Cynthia Morris's Blog, page 64

Artists: Buff Up Your Blog This Spring!

The Blog Triage class I co-lead with Art Biz Coach Alyson Stanfield is such a delight. I love helping artists write and blog more easily. And, oooo! It's spring and time to tidy up your blog, so we're hosting another session of this blog-changing workshop.

I may be biased, but I think this is one of the best values around. In this online class, you get direct and kind feedback from both me and Alyson Stanfield. Alyson is a master at blogging and marketing, and she's very generous with her feedback during the class.

During the class, we focus more on specific lessons than on the overall blog.

Some of the things you'll learn include:

The most important page on your blog and how to make it really work.
How to save time and energy with an editorial calendar.
Ways to develop interesting content so you never run out of ideas that actually engage your readers.
Simple changes so your blog looks and feels like a place your readers want to return to again and again.
Plus a ton of nitty-gritty tweaks that can change your blogging game very quickly.

Check out the rest of the action-packed syllabus.

One of the best things about the Blog Triage class is you can participate at any time of the day you want. It's online and you take it from the comfort of your home, office or studio. Our session runs from April 25th – May 25th, 2012.

Save your spot here and start enjoying your blog. Great for artists of all types and writers, too!

We made a video to share our enthusiasm for the class and to show how we offer feedback.

Sorting Out the Mess of a Chaotic Book Draft

This is part of the Claim Your AUTHORity series.

At one point while writing Chasing Sylvia Beach, I deleted 15,000 words of interior monologue. The book was a mess, and cutting this much was just the beginning of making order from chaos.

It was like I'd been driving with a mud-caked windshield and now it had been wiped clean. I could see the book's plot and had clarity on how to drive forward.

Now, I advocate the freewheeling free writing method, where you riff on the story or the material in your non-fiction book. This is a good way to write past your inner critic and to just get your ideas down on paper.

But it can also lead to a mess that has you questioning your sanity.

Even outlining can make your material seem unwieldy and chaotic. You start writing about one thing and then realize you could also add this, and that and the other thing. Soon your book is a multi-tentacled monster that you have no control over.

How to sort through the chaos

First, it helps to know that at some point with every project your material will be a mess. Messiness is part of the creative process, not a sign that you're inept and hopeless.

Organizing your work is essential. You'll know what's right for you when you find it. Here are some practices to try. These apply to both non-fiction (how-to, memoir) and fiction (novels or short story collections).

Break into pieces

If you're writing on the computer, consider a series of documents (individual chapters or sections) instead of one long document. It can be very difficult to scroll through a whole book in one document while writing and editing.

When I look at the first draft of my novel from 1999, I see a handful of documents. I was hacking away at scenes as I built my way to a cohesive narrative.

See it

Tactile, visual approaches can help sort material. Seeing your work in form can help:

Scenes or concepts on index cards
Story outlined in a linear timeline
Mindmap of content or characters

There are many other ways to see your material. Check out this article about using index cards to manage your book's material.

Stay calm

Here's the scoop: your book will change and morph and grow. It will end up different than what you thought it would look like. But if you know your original impulse for the book and are aligned with your ultimate purpose for the book, you'll sort it out.

Be sure to check out an earlier article about how to structure your book for more tips on sorting out your material.

What questions do you have about how to manage the mess that is a manuscript in process? What helps you sort out the mess of a draft? 

Download a .pdf of this article.

Write Your Book Even When You Feel Clueless

This post is part of the Claim Your AUTHORity series. 

The idea for your book seemed so clear. You grabbed the inspiration, made a rough outline, and dove into scribbling your ideas down.

Soon enough, your enthusiasm has burbled over into chaos. You lost the thread of logic and your writing just feels like a handful of messy incoherence.

You may experience any or all of the following signs of cluelessness while writing your book:

Content out of control!

You frequently doubt you have any clue about what you are saying.
You're a blank slate when it comes to knowing how to structure your material.
You wonder if your concepts make sense to anyone but you and your cats.
You fret that you are completely unoriginal and your book has already been done. Better than you can do it.
You cringe at the thought of others' judgment of your book.
You are certain your book will prove you to be a total nincompoop.
You dread the daunting publishing 'adventure'.
You're pretty sure you don't have any authority whatsoever.

Right, then.

Much better to go back to the laundry and the very demanding business of our lives. Isn't it much easier to avoid all this cluelessness?

Frankly this is a choice authors make again and again along the path of writing a book: stay safe or risk the unknown repercussions of sticking your neck and ideas out there.

On the other side of cluelessness

I've written two books and five e-books. I've helped hundreds of writers find their footing on their writing paths.

