Wherever you are on your book writing adventure, you’ll find what you need here…
What to do if you’re just starting out on your Author Adventure: planning, preparation, and dealing with your Inner Dickhead
Two questions get fired at me often:
How can I become a better writer?
What books do you recommend I read to get better at marketing my business?
My answer to the first question is: write. Write every day and don’t worry too much if what you write is sometimes crap. You’ll get better.
Write. Edit. Improve. Repeat.
And read everything you can get your hands on, good and bad.
The thing about tiny beetle steps is, eventually they add up to great big leaps.
We get hung up on the great big leaps. We strive for massive improvements, to become an overnight success, and wish for miracles to happen fast.
If you make a mistake, people will forgive you, especially if you put it right. If you make a mistake and then disappear, you'll be considered a douchecanoe.
Ever look at those snazzy business owners in your inbox and on the internet and wonder how on earth they come up with all their stories, emails, articles, and podcasts? Wonder no more—you can do that too. The secret is simple: be fascinated by everything.
When you sit down to write a book and you realise how much bloody hard work is involved, and you're staring at the Blank Page Of Doom in despair, you're stuck.
How about if I told you I have a secret weapon that could be the key to defeating procrastination, anxiety, fear, and generalised woe?
It's *whispers* an outline.
Let me ask you again: why aren't you achieving your goals? Do you know what's missing? Which tiny beetle steps you need to take?
Knowing what questions to ask when you start to write your book is the hardest part… We spend so much time looking for answers, we rarely stop to think if we’re asking the right questions. And sometimes we don’t know which questions to ask at all…
Beware the spooks, ghouls, and monsters lurking in the shadows, waiting to destroy your book…
You can create a sacred space even in a shared office, a busy home, or a public café; it just takes a little ingenuity and a certain amount of hard-headed resolve.
What would you do with your business and your products and services if there were no rules? If nobody was watching? If you could guarantee nobody would laugh?
Perfectionism keeps us all stuck, and it may well drive us into an early grave.
Dr Brené Brown calls perfectionism “the 20-ton shield”. She says “we carry it around thinking it’s going to protect us from being hurt. But it protects us from being seen… It’s a way of thinking that says, ‘If I look perfect, live perfect, work perfect — I can avoid or minimise criticism, blame, and ridicule.
Have you ever been stuck? Staring at the Blank Page of Doom in despair?
Yep, me too.
Have you ever blamed it on "writer's block"?
Yep, me too.
Here's the thing, though: there's no such thing as writer's block.
It's a made-up myth, a lie we tell ourselves to get out of doing the work.
