JanFishler

Author ~ Happiness Coach

Write Every Day: Here’s A Trick

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Write every day means create a writing habit. Face it, sometimes it’s just not possible.  Case in point. Last Friday I woke up with a scratchy throat.  I didn’t feel great, and because I hadn’t had a cold or anything for longer than I could remember, I took a few Wellness Formula herbs and ignored my symptoms.  Saturday morning, I knew I was coming down with something so I went to Hallo, the local herb shop, bought another concoction, and went about my business.  By Sunday my joints ached and my chest felt heavy.  Monday morning, I was an untouchable with a full-blown cold, and a cough that scared the dog.  I could barely think let alone write, so, I succumbed, and took the rest of the week off.  I’m still not 100%, but I’m coming around.

If I didn’t already have a well-established morning writing habit, taking time off could have sabotaged my efforts, but instead I’m back on the horse. It’s a lot like getting back on track when you break your diet.  One piece of chocolate cake leads to another and before you know it, you feel like you’ve failed, that you’ll never lose the last 10, 20, 50 pounds. Your inner saboteur says, “What’s the use?”, and you believe him.  We’ve all been there.

For some of us, getting back into the write-every-day habit is easier than for others. If you’ve fallen off the writing path, here’s a trick to help you get back on track.

  1. Grab the kitchen timer. If you don’t have one, find one online like http://www.online-stopwatch.com/large-stopwatch/
  2. Sit down at your computer or at your desk with pen and paper close by.
  3. Close your eyes and take five slow deep breaths in and exhale slowly.
  4. Imagine the words flowing like water from your hands onto the screen or onto the paper.
  5. Picture your screen or the paper filled with good ideas and well-crafted content.
  6. Set the timer for five minutes.
  7. Let the words flow, non-stop.
  8. Repeat daily.  You’ll be surprised at how much you can write in just five minutes.

Working With a Writing Coach

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When it comes to meeting our writing goals, many of  us could benefit from working with a writing coach. There are many reasons we don’t do things we really want to do–like write a memoir, for example. It might be the critical voice of a high school teacher (you know who I’m talking about) admonishing you for misspelled words or incorrect grammar and overlooking the fact that your concept is ingenious. Maybe you had a parent who was never satisfied regardless of the amount of effort put into a particular task. Perhaps you were teased by siblings and classmates for being different or not smart enough.

Whatever the reason, these childhood incidents–even though they occurred decades ago–leave an imprint. In many cases these memories become beliefs that prevent us from taking risks, and doing what we really want to do. As a result, it’s like we’re frozen at the end of the high dive. You either stand there until someone helps you climb back down or eventually you jump or get pushed.

The first option leaves you feeling defeated; the other  makes you realize that you can overcome your fear and be successful — even if you have to be pushed.

My role as writing coach is to give you the tools you need to jump off the high dive (and in some cases, even give you a gentle nudge), especially  if you don’t think you’re quite ready to do it.

Here are some of the benefits of working with a writing coach:

  • You’ll have someone who checks in with you on a regular basis.
  • When you’re stuck, you’ll have someone to brainstorm with you.
  • You’ll be following a process that has worked for others.
  • You’ll accomplish your writing goals.
  • You’ll be motivated to write every day, and get better at the craft.

Getting Organized

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I’m on my second cup of coffee and I’ve just set my kitchen timer for five minutes. On my mind this morning is getting organized. I’ve been a slave to my task lists and it’s been driving me crazy. I look at all of the things I have to do and it makes my head spin. I feel overwhelmed, and when that happens, I often end up doing nothing. I brought this subject up with a business coach I’ve been working with. She said that this happens to many of her clients.  Good news — there is another way. She suggested I pick one or two major things (maybe three) I want to accomplish in a particular week and focus on that.  I took her advice and felt immediate relief.

My goals for this week:

1. Complete the revision of my website.  I doubt that I’ll get it done, completely, but I will have the structure in place.

2. Help my son promote his November 24, 2012, “An Evening of Magic” event.  Mostly, this involves hanging up flyers around town, which I don’t mind doing except that it’s been raining like crazy and I don’t want the flyers to get wet.

3. Read a book my daughter recommended so I can talk to her about it.

The timer just went off.  210 words in five minutes.  At that rate, maybe I will be able to write an entire novel during November, National Novel Writing Month http://www.nanowrimo.org. Although at this moment in time, getting organized is more important.

 

Four Tips for Professional Writers– Based on The Four Agreements

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In the book, The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom, Don Miguel Ruiz states four simple agreements that, when applied, can change anyone’s life. Although these agreements weren’t written specifically to apply to writers and their clients, it occurred to me that contracts, work agreements, and the resulting work could be enhanced exponentially if everyone concerned followed these simple yet powerful rules.

1.      Be impeccable with your word.

As writers, this should be a given. Words are powerful tools, so it’s important and necessary to be as flawless in the use of them as you can be. When applied to the craft of writing, it means writing clear, concise, and relevant content and proofing and editing your work. If you’re not good at editing, consider working with someone who can do it for you. This is especially true when it comes to proposals and work agreements. Taking care to specify the details such as timelines, deliverables, fees, and payment schedules before you begin working can eliminate problems and keep the project on target. When it comes to words, the goal should always be perfection.

2.      Don’t take anything personally.

If your client is in a bad mood, the idea is to understand that if you’ve been impeccable with your words, it probably has nothing to do with you. Thinking that you are the cause of someone’s bad (undisciplined, unkind, thoughtless, etc.) behavior is counterproductive and a waste of energy. We’ve all heard the expression, “Let it go.” If you happen to end up working with a difficult client, the message is to get the work done as expeditiously as possible and move on. That doesn’t mean you have to continue your professional relationship with this person, but it helps to realize that it’s not about you or your work.

3.      Don’t make assumptions.

How many times have you tried to guess why someone did or didn’t do something, only to discover in the end that you were completely off base? Although some of us are better than others in reading body language and picking up behavioral clues from an individual’s tone and inflection, we are not mind-readers. When we’re unclear about some aspect of the project we’re working on, or we inadvertently stumble upon a new methodology we think our client might like, it’s always best to ask. Remember the Chinese Proverb, “He who asks a question is a fool for five minutes; he who does not ask a question remains a fool forever.”

4.      Do your best.

A freelance writer I know says that the faster she writes the more money she makes. I can’t help but wonder if following the dollar is doing her clients a disservice. There are times when writing simply flows and our best work just pours out in record time, but this is the exception. Most writing, even when we’re familiar with the topic, requires diligence, fortitude, and perseverance — characteristics that are well worth the time they take to cultivate. If we decide to always do our best, even if there is a slight negative impact on our bottom line, we’ll never have to apologize for the content we deliver.