Lisa Tener

Book Writing Coach

Writing Challenges

“No More Writing Rules.”

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wrritingWriting Rules: Do They Trump Your Gut?

In a recent book concept consultation, a new client shared her new writing rules: she’d read that all books should have “three acts” no matter whether the book is self-help, memoir or a novel.

She tried to implement the writing rules she’d read about, to fit the structure of her book into three acts. The book just refused to cooperate.
Then she made a list of some of her all-time favorite self-help books. None of them seemed to fit the three act formula.
Still, she doubted herself. So we asked her muse, her inner creative guidance, for clarity, as I led her through a guided visualization.
Her muse was clear. “No more writing rules.”
Yes, there are some excellent guidelines for writing that can help make your writing come to life for readers. Yet, the most important guidance is your inner guidance. Experts don’t know everything. And they don’t know your book.
Only one working structure for any book? Nah. Just a guideline. An option. Not THE LAW.

Writing Rules are Guidelines

Writing Rules should serve a purpose. They should help you write a book that resonates for your readers and makes a positive impact on their lives.

Writing Rules are not immutable laws. There are exceptions to every rule—often many.

Some of the most successful books break the rules. Who would have thought that a chapter of PowerPoint slides would work in a novel? Yet, A Visit from the Goon Squad won a Pulitzer Prize.

Take risks on the page. Some will work and some will not. A strong editor and honest beta readers will give you the feedback you need.

And ultimately, you’ll need to trust your own inner guidance as well.

Can You Read While Your Write?

reading

I also wondered about all the writing books this author continued to read—and the novels and self-help books, too. Was it working for her? Or could some of the stuckness she mentioned be traced back to “over-reading?”

We asked her muse about that, too.
“You’re not allowed to read any new books—just books you’ve read before—uplifting books only. Books that help you connect.”
Even then, her muse insisted she read those books only at night, well after writing time.
Write. That’s what her muse wanted her to do. Write.
Reading has its place but behind the writing. After the writing. Secondary.
Write. Then read.
Trust your own muse.
Trust your creative source.
Trust yourself.
Reader, what’s your experience? How much reading works for you and when? How about writing rules? Which work for you? Which don’t? How can you tell? Share your comments.

Here’s What You Need When Your Writing Practice Falls Apart

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book writing coach Lisa TenerWhat to do when your writing practice falls apart?

Yesterday’s email started with this:

“I’ve fallen off. Crazy work week…I’m lost!”

It’s not uncommon when someone commits to my Bring Your Book to Life® Program that at some point they wonder, “What was I thinking? How am I going to get that first draft written in the next 8 [or 7 or 6 or 5] weeks?”

Suzette actually knew before she committed that she’d need more than 8 weeks, since this was a busy time for her.

When she signed up for Bring Your Book to Life® it was with the intention of getting clear on her book concept and outline and maybe write a first draft of a chapter or two within the time frame, then doing most of her writing this summer when her academic schedule let up.

However, hearing other people whipping through chapters and reading powerful writing at the end of our groups calls, she suddenly panicked.

[bctt tweet=”When Your Writing Practice Falls Apart, Steps 1-4 ” username=”LisaTener”]

 

Slow down!

I had Suzette relax and ask herself some questions to get into a calmer and more rational space. The facts were actually much better and clearer than the emotions she had been feeling.

  1. Slow Down: Take a breath. You may even be on track with what you committed to. You may just be panicking because that’s what humans do.
  2. Ask, “What did I say I’d do?” What did you commit to? Write it down or speak it aloud to someone.
  3. Ask, “What did I actually do?” Maybe you did what you said. Maybe you’re close. Or maybe you’re realizing your expectations were unrealistic.
  4. Regroup: “Does my action plan need updating?” Do you need to find an extra two hours a week more than you planned to meet your goal? If not, would you be comfortable setting a new target date? Can you find a way to hold yourself accountable in the additional time you set?

Since Suzette had set a goal of finishing her book or book proposal this summer, I suggested she replace her book vision statement with a course vision statement and read the latter instead each day and whenever she began a writing session.

Here’s what I suggested for her new course-oriented vision statement:

With Bring Your Book to Life®, I set myself up for summer success—an outline I love and a delightful and fun writing habit that joyfully pulls me along.

She could return to the book vision this summer, but for now, the course vision seemed much more calming and inviting.

Part 2 of When Your Writing Practice Falls Apart: Get Inspired and Have Fun

Okay, so now, after her initial reaction to her writing practice seemingly falling apart, Suzette took stock of where she truly was and it wasn’t at all far from her initial intent. She’d just gotten nervous when she looked at what others were accomplishing.

