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Befriend Your Body To Release Pain, Increase Creativity and Feel Great While Writing

Today’s article is a guest post by Ashley Josephine, a friend who is passionate about empowering busy women to embrace wellness through the practice of yoga and mindfulness. We talked about the need for writers to have a good physical practice in order to stay healthy, and Ashley wrote this article to offer us strategies for wellness at work.
It’s surprising how hard it can be for writers to actually start writing. Despite the fact we say we love to write, when it comes to completing projects, our self-discipline tends to fly out the window and excuses abound.
The act of writing can actually be quite painful – physically, emotionally and mentally. It’s only healthy to exercise our creative minds for so long before burnout becomes inevitable and it’s shockingly easy to become lost in fantastical realms that we forget exist solely in our heads.
As with all professions, the stresses we experience as writers need to be addressed to ensure a healthy, productive and efficient writing session and career. This three-part series outlines movement-based exercises and stretches that will help open your mind (and body) to new ideas and relieve the pain and tension common to many writers, novice and professional alike.
Watch the video demonstration of the following yoga practice.

Yoga for Mental Clarity

When you’re feeling burnt out, stuck, or all wrapped up in one plot line that you can’t seem to escape, try taking a break to restore mental clarity. The following exercises will help clear the cobwebs up above.
Forward Fold:
This pose will help stretch your low back and hamstrings, plus turn your world upside down. Enjoy the rush of blood to your head and surrender to gravity’s pull to feel relief and clear-headedness, allowing all your frustrations to roll of your shoulders.
Sunflower:
From a forward fold, wrap your hands onto your opposite elbows and make large circles with your torso, coming all the way up through standing and moving back down again. After a few circles in one direction, switch sides. This exercise will force you to use your abs, stretch the obliques and hamstrings plus raise the heart rate to get your blood moving. Go at your own pace to get back into the swing of things and out of a confusing rut.
Alternate Nostril Breathing:
When you allow one side of your brain to dominate for too long, you start to lose touch with the better qualities of your other half. Alternate nostril breathing is the perfect cure to balancing out your left- and right-brain tendencies.
Start sitting in a comfortable seated position and place your right hand on your thigh. Raise your left hand up toward your nose and close off your left nostril with your left thumb. Inhale through the right nostril, hold the breath, then close off the right nostril with the left ring finger, release the thumb and exhale through the left nostril. Pause at the end of the exhale, then inhale through the left nostril, cover the left nostril with the thumb again and release the left ring finger from the right nostril to exhale. Continue in this pattern until you feel a sense of calm restored throughout.
Legs up the Wall:

Legs up the wall is surprisingly relaxing

This relaxing pose is quite simple and performed exactly as it sounds. Taking weight out the feet and legs relieves and reverses the typical gravitational pull, giving your legs a rest from supporting your weight all day long. Reversing your blood flow by going upside down can lower your heart rate and help you relax according to the Mayo Clinic.
Start by scooting your rear end as close to the wall as possible and then place your legs on the wall. Close your eyes, breathe deeply and enjoy relaxing without worry.
Practice Suggestion:
Start your day with this practice or take a break with some or all of these poses when you’re feeling confused, lost, overwhelmed or stressed out.
The next two parts of this series will be published here.
Ashley Josephine has been studying yoga for 5 years and currently lives and teaches in Wichita Falls, TX. A writer, traveler and a whole lot of other things, Ashley believes wholeheartedly in experiences and is passionate about empowering women to embrace wellness with yoga and mindfulness based practices.
Sign up on Ashley’s yoga web site if you’re a woman working through life’s daily stresses who’s ready to enjoy life more. You’ll get worldly wisdom, yoga, meditation and other free resources delivered straight to your inbox.
Other places to connect with Ashley:
Ashley on Facebook
Ashley on Twitter
Leave a comment below to share relaxation and/or movement practices that work for you when you’re in need of creative reinvigoration.

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How To Measure Your Writing Success

Did your writing measure up this year?
That feels a little harsh, doesn’t it? But I bet your inner critic is asking the same thing – poking you to see if you and your writing measured up this year.
How do you make an honest assessment of your progress that’s not fueled by the gremlin’s sharp stick poking you? If you’re like my clients, it’s easy to forget all the boons and progress you made.
Last week I wrote about how our superlatives are killing us. How they represent a standard – best, most, perfect – that we simply can’t achieve. We also can’t assess progress on those terms.
So how do we glean satisfaction from our efforts? This article will help you absorb all the nutrients from your efforts and your successes so you can build on them next year.