Based on that experience, I believe it is worth it. I believe that if we have the impulse to write or create something, it's our duty to follow that impulse.

For all the terrifying uncertainty inherent in the creative process, here's what makes the it all worth it:

 You will feel wildly exuberant when you write your resonance.
 You will resonate with your truth for hours after writing it.
 You will feel more connected to your vitality and to your unique essence after writing.
 This vitality will ripple out to the rest of your life: your people, your work, strangers, even.
 You will respect yourself more after writing.
 All this adds up to your AUTHORity. Doesn't it feel good?!

But don't take my word for it. Stick it out at the page or keyboard and feel the results yourself. Pay attention to what you gain from the act of putting your AUTHORity to the test.

When these and other fears rise up to convince you that you do not have any authority to put your words on paper, know that wrangling them is one of the most fun, sweatiest and rewarding parts of claiming your authority.

What's to love about the cluelessness inherent in the creative process? What has helped you cruise right past all those fears that convince you it's better to stay away from your book? Share in a comment below. 

Download a .pdf of this article.

Go Ahead – Take the Fool’s Journey

Pecking away for hours in solitude, wandering the wide and wicked landscape of your own imagination.

Believing that the stories you create will be read by anyone else. And that those stories will move the reader to feel, think or do something differently.

Daring to ask, again and again, for someone to take your writing and publish it.

Risking your own neck and publishing the damn book yourself.

For no promise of fiscal or social reward at all.

What kind of fool would do these things?

Millions of us.

The nerds who are thrilled by finding just the right word. The dunderheads who love to tell a good story and who even thrive on the challenge of telling a great story.

The dreamers who are so smitten with story that they are willing to invest their time, energy and heart in something that may never go anywhere at all.

It’s not just writers. It’s artists, entrepreneurs and parents who take this fool’s journey of creativity.

Because to not heed the call to embark on the fool’s journey of creativity is to live the life of regret, sorrow and loss.

Go ahead. Be a fool. Dare to write that story, sing that song, have that baby. Build that business, go for it.

Even if you don’t get published, don’t earn a dime, don’t become famous, you’ve stood up for your original impulse.

And there’s nothing foolish about that.

The fools who dare, who risk, are the ones we admire. We relish their daring. We applaud their willingness to take a stand. We adore the wildly imaginative things they’ve created.

Be a fool. Let your creativity run wild.

A great resource for coping with the fears and challenges of the fool’s journey is the book Uncertainty by Jonathan Fields.

It’s a very helpful hand-holding through the many unknowns in the creative process.

 

 

Go Ahead – Take the Fool's Journey

Pecking away for hours in solitude, wandering the wide and wicked landscape of your own imagination.

Believing that the stories you create will be read by anyone else. And that those stories will move the reader to feel, think or do something differently.

Daring to ask, again and again, for someone to take your writing and publish it.

Risking your own neck and publishing the damn book yourself.

For no promise of fiscal or social reward at all.

What kind of fool would do these things?

Millions of us.

The nerds who are thrilled by finding just the right word. The dunderheads who love to tell a good story and who even thrive on the challenge of telling a great story.

The dreamers who are so smitten with story that they are willing to invest their time, energy and heart in something that may never go anywhere at all.

It's not just writers. It's artists, entrepreneurs and parents who take this fool's journey of creativity.

Because to not heed the call to embark on the fool's journey of creativity is to live the life of regret, sorrow and loss.

Go ahead. Be a fool. Dare to write that story, sing that song, have that baby. Build that business, go for it.

Even if you don't get published, don't earn a dime, don't become famous, you've stood up for your original impulse.

And there's nothing foolish about that.

The fools who dare, who risk, are the ones we admire. We relish their daring. We applaud their willingness to take a stand. We adore the wildly imaginative things they've created.

Be a fool. Let your creativity run wild.

A great resource for coping with the fears and challenges of the fool's journey is the book Uncertainty by Jonathan Fields.

It's a very helpful hand-holding through the many unknowns in the creative process.

 

 

Celebrate National Poetry Month

It's April, and that means National Poetry Month!

There are many ways to celebrate the art of poetry and what it can give to our lives. Here's a start, a poem I wrote for my favorite spring shrub.

Poet's note: There's a mistake – the common flowering shrub known as 'forsythia' is REALLY called 'forcynthia'.

Forcynthia!

She bursts out

just when you think

you'll die

from winter's frosty disinterest in

your happiness.

Forcynthia!

A shock to the tidy landscape

of your neighbor's lawns,

astonishing yellow

like

yellow is just now,

this spring dawn,

being invented

for you.

Forcynthia!

A riot of energy

pulsing rays of light

so saturated and glowing you feel

the electricity of her

in every cell

of your once-weary body.

