Surprises await you in your creative work
I just finished my new e-book: Visit Paris Like an Artist. I shipped the document off to Kate, my designer, who will sprinkle it with magic and my illustrations. It will be out later this month, so stay tuned for more details!
This project came at me sideways, and sometimes our projects do that – sneak up on us. I’ve learned that every thing we make makes us. We gain things from making and completing works that we can’t get any other way. Confidence. Energy. Renewed hope. I am so glad I stayed with this one because it almost didn’t happen this way.
And, surprise! Projects rarely cross the finish line looking like they did when we first imagined them. This current e-book is even better than I could have imagined. First it was a section in my annual review. My vision had been to make a whole travel section with several Paris pieces, robust with places, people and things I recommend.
But this didn’t really belong in an annual review and it added unnecessary heft. So I cut it. It can make an e-book, I thought, and it will be something people can turn to when they want advice from me on how to travel to Paris.
This project wasn’t top of mind or deep in heart, but when I began the Write ON coaching group in January, I chose this as my project’s focus. (I always participate in my writing groups because that’s the way I am – in it with you.)
In the first weeks, I dutifully showed up for my writing sessions to be true to my word. It took time to wrangle the project into coherence. I had to decide what it was, exactly and what I wanted to say and share. The e-book expanded and contracted and finally settled into its right shape.
In this process, something brightened and lightened in me. I began to have fun. The project suddenly seemed really great. The closer I got to the finish line, the more excited I became.
In the next cycle of Write ON, I will be focusing on the marketing materials to get this out into as many hands as I can. Honestly, the marketing writing is the very last thing I like doing in my business. But it’s necessary. However, that doesn’t mean it has to be drudgery! So I intend to make writing sales copy and making videos and illustrated pieces a really, really fun part of March.
Fun and focus is the approach that works for me, and it’s one my clients love, too. We may think we need to discipline and force ourselves to do the work. At the beginning, that may be true. But once we are engaged with our project, something takes over. Something magical. Something powerful. We grow as our projects grow. It becomes easier to show up and we clearly see the positive effects in the rest of our lives.
The rewards at the end are often surprising. I didn’t know I would be so enthusiastic about this e-book. I have a really good feeling about it. It’s very me and reflective of my love affair with both the creative process and Paris. I can’t wait to share it with you!
But for now, I hope you are encouraged to stick with your creative projects. If you do, you will be rewarded in ways you can’t even imagine.
Write ON
We begin another cycle of Write ON next week. Yes, indeed, this coaching group for writers with a project is going to light up lives from the UK to France and all across the United States.
We have three spots left! Is one of them yours? Are you ready to bring your writing project to the front burner? If so, snag your spot here – don’t hesitate because I know these spaces will fill quickly and there are a limited number of seats in this powerfully fun coaching group. Can’t wait to write with you!
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