Pause and absorb the nutrients of your successes

Happy moment in Paris absorbing the 2012 publication of my novel

These are the questions I ask myself and offer to my clients; I invite you to make the most of your writing year by answering them too. Make a pot of tea or pour a glass of wine and enjoy savoring your writing year. Look back at your mid-year check-in, and to use this metric to gauge your progress and process:
1. On a scale of one to ten, how satisfied are you with your efforts?
2. What could you have done (given all the circumstances of your life) to bring that satisfaction level up two notches?
3. On a scale of one to ten, how satisfied are you with the results of your efforts?
4. What acknowledgement can you give yourself for all you did and felt?
5. Check your numbers. List your numbers in the following categories that are meaningful to you:

  • Number of publications
  • Number of hours or writing sessions you logged
  • Number of writing retreats you gave yourself
  • Amount of money you earned from writing
  • Number of books sold
  • The amount of help you asked for and received
  • Number and quality of comments on your blog
  • Number and quality of reviews

The numbers are the external measurements, but they’re not the only way to assess your success. Go back to your satisfaction and really soak in all the effort you put into your writing. That is where you will be able to relish your good enough writing year – by measuring your efforts and not your results.
Sometimes answering these questions brings disappointment. For me, I never have as many comments or views as I want. But my expectations and disappointments don’t stop me. Don’t let yours put a lid on your writing, either. Use your dissatisfaction to fuel next year’s best writing efforts.
6. What didn’t happen that you wanted to happen?
7. What can you do differently next year?
8. How does this assessment help you set expectations that will help you feel successful?
9. Finally, what image can you post in your writing space that reminds you of your efforts in 2012? This photo of me proudly holding my book at Shakespeare and Company in Paris marks many hours of work come to fruition. The photo helps me savor all of it.

Be real, be kind to yourself

I’ve seen unrealistic expectations do more damage than good with my students and clients. Big dreams are great, I’m all for them, but expecting too much from ourselves can bring disappointment and discouragement. Examples include expecting ourselves to write every day no matter what. Thinking we can forge ahead no matter what the circumstances, season or level of our energy.
We’re human, and our energy ebbs and flows as much as our creative output does. Be kind to yourself as you assess your progress and reevaluate your process.
No one can tell you how to measure your success. I invite you to be clear about which metrics are important to you and why. Gleaning satisfaction from your writing this year can help point you toward what you need to enjoy even more success next year.
What helps you feel satisfied with your writing efforts? 
 

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Your Imperfection Is the Gateway to Your Happiness

My sink never seems empty of dishes. My notebooks are messy and my apartment is never clean enough. I don’t stay in touch with loved ones the way I’d like and I’ll never catch up on everything I have to do.
The one book I’ve returned late to the library is Brené Brown’s book, The Gift of Imperfection.
Are you imperfect too?
With Brené’s help, I’m coming to see how charming imperfection is. It’s the mis-aligned seams, the flower arrangement that isn’t quite symmetrical…those are the interesting parts of life.
And imperfection is the reality for all of us. ‘Perfect’ doesn’t exist – anywhere.
When people tell me they are perfectionists, I sense their inner critic is in charge. With impossibly high demands, this perfectionist monster robs our joy. We churn away at our work, never letting ourselves love the messy process.
I say enough! Our imperfections are a gateway to our humility. They force us to turn kindness and compassion on ourselves. The sentences we don’t quite master, the thought we can’t totally articulate, these are the places where we get to feel our unique humanity.
Embracing imperfection is vital to my clients’ writing process. Every successful, published piece starts as a series of messy drafts. Releasing the expectation of perfection isn’t always easy. But it is possible, and I’ve seen hundreds of my writing students get past their perfectionist bias.
We use free writing method to get our drafts out. To see gems among the imperfect, rambling paragraphs. To listen long enough to the stories that we’re most compelled to tell.
Ironically, the thing we seem to fear the most – unbridled chaos – is also the thing my clients love – losing themselves in their words, writing a way to explore and discover.
In my online writing course, Free Write Fling, I ask participants to share three words at the end of each writing session. These words simply describe their experience in the free write. The words are mind-blowing. What the free writing process engenders is nothing short of brilliant.
Why not let your imperfection be your best asset? Join us in October for the Free Write Fling.

