Dianne Bright's Blog - Posts Tagged "goals"
Not giving up
It's pretty common to run into someone who says, "Oh, I've always wanted to write a book." But somehow, a decade or two has gone by, and they haven't even written a single page.
So, I'm here to offer some encouragement, plus a few tips. For starters, your goal to write needs to be because it's something you enjoy doing (not because it makes you impressive).
Also, if this is one of your life goals, it's more about carving out time to actually get the project started than selling a million copies (that said, building platform is important--but you can worry about that later). The main thing is to grab a piece of paper--to actually start writing. Now for four basic tips.
1) Begin with a simple brainstorm session. Which topics interest you? Do you have any professional skills? Have you overcome something hard in your life? What do you value most--family, friendships, finances? Just write them down on a sticky note or in your iPhone notes.
2) Turn these into starting points for different book ideas. Then order them from one to ten to see which ones really interest you the most. Sometimes too many ideas can be like good-idea-overload. So, pick the top two ideas, and save the others for later.
3) After the initial brainstorm, write a few sentences about certain aspects (or central themes) of those main topics (these will turn into chapter heads).
4) Now, you're going to dissect one of those chapter heads; it doesn't have to be the first chapter. You could even write the last chapter first. For example: if the book is on money--the chapter head could be "savings." The notes on savings could be about a) starting with 100 dollars, b) opening a separate savings account, and c) paying in cash so you spend less. Now the ball is rolling.
That's it for today. Just remember if you really want this, you have to start somewhere. If it's only one inch, that's okay. It's so much better than doing nothing--because each paragraph is a catalyst--energizing you into the next section.
Maybe the next day, it's ten inches (or you'll write 25 pages). Then a few feet the following week (or 50 pages). Just keep writing words, and worry about edits later.
Also, go ahead and count the small victories. If you wrote 50 words, that's great. On another day, it could be 5,000 words. Make it all count, instead focusing on the glass being half-empty.
You can do it! Don't give up! And get writing! :)
Dianne Bright is a regular contributor with Reader's Digest. Her new book: MOMS KICK BUTT is now available for pre-order and comes out in Feb/2021.
Moms Kick Butt
So, I'm here to offer some encouragement, plus a few tips. For starters, your goal to write needs to be because it's something you enjoy doing (not because it makes you impressive).
Also, if this is one of your life goals, it's more about carving out time to actually get the project started than selling a million copies (that said, building platform is important--but you can worry about that later). The main thing is to grab a piece of paper--to actually start writing. Now for four basic tips.
1) Begin with a simple brainstorm session. Which topics interest you? Do you have any professional skills? Have you overcome something hard in your life? What do you value most--family, friendships, finances? Just write them down on a sticky note or in your iPhone notes.
2) Turn these into starting points for different book ideas. Then order them from one to ten to see which ones really interest you the most. Sometimes too many ideas can be like good-idea-overload. So, pick the top two ideas, and save the others for later.
3) After the initial brainstorm, write a few sentences about certain aspects (or central themes) of those main topics (these will turn into chapter heads).
4) Now, you're going to dissect one of those chapter heads; it doesn't have to be the first chapter. You could even write the last chapter first. For example: if the book is on money--the chapter head could be "savings." The notes on savings could be about a) starting with 100 dollars, b) opening a separate savings account, and c) paying in cash so you spend less. Now the ball is rolling.
That's it for today. Just remember if you really want this, you have to start somewhere. If it's only one inch, that's okay. It's so much better than doing nothing--because each paragraph is a catalyst--energizing you into the next section.
Maybe the next day, it's ten inches (or you'll write 25 pages). Then a few feet the following week (or 50 pages). Just keep writing words, and worry about edits later.
Also, go ahead and count the small victories. If you wrote 50 words, that's great. On another day, it could be 5,000 words. Make it all count, instead focusing on the glass being half-empty.
You can do it! Don't give up! And get writing! :)
Dianne Bright is a regular contributor with Reader's Digest. Her new book: MOMS KICK BUTT is now available for pre-order and comes out in Feb/2021.
Moms Kick Butt
