|
While your
personal challenges and obstacles may not be the same as Kristi
Holl’s, her experience in mentoring hundreds of writers over 25
years has given her clear insight into the problems that beset
writers of every stripe. You’ll find that the 48 situations she
describes are very familiar, and you’ll find her solutions
ingenious, simple, practical, and effective.
“I’ve gotten
good at blasting my way through these negatives over the course of
30 years,” she says, “although many of them are still there, waiting
for me to let down my guard. Take procrastination. You just can’t
laser it out of existence. But I’ll show you 14 ways of overcoming
it whenever it pops up.
Read Chapter 29 first
Although
Stages of Writing is Chapter 29, I urge you to read it first,
because it deals with the seven predictable stages of every piece of
creative writing—from
preparation to publication. There are hazards and pitfalls at every
stage, and Kristi tells you what works for her in thwarting every
negative along the way.
I wish every
aspiring writer on earth could read these seven pages. I wish I
myself had them to read 40 years ago—but,
of course, it has taken Kristi 30 years and 42 books to develop them
all.
In the
Preparation Stage, for example, give yourself permission to write
down everything you can think of, from ideas to images to snippets
of conversation, bold thoughts, trivial thoughts, and random
thoughts. It will all make sense later. The dangers are a critical
eye, an acute ear, and a Type A brain. While you can’t change them,
you’ll find antidotes for all three.
Other dangers
lurk at the volatile Germination Stage, and the Working and
Deepening stages. But it’s in the Shaping and Completion stages,
and Going Public that you may have to find ways to re-ignite your
enthusiasm and reinforce your confidence, and Kristi has six very
effective strategies for you.
“You’re the boss”
Forget the
office. You’re the boss now. Are you the kind you like to work for—or
a tyrant, a paranoid type, or an authoritarian? You may have been
all three over the years, but Kristi tells you that there’s no boss
like a dream boss—one
who’s compassionate yet professional, sympathetic yet disciplined.
Since you are the boss, she points out, you have the power to be the
boss of your dreams.
Among other
things, a good boss honors the writing instrument; in other words,
honor yourself. Get enough sleep, good food, and exercise,
and honor your creative side by treating your ideas and fantasies as
valuables to be noted and stored for future use. The more you
honor your creative side, the more creative you’ll be. Of
course, there are dishonoring negatives, too, and Kristi shows you
how to deal with them.
Lower your expectations—for
higher achievement
Disappointment is one of those emotions that need management.
Lowering your expectations is often the best antidote. Keep the
image of a high jumper in mind. She warms up and builds confidence
with the bar set at a modest height, a low expectation. She raises
the bar inch by inch, and enjoys each accomplishment. When she tops
out, she knows she has more work to do, but she still savors all the
successful jumps along the way. Be a high jumper. Kristi shows you
how.
Much of the same
medicine that’s useful in avoiding disappointment is effective in
combating procrastination. This “disease” runs rampant through the
writing community and several chapters of More Writer’s First Aid
deals with it. Its symptoms may be varied, but it occurs as a
cycle with predictable stages. You’ll want to study both the
symptoms and the stages, noting that the cycle usually begins with
impossible goals and feelings of being overwhelmed. Kristi admits
to coming up against this old enemy time and time again, and she
shows you how to send it packing.
8 criteria for assessing any writer’s
group
Your writer
friends may be skillful in administering writer’s first aid—but
they can also be harmful. As a veteran of writer’s support groups,
and counselor to students in and out of groups, Kristi offers eight
crucial criteria in assessing any group you may be thinking of
joining. In the meantime, she says, think of an established group
as a family, and consider the dynamics set in motion when an unknown
person (you) suddenly joins it.
Groups should
be approached cautiously and mentors even more cautiously. A mentor
is primarily a trusted counselor, advisor, guide, tutor, or coach .
. . someone who’s farther along in her writing career and willing to
take you under her wing, show you the ropes, and encourage you
during the rough periods.
Your implicit
contract with your mentor is, take this potential writer and
shape her as a writer—but
do no harm. It’s the last part that could be troublesome.
Remember our earlier discussion of what it takes to be a good
boss? It’s related. Kristi also describes the earmarks of a good
mentor and four essential criteria in making your choice.