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Seven Steps to Get Your Groove Back When You’ve Lost Your Writing Rhythm

You know the feeling – you’re writing regularly, feeling the flow of your unique writing impulse. You’re making headway on your project and you feel gooood.

Then life, as it is wont to do, throws a wrench in your rhythm, halting the sweet ratatatat of your keyboard. Events on a scale large and small, tragic or irritating interrupt:

  • vacation
  • honeymoon
  • illness, either yours or a loved one’s.

Once the chaos has settled, you start to hear the sound of your inspiration calling you back. You like this tune and truly want writing back.

But weeks pass and you don’t return to that project you flowed with so well before life intruded on your progress.

Despite our best intentions, life’s distractions can easily derail us from our writing.
It seems all the time we spent finding our writing rhythm and focus was a one-time investment, and we’re forced to learn the steps all over again.

But even though it may feel like it, you’re not starting from scratch. Try these seven simple steps to resume – and refresh – your writing groove.

Draw upon your past successes.
What structures, times or places helped you focus on writing? Resume your Friday afternoon writing date, return to your special writing café, and other rituals can be renewed.

When we consider what worked in the past, we will often get snagged by stories of how our plans fell apart. The inner critic loves to chime in with variations of “Remember what happened last time – it didn’t work! Why bother now?”

We lose trust in ourselves when we focus on what didn’t work. We build something sustainable when we turn a curious eye toward what will work for us.

If there are negative associations with any of those practices, what can you replace them with?

Manage your expectations.

We often set ourselves up to plunge back in, pens raised and charging forward with brio. We expect to spend hours at the work, producing pages and pages of scintillating prose.
But it’s more likely we’ll start slowly and ease back into our rhythm. Instead of letting your high expectations lead to disappointment, use little victories along the way to fuel more successes.

Fend off saboteurs.

If it wasn’t a major interruption but a foggy dissipation instead, what derailed you from your course? Knowing the main saboteurs can help you identify trouble when it shows up next time.

Write down all your naysaying excuses that beat you away from the keyboard. See? Once they’re exposed, they seem to carry much less weight. Keep the list handy for the next time you’re tempted to believe your saboteurs.

Start with a brief rendez-vous with your project.

This is a simple meeting to reacquaint yourself with your work. We’re talking a 15-minute ‘project assessment’. Take notes. Jot new ideas and insights.

If you are starting anew with shorter articles or blog posts, check what you had done before you took your sabbatical. Review your lists of content ideas to spark new posts.

Refresh your deadline.

Deadlines can motivate us, even self-imposed ones. Recall former deadlines. What worked? What didn’t? One of the most common mistakes we make is to be overly optimistic about how long things take.
What do you know about yourself and your pace? Use that to set a deadline that engages, not strangles you.

Keep your cards close to your chest.
Some writers find it useful to announce their intentions publicly. Others find the pressure of others’ expectations counter-productive.

I prefer a middle path. Speak your intention to your writing tribe: your writing buddies, former classmates and teachers, a coach, or your favorite writing forum.

Dial it just right.

When planning the return, people often envision something like this:
“I’ll write five days a week for two hours each day.”

What’s wrong with this picture?

We don’t operate in two-hour time periods. Saying we’ll strap into the writing chair for two hours is a guaranteed way to assure that you won’t do it at all.

Let this be easier by starting small – one or two 30-minute writing sessions per week are much easier to slip into.

Which approaches will you try to get your groove back?

Try any or all of these strategies to slowly but surely ease back into your groove. Focus on building trust, engagement and momentum for this new phase of your writing life.

Notice that these suggestions ask you to rely on yourself. Build a positive and sustainable relationship with your writing that can withstand the capricious fluctuations of life.

Set yourself up to win by choosing steps that are right for you, right for this time, right for your projects.
What has helped you return to your writing groove after losing your step?