“I don’t want the book to become one more pain in the butt I have to accomplish. I enjoy writing. Writing delights me.”

Now, we had to move Suzette from irritation and frustration to joy and delight again.

start writing
You don’t have to go far for a writing retreat. This is in my friend Tracy’s backyard.

I asked her what would make writing fun for her. “Can you imagine writing as a delightful retreat from all the other things you have to do?”

“Can you view it as a vacation? A peaceful luxury time.”

“An oasis!” Suzette chimed in. “Yes, I can. I love that.”

A writing oasis.

Suzette used the example of exercise. “It can be a chore or I can enjoy it. I can know all the endorphins I’m producing and I can have fun and get my yayas.”

So, we’d revisited her commitment and saw that she was on track and we’d reframed the context to make it fun again. We changed the vision statement to reflect her goals for the short time period and keep her head in the game.

Our next step was to consult her “Muse.”

What’s Your Muse Got to Say?

connect with your readersFor the Greeks, the Muses were the goddesses of inspiration in a variety of fields. When I talk about consulting your muse, I think of directly accessing your creative source, the font of inspiration, your inner knowing, that wise and all-knowing aspect of you.

Sometimes the muse shows up as a wise being, a spiritual teacher, an animal totem, a symbol, an archetype. Other times the muse just sounds like that regular voice inside your head or you just get this felt sense that you’re connecting to something deeper than the everyday you. It may feel like the muse is inside you or outside of you. Doesn’t matter.

“Am I making this up?” I hear that a lot. Don’t worry. That doesn’t matter either. Just go with what you get when you do the exercise.

I led Suzette in a guided visualization where she walked through a meadow into the woods to a clearing with a small building where her muse was waiting.

We asked her muse what it wanted her to know about this stress and sense that she was behind.”It’s gonna be okay.”

“Be Patient.”

“It’s all going to work out.”

I asked Suzette to take that in. Feel it in her body. “It’s all going to work out. How does that feel?”

“Concept is one thing. Feeling it is really good.”

I then asked Suzette to ask her muse how to make the time spent on her book—planning and writing—fun, an oasis.

author with book
Mara Zimmerman. author of How to Meditate and Why: Meditation is an excellent way to get into that space for writing in the zone.

Her muse suggested that, “An element of preparatory ritual would make it fun. Changing my state into one of joy  and creativity. I think of music.

Her muse’s response could not have been more timely. Two days before Week 5 and one of week 5’s main lessons is how to create a writing ritual that helps you get in the groove and write in the zone—in that state of inspired flow.

Her muse also suggested creating a good space to write in, to create more spaciousness.

“My home is littered with stacks of paper from work. My muse wants me to clear space so it’s not cluttered.”

I asked whether the space should be in her home or outside of it. It seemed that for her home would be best, but her muse also suggested further consideration.

For some people, it’s important to get out of the house to be in a space not associated with other household or work activities. For others, home is an oasis, provided you create an inspiring space to write.

I loved that her muse suggested creating space because that is actually step 1 of the writing ritual I call “Writing in the Zone.” We talk about both inner space where we can get in touch with the stillness where work can begin and we also explore external space such as a writing desk, a room to write or another inspiring space.

We asked her muse about outline, as well, since that was one of her main goals for the class now—to create a structure for her book.

“Next time, play with your outline. Change it. Sit down and put out five ideas. Experiment. Be bold with structure, not hung up on developing perfection.”

She liked that. “It’s feels like we’ve created space for my book now.”

Her final advice from her muse: “You’ve got this.”

How do you experience your inner muse? How do you work with your muse? Has your muse ever helped you when you felt your writing practice was falling apart? Share your comments and questions below.

Writing Coaching: Productivity Vs. Flow

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book writing coach Lisa Tener
Be generous with yourself today.

I can have a tendency to view myself as a machine. Push. Pull. Produce. Publish.

How’s that workin’ for ya’ Lisa?

Can you relate?

When you get down to it, isn’t it a little mean-spirited and ungenerous to treat ourselves this way?

“So, how many words did you write today? What did you produce?” Ugh, that is not the voice of my muse.

Writing Coaching Saves the Day

Here’s where writing coaching comes in. You can do that writing coaching for yourself, on your own, by the way, following this example.

Yesterday, I skyped with a client who felt so frustrated with herself at the mere ten pages she’d revised, after receiving my writing coaching, editing and feedback on over 100 pages. “It took me days and all I have are ten pages to show for it.”

Last night, she sent those ten pages and I read them this morning. Sheer brilliance. Her words came alive for me. I felt like I was truly experiencing these scenes from her life. I felt like I was there. She picked just the right details to share and left out the parts that had been distracting me, confusing me, taking me out of her story.