Changing your “writing lifestyle”
If you’re
tired of your “writing lifestyle” and the opportunity to change
presents itself, says Kristi, “Do it! I suddenly got tired
of all the procrastination and excuses. Just for a day, I tried
telling myself ‘I can’ statements. I said, ‘I can sit here for an
hour without a break’ and ‘I can write for two hours this morning’
and ‘I can focus regardless of my physical health’ and ‘I’ve done
lots of harder things than this’—and
guess what? I wrote for two hours, turned out about 2,650 words,
and it felt wonderfully productive.”
Kristi shows
you how to recognize the time to change your writing lifestyle . . .
how to seize the opportunity when it arrives . . . and, most
important of all, how to make the change permanent.
“Slow down . . . and get more writing
done”
As driven as
Kristi may be (she labels herself a “Type A”), she says “Slow down,”
and gives you five ways to de-accelerate, enjoy your writing, be
healthy, and get more writing done. She shows you how to defeat
procrastination by replacing your grinding schedule with an
“unschedule” . . . but urges you to keep tabs on every piece of
writing you turn out (and watch what happens!) . . . and to
stay on course, but keep on making course corrections.
“Write what
you love,” says Kristi, “because without passion, your odds of
success are smaller” . . . and she shows you why. But she also
gives you an effective alternative if you can’t write what’s dearest
to your heart full-time, gives you an inspired prescription for
facing your creative fears and turning them into powerful assets,
shows you how to stop sliding down a slippery slope toward failure,
and describes five down-to-earth ways to be a happy writer.
Watch out for saboteurs!
The forces
intent on sabotaging writers come in many disguises, and while many
appear unannounced, there are the others that we unconsciously
invite in. How do you follow your own dream instead of someone
else’s? Whose voice do you listen to? How do you order your
priorities, and where do you find the point of comfortable balance?
Every writer
must answer these questions for herself in order to write free of
conflict and guilt. The answers will be different for every writer.
But, by showing you how she answered these questions for herself,
Kristi will help you to develop your own personal and meaningful
answers.
Multi-tasking vs. mindfulness
Kristi’s
chapter on multi-tasking vs. mindfulness is brief yet important
because it’s necessary for a writer to be able to do both: The key
questions are which one do you do and when do you do it.
And there are times when you must do both at the same time.
She has a huge amount of practical experience in this area as
mom/writer/teacher/breadwinner/ blogger, and she shows you what’s
worked for her over the years. (Perfectionism is not one of them.)
When we
consider the perils of perfectionism in writing, we may be sailing
close to the rocks of procrastination and the whirlpool of
disappointment because perfectionism invites failure instead of
providing a sense of accomplishment, or satisfaction, or
reassurance. Kristi’s prescriptions are startling, yet so
down-to-earth that you’ll wonder why you haven’t been following them
from day one.
The plain
common sense and true wisdom you’ll find in the 48 chapters of
More Writer’s First Aid will amaze you, because you’ve thought
of many of these remedies yourself without actually having tried
them. Kristi gives you the “permission”—and
the courage—to
try them.
“A genuine game-changer”
And when you
learn that these are the 48 ways a successful writer actually gets
the writing done, it's a genuine game-changer.
Which of
these 48 chapters—or
how many of these 48 chapters—will
actually give you the breakthrough you’re looking for is a question
only you can answer.
I can help.
Free-Examination Guarantee
You can order
More Writer’s First Aid today for a free 30-day
examination*. You can read it—then
test it out on your own writing.
If it doesn’t
help you to solve a problem, remove an obstacle, or meet a challenge
that’s keeping you from getting the writing done, put it back
in the mailing envelope and return it to us at our cost.
No questions
asked. No hassles. Guaranteed.
Save 15% vs.
bookstore prices
But if you decide that
More Writer’s First Aid is the both practical and inspiring
companion you need to get the writing done, simply pay the
invoice we will enclose with your shipment. It will be for the
discounted Kristi Holl-fan price of $19.95 plus handling and
shipping.
If you’d
would like to receive More Writer’s First Aid for a 30-day.
no-risk examination, simply complete the order form today. Just
click on
Order Now. |
