|
|
| www.1001TopWords.com |
|
|
Overcome Writers Block with Snake Dancing
Writer's block! Even columnist Dave Berry has it. He admits that at least 30 times a day when writing his humor column, he gets up from his computer to sip his Pepsi to divert his attention when he can't think of what to write. Recently, he reached for the cola and instead found a coiled snake. He tried barbecue tongs to carry it away, but when it landed in his pool, he kept the dance going trying to catch the thing. As a writer you may think you are blocked because you think your book may not be significant enough, you don't know how to format it, or since you aren't famous, your book won't sell. Or, like Dave you can't think of something great to say. Let the book coach encourage you beyond your doubts. Know that your book is unique and offers useful solutions to help your audience solve their challenge or problem. You don't have to write like others, and yes, you can write a saleable book. What is Writer's Block? To me it's just that I'm distracted and don't seem organized enough with what's important to write for my particular audience. It's a signal that my brain won't focus temporarily. Like Dave Berry, I need a break. To some of you, it's like stepping off a cliff and plunging into the abyss. You don't have all the answers to start, so it becomes overwhelming to even put words to paper.. Why do we have Writer's Block? 1. We have too many ideas/ choices. We need to focus on one thing at a time. Write down 3-4 topics you are passionate about. Take some deep breaths, and let the #1 come forth. Write on one book primarily, and just put new ideas into the others' folder. Stay with your #1 book until you finish it. When we don't finish a project, we feel guilty--and hence more stuck! 2. Fear. Really, "False Evidence Appearing Real." Our performance anxiety keeps us from taking that next step. However, we can get direction and skills from a how-to book on writing or a qualified book coach if we are willing. 3. We don't have enough information to move forward to write a clear, compelling book. Perhaps we aren't sure of how to publish our book. Or, we don't know how to put a chapter together. Book writing information is easily available from the Internet. Do a search on "book coaching" and find helpful resources. 4. It seems an enormous task in time and money. What most emerging authors don't realize is that they don't have to write the "end all, be all" book. Just choose one focus such as solving one problem or writing for only one preferred audience per book. Targeted audiences are much easier to sell to. How to Get Unstuck 1. Warm up! Writers need to relax, get into alpha state each time before they write. So take deep belly breaths for 1-2 minutes first. Another way to set up your book writing success is to listen to relaxing music before you set out to write. You may even warm up by handwriting something before you commit it to your computer. 2. Got the blank page blues? Write a little the day before-then you have a partial page to hook new related, information onto. I wrote this article in two sittings because I didn't like my old introduction. 3. Switch tasks, but honor a time set aside for writing each day. If you are stuck in #1 book, add research stories, or how to's to the #2 book. If stuck on one chapter, start or work on another one. 4. Organize your book, both on your computer and in paper files. For your book, name it and save as the main folder. Add new files to this folder such as 5. Start a promotion folder too. Name one folder "traditional" and another one "online." Start adding files of promotion information as it comes to you. Then, when your book is almost finished, you'll have your promotion foundation ready to hit the ground running for fast, continuous sales that keep your cash flow going. 6. Love your topic. When you have passion for your book, you won't have many blocks. You'll be excited to sit down and spend special time each week on it. You may want to work daily like I do. When you do one "high level" activity a day on your book, you will finish before you know it and you will feel exhilarated and satisfied at your results. Remember a page a day yields 365 pages a year. Think about a shorter book of only 25-50 pages you can deliver as an eBook or print book. You can finish one in less than a month! Judy Cullins, 20-year book and Internet Marketing Coach, Author of 10 eBooks including "Write your eBook Fast," and "How to Market your Business on the Internet," she offers free help through her 2 monthly ezines, The Book Coach Says...and Business Tip of the Month at http://www.bookcoaching.com/opt-in.shtml and over 140 free articles. Email her at mailto:Judy@bookcoaching.com