Forcynthia!

She doesn't care for

your humility

your modesty

your desire to wear black

and just fit in.

Forcynthia!

This sprawling leader

announces spring, calls out to

something fresh stirring quietly in you

something you forgot you possessed

a daring

a willingness

to lead the way in a loud, unapologetic

proclamation of your vitality.

Forcynthia!

Just glimpsing this

unabashed explosion of life

you feel brave

you feel whole

you feel giggly like

a dancing girl who doesn't know

she's supposed to care what anyone else thinks.

Forcynthia!

Stuns you with her hopefulness

Alarms you with her exuberance

Reminds you that, yes, you too

are unforgettably alive – right now -

and outrageously pulsing with

the vibrancy

of your innocence.

Who to Trust When Writing Your Book?

You're in a writing workshop and your recently-drafted chapter is up for review. Students offer their reactions. Let's listen in:

"I love this. I love what you've done with your character."

"I didn't get it. Was she trying to pick that guy up or what?"

"This would make a great short story or a performance piece. It doesn't have to be a just a chapter in a novel."

Helpful?

Feedback is vital to the creative process. But inept critique from the wrong sources can squash your confidence or worse – dissuade you from continuing with your book.

Where do you go for constructive criticism? I've written elsewhere about how to design the feedback process so it's useful to you.

Here I illustrate four groups you might consider asking for help writing your novel or non-fiction book.

Peers

These are your fellow writers, the people in your writing classes, or your writing buddies. Even if they're not writing in the same genre, style or subject matter, these relationships can provide:

a sounding board for your process
a forum to share resources for developing your craft and publishing your work
accountability partners to help you stay on track.

Most importantly, peer relationships help you feel 'gotten'. Being understood is vital to writers and artists who are creating something from nothing.

My peer relationships helped me and made the writing journey much more pleasant. The friendships I developed at La Muse writing retreat in France and writing buddyships I had in Boulder with Suzanne, Ann and Dorothy were all invaluable to my book.

Mentors and teachers

Writing instructors, mentors or professional editors have most likely written a book themselves. They deeply understand the craft of writing. They will be able to assess your work as a whole and offer critical and constructive insights.

After an initial novel writing workshop in 1999, I relied on professional editors to guide my work. Hiring someone to critique my manuscript was for me like taking a master class in novel writing. I did this at least four times in twelve years.

Audience members

These are people who won't necessarily offer a critical review of your work. Instead, they'll respond as someone who would ultimately buy and read your book. This is the person you are writing for.

Once you've established your core message and content, it can be helpful to pass it by your ideal reader. Do at least two drafts before showing it to a person in your audience.

Former bookstore owner and avid reader Valarie read drafts of my novel. Her perspective helped me see holes in the narrative and how I could increase the dramatic tension.

Friends and family

Your people love you. But they may not 'get' your work. They have a specific perspective of you and perhaps a hidden or obvious agenda. They may not yet resonate with your AUTHORity.

Here's some of the feedback I've gotten from my loved ones:

"Why not just let this go and start another project?"

"The first chapter is a real downer!"

"This was a real slog!"

These comments came from highly intelligent people who love me, believe in me and wish the best for me. They were not trying to hurt me.

But they had no clue about how to give constructive feedback.

The people who matter most to us have the biggest influence on our actions. While drafting your book, I advise not sharing it with friends or family.

So which is right for you?

When you're just beginning to write a book, you will likely opt for writing classes that teach you how to write. Be sure to learn how to filter out useless or misguided criticism that classmates may offer and focus on the teacher's input.

As you progress in your book and solidify your message and confidence, work with other professionals and your audience to ensure your book is hitting the mark you intend it to.

What's been most useful in helping you claim your AUTHORity? Let us know in a comment below to share what's helped you the most.

To get solid support and make real progress on your book – fiction or non-fiction – join me for the Claim Your AUTHORity retreat this July. I've helped hundreds of writers claim their AUTHORity, respecting them, their material and their unique process.

The early registration discount ends this Friday. We've got a limited number of spaces available for this profound workshop. Claim your spot with us at the Sylvia Beach hotel on the Oregon coast, and claim your AUTHORity.

Download a .PDF of this article here.

How Was New York?

This is an unanswerable question you get when you return from a trip. Reports of what you saw, what you ate, and whom you met are mere reductions of the miraculous gestalt of an adventure.

But enough people asked me about my trip to NYC that I felt a report was in order. Rather than try to write it up in an essay, I thought I'd share a bit of my travel companion – my Moleskine Japanese Album.

Brief facts: I was in NYC for a retreat with The Good Life Project. I call this is a year-long business incubator with Jonathan Fields and a tribe of remarkable world-changers.