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My Sane Book Launch

A few years ago I submitted an essay to a Funds for Writers contest. The challenge was to plan an exciting year in the life of your project. I thought it would be fun to draft a dynamic marketing plan for Chasing Sylvia Beach. I figured if I had to do the work of promoting a book, I might as well make it as creative as possible.
With brio, I generated tons of ideas about how I would get the word out. It was fun to let my imagination run free. I didn’t win the contest, but I left with a larger-than-life vision for the promotion of my novel.
Over the years, I hyped up the project with the aim of hitting Amazon bestseller lists. Then social media marketing exploded, and so did the plans. Facebook! Twitter! I even conceived of a scintillating idea to give away a weekend trip to Paris.
My fun marketing plan was now a monster, and one I had no hope of controlling.

Owning my launch

For all creators, there’s this moment where the rubber meets the road. This is the place where we truly ‘get’ that there’s a real limit to what one can do with one’s time, energy and attention.
Sometimes when we’re daunted by the scope of our vision, we abandon it altogether. But learning how to scale back is vital. The dynamism of our ideas demands both structure and flexibility.
A few months out to launch, the more anxious I became. The more I realized I couldn’t possibly execute on all my great ideas.
A breakthrough session with my business mentor  helped me see where I could scale back. With more attention to my own agenda and goals for the book (not someone else’s), I was able to focus on what was important in this launch.
It was important to me to enjoy the process as much as possible. My intention was to be focused and open to the wonderful surprises awaiting me on the other side of publication.
More relieved than disappointed, I started to embrace a sane book launch.

Ongoing calibration

Even with this new and liberating perspective, I struggled to keep my focus on my own agenda.
I was still spending too much time trying to follow others’ leads. Any time I needed to do something – write a press release, write back cover copy, come up with a blog tour plan – I’d do copious research about the ‘best’ way to do it.
Every time, I’d spend 20 minutes researching and then abandoning the thread. Overwhelmed, confused, disheartened, I’d not only lose the connection to my own original impulse, I felt incapable of doing it the way I was supposed to.
A call with my mastermind partner helped re-orient me. She advised me to unplug, step away from all the advice and how-tos, and get clear on what was meaningful for me.
Relief washed over me. Within an hour of our call, I found a solution to a challenge I’d been stumped by, and it wasn’t about Facebook at all.

Finally in the groove

At a party the other night, sipping a Fat Tire and munching on tapas. Conversation turned toward me when someone asked, “What are you up to?”
“I’m launching my novel this summer!” I replied with enthusiasm. We talked about it for a little while and then the conversation moved on. A friend turned to me and said “You seem so calm, so Zen!”
I thought about how stressed out I had been in recent months. How much emotional churn I had gone through as the launch date approached. How twice a day unbidden, this thought lurches its way into my consciousness, “OH MY GOD IT’S X WEEKS AWAY!”
This is a visceral thought/fear/impulse that rises up and passes away. If I jump on it, I’ll start squirreling away with all the details. And then I’ll spend my time feeling fearful and stressed.
When I am anxious, my mind is desperate for control. I start sending up thought flares, ordering to-dos and schedules. But the more I fuel the emotional churn with mental churn, the more miserable I am. This is the ever-faster treadmill feeling of overwhelm we know all too well.
This was when I realized, at that well-earned Sunday evening party that this is the moment I’ve been building toward since I started writing this book in 1999.
This is the time of my life. I get to see the fruits of my creative labor meet my audience and have an impact.
This is it.
I’m not going to blow this precious time by making myself insane. I’m not gunning for the best-seller list. I’m not pushing to promote my book like mad in the first three months of its life. I’m not attached to how people will receive this book. (I will keep telling myself that until I believe it!)
My focus now is to enjoy the process of preparing my work for its debut. I consider it a gift I sincerely give to the world.
Chasing Sylvia Beach officially launches on June 22nd, 2012. The pre-sale Limited Edition is available from June 11th – 21st. Get your copy from the author here.

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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.
 

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Seven Boons of Writing a Book

This is part of the Claim Your Authority series.
I’m standing in front of a crowd at the Boulder Bookstore. In my hands is my novel, Chasing Sylvia Beach. The heady brew of emotions that swirl in me include joy, wonder and a huge whoosh of gratitude.

