will be illustrated – I get so excited. I love thinking of having a year devoted to this book.

What book is waiting inside you to be let out to play? What concepts are eager for you to explore them?

Perhaps you need and want support to make this long-held dream a vibrant reality. Perhaps you don’t know how to start, and more importantly, how to keep going. I’ve got just what you need.

My book, The Busy Woman’s Guide to Writing a World-Changing Book will guide you through writing your book.