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Don’t Let Your Inner Critic Hijack Your Book Research

This is part of the Claim Your AUTHORity series.
You’re jamming away at your novel. You’re composing merrily when you realize you don’t know what the cars look like in Paris, 1937, the era you’re writing about.

You dip into Google, searching for images that will help you accurately describe those cars. Before you know it, you’ve spent 40 minutes leaping from link to link, gathering more support for what you’re writing.

Finding information for your book online, or re-surfing, is fun. You can claim, guilt-free, that you’re working on your book. But a glance at the clock shows it’s time to pick up the kids. You shutter your session and enter the slipstream of your busy day.

Your one-hour writing session involved exactly 20 minutes of writing and 40 minutes of re-surfing, yielding a couple scribbled pages and a lot of information, much of it not applicable to your book.
Sound familiar?

Three ways your inner critic can hijack your research

I know this scenario well; having written a historical novel, I have spent countless hours researching my era and time period. But early on I experienced these three pitfalls while researching for a book:

  1. It is much easier to surf an endless research loop than to do the difficult work of writing. Your inner critic will love that you’re spending so much time looking at other people’s work.
  2. Your inner critic is committed to making sure you don’t look like a fool. He can turn your commitment to accuracy into a practice of endless research that can prohibit you from ever getting your book done.
  3. If you’re writing a non-fiction book based on your professional or personal expertise, your dedication to thoroughness can fuel deadly comparisons that wither your authorial confidence.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

Keep your re-surfing in check

Try these simple but effective practices that my clients and I use to keep research from becoming the purview of the critic.

  1. Demarcate writing time and research time. If you have only 2 hours a week to work on your book, give 1.5 hours to writing and .5 to research.
  2. While writing, keep a separate log of items that need to be researched. When an issue comes up – what kind of fabric were skirts made of in 1937? – jot that down on your research list. I kept a notebook for notes for my novel and always had a page going entitled ‘To research’.
  3. Set aside a specific amount of time each week for this work. Be realistic; one or two hours is usually enough. Give yourself parameters. I usually did research at the end of the week in the afternoon, when my focus for writing waned.
  4. If you’re writing a non-fiction book based on your expertise, consider drafting your material before looking to see what else has been done. Get a sense of how much you need to know about what’s ‘out there’ before you feel confident claiming your AUTHORity.
  5. Keep a list of sources – web sites, magazines, people – whom you will turn to for research. Be open to the fun serendipity that will lead you beyond what you know and into territory that will enhance your book.
  6. Notice when the impulse to research arises. Often it surfaces just as you sit down to write. But notice, too, how your focus and energy and perhaps even your confidence can diminish the more time you spend in research mode.

What helps you keep your critic from hijacking your research process?

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Write Your Book Even When You Feel Clueless

This post is part of the Claim Your AUTHORity series. 
The idea for your book seemed so clear. You grabbed the inspiration, made a rough outline, and dove into scribbling your ideas down.
Soon enough, your enthusiasm has burbled over into chaos. You lost the thread of logic and your writing just feels like a handful of messy incoherence.

Signs of book cluelessness

You may experience any or all of the following signs of being clueless while writing your book:

write a book overcome fears
Content out of control!

  1. You frequently doubt you have any clue about what you are saying.
  2. You’re a blank slate when it comes to knowing how to structure your material.
  3. You wonder if your concepts make sense to anyone but you and your cats.
  4. You fret that you are completely unoriginal and your book has already been done. Better than you can do it.
  5. You cringe at the thought of others’ judgment of your book.
  6. You are certain your book will prove you to be a total nincompoop.
  7. You dread the daunting publishing ‘adventure’.
  8. You’re pretty sure you don’t have any authority whatsoever.

Right, then.
Much better to go back to the laundry and the very demanding business of our lives. Isn’t it much easier to avoid all this cluelessness?
Frankly this is a choice authors make again and again along the path of writing a book: stay safe or risk the unknown repercussions of sticking your neck and ideas out there.