Speaking at the Boulder Bookstore for Create Your Writer's Life

The combination prompts a sense of overwhelming joy that makes my knees buckle. Flush with gratitude, I share the story I’ve worked on for more than a decade.
Even in my imagination, this emotional cocktail is potent and unexpected. When publishing a book, you’d imagine a lot of happiness and celebration. What’s surprising to me is the profound amazement and wonder that infuses me.
It makes all the work and sacrifice that I invested in this book worthwhile.

What will writing your book bring you?

When I coach people, I help them cast their sights to the other side of the process, to imagine and see what’s possible after the long, quiet hours alone working on the book.
Bringing a work of art into the world will yield a blend of internal and external rewards. There’s what you gain from bringing the work to fruition and what you will glean from how others receive it.
It will be different for everyone, but here are seven possible boons that await you when you claim your authority.
1 Be a finisher. So many of us suffer at the hands of our inner critic who loves to point out how often you abandon things. Here’s your chance to finally prove to yourself that yes, indeed, you can finish something. This engenders huge reservoirs of confidence that can extend to future projects.
2 Know yourself and your material on a new level. You get to experience your work – whether fiction or non-fiction – in form. Having a tangible expression of what’s meaningful to you reflects you back to yourself in ways that empower deeper explorations and satisfaction.
3 Start global conversations. All art and writing that makes its way into the world initiates dialogue with others. How people respond is a fascinating process that allows what that they feel, think and believe to interact with what you’ve shared in your book.
4 Elevate your status. Having a book means you claim a new position both in the eyes of the world and for yourself. Imagine for a moment that you’ve written your book. How do you perceive yourself differently?
5 Earn money. Most of us don’t get into writing because it’s such a lucrative field. But more money can be earned from a book than from a cluster of ideas that merely perambulate in your head.

Seeing your book on the bestseller shelf at the bookstore...

6 Invite unforeseen opportunities. This is the best part. An idea for a book niggles at you. Speaking about it to others will likely bore them. But a completed book generates excitement in your audience and prompts opportunities you can’t even imagine. If I show up to do the work to write, publish and promote you book, something absolutely amazing could happen.
7  Give a gift to your readers. All of this is well and good for you, but what about your readers? We have a variety of motivations for writing, but many of us hope for a powerful impact on our readers. My non-fiction books are designed to both inspire and instigate action. I write them with nothing short of the lofty intention of changing people’s lives. And they do.
I can’t predict exactly what awaits you when you claim your AUTHORity. Everyone’s path is different. But I do know that every book we write works us in some way.
Our job is to heed the call to write our book, to get our words and ideas out of our head and onto paper so others can experience it too.
What do you imagine your AUTHORity will do for you? How do you want being an author to change your life?
 Download a pdf of this post. 

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Triumph over Editing Despair

On Christmas Eve, I was nestling into bed after a day of play and feasting. While shutting down my computer, I saw the email I’d been waiting weeks for.
My dear friend and editor David Hicks, true to his word, was delivering his comments on my novel before Christmas.

Looking for the light...

I eagerly opened the document. The copious line edits didn’t faze me – I welcome ways to make my prose sing. It was the comments that made this Christmas gift a combination of coal and gold.
In over 300 comments, David pointed out issues both nitty and gritty. Consistency issues, abandoned plot threads, and confusing red herrings were all highlighted.
I quickly shut the document down and ducked toward sleep. Yet the feeling of despair had rooted in, and I spent most of Christmas day in a state of numb weightiness.
Why is revision so difficult?
With every draft past say, draft twelve, I’ve asserted that this was the LAST ONE. With every draft, I was sure I had reached the limit of my persistence. With every draft, I’ve spent at least a year doing the work to make this book not only readable, but excellent.
With a June launch date and plans well under way to get this novel into the world, the last thing I wanted to face was another deep revision.
I spent the last week of 2011 getting my head around this. Trying to shed the weight of the impending work, I turned once again to my coaching skills.
Little problems and big decisions
Sometimes another revision feels like a death sentence!