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Recipe for a Style Guide Wired Online has recently announced its plans to drop capitalization in internet, web, and net, but Wired Magazine continues to capitalize these words. Which should you do? For the most part, it's up to you. To ensure consistency on such tricky words, most editors will have a style guide. Taking the Free Out of Freelance Writing When you run an online agency for freelance writers, editors and proofreaders you'd think the biggest problem would be attracting employers who are willing to pay a decent hourly rate for freelance writing. Essay Types and Modes Youll Need to Write for College ~TYPES~ Have You Settled On First Choice When Choosing A Title? Short Story Writing Tips - Writing For The Web: Where To Get Article Ideas A friend and I were talking the other day about writing. He liked to write, but even so his biggest problem was finding things to write about. My friend was astounded at the volume of writing that I do - at least one article and something as many as six, per day. Where do I get all of the ideas from? Learning to Question Your Elephant Child: Who, What, Where, When and Why Having problems writing? I don't know why. San Francisco Chronicle columnist Jon Carroll writes up to five columns a week. After all, if he can write five columns, you should be able to write a five-lined poem-but that does not seem to be the case. Top Ten Ways to Write a Book That Sells Is there a book inside of you? Yes? Then why don't you write it? Or, if you've already written a book, wouldn't you like to sell more? So many of you have a great idea for a book, even a dynamite title, but much more is needed to write a book that sells. Here's the top ten ways to write a book that sells: Amazing Ways Writing Articles Can Improve Your Business How to get a lot of traffic to your website FREE? Writing articles. This is one of most cost effective way to promote your website - it saves you a lot of money, in the meantime, you get a lot of valuable visitors. The following are a few tips for your reference. And What Do You Do? ... How To Know When Youre a Writer! It's the funniest thing. When someone asks me what I do for a living, I tell them, "I'm a writer." The standard response is, "No, really, what do you do?" Somehow, I always flounder in the conversation because I never expect that type of response. Is The Theme Reinforced In The Ending? Creative Writing Tips ? Piecing It All Together There's a little known secret we writers like to keep to ourselves, because we fear that if word got out, readers would immediately become disillusioned and abandon us. It's not as bad as a reviewer spoiling a twist in the plot of a book, I suppose. Those people should be tarred with onion dip, feathered with potato chips and released to a crowd of hungry football fans on the day of the Super Bowl. But it is a little like the magician showing you how he fooled you. Four Easy Ways to Get a Book Written (Especially If You Dont Like to Write) Becoming an author is probably a lot easier than you think. It's time to get that book out of your head and onto the printed page. Ready? Boot out your excuses. Here's how to do it. Focusing Your Reading and Finding Ideas Many experts recommend reading as a way to get ideas, but usually do not offer more specific suggestions, such as pinpointing and identifying areas that you can select from and write about. From my own experience, I know how frustrating this can be. I took endless notes and saved countless newspaper clippings, only to discard nearly all of them a few years later. Getting Past The Shoulds To Write During the past few months I have received many questions asto how I have gone from an unknown writer to over comingsociety's adversarial thoughts on what writing should be andbecome a well known writer. So, today, I was inspired towrite on this. Let me present a gist of my story. And likeall stories there's always more depth. You Can Be An Author "You should write a book." For years, I had been hearing this comment. Writing an entire book seemed completely overwhelming, and so, for a long time, I contented myself with writing short articles. One day, inspiration for an article hit me and, as I started writing, paragraphs began flowing out at an enormous rate. Before I knew it, a rather lengthy piece was developing. It was too long to be an article, so, I decided it would not hurt to try self-publishing a little booklet. Was I ever surprised! The first printing of this 32-page black and white booklet sold out within a week. A Book Note Vs a Book Report Introduction Screenwriting, Screenplays, Screenwriters - Writing a Screenplay Using Structure Effective screenwriting relies on the good understanding and use of structure. How to Write Funny -- Its All About Timing My Dad has this old joke that goes, "What's the most important thing about humor?" After a short pause, he interjects, "TIMING!" Learning How To Write As a student of Spanish, my goal was to think in Spanish. Skipthe word-by-word translation so I'd have the necessary speed tospeak and listen. I know words in Spanish that I'd be hardpressed to translate. Usually profanity, I confess. Chingow! 8 Tips to Get Publishers to Notice You If your articles aren't getting published very often, or you just want to increase the chances of them being published, then you will benefit from the tips in this article.
|
| © Athifea Distribution LLC - 2013 |
