Showing posts with label tips on writing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tips on writing. Show all posts

Thursday, February 25, 2016

How To Process The Stupid Out Of Your Project

How To Overcome Any Obstacle In Your Way


There are many reasons to get serious about anything you care about, your passion projects, from creative writing, to painting, business and entrepreneurship.

But first ask yourself, what is it about theses things that you actually enjoy?



We often get in our own way.

We focus on the outcomes, forgetting about the steps necessary for our own success.

Do you get lost in the moment?

Is it something you can do in your own time, if left to your own devices?

Musicians are a great example of this.

They can practice for hours on songs and scales, perform for a couple hours in front of an audience that ranges from zero to huge, and afterward, sit down and play some more for the sheer joy of music.

How do you think about your passion?


Is it something that like David Foster Wallace wrote in his metaphor about two fish swimming by each other, one fish asks, "How's the water" and the other fish replies "what's water?"

In other words, is it something that you can just do, or do you have a self-limiting belief holding you back?

If you struggle with starting and maintaining your passion projects, you may be putting too much emphasis on the outcome rather than the necessary steps to get there.

Writing is not simple, and every writer - which due to schooling, the Internet and email, we are all writers - has to find a way to overcome the obstacles of momentum, motivation and inertia.

Think Of The Process Like Sailing




You pull out of your slip, cruise through the harbor and set out on the water.

If you constantly stare at the port, it's going to seem like you're never getting anywhere.

The gradual distance between you and the dock seem like it's taking forever to create any real distance.

But, if you look forward, focus on all the little things like wind, setting the jib and steering; enjoy the scenery in front and next to you, once you look back, you'll be amazed how far you've travelled.

Or imagine a cross-country flight.

You walk down the tunnel, board, stow you carry-on luggage, sit down and buckle in.  Luckily you have a window seat and can look out while you're on your way.

Do you spend the entire flight staring at the clouds and watching the square lots on the ground, wondering if there are people down there?  If so, where are they going? What are they doing? Are they looking at you as you fly at cruising altitude, bouncing around in your seat from a little light turbulence?

It'll seem like the flight lasts a life time if you try to count each lot as you fly overhead.

But if you strap down, watch a movie, read a book, or take a nap and only look out the window after you get up to use the bathroom when you need to, the flight will seem like it's passing in no-time at all.

It's All About The Process Not The Product


3 Authors That Will Help You Overcome Your Adversity To Writing


1) In his book on writing, The Lie That Tells a Truth, John Dufresne opines that when we focus on the end product, it's difficult to see it through. He encourages us in his preface that;
"Remember when you were a child, and you were stuck in the house on a rainy day, and Mom sat you at the kitchen table, gave you a pencil, a sharpener, a box of crayons, and a ream of paper, and you went at it? You drew all day long and never got blocked..."
The idea here is that as kids, we never thought about the outcome of our passion.  We used it to lose ourselves in the moment.  To act as a pastime when we could.  It was about the enjoyment of the process not the end result.

2) Similarly Austin Kleon writes in his books, Steal Like An Artist and Show Your Work, that it's the process that people don't see when they think about creative work.

People enjoy the finished product, but as creatives we should focus on enjoying the process.

He suggests getting out in the world, carrying a notebook and making notes of the sights, sounds, smells, that you experience. You can use them at a later date.

I wrote a post about this process of stealing and borrowing for ideas on a blog post that you can read here: My Kindle Publishing Lesson: Beg, Borrow and Steal Your Way To Becoming A Better Writer.

The point is, you can borrow from people around you and utilize it to make your projects better.




3) Finally author Johnny B. Truant of The Smarter Artist Podcast (as well as the Self-Publishing Podcast and Write, Publish, Repeat) claims in his episode titled "Talking About Writing Is Not Writing" - he mentions the work that a carpenter does.

A carpenter doesn't spend their time talking about carpentry, they're actively working on the craft.

So find a way with your passion project to get deep into the trenches of doing the actual work.

The band Pearl Jam says that when they started, they're rehearsal space was in the basement of a warehouse that other creatives used during the day.

They'd walk past the artists, climbing down the stairs smelling the paint and tincture, and feel inspired to match what was going on around them.

In all of these examples, there is the reinforcement to focus on the process, the daily act of sitting down and writing.

No one is saying that following your passion project is going to be easy.  Or simple, or fun all the time.

There's no guarantee you won't fall on your face, lose your shirt, or fail.

