My NaNoWriMo Journey-Day 15-In the Zone

Have you ever been so ‘in the zone’ with your writing that your immediate surroundings and the ‘present’ is non-existent? I have, many times. This is what I love about writing. I get to place myself into the skin of my characters, get to visit places I’ve never visited and revisit places, become a bad girl/boy… but I digress, because today was no exception and so engrossed was I, that I burnt the dinner. Yes my rib-eye steak was well and truly over-done, which is usually how I like it; burnt to cinders, no. And my lovely portabella mushrooms was shriveled like a moist prune.

How did this happen? I forgot to put the alarm on, on my mobile, which is what I use to time myself on projects I’m working on. The long and short of it is that I settled for a Lean cuisine, which was rather nice.

So, as mentioned in my last blog, I bumped into a hurdle about Lavina finding out about her dad, whose cultural background, by the way is Dutch. He would have been born during the apartheid era and would be considered an Afrikaner. I’m still working on it and the modest research I’ve done since is proving rather interesting and may lead me to pastures new.

In any event, I worked on some scenes further into the book and did a cool 1500 words today.

I’m back in the rhythm:)

Spring Into Action – Face Your Writing Fears

If you ask some of the leading multi-millionaires if setting up a business during a recession is plain crazy, I am sure they would wave your question away. Why? Because many of them started their businesses during this period and came out winners.

Just because we are in an economic slowdown doesn’t mean it is the worse time to set up a business. And if you are serious about writing, you need to think of it as your business.

Throughout history there have been extraordinary stories of success from General Electric as far back as 1873 in the middle of the Great Panic to Donald Trump in 2009, “I just bought something in Washington, a big project in Washington. Just bought a big project in New Jersey. It is a great time to be buying,” Trump said. (FOX News, February 18, 2009).

Okay, so you may not be buying a big project, but writing is a project. As such you must prepare yourself for the other aspects that go with writing. Some of these aspects include putting a budget in place for editing and marketing your next bestseller. You may be in a credit crunch, but you’ve got to invest in yourself if you want to be successful.

You not only have to invest financially, but your time too. That means building your platform by joining groups, social mediums, setting up your website, blog, networking, topic research, book title and cover research, along with researching whether your book will be an e-book or whether you will need an agent if you decide to publish your book traditionally. If self-publishing, this requires the same action. Not to mention putting together your proposal.

Brainstorming and setting a plan in place will put you way ahead of the game. There are plenty of opportunities out there for you to keep at the cutting edge of trends by attending more networking events, training workshops and industry seminars.

If you are serious about your long-term writing career, the economic slowdown is not a stop sign for your entrepreneurial aspirations but a time to leverage your time, put your creative ideas on paper and be ready for when the good times roll around. And it will!

Go, Write It, Work, Publish It!

© 2010 Cherry-Ann Carew

WOULD YOU LIKE TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE, NEWSLETTER, MAGAZINE, BLOG OR WEBSITE? Please do, but ensure you include this complete resource box:

Cherry-Ann Carew, The Power Writing Coach, Editor, Author and Founder of Writetastic Solutions, is a contributing author to How the Fierce Handle Fear – ‘Secrets to Succeeding in Challenging Times.’  Learn how her coaching and editing services can help you with your book. Subscribe for your FREE SPECIAL REPORT: ‘Discover The 3 Simple Steps That Will Help You Start And Finish Your Book.

 

Key tips to help you write your book in 2010

I am busy preparing to launch my coaching and writing program soon. However, I’d first like to wish you all a safe and enjoyable end to 2009. I hope you are looking forward to 2010 as much as I am!

During the course of the year, I’ve had the pleasure of working with many of you as I coached and, or edited your books. I’ve also shared thoughts, hints and tips that I know, from your emails and testimonials have benefitted you. I’ve developed friendships that I also know will continue for a long time. In addition, I’ve met a few of you personally and enjoyed our time together. So second, I’d like to thank you for trusting me with your work(s) and tell you it has been a privilege working with you. Yeah, I know I’m corny, but it’s from the heart:)

Third, I’d like you to sit back, curl your feet and take a sip of whichever beverage takes your fancy, and imbibe the following tips that will assist you in realizing your writing dream in 2010.

If you want to be a Writer, you must be prepared

If you want to be a Writer, you must be properly prepared with your approach. I personally do not see writing as ‘hard work.’ Yes, it takes conscious effort and energy to think and write, but if you have a proper strategy in place, it becomes a challenge rather than hard work. As such, here are some tips on how to prepare for the task of writing.

• Once you’ve decided on your idea, it’s time to develop it.

• To develop your idea, you need to research. Brainstorm what angle/shape your book will take, what is the theme, where is the setting, outline your plot and sub plot, create profiles for your characters, decide what back-story you will include that will enhance the plot etc. If need be, go to the library, read similar books to get your creative mind in gear. Create a chart, vision board, or any other physical element that is relative to the story.

• Next, create a plan/strategy on how you will approach your writing. Will you write fifteen minutes each day or 1 hour? Will you write 1, or 2 pages each week? Will you write in the mornings, evenings, during your coffee/lunch break? If you’re writing a non-fiction book, will you have to fit time in to interview people, research places, collate facts and, or case studies. It’s essential to have a strategy in place to achieve your writing goal.

• Action your plan/strategy i.e. start writing.

• Measure your writing – are you where you should be according to your strategy. You may have gone on holiday or due to circumstances beyond your control, you were unable to keep up. By measuring, you are able to keep tabs that will steer you back on track should you meander. What gets measured, gets managed –Peter Drucker

If you want to be a Writer, you must Write

If you want to be a writer, you must write frequently. That is, write every day, whether it’s on a particular project, your blog, comments, emails, newsletter etc. the practice of constantly writing daily will hone your skills. The simple motion of putting pen to paper, or keystrokes on your computer will strengthen your resolve to get your book done.

If you haven’t yet downloaded my free Report, ‘Discover The 3 Simple Steps That Will Help You Start And Finish Your Book’, I urge you to do so here. In the Report, I note many areas where you can find content you can use in your writing.

Have a Writetastic 2010 and make it the year you realize your writing dreams.

© 2009  Cherry-Ann Carew

WOULD YOU LIKE TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE, NEWSLETTER, MAGAZINE, BLOG OR WEBSITE? Please do, but ensure you include this complete resource box:

Cherry-Ann Carew, The Power Writing Coach, Editor, Author and Founder of Writetastic Solutions, is a contributing author of How the Fierce Handle Fear – ‘Secrets to Succeeding in Challenging Times.’  Learn how her coaching and editing services can help you with your book. Subscribe for your FREE REPORT: ‘Discover The 3 Simple Steps That Will Help You Start And Finish Your Book.