The details she added were just what I needed to have the scene play out in 3D for all my senses.

What Writing Coaching Looks Like (be your own writing coach!)

Here’s what I wrote her. Maybe you’ll find something in it for yourself next time you’re feeling ungenerous and not productive enough:

You “only” edited 10 pages but they feel perfect to me. Would you rather have 10 perfect ones or 100 imprecise, rough, clunky ones?

Well done.

You are not just putting in my edits, you are stepping into your power and voice as a writer.

Woot!

My edits of these ten pages are minor. You really got how to convey this information so that it comes to life. There are no distractions, no back and forth in time, no confusion. It’s CLEAR.

That is a huge shift from the previous draft.

I am thrilled to see what you’ve written.

And it doesn’t feel stuck to me at all. [The author had told me she thought she was stuck at the end.]

Maybe just write the last two paragraphs again by hand and see what comes after you write that (if you’re feeling stuck).

Maybe it was a lot of hard work and you just felt spent. Like, “That’s enough for now.”

May I share this in a blog post: just the idea of “I only edited 10 pages…” and the response when I read those 10 pages?

Edits attached. And when you say to yourself, “Lisa’s so great, she sent me those edits back in no time at all,” [which is the kind of thing this author had said to me before.] I want you to replace it with, “Wow, I wrote so well that I made it easy for Lisa to edit that in no time at all.”

So, how about you? What’s your inner critic saying about productivity? How can you turn your focus towards flow, instead? Can you be your own writing coach? What can you do to speak kindly to yourself? To appreciate your own genius? To enjoy your writing?

Want to learn tips to write a book that transforms your readers’ lives? Click on the image to sign up!

How to Write a Book: From Chore to Joy in 21 Minutes

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book coach Lisa TenerHow to Write a Book? Seems like a straightforward, here-are-the-steps, kind of thing.

It’s not. In my experience, writing a book is a somewhat alchemical process. You take the stuff of heaven and earth and all that lies between and weave it into form. Quite literally, you take thoughts and turn them into a thing, a physical object, a book.

And this process can be scary, overwhelming, confusing or frustrating at times.

When you feel those kinds of feelings, know that you are in a state of resistance. You want to write but you don’t want to write. There’s a war going on inside you.

Winning the War on Writers Block

If you ever feel stuck, struggle with finding your flow, or feel pressure to write without feeling the passion, then you have experienced this internal state of strife.

hikerThere’s an expression, “Peace is just a breath away.” In this case, the words, the flow, the passion are a metaphoric breath away.

I was reminded about this in a consultation with a woman in my Bring Your Book to Life Program today. She struggled with her book. Once or twice as we spoke I heard the passion she felt for the project. I sensed this passion just below the surface. It was clearly there. But she didn’t notice it. All she felt was wrong, blocked, frustrated, mad at herself.

Meet Your Creative Muse

So, we did my favorite exercise. You may have heard me speak about it before. I call it “Meet Your Muse.” I guided her to connect with her inner muse, her creative source and had her ask her muse about how to reconnect and write.

She hadn’t been making the time, so I wanted to start there. I usually insist that writers schedule the time in their calendars in order to make it happen. Her muse would have none of that. “No scheduling.”

And yet, the muse told her, “Set aside time and focus on the book.”

Right Brain / Left Brain

It took me a minute to let that sink in. What’s the difference between scheduling and setting aside time? And then I got it. I realized her muse made a distinction between the left brain dictatorial “scheduling” and the more right brain, gentle, “set aside time.”

That made real sense to me. When we resist something and feel pressured–and pressured was one of the first words she used when our call began–then forcing ourselves to do something will often just create more resistance. She didn’t need more of an inner dictatorship, she needed to enter that sacred, beautiful internal space from which words could find their flow.

Next, her muse told her,

[bctt tweet=”Instead of pushing your book away, sit down and think about it. Give it attention.”]

Think about what you want to talk about.

I sensed that her muse wanted her to just be with the book. I suggested she could even imagine that as she drove her car, her book was placed in the passenger seat next to her. She didn’t have to do anything about it–just be in its presence. My sense was that she needs to draw the book near to her, to be gentle in this process of connecting with her book, getting to know it.

Romancing Your Book

Imagine your book as a potential romantic partner. Flirt with it. Ask it questions. Let it tell you about itself. Get to know it. Don’t just ask it to perform for you, to produce. Engage it. Dance with it. Lie on the grass next to it looking up at the clouds.

hand writing color funkyThis idea of setting aside time felt better, so we dealt with her second challenge, after making the time. This writer, an academic, had trouble just writing without editing. Instead, she worried over each word, striving for perfection. And every statement needed to be backed up by research.