Get Lost To Find Yourself

Set a goal.

Perhaps it's finding a new client.

Or writing 500 words a day.

Perhaps it's running 3 miles at the end of a long work day.

Set a goal that you can realistic do everyday.  Don't worry about the outcome of those goals.

For this exercise focus on small, micro-accomplishments that you can do and maintain daily.

The point is, create the process of doing little things that moves you , step by step, toward your goals.

The act of getting down in the trenches, of digging into the words and what you're trying to say, is one you need to be willing to do.

Teach yourself how to be preoccupied with the act of doing, how to get lost in the moment, knowing that you'll get there some day and some how.

Just don't worry about the outcome. How it'll be received, or whether it'll be any "good."

That's a burden that's too great to carry.

And one that, often, you don't have any control over.

So focus on the necessary steps, and diligently get lost in the process (an oxymoron for sure!).

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

3 Tips To Conquer Your Fears And Become The Person You Deserve


The Secret To Becoming Superhuman

Change Comes Slow While Excuses Are Fear By Another Name

(click HERE To See The Outstanding Book: The Power of Habit)






Not many of us can be born as Superman.  There's only one. And he was an alien at that.

Peter Parker wouldn't have become Spiderman except by accidental happenstance.

And the winner of the most recent lottery may have been handed a HUGE financial windfall from the Universe, but for most of us, change isn't a lightning bolt from the blue.

You lie awake at night thinking about how you can get xyz done at work the next day or how you need to exercise first thing when you wake up.

The alarm goes off and wham! You're too tired to lace up your shoes to go for a run.

Or the kids come running into the kitchen screaming for breakfast and poof!

There goes the time you had planned to read that chapter in your sci-fi novel that you were hoping to dig into before hand.

It's easy to think about change.

But hard to act to make those changes.

To make a change in your habits, routines, productivity and health is really about making a change in YOU.

Work, Love, Health, Wealth (or lack thereof) - All Roadblocks To Change

If something matters, if something is really important to you, you'll find a way. 

There are roadblocks and obstacles in all our lives. It could be our jobs, our families, our state of health. 

Other things that may hold us back from making a change all fall under the umbrella of fear.  We're afraid we could be wrong.  Or that we're not capable of reaching our goals.

We all share in the fear.

The key is to identify those fears:

  • Fear: We're afraid we may fail
  • Fear: Afraid of the discomfort that comes with change
  • Fear: Scared of the unknown and what may come from it
  • Fear: Doubt in your skills and abilities
  • Fear: Terror in not being "good enough"

And the biggest FEAR of all?

Perfectionism.

It does NOT exist.  It's something to dream about, to aspire toward, but too often we use it as a crutch, as a distraction from what we are capable of doing.

It prevents us from getting started.

So how do you avoid these little distractions becoming major obstacles?

The key is to set realistic and identifiable metrics that you can meet.

Follow these 3 tips to become Superhuman.
  1. Decide what you want to get done.
  2. Break the task into smaller steps that you can do in less time with less effort.
  3. Prioritize those steps into 3 things you can do right away, number them from 1 to 3.

Don't worry if there's more than 3 things.  You're focusing on the 3 steps you can take right away.

Set aside a realistic amount of time to get these done.  It may be 10 minutes, or more if you need it, but this time is immutable.  It can't be negotiated away or ignored.

It is absolute.

Don't have 10 minutes?  Bullshit.

Set an alarm to wake up 20 minutes earlier.  If you're normally a 7 a.m. type of person, you are now a 6:40 a.m. type of person.  Or if you go to bed at 11 p.m. (or 1 a.m. for some), then you're now 11:20 p.m.

This needs to be the same routine every day.



You need to LOVE Change.


You need to commit to the process.


It needs to be an everyday thing for you.


You're trying to make the change a new habit.









From there you're trying to make it from a habit to involuntary action.  Like taking a breath or a heartbeat.

You're establishing a daily routine that reaches the point of Automacy - the state of action that is automatic. In other words it doesn't take mental energy or focus to take action.

The most important factor in behavioral change is the discipline and focus on daily, manageable action.

It's dedication.

It's a commitment.

And it's practice.

But highly focused practice.

Until it's no longer necessary to focus on the actions, or until you just find yourself doing those actions without even knowing you began.

When you catch yourself "in the moment" and don't remember how it began.

A very smart person once told me, "practice doesn't make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect".

