Your book and how to write it
I have been asked many times how to set about writing a book. It’s a good question and a great example, for the principles outlined here can be applied to any goal.
There is only one way to write a book, and that is to put your backside on a chair behind a desk with a PC or laptop, start writing and keep going until you reach the end. Writing a book is like any creative endeavour: 5% inspiration and 95% perspiration!
If you have a goal that seems too overwhelming, chunk it down into smaller steps. Work on the first step until that is achieved and then move on to the second step, and so on, until each step is accomplished.
Writing a book is a massive goal. The first major milestone is to get it written, any way you can. Don’t try to make it perfect at first, there will be plenty of time for editing, honing and refining later. Just get the bones of it down. That’s your first step.
In this way, we have already broken the goal down into more manageable parts, and to start with, we focus only on the first part. Getting it down is our first step, and if this is still too overwhelming, break that first step down into baby steps and approach them one at a time.
Writing a book, if it’s going to have meaningful content, is an affair of the heart. If you’re doing it just for the money or fame, forget it. There are much easier ways of making money. But if your heart is telling you that you absolutely must write, then you’re in with a fighting chance.
Once you have established that this is your true goal and you are really motivated with all your heart to do this, you’re actually halfway there. Now it’s just a matter of procedure. You just do what you need to do to get it done. Here are a couple of guiding principles:
Make it your priority. Most authors admit their favourite pastime is procrastination. You cannot afford to countenance that. The goal of getting your manuscript finished must be absolutely your first priority. Some of the excuses I’ve heard include, “I have take the dog for a walk,” “I have to do the washing up, clean the house,” etc. No, you do NOT have to do any of those things. Your book comes first. Unless you must rush someone to A & E right now, your book must always come first
Finally, if you ask yourself, “what’s stopping me?” the answer is almost always self-limiting beliefs. These are beliefs you hold about yourself which limit you, for example, “I’m not good enough,” or “I can’t do it,” or “I don’t deserve success.” Throw them all out of the window, act as if you are supremely confident and get on with it. Pretty soon you’ll realise these beliefs are just stuff that has been planted in your brain that have nothing to do with the absolute star you really are underneath the rubbish, but they will sabotage you if you let them.
Just focus and look forward.
For further insightful thoughts and ideas, see Dave’s new blog, The Heart Specialist, and feel free to leave a comment, at www.dave-robson.com/the-heart-specialist-blog. For information about Dave’s on-line meditation group, Skypemeditation, you can e-mail him at [email protected], or call 01722 505495