The Power of Systems

System

System

Imagine you have a story idea that’s truly riveting. It makes you all excited. You can see the world, the characters and you know what’s happening in a scene or two. You’re almost dancing with joy.

It’s an awesome feeling, one that I hope you know.

It’s the magic of beginning.

But very often, after putting in a day or two of writing and liking the story, I suddenly want be finished. That usually happens when I run out of the wonderful first ideas and need to come up with more.

Yes, I’m a pantser. (Someone who doesn’t plot in detail.) And I’m really, really impatient.

I also notice that after finishing a story. I want it out in the world immediately! Of course, there has to be editing and formatting and getting a cover, and everything else which takes time and thought. And I know this.

Impatience isn’t good for your writing business. Continue reading

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Why you must be Curious

"Squirrel!°

“Squirrel!”

Many people think that being a writer means sitting in a room and typing away all day on their own. And that’s very often true. When we write, we go into a special space within us, where our characters and our worlds life. We need that space in order to create the stories that grow inside us. And some can evoke that space everywhere, even in a busy Starbucks, others need their writing den or shack.

On the other hand, a writer who shuts herself away from the world will not be able to write stories that really resonate. Our stories need to be anchored in this world, even if they take place elsewhere. They must have elements that connect with the readers.

And these elements can change over time. Look at what I did with Starbucks up there. That reference wouldn’t have worked thirty years ago. It may stop working in another thirty. It may also not work in a country where there aren’t any.

However, it may touch you because you love working in Starbucks. I have friends who refer to it as their office. On the other hand, I prefer writing at my desk at home.

Being a writer, you can only learn about these things by being open and curious. When you walk through the world with the intention of picking up information, nuances and impressions.

That’s what curiosity does for you. Continue reading

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Stuck in a Story?

I'm stuck!

I’m stuck!

It happens to every writer – we get stuck. The story either goes off track, we lose interest or we have written ourselves into a corner. No matter how it happens, the story loses us, and we lose the story.

And I’m sure it happens to both plotters and pantsers.
(Plotters are people who work out the details of a story before starting to write while Pantsers tend to have a vague plan of a story and write to discover it.)

Losing a story and getting stuck is entirely frustrating in a publishing world where speed counts and where we want to publish often in order to keep fans happy and connected.

We need to finish what we start. We can’t afford to lose a story anymore.

Now, often the problem is at the craft level, and can be solved through craft tricks. There are dozens of such tricks, and I’m sure every author knows several. But that doesn’t help if you’re really, truly stuck. Continue reading

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Not Good Enough

Not good enough.

Not good enough.

I’m not good enough.

That’s what most of us feel, at one time or another.

And of course, there is proof.

We can always compare ourselves to those who are more successful, who sell more books or who earn more money. Those who win awards. Those who get the interviews. And there is always someone who does better, if we look around long enough.

And then we feel lacking.

It’s a horrible feeling, one that leaves us with no will to go on, one that puts that awful critical voice in our heads, one that makes us feel like digging a hole, jumping in and pulling a rock over us.

This is a mindgame. Nothing more, nothing less.

You see, when we enter that state of comparison, that moment when we feel we’re not good enough – that’s when we open a door to giving up.

That’s our reason for not creating anymore.

The reason to put away brushes and paint, the sewing machine or the folders with our stories.

That reason is not good enough. Continue reading

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The True Danger of To-Do Lists

To-do List

To-do List

We all use to-do lists. And they are useful if handled well.

But to-do lists can be utterly destructive. A large to-do list is simply fodder for overwhelm. One glance is enough to convince you that you’ll never be able to do it all – and you won’t even get started on a single thing.

That’s when you need to change how you use those lists.

Now, before you can even begin to use another list productively, there is one, absolutely necessary step:

The List of Everything

This is not a to-do list. This is a first aid list to get everything out of your head and on paper. And you will need a big piece of paper. Get the biggest piece of paper you have.

And then write down everything that has a place in your thoughts. Continue reading

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Dealing with Overwhelm

Argh!

Argh!

I’m sure you’re familiar with those moments in life when everything seems to happen at once. You may have deadlines coming up, the computer breaks, a kid is sick, and then the dishwasher leaks water.

That’s quite often the time when it gets really, really hard to make decisions because the brain turns into a thing of jittering chaos and fear. And the only thing you want to do is to run away and leave it all far behind you.

This state has a name: Overwhelm.

It’s an ancient protection mechanism that served to take us out of dangerous situations and send us running, back in those times when running away could actually be a good choice.

The problem is that in our society, running away will cause even more problems.

So the challenge is to bring the mind and emotions back from that flight mode and engage again in constructive, solution-oriented thinking.

We usually have no mechanism to do that. It’s not something one learns in school, after all. Continue reading

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When you are Crying Inside

crying inside

crying inside

I know those moments.

When you think that nothing works. That all your hard work won’t amount to anything. When you think you won’t ever be good enough. When your books don’t sell, nobody looks at your blog posts and you feel all alone at home.