On the other side of cluelessness

I’ve written two books and five e-books. I’ve helped hundreds of writers find their footing on their writing paths.
Based on that experience, I believe it is worth it. I believe that if we have the impulse to write or create something, it’s our duty to follow that impulse.
For all the terrifying uncertainty inherent in the creative process, here’s what makes the it all worth it:

  1.  You will feel wildly exuberant when you write your resonance.
  2.  You will resonate with your truth for hours after writing it.
  3.  You will feel more connected to your vitality and to your unique essence after writing.
  4.  This vitality will ripple out to the rest of your life: your people, your work, strangers, even.
  5.  You will respect yourself more after writing.
  6.  All this adds up to your AUTHORity. Doesn’t it feel good?!

But don’t take my word for it. Stick it out at the page or keyboard and feel the results yourself. Pay attention to what you gain from the act of putting your AUTHORity to the test.
When these and other fears rise up to convince you that you do not have any authority to put your words on paper, know that wrangling them is one of the most fun, sweatiest and rewarding parts of claiming your authority.
What’s to love about the cluelessness inherent in the creative process? What has helped you cruise right past all those fears that convince you it’s better to stay away from your book? Share in a comment below. 
Download a .pdf of this article.

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Who to Trust When Writing Your Book?

You’re in a writing workshop and your recently-drafted chapter is up for review. Students offer their reactions. Let’s listen in:

“I love this. I love what you’ve done with your character.”

“I didn’t get it. Was she trying to pick that guy up or what?”

“This would make a great short story or a performance piece. It doesn’t have to be a just a chapter in a novel.”

Helpful?
Feedback is vital to the creative process. But inept critique from the wrong sources can squash your confidence or worse – dissuade you from continuing with your book.
Where do you go for constructive criticism? I’ve written elsewhere about how to design the feedback process so it’s useful to you.
Here I illustrate four groups you might consider asking for help writing your novel or non-fiction book.

Peers

These are your fellow writers, the people in your writing classes, or your writing buddies. Even if they’re not writing in the same genre, style or subject matter, these relationships can provide:

  • a sounding board for your process
  • a forum to share resources for developing your craft and publishing your work
  • accountability partners to help you stay on track.

Most importantly, peer relationships help you feel ‘gotten’. Being understood is vital to writers and artists who are creating something from nothing.
My peer relationships helped me and made the writing journey much more pleasant. The friendships I developed at La Muse writing retreat in France and writing buddyships I had in Boulder with Suzanne, Ann and Dorothy were all invaluable to my book.

Mentors and teachers

Writing instructors, mentors or professional editors have most likely written a book themselves. They deeply understand the craft of writing. They will be able to assess your work as a whole and offer critical and constructive insights.
After an initial novel writing workshop in 1999, I relied on professional editors to guide my work. Hiring someone to critique my manuscript was for me like taking a master class in novel writing. I did this at least four times in twelve years.

Audience members

These are people who won’t necessarily offer a critical review of your work. Instead, they’ll respond as someone who would ultimately buy and read your book. This is the person you are writing for.
Once you’ve established your core message and content, it can be helpful to pass it by your ideal reader. Do at least two drafts before showing it to a person in your audience.
Former bookstore owner and avid reader Valarie read drafts of my novel. Her perspective helped me see holes in the narrative and how I could increase the dramatic tension.

Friends and family

Your people love you. But they may not ‘get’ your work. They have a specific perspective of you and perhaps a hidden or obvious agenda. They may not yet resonate with your AUTHORity.
Here’s some of the feedback I’ve gotten from my loved ones:

“Why not just let this go and start another project?”

“The first chapter is a real downer!”

“This was a real slog!”

These comments came from highly intelligent people who love me, believe in me and wish the best for me. They were not trying to hurt me.
But they had no clue about how to give constructive feedback.
The people who matter most to us have the biggest influence on our actions. While drafting your book, I advise not sharing it with friends or family.

So which is right for you?

