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
We get into bad thinking habits, one of which can lead us to lump all Primark shoppers into one stinky heap… and others can lead us to automatic thoughts like, “I know what I think. I know what I like. I know who I am. This is the way I vote. This is what I think about politics, religion, and that annoying man down the road.” We get into the habit of adopting instant opinions, fed to us by social media and the traditional media.
Thinking is Hard Which is Why We Don’t do it Much
Our Inner Dickheads hate change. They love the status quo (not the band).
There's no point trying to silence that voice, either; it won't go away. It's a part of you.
Want to know how I've gone from a chaotic cranefly who couldn't get out of bed to a 6 am person who writes every day and sometimes eats like a healthy adult?
We're basically a bundle of habits, good and bad.
Which means every single action we take is a vote for the person we want to be.
For the past three days, I have sat at my laptop first thing in the morning and cried tears of frustration.
Every word I've written has been dragged out of my brain with forceps and no pain relief – and arranging those words on the page has been torture.
Almost everything I've written has been total crap by my usual standards.
Post-festive-sludging and I feel like my head is stuffed with roast potatoes.
I am struggling to form a coherent thought, let alone write about one.
This is extraordinarily vexing to someone who writes for a living.
Within the haze of end-of-year parties and amidst the overindulgence of the festive feasting period glows an ember.
The glimmer of an idea.
The hope that perhaps this year will be different.
Maybe this will be the year we'll write our books or run that marathon or start that business or go after that big contract.
Just because I got elbowed in the face once in Primark doesn’t mean everyone who shops in Primark is an arse. Just because I got elbowed in the face once in Primark doesn’t mean everyone who shops in Primark is an arse. Repeat until I believe it.
Whether your project is a giant railway infrastructure, a cottage renovation, or writing your book, it will inevitably take way too long and cost much more than you budget. It’s because you suffer from the planning fallacy — with a healthy dose of optimism bias and overconfidence thrown in.
If you want to write your book, you need to build a good writing habit or you'll never manage it.
What are you struggling with? What feels horrible?
What if, instead of saying you'll write 500 words a morning, all you have to do is make a cup of tea, open your document, and scribble down what you're going to do next?
Make it easy and make it attractive.
One of the best books I’ve read on how to beat resistance and procrastination is The War Of Art by Steven Pressfield. Here's my review...
Next time you know you have a chunk of work to do – or if you're writing your book and struggling to set aside a chunk of time – book yourself a long train journey. Find some cheap first-class tickets to anywhere and settle in.
Maybe it's the constant background white noise. The clacks and clatters as the train rolls over joints in the track.
Possibly it's the gentle rolling motion as we munch through the miles.