That’s the energy of loss and desperation.

(If you do have a depression, seek professional help, please!)

And while you’re thinking these thoughts, and living in this desperation, that’s the energy you send out.

Problem is, people can tell. It shows in your writing. It shows in the social media, if you’re not very careful. And worst of all, that’s the energy you’re sending out to the Universe.

Which means – that’s exactly what you’ll get more of. Well, darn.

And there is only one way to get out of it: Think something else.

That’s hard. Continue reading

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KU 2.0 and the Freelancer Mindset

Money

Money

You may or may not have heard of the recent changes that Amazon announced for their Kindle Unlimited payments to authors, and the ensuing flailing on the internet. Here’s the very short version, because today’s post is not even about what Amazon did:

Instead of paying a flat fee per borrow (if a book was read >10%), they are now paying authors per page read. Yes, Amazon knows the data and gets a new batch every time you synch your Kindle or Kindle App. To add to the confusion, they have created “Kindle Edition Normalized Pages” (KENP) for ebooks, which do not quite conform to the print page. Gradually, it became clear that payment for a single read page would be around 0.6 ct. And now it seems that because of that KENP setting, a borrow will bring you almost as much as a sale IF the reader completes the book. That isn’t bad at all, but again, that’s not really the point of this article.

You see, one of the biggest complaints I heard was that authors would not be able to predict their income with those changes Amazon is inflicting on them, with a mere two weeks warning (that’s when the email explaining the changes went out to authors).

They cannot predict their income with those changes!

And the sky is falling! Continue reading

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Dealing with Summer Distractions

Summer Sun

Summer Sun

Now it is summer, and for us writers, the distractions multiply: Kids at home, summer activities, invitations, garden work, maybe canning – it’s endless.

And all of it usually takes a toll on our writing.

It’s hard to say no, when you have to explain you want to write. It’s even harder if you don’t have a dedicated writing space, because that seems to make you available all the time.

But what it all boils down to is how you see your writing in your own mind.

How important is writing for you?

Is it a hobby that you do when everyone else’s demands and expectations are met?

Or is it your business, and sitting down to write is the equivalent of going to work?

You need to be clear in your own mind.

And it is a choice only you can make. Not your partner. Not your kids. Not your parents. And not your friends.

The distractions just serve to make the decision more urgent.

Thing is: The moment you decide that writing is your business, and that you’ll put in a certain amount of work into it every day no matter what – it gets much easier to say “no”.

And if you’re clear inside, that “no” will have a force and strength to it that even kids can respect. It becomes something that friends admire. It will carve out that space for you.

If you go the other way, and declare writing a hobby, or that you’ll take a summer break, that’s just as fine. Because then you won’t have to feel guilty about enjoying the summer and the extra time with your kids, friends or outdoors.

Either way, you have to make a decision. And then stand by it.

And the beauty of it is:  You get to decide again next summer.

Here’s some tapping to help you make that decision:

Even though I want to write and enjoy the summer, I feel so guilty of disappointing myself and all the others, I’m still okay the way I am, and I choose to make a decision now.

Even though it feels bad to say “no” all the time, and yet I feel I’m not getting enough writing done, I’m still okay the way I am, and I now allow myself to choose how I see my writing.

Even though it’s so easy to let writing slip now that it’s summer, and that makes me feel like a bad writer, I’m okay the way I am, and I am open to making a decision for the summer and sticking with it.

Your Turn:
What is your decision?
How does it make you feel?
What is your next project?
Write a comment and share the good stuff!

Image Source: F. Moebius

PS: My newsletter contains a full tapping round to go with my blog posts, so you can start shifting your mindset. Sign up through the form on the upper right hand corner, and receive that tapping round plus occasional special offers. If you’re on a mobile, you can sign up through this link: Newsletter Sign-up

PPS: I can help you shift that pattern of putting other people down. Instead, we can install a new pattern that lets you tap into creativity and allows you to be proud of what you achieved so far.

EFT is the fastest way I know to shift limiting beliefs, old thought habits and other kinds of blocks. If you want help with that, click HERE and send me an email. Together, we’ll figure out how I can support you best.

 

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How Judgement Hurts Your Writing

Pointing fingers

Pointing fingers

This is the last of the three thought patterns that I called the three most damaging ones for writers. And it’s one you really, really need to let go.

Judgement servers only one single purpose:

To elevate yourself in your own mind over others.

That is – sadly – a natural thing. We all want to feel good.

And one way of feeling good is to put others down. For the way they look, they dress, the way they pray, for their weight, the color of their skin, their hair or lack thereof, their sexual preferences – and of course, the genre they write in, the speed with which they publish, their covers, or simply for being an indie author.

It’s sooooo easy.

We usually learn it at an early age, too. That’s why it is often so deeply engrained.

What we don’t learn is what judging really does to us.

Judging breeds anger, fear, contempt and hate. Continue reading

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