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Resistance Slows Us Down

We’re on our way to Southern California where we’ll spend two months teaching and helping others. Our 2017 Yukon gets up to 25 mpg on the open road, but when pulling an RV, our mileage usually drops to 10-14. It depends on the conditions. But this trip was different.

From western Oklahoma, through the Texas panhandle, and into New Mexico, we hit a powerful headwind that took our mileage down to 9 mpg. In some areas, we encountered a powerful crosswind that blew one large truck off the highway and rolled it onto its side.

Wind is often a powerful resistance, and we have to adjust our driving habits to assure that we drive safely. But other situations present other types of hindrances.

Unexpected obligations and responsibilities are other types of resistances. This trip is one of them. As mentioned above, I am traveling now and will be busy teaching and mentoring for two months, and that will require some of the time I have invested in writing these blogs.

You may have noticed that I’ve missed several days already. Therefore, until the middle of July, I will probably write 2 blogs a week rather than my usual 5.

You writers and authors also encounter resistances in your writing. Yes, you are also slowed down at times, but don’t allow the hindrances to stop you completely, and don’t become discouraged.

Fulfill your obligations and meet your responsibilities. But do continue to set time aside to continue your writing, and when you do, make sure you …

Write Creatively.

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You Don’t Know how to Start?

You want to write a book, but you don’t know how to start?

You might need to consider personal time management. Separate tasks or projects under “urgent” – “important” – “necessary” – “desired.” This takes insight, planning, preparation, and promotes efficiency. It also greatly reduces time spent in crisis-management.

Decide what’s needed to accomplish that task. Of all those necessities, which ones are more important? Of those, which ones are mandatory?

Of course, you will have decided on a theme, plot, and story line. You will also need pen & paper, typewriter & paper, or a computer. And it would help if you had a place to write, and time to do it.

However, one of the most important aspects of writing is what I call living your story. Authors who mentally enter the story write with a more balanced emotion, and that gives the story life.

So make your plan. Study your topic, ask for and receive proper mentoring, and pick out a good editor. Why? Editors refine and improve our material by correcting a lot of things we writers miss: errors in spelling, grammar, syntax, and punctuation. They also ensure that ideas flow logically and smoothly.

But you’ll never write the story or book unless you sit down and just start writing. It won’t write itself.

Please keep these thoughts in mind, and …

Write Creatively

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First Impressions

You’re going for a job interview. How do you dress? If you’re applying for a managerial position, don’t dress like a surfer. If you’re going for a position as a plumber, a suit and tie might not be appropriate. Your appearance, interaction, and attitude must convince the manager that you are the person for the job. First impressions are usually long-lasting, and can make the difference whether you get the job.

In a similar manner, when someone picks up your book, he or she must be quickly convinced that the book is worth reading. Your first sentence, or at least your first paragraph, must arrest the reader’s attention. For example …

In the book, APRIL 1865 (Jay Winik, HarperCollins, 2001), Mr. Winik opens his introduction with: “Atlanta had been overwhelmed. Columbia had been surrendered – and burned. Charleston had been abandoned. The peace conference at Hampton Roads had been fruitless. And the British and the French had refused to intervene.”

That opening salvo got my attention! I continued reading.

Like Jay Winik did, we must make that very important first impression in the opening lines of our book. We don’t want readers to put our book down until they devour the whole story.

And remember, the last lines of each page must prompt the reader to turn the page. The last page of the chapter should present a hook to pull the reader to the next chapter. And the first paragraph of each chapter should be a lure to entice the reader to keep reading. Yes, the book must be interesting!

All that is wrapped up in two words:

Write Creatively

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Fulfilling Your Dream of Writing – Step 2

You’ve thought about Choosing a Comfortable Place to Write, so today let’s talk about Developing a Writing Routine.

How do you decide when to write … or even if you are going to write? Do you have a plan about when to write, or does the mere thought of writing drain your energy?

Those questions reveal the big problem for many people: they don’t have a plan. Well, this blog will help you jump a major hurdle.

Answer this: How do you eat a 72-ounce steak at The Big Texan restaurant in Amarillo, Texas? You certainly do NOT put the whole thing in you mouth and start chewing. You take one bite at a time.

So, how do we develop our plan? Let’s break it down into bite-size chunks.

Some folks write best in the morning while others prefer evenings or late at night. Some spend a week or two in a cabin in the hills to get away, or even go on an ocean cruise in a room of their own. Some writers set a word count, such as 500 or 1,000 words at a setting. Others prefer a page or chapter count, and yet others devote a certain number of hours a day to writing. (Up to this point in this blog, you’ve read 224 words.)

The average word count for a novel is 70,000-100,000. So, if you can write 1,000 words in a setting (that’s about 4 double-spaced, 8.5” x 11” pages with 1-inch margins), you can write your book in 70-100 writing days. One of my clients wrote his second novel in a month. (It had about 65,670 words.)

So, how do I decide when to write? My office is always ready for me, and my most productive time to write is in the evening and at night. (I call my office my Time Travel Machine because while in it I mentally go anywhere in the world or in the universe, and to any historical time period I choose.) And I don’t decide to write a book; I decide how many hours I will devote to writing each day.

  1. Find the time and place that best suits you. 2. Develop your writing routine.

I’ll see you tomorrow.

Write Creatively

(There are 386 words in this blog.)

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Fulfilling Your Dream of Writing – Step 1

Some folks can write anywhere, anytime, and in any situation. I applaud them, and somewhat envy them, but that doesn’t work for everyone. Most of us need a place where we can shut out the noise of the world and think. And since humans are creatures of habit – subconscious as well as conscious – we should develop that place.

Choose a Comfortable Place to Write. It will be a place where you can go and quickly enter your world of writing. Turn off attention-demanding electronics, including the phone. Give yourself 10 to 15 minutes to enter the correct frame of mind. Keep distractions to a minimum.

The world-renown Paul Harvey was a radio broadcaster for ABC News for many years. He had a world-wide audience that included US presidents and other leaders. His morning reports were titled News and Comment, and his afternoon program was called, The Rest of the Story. 

His morning routine hardly ever changed: brush teeth, clean up, get dressed as though going to meet important people – including wearing his ever-present bow tie – eat breakfast, and go into his study which was in his house. His wife, Lynne, didn’t let anyone bother Paul during his writing time. Since his writing routine didn’t change, he was able to quickly immerse himself into the topic at hand, and became efficient in his work.

So, create your writing space. I’ll see you tomorrow.

Write Creatively