Said another way:

Practice makes permanent.

And permanence will make you merely human, or superhuman.


Saturday, July 11, 2015

I Need Your Help With Something....

You Are The Most Important Factor With My Kindle Publishing Journey

kindle publishing tips

Have You Heard - My Short Story The Ballad Of John Walker Is Out Now!  


It wasn't too long ago that I published the short story "The Ballad of John Walker" through Kindle Publishing.

June 16th, 2015 to be exact.  Right away it surged to the top of new releases, and since that point it's slowed down. 

The main reason?  Not enough reviews.


   Get your copy and leave a review!


Leave A Review On Amazon And I'll Email You A Free Beta-Version Of A New Story! 


First, thanks to everyone who picked up a copy!  Don't worry - if you want to grab a copy you can get it by clicking HERE.

Now what I need are Amazon reviews.  Every review is important for Amazon to recommend this story and future titles.  Amazon has a "bot" that looks for reviews as a way to value the titles on their bookshelves so it really helps my profile in the eyes of the Amazon bot. 

Here's what I need you to do: 

After picking up the story "The Ballad of John Walker" once you finish it, you'll be asked on the last page to leave a review.  

The more stars I get the higher that Amazon views the story.  It will ask you for a headline and quick worded statement.  

To make it easier for you, here's a suggestion of what to write: 

A short evocative read that will resonate with you long after you finish.   A suspense thriller that will shock you and make you consider the dangers of a surveillance state. This kindle short reads as a fast-paced mystery, thriller and suspense all in one! 


Or you can write something like this:


A gritty suspense thriller, The Ballad of John Walker will make you think long and hard about living in the modern security state.  What would you do if everything you had was taking away from you in an instant?  This short kindle reads like a answer to this what-if and serves as a clarion call for us all.


It'll take less than a couple minutes and will go a LONG way toward how the story gets seen by Amazon, their search engine and how it will rank with Kindle Publishing.

Leave A Review Get A Gift For YOU 


Finally to entice you even more, if you leave a review, shoot me a quick private message at my personal email address and I'll send you an early pre-release version PDF of my new short story "A Fine Day For A Swim" before I publish it! 

This short story won't be out until sometime in late August, so you get to be the first readers and FOR FREE! 

P.S. as a bonus, look for my new ebook, Mayonnaise and Other Stories - for only $1.99 reduced for a limited time from $2.99.

Get The Ballad of John Walker Now




Get Your Copy Of Mayonnaise and Other Stories Here (For a reduced price of $1.99 now)


Monday, June 1, 2015

Kindle Publishing For The ADD Crowd

Shiny Object Syndrome

How To Avoid Losing Out By Becoming Distracted


In the warm Atlantic, there's a fiercely aggressive predator fish known as the barracuda.  Long, snake-like with a huge row of teeth, the barracuda attack their prey quickly.

A little known legend is that barracuda are attracted to shiny metal objects.

Whether this is a wives tale or reality, the point is that a shiny attractive object gets the barracuda's attention.

Like those GIF's of kittens sitting around in a basket with their head's snapping to and fro with the rhythm of an unseen object offscreen, the barracuda are thought to ignore what they were up to at the moment and follow the new shiny object.




Cute aren't they.  But distracting.

Did you already forget that this post is about staying focused?

We all fall prey to it. The key is not to let it drag you into the swamp.

Rescue Your Writing From The Dragon Of Distraction


I've fallen into the trap multiple times, including recently.

This post has taken over a week just to get to through the first draft.  Starts and stops and fits in between, like a tantrum-throwing kid, this post has evolved a number of times, in concept and in design.

Since my last post, I've chased around a number of solutions, tips and gimmicks from supposed gurus.

I'd bought a number of new books, watched TED talks and documentaries.  I'd subscribed to a number of blogs promising how to increase my productivity and my efficiency.

I'd begun taken two new online courses, all the while looking for more courses to take.

In other words, I was chasing the shiny new object.

I stopped working on short stories.

The daily process stopped.

My editing sat unedited. The stories sat, collecting dust as manuscripts, unworked and under developed.

What did I learn?

You have to stay focused on what's important.

Or allow all your time to get sucked away into things that don't matter for the task at hand.

Basically I forgot my own lessons.  I lost discipline.

Having learned how easily it is to get distracted, the biggest take away for me, is to just sit down and write.

You can't slay a dragon in one battle, or in one strike.  It takes time I imagine.