Now, you may also have an experience of trying to write from that directive place of “It has to be perfect.” It’s a surefire way to prevent flow!

While I had told everyone in class to try as much as they could to leave holes for research with a note to come back later and fill it in, she couldn’t do that. So, chapters were agonizingly slow and painful. Slow is okay. Pain, I like to figure out how to abate.

Breaking Down Your Inner Parts

I asked her to imagine a few different parts of her: The Muse, The Perfectionist, The Academic/Researcher. And I asked her to thank those aspects of herself when they arose. “Say thank you and let the Perfectionist know that you’ll need her later. Now isn’t the time but she’s going to be very important in the editing process.” The same for the Academic/Researcher. Most research could be left for the end when the writer would very much need that important skill and aspect of herself when the time came.

She agreed to give it a try.

book-proposalOne More Challenge

Still, something didn’t quite feel right. “I’m afraid it will take over my life once I get into the writing.”

I asked her to imagine the part of her that worried about this in one chair and her muse in another chair. The dialogue went something like this:

Author: “I’m afraid it will take over my life once I get into the writing.”

Muse: “Nonsense, it’s something you want to do.”

Author: “But I have other commitments, too.”

Muse: “Actually, your book is not a commitment. It’s a joy to be writing it.”

She told me that felt good, but there was still something her muse wanted her to know:

Muse: “You have to write a literary review.”

Author: “Yes. I just have to write that and I will.”

Now, she felt a sense of harmony.

Connect with Your Passion and Joy

My last bit of advice was to help connect her with the passion and joy she had for her subject, something she had not been feeling when she sat down to write. I share that advice with you.

Do something beforehand that puts you in a receptive space—walking, deep breathing, listening to music, flipping through photography books with images related to your subject—whatever works for you. You can experiment with different activities. Then write.

And that is how to write a book: by not thinking of it as a chore, but receiving it as a gift, a joyful privilege, by engaging with it, getting to know it. Be with your book and it will come.

5 Fixes to Transform Medical Writing into Blogs, Books and Other Writing for the Wider Public

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book coach Lisa TenerAre you comfortable writing for a specific audience, such as an academic or medical audience, and a little nervous branching out to write for a more general public or just a different type of reader than you are used to? If so, know that you are not alone.

In fact, as I prepare for next week’s course on Healthcare Leadership and Publishing through Harvard Medical School, I’ve been jotting notes and feedback on some of the submissions from doctors, therapists and other healthcare professionals who will be in my writing workshops–and a common theme has emerged. In a nutshell, these writers need to play to their transferrable strengths, such as reasoning, ability to articulate complex ideas, and–in many cases–keen observational skills, while learning to write in a more conversational and accessible style for the public.

If you’re used to writing for an academic audience and want to expand to writing blog posts or a book, you’ll need to:

Psychiatrist Bruce Dow majored in English in college. in book writing class he had to re-learn the tools for strong writing and let go of the more academic style he'd picked up in medicine. The result is a book filled with compelling stories that draw readers in and help them apply the tools to their own lives.
Psychiatrist Bruce Dow majored in English in college. In book writing class he had to re-learn the tools for strong writing and let go of the more academic style he’d picked up in medicine. The result is a book filled with compelling stories that draw readers in and help them apply the tools to their own lives.

Play up the Stories: It’s true that you need to adhere to HIPAA standards and be careful of divulging patient information. However, you can weave together several patients and their stories and make them into a composite. Stories make the medical information come to life for your readers and draw them in to read more. Many medical professionals have keen observational skills. Use them to bring these stories to life.

Show; Don’t Tell: In an academic setting you may use statistics or studies to paint a picture; you can do that for a broader audience, as well. Just be sure to keep it accessible and understandable. In addition, you can employ all the senses (not all at once, though) in your writing to bring it to life.

Use Dialogue: Several of the writing samples I read last night did an excellent job of using dialogue to immerse the reader in a scene. In most cases, adding a few subtle actions will break up the dialogue and make the scene even more real. One of my pet peeves? Read your dialogue aloud and make sure it sounds exactly like something that person would say. Use contractions 99% of the time, since that’s how people truly speak. Only put quotations in quotation marks. If you’re summarizing someone’s points, that should not be in quotation marks.

book cover arts awareness
In several rounds of editing, Dr. Pat Hoy dug deep for the quirky details that brought her anecdotes to life. She also came up with questions for reflection and exercises that help readers of Arts Awareness apply the tools and techniques of artists and performers to use in their own lives.