Of course I had to add a couple of days to the weekend so I could soak up the glory that is New York.

Join the adventure with me. Click on the images to enlarge.

Your comments and questions are welcome.

 

Target the Heart of Your Book to Write More Easily

This is part of the Claim Your Authority series.

You feel the urge to write a book. You're haunted by an idea or a cluster of ideas, but have no clue how they will hang together in a meaningful way to form a book.

This is a common problem: most people are trying to write a book from a surface level. As a coach, I'm always helping my clients dig deeper to find the core of their impulses.

Connecting to the heart of your book provides a powerful anchor to make what you're expressing in your book easier.

Here's a simple but profound exercise to target the heart of your book so the 'what's it about' question will no longer haunt you.

Values + themes + stories = the heart of your book

Values in the middle, then themes, then surface stories

Okay, let's look at a strategy to dig deeper to connect with the heart of your book. Remember the last CYA post where I asked you to identify a short list of your values? Get those out.

We'll use a target to map stories, themes and values. At the core are your values. The next ring represents your themes. The outer and most visible ring stand for the stories you're telling. Here's an example of the model.

 

In my novel Chasing Sylvia Beach, here's the top layer of story:

My character, Lily Heller, is bored and aimless
Lily wants to be a writer but doesn't know how to get started
She looks to the life of Sylvia Beach as a model for a life of meaning and influence

In the next layer we find the themes:

Desire to live an interesting life
Desire to express something creatively/be a writer
The heroine's journey – who am I and what am I doing here?

Finally, we see these values I hold:

Adventure/stretching/travel/learning
Creativity/expression
Learning/growth/expansion

As you do this, you should experience some 'aha' moments, where you access the deeper levels of your work.

Once you are connected to the core of your book, it's easier to make the time and space to write it.

Homework:  Try this process to connect with the heart of your book. You can do this on a big piece of paper, dry erase board or use index cards…whatever method you like.

Using index cards in 2006 to map out Chasing Sylvia Beach

I suggest three different colored index cards, one color for themes, another for values and the third color for stories.

Play around with the cards, seeing how they connect to form the heart of your novel or non-fiction book.

Depending on how you think, you may start from the center (values) or the outer ring (stories). Let this exercise flow organically and don't worry about figuring it out in a linear way. Take your time with this and let the process be yours.

Try any of these three approaches:

1. Start with your values and work your way to your themes, then the stories that represent the values that are deeply meaningful to you.

2. Identify the themes or topics that keep recurring in your writing and match them with values, then find stories that express those values.

3. Look at the stories you tell often. What themes are inherent in them, and what values are you expressing when you relate these stories?

If this seems confusing or daunting, leave a question below and I'll help sort it out.

This is one of the juicy exercises we'll do together in the Claim Your Authority retreat on July 10th – 12th, 2012, on the Oregon Coast. Together we'll work through this to clarify the core of your book to make it easier to write. Reserve your spot before March 30th to get the early registration discount.

How does identifying your values help you write your book? What did you learn from doing this exercise?  Let me know in a comment below.

Download a pdf of this article  to make Claiming Your Authority easier.

Dear Sylvia Beach: I'm So Glad You Were Born

Sylvia Beach: March 14, 1887 – October 5, 1962

Dear Sylvia,

I'm so glad you were born one hundred twenty-five years ago. I'm writing this letter to honor your life and to express gratitude for the brave choices you've made. It's the choices we make that make us, and so many of your choices have inspired my own actions.

Thank you for being willing to dream outside the prescribed ways of your culture. Thank you for being a woman willing to find her own true path instead of following what others expected.

Thank you for being more curious about the unknown than invested in the known. Thank you for becoming a visionary publisher and bringing Ulysses to the world.

Thank you for being a foolish dreamer and opening a business in a time and place where few women started businesses.

Thank you for the many selfless hours you devoted to that business, putting your commitment to literature and readers ahead of your own needs.

Thank you for being a cultural ambassador. Thank you for sharing literature across continents in a time when communicating meant postal letters or telegrams.

Thank you for your love of language, word play and story. Thank you for your respect for books and their authors.

Thank you for toughing it out when you wanted to give up, and for knowing when it was right to close the shutters for good on your bookshop.

Thank you for being an inspirational role model for so many women whose lives take unconventional paths.

I'm so glad you were born, and that you had the courage and the moxie to follow your original impulse.

With fondness and respect,

Cynthia

Who inspires you?

It's by paying attention to our inspirateurs that we discover their qualities in ourselves. With their models of living, we find our own expression.

Who inspires you? What specific thanks would you offer to your heroine? Write a letter expressing your gratitude. Tell us about it in a comment, and if you post it publicly, share a link.