Run A Marathon In Less Than 2 Hours (or at least write about it)

Sunday the Rock 'n Roll Marathon was run in San Diego.

Don't worry, I didn't run it.  Oh, God no.

That would be bad news.  Not just for me, but for the actual runners around me.

The sweating, heart-pounding, achilles tearing disaster that my plodding knee exploding herky-jerky strain of running in a race like that would be both comical and tragic simultaneously.

I'd be laboring profusely, snot bubbles bursting from my nostrils, armpits swampy and wet, and that'd be just from the effort of standing in the crowd!

It's just not for me, so I didn't even attempt it.

But I know some people who did.

And they trained.

Some trained for years to get the stamina and endurance built up.

Others trained to get their pacing down so that they could challenge a goal.

As I wrote about the Pomodoro Technique previously, the key to productivity is make it manageable doses.

Being a writer is a lot like being a marathon runner.

If you focus on just the outcome, it seems too difficult a journey.

Focusing on the process in short durations, such as the Pomodoro Technique teaches, makes the outcome easier to accomplish.  One word, one sentence at a time will produce the length and word count you eventually want.

That means, focusing on making small bite-sized portions that will help you accomplish your outcome.

And the sum becomes a byproduct of its parts.

Like a marathon runner - put one foot in front of the other and you'll become a champion eventually.







Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Kindle Publishing Journey - Are You A Chicken Or A Pig? How To Increase Productivity By Making Bacon

Kindle Publishing Tips: Increase Productivity By Making Yourself Accountable 

This week, the process of my Kindle Publishing journey is about finishing.

Everyone has ideas, some are great, others aren't so much. 

The difference between what separates writers from authors is finishing and the difference between great and not so great can only be achieved after you finish. 

And the best way to finish something?  You have to start. 

You have to stay disciplined.  

Have a schedule of your time and stay dedicated to certain tasks during those times of the day and week.  

You can read about how to compartmentalize your writing and improve your productivity in this post (Get Off Your Ass And Write).

Part of the trick to staying on task is telling others what you plan to do.  Commit to the idea, take the necessary steps and follow through.  Then let your group challenge you some more.  

That step-by-step process is one great way to define productivity and improve your output. 

Everyone Needs A Tribe

Athletes train with a team.  It's how they push and challenge themselves to get better.

Especially in those moments when they want to stop, quit and walk away.  

But they make an agreement with each other.  If they need support, they have each other.

When they need a challenge, they're going through the struggle of training together.

It's what gets them out of bed in the early morning when they're sore, tired and unmotivated.

It's what gets them to run that extra sprint or lift that extra rep. 

That's one of the reasons why Boot Camps, as a form of after hours training, are so popular right now. 

People come together, agree to meet at the same time every day, and support and challenge each other. 

This commitment is one that is NOT to be broken.

That's what accountability is about, not letting those who count and depend upon you, down.

Currently there are two short stories in the pipe-line with a non-fiction concept in development.  The goal is to finish the stories this week and begin the writing phase of the non-fiction ebook.  

The ebook is dedicated to the step-by-step process I'll take to Kindle Direct Publishing of the stories I've written.

This is me, telling you, what my goals are for the week.

In order to accomplish them I needed to shout it loud here.  

My hope is that by telling you my goals, I'll have to put up or shut up.

Credibility is a hard thing to gain, and very easy to lose.  It's a form of trust between us. 

So that makes you, my imaginary audience, my group for the week.  I have to maintain the trust you've shown by reading this blog to stay on task.  

Are You A Chicken Or A Pig? 

In Johnny B. Truant's post at Sterling and Stone - What Defines You, he writes about the idea that as story tellers we need to be engaged with our own stories.

Even though it takes discipline to finish, and the topic of this post is all about finishing, the BEST way to finish something is to become committed and engaged with it. 

Writing should not be like sitting in a dentist chair, numb from novocaine and getting drilled.

You may be engaged, but you're not committed to the process.  

I've heard it said a different way - a coach asked his team about their commitment to the team with the following metaphor about the animals involved in their breakfasts:

If you had eggs and bacon for breakfast, what separates the chicken from the pig?

The chicken is dedicated, the pig is invested. 

So, you're my tribe.

And I'm a pig. 

Join me in the process and become bacon as well. 