The thought of hours of wading through David’s comments induced a strong desire to give up and flee. Bleak moments.
But I’ve been here before, and this time I noticed what was below the bleakness: irritation.
I was seeing every comment as a problem to fix. The more comments, the more problems. The more ways I had gotten it wrong and the more work I had to do.
This insight helped me deal with the work ahead. I don’t like problems. I don’t like when things break down or need tending to. Understanding this helped me get a grip.
But dispensing with the little problems, there were now the bigger issues of plot and character. Things I need to think about and change. Make decisions.
Voila two things that I don’t excel at – enjoying solving little problems and making decisions. I can do it, but I don’t like it.
It’s never been more clear to me that how we do something is as important as what we do. I couldn’t do this final revision with this weight on me.
What shifts perspective?
Two things work for me: both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Deadlines and meaning help me triumph over editing despair.
Deadlines   
The Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest is here again. The deadline is January 23rd. When I read David’s comments, I suspected I wouldn’t be able to finish the book until the end of February.
An January deadline is just crazy enough to jump-start my challenge value. Can she do it? is the guiding impulse here. I’m driven to expedite this revision, not just with speed but with accuracy – to write well and strongly.
An archetype saves me
Several times during the last week of 2011 the Chariot tarot card appeared for me. The Chariot archetype represents success and forward movement. Cheers to that – the novel moving on and into the world, and me with it.
But further study showed me that the Chariot also points us to manage emotions, using the fiery forces within to move forward, not get overwhelmed and stuck.
I need both of those concepts for myself – control over the emotional maelstrom in writing and a sense of forward movement.
Using this image and energy, I am driving toward a January 23rd deadline. I work every day on the novel. I have accepted most of the line edits and am moving through the comments.
I feel a great sense of purpose and commitment, like I am riding that Chariot, and it’s taking me where I want to go. I relish this, because I earned it.
I am grateful to have found both a perspective and a process that will allow me to do this final, final, final revision.
I am more than halfway through draft 16. At this pace, I think I can make the January 23 deadline.
What about you?
What do you find most difficult about the revision process? 
What perspective and process will you choose to keep going?
Take a second and tell us works for you to keep going in your creative projects.

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Be More Creative: Less Journaling, More Story

In my online writing group, we huddle together (virtually) every day to write for 15 minutes. The only rules are to keep writing for 15 minutes.

A range of writing and responses come from the group. Many of us are disappointed that our writing still feels like journaling. We use this time to process what’s happening in our lives, to release and understand the stories we’re living.

We’re frustrated that the writing is just showing us our same old stories and not revealing anything new, exciting and sparkly. Where’s our creative genius?

It can take time and effort to shift from journal writing to ‘creative’ writing where stories and lyrical writing fill your pages.

To advance toward more ‘creative’ writing, try these approaches.
[Read more…] about Be More Creative: Less Journaling, More Story

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Finding Your Writing Form

You’ve wanted to write for years, and now, yes, now, you finally step up to the pen. You’re ready to go.

But what to write? You have some ideas but aren’t sure about the form. Blog post? Personal essay? Poetry, or perhaps a novella?

I remember this confusion when I embarked on my writing life in 1994. I felt the desire to write but had no idea where to start.

Luckily, I discovered Natalie Goldberg. The free writing method allowed me to get my words on paper first, then figure out what form they’d take.

With that freedom, I explored:

  • Poetry
  • Personal essays
  • Survey articles
  • How-to articles
  • Performance pieces
  • Plays
  • Screenplays
  • Novel

Almost every newbie writer I’ve encountered has this same dilemma. I encourage them to start with free writing and let the content inform the structure. [Read more…] about Finding Your Writing Form

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Enough Measuring Up

How many subscribers do you have? How many people are your friends on Facebook, your followers on Instagram?

How do you measure up?

The world at large, including publishers and agents, demands that we deliver our statistics to prove our worthiness. We get caught up in counting our followers, our subscribers, our word count. We concern ourselves with how long our posts are.

I’ve seen countless clients and students (myself included) get caught up in this. We fret over how much, how many, how big.

But does it really get us anywhere? Sure, you may feel some satisfaction in knowing that you have 1,000 Facebook friends, 500 visitors to your blog each month and 1,400 subscribers to your newsletter.

But how does that actually help you do a great job of writing or making art?

