Where do most writers get stuck?

"People on the outside think there's something magical about writing, that you go up in the attic at midnight and cast the bones and come down in the morning with a story, but it isn't like that. You sit .....at the typewriter and you work, and that's all there is to it." Harlan Ellison

You found me somehow... so welcome to it. I hope you're considering writing a book, or perhaps you've already written one and are looking for publishing advice. I have a whole list at the bottom of this email of things we offer or can do together in writing. 

A short summary is this.

• You can book a publishing chat. There are 30-minute chats for $80 or 1.5-hour-longer sessions if you want your book reviewed.

• Join a 12-month author mentorship. I take 20 authors a year, by application, and here is all the info to apply. ZAR authors get a discount. 

• Write your Novel in 100 Days. It's $250 , and you should complete your draft in 4 months. Start here

• Write your Non-Fiction in 100 Days. Also $250. Join here

• Join the epic online writing community. We write every Wednesday, and once a month for three whole days. It's mad. Join here

  
  

But let's talk writing first. 

I have worked to get writers published for 17 years, and I've found out that there are so many places you can get derailed as a writer - but let me start with the biggest trap: most writers get stuck at the start.Many writers simply cannot get off the starting block. 

Type A gets stuck with the very idea of their book, continually thinking about writing, plotting and planning. Constantly coming up with a BETTER story but never actually sitting down and writing the book. There is a lot of THINKING but not much WRITING.

Type B does actually start the book and then can’t get beyond the first few chapters (or few thousand words and most often you get stuck at 20,000). I will deal with you in a later newsletter and I have a fix for that.

So here are my tips to avoid getting stuck before you even start:

TIP 1: You need a plot (or what we call a Big Idea for Non-Fiction writers) You'll find that I believe in writing with a view to getting published, which means you need a plot.  It doesn't matter if you are writing a memoir, non-fiction or a novel you need to have a structure for your book.  We will get to HOW to do that in a later newsletter. I am a structure fanatic so I want you to be clear on your story - or Big Idea - before you write too far. Structure is the spine over which you drape your story. You need one.

TIP 2: Start and don’t stop So many writers agonise over the first few chapters, trying to perfect and refine them, polish and buff them. Forget it. If you do this, you will never finish. But also you are going to change those first chapters later in a rewrite anyway.

TIP 3: Stop editing your previous day's work Self-editors find it hard to move forward because they always want to go back and fix or improve everything they write. This is your writer's Achilles Heel that can stop you ever completing a book. That is why I have a rule on all my mentorships that you are not allowed to go back over your previous day’s work. Move on. You need to be very strict with yourself. Use a note that you stick up at your desk that says ‘I move forward. I do not look back’

Tip 4: Prepare for a a lot of time on your seat.It is hard work writing a book. Having an idea is the easy part. But then you need to do the work. You need to sit down and work out a plot or a book structure. You need to work on your characters and their motivations and personalities. Then you need to sit down and do the real work of actually writing a long, long book. Writing 80,000 words is an exercise in perseverance, and stamina. It is a marathon and not a sprint. It is even more work to take your book and re-read it, edit it, refine it, rewrite it. Edit it again. Get feedback. Rewrite some more.I admire anyone who completes a book - regardless of whether it is ever published or not.But let's just take one step at a time and get you STARTED writing. Stay on this newsletter and you will take the first few steps.