Saturday, April 18, 2015

Why Writers Should Think More Like Athletes To Meet Your Kindle Publishing Goal

Life Won't Help You With Your Kindle Publishing Goals

So Stop Waiting For It To Help

The greatest challenge to this adventure as a writer is just sitting down and producing.

I'm sure you understand.

Life has a way of throwing obstacles, hurdles and challenges at us.  This is a test for each of us.

One we MUST overcome.

It's true that the greater the challenge, the greater the importance to finish.

And that's true whether your challenge is to write kindle books, traditional books or other forms of self-publishing.

Why Writers Should Play Like A Champion

Think like an athlete.

They train hours upon hours.

They break down every muscle group, they grind to the point of fatigue and beyond.

They work to reach a level of failure.

They regroup, and strive for failure again.

But they know, that no matter how much they fail, they'll get back up and try again.

Why?

They have a passion to improve.

They understand that while failure can break them down, muscle tissue needs to tear in order to strengthen itself.

So they run an extra mile.  Or swim another set.  They lift another repetition at the end of a set.

With the knowledge that the process is bringing them one step closer to mastery.

The Challenge Is In Ourselves


We all have the same number of days in a week, and the same number of hours in a day.

The challange then is how we use our resources, our strengths, in those hours.

Are you willing to set aside the time necessary for what you want?  Or are you looking for reasons, for excuses, as to why you haven't done what you wanted to achieve?

Like an athlete, who schedules a time everyday to train, you must be disciplined at setting aside a block of time for what you want to achieve.

Writers Are Poor With Time Management Skills

Time management is a skill.

Like shooting a basketball or hitting a golf ball.  It must be honed daily, or the skills weaken.

So the challenge is setting aside some time everyday and working on your craft.  It doesn't have to be a big block of time.

If your goal is to write kindle books or some other type of book, time management skills are critical.

Stephen King has talked about how as an unknown writer, he would use his lunch break to work on his novel.

That novel became "Carrie".

Time Management And The Pomodoro Technique

Start small and build your creative stamina up over time.

Short, focused bursts of creativity with a managed time break is a good tip to help you achieve your goals.

This time management technique is known as the Pomodoro Technique.

Detailed in the early 90's the Pomodoro Technique is a strategy of beaking down a set of tasks into intervals of 20-25 minutes with a 5+ minute break from that activity.

You can apply this tactic in the early morning, late afternoon, or at night.  You can work in smaller increments, if necessary.

The task of writing can be difficult.

The challenge then is sitting down and writing.

Edit later.  But sit down and write.

If your goal of writing kindle books or other traditional publishing mediums is really important to you, you need to just write.

If time management is an issue, ask your self what 20 minutes you have free.

What can you, like Stephen King, do while on your lunch hour? How about before going to bed at night?

What time do you have to allow you to move one step closer than you started.

Marathon runners know not to look at how far they have to run, they focus their energy on putting one foot in front of the other.

Before long, they can't see the starting line but know they're that much closer to finish.




Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Just Write Then Publish With Kindle Publishing

Just Get Started With Amazon Kindle Publishing

Nike had it right.  In the late - 80's and through the 90's they had an iconic advertising slogan, which was "Just Do It".

And how does that apply to writing?

Too often we like to think about writing.  Without actually writing.

We daydream about the story lines, characters, the action.

We imagine the way it will be received, and let's be honest, sell.

But we don't write a word.

Some of the reasons we think about what holds us back are things like "if only I had more time". Or "once I get X, then I'll be able to write."

The truth is, there are plenty of hours in the day.

Stephen King spoke about how he'd find time in his day, before heading to work, during his lunch hour, and after his work day, to write, edit and eventually publish.

The novel he was working on?

Carrie.

If you were to follow the logical conclusion of their ad slogan, you'd be writing in ebook formats and using Amazon Kindle Publishing every day.

We're All Busy, Find A Way To Do What Matters 

Look, real life will intrude as it wants.  Doesn't matter who you are, or where you are in your life.

If that's what is getting in your way, they are, in the end, simple excuses for not writing.

It's the fear.  Fear of failing, of the anonymity that the process of writing requires.

The solitude of sitting behind a monitor, or a tablet.

They are, again, just excuses.

You Know What Your Passion Is, You Just Need To Believe In It


Currently I'm reading The Art Of Work by Jeff Goins.

It's an incredible resource about why, and how, we should try to live the life we are meant to as writers, creators, people.

If you'd like to get a copy, check out my affiliate link or go to Amazon directly.