Measuring has traditionally been important when we need to show others how great we are. Like name dropping, measuring allows us to flaunt our status. It’s the kind of social proof we need when we’re pitching our work, writing our book proposal, or asking for a review copy of a book.

These numbers can be useful to show the reach of our influence. The good news is things are shifting and isn’t as necessary as it has been. We can self-publish our books. We can write articles and post them on our blogs. We don’t need the approval of editors and publishers to get our words out.

If they’re powerful and you’re brave enough to share, your words will be read and people will be influenced.

Check your analytics, measure your numbers, then get back to the real work: focusing on creating the best work you can.

Give yourself a break from measuring up and just write. Join me in The Devoted Writer. The early registration discount ends today!

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Brave New World: Move Your Writing Beyond the Journal

You’re journaling regularly, doing morning pages or free writing. Your notebooks and pages begin to stack up, and you feel good about the writing habit you’ve created.

Still, you yearn for more. You want to move beyond the journaling stage, but you don’t know how. This leap in the writing process can be daunting. Without direction and focus, you can stay in journaling mode forever. Which is fine, unless you have a different vision for your writing.

It seems simple, but my clients and students have used this to graduate from journaling to writing polished, publishable pieces.

Ready? It’s super simple: choose a specific project to work on.

I know. It’s too easy, right? But we often need a nudge out of the safe privacy of our journals to take our writing to its next phase.

So, choose a project. An essay you want to write. A nugget of an idea that you discovered in a journaling session. An idea for a story or play or poem – you may not know its form yet, but you know it’s a good idea and you want to develop it.

Once you’ve chosen a an article, short story, essay or poem, follow these steps:

  • Commit to developing the idea.
  • Give yourself a deadline.
  • Give it a stab.
  • Assess what help you need to develop it.
  • Drive past the fears that will show up when it’s 80% complete.
  • Don’t stop until you’re done.
  • See what you’ve learned and how you’ve grown as a result of going a bit further.

What has helped you go from journal to finished pieces? Share your success stories in a comment below.

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Take a Creative Getaway

You feel it in the pauses of your days. Between picking up the kids from school, getting your work done and taking care of the house, the urge to get away pecks at you.

You imagine yourself in a cottage by the sea, or perhaps a cabin surrounded by trees. There, you feel a spaciousness you don’t find at home. Away, you’re able to finally focus on your writing.

This is a common urge for creatives, this desire to escape the daily demands of life and slip off somewhere secluded. There, we are sure, we will finally be able to focus and write the masterpiece we know is inside us somewhere.

I have felt this urge, and many times I’ve been able to honor it. Two months house sitting in a remote French village, a week here or there house sitting in the mountains, and now, this sojourn I’ve embarked on in Paris.

Get away without leaving home

While it’s true that time away can give us the focus we need and want, we can also get that focus at home. I know, because I’ve often felt the urge to get away. I’ve known, very sincerely, that if I just had a month away, I could finish my novel.

But that month away wasn’t available for me, and there will be a lot of times when it’s not available for you, either. How to focus anyway? Here are a few suggestions.

Master the art of the mini getaway. An hour, two hours, three hours away from home in the library, a park, a friend’s house while she’s at work, a quiet bookstore or a café can give you the sense of getting away. Toni Morrison used to check into hotels to focus on her novel.

To make it feel more like a getaway, turn off your phone. Go offline.

Go somewhere new, a place where you’re not known.

If you can’t get away from the house, write in a room you don’t normally frequent. If you’ve got a one-room home, turn your chair in a new direction.

While it’s largely a question of changing locations and stepping away from our obligations, my clients have found that they can do this with a few small adjustments at home.

Practice the art of the mini getaway until you can take a real getaway.

Planning for bigger getaways

Your real getaway may take a whole year to plan and save for. Mark the dates on your calendar.

Figure out where you will go. Estimate the costs, and start saving.

Plan what you will work on while there, and know that it may take you a day or two to settle into your focused zone.

This doesn’t have to cost a lot, be far away, or be complicated. I’ve often house sat, saving money on accommodations.

The point of a creative getaway is to focus, to release yourself from your other roles, to set aside distractions so you can write.

What works for you to get away, even when you can’t escape your daily routine?
What have mini or big getaways done for your writing?

Share your getaway tips in a comment below.