Avoid Jargon; Be Conversational: When you’re immersed in a culture or environment, sometimes it’s hard to even realize which terms will sound foreign to someone from outside of that environment. You may find a beta reader or two who is not in your field who can tell you which terms are unclear. In general, write in plain language that an eighth grader can understand. One trick is to pretend you are writing/talking to a patient unfamiliar with medical terms and medicine. What would you say to them? Write that way. You may even find it helpful to picture a specific person.

Keep Your Audience in Mind: Identify your core readers and keep them in mind as you write. What metaphors would resonate for them? What stories or examples can they relate to? What are their dreams, desires, fears or problems as they relate to material in your book? Be sure to address concerns of fears they may have that would keep them from benefiting from your information. Think about things that would help them to integrate or apply the information to their lives. Would exercises help? Questions for reflection? As in the previous point, imagining a specific reader and writing to that person can help make the material resonate better for your readers.

5 Fixes to Transform Medical Writing into Blogs, Books and Other Writing for the Wider Public

by

book coach Lisa TenerAre you comfortable writing for a specific audience, such as an academic or medical audience, and a little nervous branching out to write for a more general public or just a different type of reader than you are used to? If so, know that you are not alone.

In fact, as I prepare for next week’s course on Healthcare Leadership and Publishing through Harvard Medical School, I’ve been jotting notes and feedback on some of the submissions from doctors, therapists and other healthcare professionals who will be in my writing workshops–and a common theme has emerged. In a nutshell, these writers need to play to their transferrable strengths, such as reasoning, ability to articiulate complex ideas, and–in many cases–keen obervational skills, while learning to write in a more conversational and accessible style for the public.

If you’re used to writing for an academic audience and want to expand to writing blog posts or a book, you’ll need to:

Psychiatrist Bruce Dow majored in English in college. in book writing class he had to re-learn the tools for strong writing and let go of the more academic style he'd picked up in medicine. The result is a book filled with compelling stories that draw readers in and help them apply the tools to their own lives.
Psychiatrist Bruce Dow majored in English in college. In book writing class he had to re-learn the tools for compelling writing and let go of the more academic style he’d picked up in medicine. The result is Dream Therapy for PTSD (published by ABC-CLIO), a book filled with captivating stories that draw readers in and help them apply the tools to change their dreams and transform their experiences.

Play up the Stories: It’s true that you need to adhere to HIPAA standards and be careful of divulging patient information. However, you can weave together several patients and their stories and make them into a composite. Stories make the medical information come to life for your readers and draw them in to read more. Many medical professionals have keen observational skills. Use them to bring these stories to life.

Show; Don’t Tell: In an academic setting you may use statistics or studies to paint a picture; you can do that for a broader audience, as well. Just be sure to keep it accessible and understandable. In addition, you can employ all the senses (not all at once, though) in your writing to bring it to life.

Use Dialogue: Several of the writing samples I read last night did an excellent job of using dialogue to immerse the reader in a scene. In most cases, adding a few subtle actions will break up the dialogue and make the scene even more real. One of my pet peeves? Read your dialogue aloud and make sure it sounds exactly like something that person would say. Use contractions 99% of the time, since that’s how people truly speak. Only put quotations in quotation marks. If you’re summarizing someone’s points, that should not be in quotation marks.

book cover arts awareness
In several rounds of editing, Dr. Pat Hoy dug deep for the quirky details that brought her anecdotes to life. She also came up with questions for reflection and exercises that help readers of Arts Awareness apply the tools and techniques of artists and performers to use in their own lives.

Avoid Jargon; Be Conversational: When you’re immersed in a culture or environment, sometimes it’s hard to even realize which terms will sound foreign to someone from outside of that environement. You may find a beta reader or two who is not in your field who can tell you which terms are unclear. In general, write in plain language that an eighth grader can understand. One trick is to pretend you are writing/talking to a patient unfamiliar with medical terms and medicine. What would you say to them? Write that way. You may even find it helpful to picture a specific person.

Keep Your Audience in Mind: Identify your core readers and keep them in mind as you write. What metaphors would resonate for them? What stories or examples can they relate to? What are their dreams, desires, fears or problems as they relate to material in your book? Be sure to address concerns of fears they may have that would keep them from benefiting from your information. Think about things that would help them to integrate or apply the information to their lives. Would exercises help? Questions for reflection? As in the previous point, imagining a specific reader and writing to that person can help make the material resonate better for your readers.

Have you been working on shifting from a more academic or business tone to writing for the public, or what we in publishing call a “trade audience”? Do you have any tips or challenges to share? I’d love to get your comments below!

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