Just Write It!

Many of you have asked me about writing a book.  My answer is simple; if you want to write a book just write it.  Books, articles and everything else you do begin as an inspiration within.  Inspiration is a calling of your spirit to move in the direction of fulfillment of your purpose.  When you read a quote, listen to a speaker, see something around you that calls to your inner spirit sit down and begin by vomiting on the page, or creating a mindmap.

Yes, I said vomiting.  When I teach business writing for SkillPath one of the two ways to increase your speed in writing is to freewrite.  Freewriting is vomiting on the page, uncontrolled thoughts spewing from your mind onto the page.  This is even easier if first you created a mindmap or cognitive web. A mindmap allows your ideas to flow freely in a right brain fashion onto paper.  Use colors pictures and other graphical symbols to let your thinking come alive.  (An excellent resource for those of you not familiar with mindmapping is Michael Gelb’s book How to Think Like Leonardo Da’ Vinci.) If you first start with a mindmap and then begin the writing process by freewriting you have a page filled with thoughts and ideas that is then ready to begin the real process of writing, re-writing. 

Let go of the idea that your writing must be perfect the first time.  Writing is a process and I recommend a minimum of three edits.  The first is down-and-dirty, the second is fix-it-up and the final is nail-it-down.  Time in between each of these edits is your friend. When you step away from what you have written and come back to it, you see things you wouldn’t see when the words are fresh out of your mind. For those of you that have read my writing you know sometimes three edits isn’t enough.  It pays to get a good editor.  My dream is to have a full time editor and graphic artist at my side. People, who know me, know my subject and don’t lose my voice in the process.  I don’t let not having them stop me from writing. I just write.