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Life Design Ezine>
SO YOU WANT TO WRITE YOUR FIRST BOOK..
June 1, 2008
“When I start a book, I always think it’s patently absurd
that I can write one. No one, certainly not me, can write a
book 500 pages long. But I know I can write 15 pages, and
if I write 15 pages every day, eventually I will have 500
of them.” ~ John Saul
I started writing about my life when I was the age of most
memoirists... age eleven. I never thought about it as
something I would share with the world. As a matter of
fact, I hoped my mom and stepfather would never open my
secret journal--there was enough venom in there to indict
me as a homicidal teen; I kept it under lock and key. As
Margaret Atwood says, "A journal is meant to have a reader
of one." Such writing does not make good reading unless
you're a voyeur and/or the primary character.
To begin any writing project consider these five tips:
“I think I did pretty well, considering I started out with
nothing but a bunch of blank paper.” ~ Steve Martin
(regarding his first book)
#1: INTENTION COUNTS: Successful writers understand that
singleness-of-purpose is a potent force. There's no room
for wishy-washy, "It would be really nice to write this
year" or "I have several books in my head, now if I could
only find the time to write." One never FINDS time to
write; one MAKES time and commits to the grind of it all.
She or he works at it like one works at flossing
daily--it's a hassle but it can become a habit that truly
makes a difference later. The act of writing, for me, is
just like cleaning the shower, it only feels good when I'm
done! Successful writers expect dry spells and droopy days
AND, yet, in spite of this, they put their tetherball pole
in the cement and commit to the game. Dream it up, write it
down, act, and it will get done. Remember Goethe’s claim:
"Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness
has genius, power, and magic in it."
"Writers should be concerned with whatever absorbs their
fancy, stirs their heart, and unlimbers their typewriter."
~ E.B. White
#2: CLARITY IS POWER: Be specific in your mission for your
book. If you can't write even one-page précis or a simple
paragraph of what you're hoping to communicate, you may not
be ready to write a manuscript just yet. Stick to
journalling for now until your feelings of "MUST TELL THIS
STORY" emerge. To get more clarity, consider meditating for
10-minutes. Set your timer and practice "emptying" your
mind of noisy (neurotic) thinking by listening to the sound
of your breath exhalations as you exhale, slowly, gently
and steadily. Keep returning to the sound of your breathing
without judging how much thinking you're tempted to do.
Your thoughts, too, are like a kitten you wish would stay
on her pillow; they'll needed to be guided back to the
pillow over and over again. Best to get used to meditation
as a practice not a goal for mastery. This is why people
who meditate are called practitioners. What you may notice
is that you will be better able to let your intuition take
the lead when you ask yourself, "What must I say?" or "What
do I need to share with others?" If nothing arises, just
make your first move, begin writing a few drafts of your
"best-guess" book idea. Eventually clarity will emerge and
you'll be able to focus on specifics of your dream project,
your ideal book. As my mentor Valerie Young says, “A dream
without a plan of action becomes a nightmare.” Successful
people know that most success is guided by mental force,
but takes place in the physical realm.
#3: WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW: Think of giving a talk on your
favorite subject or sharing a fascinating story to an
interested audience. Pretend that they all eagerly await to
hear what you're learning, what you know, and what you care
about. Talk to them in a relaxed way and let them in on the
little-known facts and insights you have garnered about
your subject matter. Or, if you're writing a novel, let
your characters emerge quite colorfully, they'll do most of
the talking if you let them and, like kittens, round them
up later--when you're in the editing phase of your first
draft.
"Just remember, writing is easy. All you do is sit staring
at a blank sheet of paper until the drops of blood form on
your forehead." ~ Gene Fowler
#4 SEPARATE THE CREATOR FROM THE CRITIC: Think of shouting
at little kittens like the Wicked Witch of the West, "Come
out my pretties! I said, Come out, come out wherever you
are!" Where do you think they'll remain for the rest of the
day? Right under the bed or in a dark closet. Our creative,
even prolific, writerly-self will not emerge if we're
impatient, scowling in judgment, or trying too hard to
sound like our favorite author. What helps me is to give my
"inner eighth-grader" a chance to express herself first.
She's so much more audacious than me and is usually full of
stories that are thick with description. God help her,
she'll never stop her flow to correct trivial errors!
Bringing an attitude of acceptance and mental encouragement
can be a great start for the writing process as well and I
find it triples my generative momentum. I say, "Let the
editor come later!" Better yet, let someone who loves to
encourage you--and function as your critically-constructive
editor--do that work! It's not easy to find such talents
authentically wrapped-up in just one person, but, if you're
interested, I'm available!
#5: WORK TO CONNECT NOT TO IMPRESS: As a lodestone attracts
metals, "like" attracts "like." Instead of pretending to be
impressive or charming in your storytelling--remember even
a memoir is a story you tell--know that you are most
readable to your audience/readers when your humanness is
showing. As Doug Englebart says, “People’s ability to grow
and succeed is largely related to their ability to suffer
embarrassment.” Most of us cannot relate to your ideal,
rather, we relate to your humanity. Remember, what we’re
trying to hide will show up anyway—often sideways—through
the cracks in our façade. So you keep it real.
I say, "A writer is one who writes." So don't wait to be a
GREAT WRITER someday, just begin!
______________________
Do you have a great idea for a book that you would love to
GET OUT THERE? If so, you can count on my award-winning
writing services to help you create the book you want to
publish. As a published author, creative advisor and
college educator, I will take you all the way through the
entire process of getting your ideas into print.
"It's never too late to be what you might have been." ~
George Eliot
Jennifer Manlowe, PhD
Life Design Publishing
http://LDUpublishing.com
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