When you’re just beginning to write a book, you will likely opt for writing classes that teach you how to write. Be sure to learn how to filter out useless or misguided criticism that classmates may offer and focus on the teacher’s input.
As you progress in your book and solidify your message and confidence, work with other professionals and your audience to ensure your book is hitting the mark you intend it to.
What’s been most useful in helping you claim your AUTHORity? Let us know in a comment below to share what’s helped you the most.
To get solid support and make real progress on your book – fiction or non-fiction – join me for the Claim Your AUTHORity retreat this July. I’ve helped hundreds of writers claim their AUTHORity, respecting them, their material and their unique process.
The early registration discount ends this Friday. We’ve got a limited number of spaces available for this profound workshop. Claim your spot with us at the Sylvia Beach hotel on the Oregon coast, and claim your AUTHORity.
Download a .PDF of this article here.

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Target the Heart of Your Book to Write More Easily

This is part of the Claim Your Authority series.
You feel the urge to write a book. You’re haunted by an idea or a cluster of ideas, but have no clue how they will hang together in a meaningful way to form a book.
This is a common problem: most people are trying to write a book from a surface level. As a coach, I’m always helping my clients dig deeper to find the core of their impulses.
Connecting to the heart of your book provides a powerful anchor to make what you’re expressing in your book easier.
Here’s a simple but profound exercise to target the heart of your book so the ‘what’s it about’ question will no longer haunt you.

Values + themes + stories = the heart of your book

Values in the middle, then themes, then surface stories

Okay, let’s look at a strategy to dig deeper to connect with the heart of your book. Remember the last CYA post where I asked you to identify a short list of your values? Get those out.
We’ll use a target to map stories, themes and values. At the core are your values. The next ring represents your themes. The outer and most visible ring stand for the stories you’re telling. Here’s an example of the model.
 
In my novel Chasing Sylvia Beach, here’s the top layer of story:

  • My character, Lily Heller, is bored and aimless
  • Lily wants to be a writer but doesn’t know how to get started
  • She looks to the life of Sylvia Beach as a model for a life of meaning and influence

In the next layer we find the themes:

  • Desire to live an interesting life
  • Desire to express something creatively/be a writer
  • The heroine’s journey – who am I and what am I doing here?

Finally, we see these values I hold:

  • Adventure/stretching/travel/learning
  • Creativity/expression
  • Learning/growth/expansion

As you do this, you should experience some ‘aha’ moments, where you access the deeper levels of your work.
Once you are connected to the core of your book, it’s easier to make the time and space to write it.
Homework:  Try this process to connect with the heart of your book. You can do this on a big piece of paper, dry erase board or use index cards…whatever method you like.

Using index cards in 2006 to map out Chasing Sylvia Beach

I suggest three different colored index cards, one color for themes, another for values and the third color for stories.
Play around with the cards, seeing how they connect to form the heart of your novel or non-fiction book.
Depending on how you think, you may start from the center (values) or the outer ring (stories). Let this exercise flow organically and don’t worry about figuring it out in a linear way. Take your time with this and let the process be yours.
Try any of these three approaches:
1. Start with your values and work your way to your themes, then the stories that represent the values that are deeply meaningful to you.
2. Identify the themes or topics that keep recurring in your writing and match them with values, then find stories that express those values.
3. Look at the stories you tell often. What themes are inherent in them, and what values are you expressing when you relate these stories?
If this seems confusing or daunting, leave a question below and I’ll help sort it out.
This is one of the juicy exercises we’ll do together in the Claim Your Authority retreat on July 10th – 12th, 2012, on the Oregon Coast. Together we’ll work through this to clarify the core of your book to make it easier to write. Reserve your spot before March 30th to get the early registration discount.
How does identifying your values help you write your book? What did you learn from doing this exercise?  Let me know in a comment below.
Download a pdf of this article  to make Claiming Your Authority easier.

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What Happy Writers Do

When we’re satisfied with our writing – writing often, working on challenging pieces, having our work read – we’re happy.
I’m on a mission to help people who want to write feel good about their creative impulses.
I’ve made a video inspired by my own writing happiness. How do you celebrate and express your happy writing habit?

My online class, Make Writing a Happy Habit, starts Monday, March 19th. You may not be rolling around on a ball to express your happiness. Instead, you’ll feel your own irrepressible urge to express your happiness.
Come write with us.