Lisa Tener

Book Writing Coach

Writer's Block

Writing a Book and Got Stuck? 5 Cures

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book writing coach Lisa Tener
Your Book Writing Coach

I just got an e-mail from a Bring Your Book to Life Program participant who’s a little stuck. Thought I’d share a few ideas–three related to book outlines:

1. Go Deeper in Your Book Outline: Sometimes you just need to be clearer about what goes into the chapter and where you’re going. A more detailed outline can get the juices moving.

2. Forget Your Book Outline: If the outline is constraining you or taking you in the wrong direction, maybe it’s time to put the outline aside and try writing without one.

3. Pick a New Spot to Start: Look at your outline and ask yourself which part has the most juice for you. Start there today.

4. Go for a Walk: Sometimes you just need to get your energy moving. If you can walk in a beautiful natural setting, all the better. My favorite is Newport’s Cliff Walk.

book writing course
On sale for May!

5. Read your Vision Statement: My course participants often say that the vision statement is one of their favorite tools. It keeps them motivated, makes it easy to write and also helps them stay focused with both tone and content. Don’t know how to write a vision statement? Check out my Quick Start to Kick Start Your Book self-study program. It’s on sale for the month of May!

Share how you get unstuck by adding your comment below. Or ask any book-writing or publishing questions and I am happy to answer!

Finding Your Writing Voice: Head vs. Heart

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Dr. Katie Eastman
Dr. Katie Eastman has a wise, wise muse.

“Lead with your heart but use your head. The purpose of your head is to figure out the best way to give your heart’s message.” – Dr. Katie Eastman

Many questions come up when you’re writing  a book:

– How do I make the time?

– Where do I start?

– What book do I write (or which one to write first)?

and then there are the questions that surface in the midst of writing:

– What is my voice? How do I find it?

– Why am I stuck? How do I get past this block?

– How do I finesse this particular piece I’m grappling with?

If you’re a frequent reader of my blog or have done any private work with me, you know how much I love leading my book writing clients in a visualization to “Meet Your Muse.”

Our left brain serves us, yes. But sometimes we need to go somewhere else to get to the heart of the matter. Today, in our consultation, Dr. Katie Eastman posed the question, “How do I find that place where my writing voice balances my head and my heart?”

The answer her muse provided struck us both as profound:

“Lead with your heart but use your head. The purpose of your head is to figure out the best way to give your heart’s message.” 

meet your book writing museIt seemed such apt advice for any writer.

Here’s another link to my free “Meet Your Muse” visualization, in case you haven’t received it yet. What wisdom does your muse have to share?

Listen to the audio and please feel free to add a comment and share what your muse has taught you.

Write a Book? What Have I Gotten Myself Into?

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Book writing coach Lisa Tener
Your Book Writing Coach

During a consultation with a newly enrolled Bring Your Book to  Life participant, Ariel  shyly admitted that she was a bit afraid I might give her a hard time for not getting started on the course materials before our session. After all, she’d been beating herself up for days. Wouldn’t I do the same?

Ariel committed to my book writing program and then her life seemed to fill with other commitments–a trip to Europe for work, trips to visit family members and, of course, all those little interruptions that make it impossible to get started–meal preparation, errands, a client project…you can fill in the blanks.

I assured Ariel that her experience was common. And we did some brainstorming. I encouraged Ariel to use her plane time to work through the preliminary course materials and enjoy the process of getting clear about her book concept and structure. She began to get excited about the upcoming trip and the way she could fit her book into her travel schedule.

meet your muse visualization for writers
Meet your writing muse to get clarity and overcome writing blocks. Photo by David Donohue.

I also introduced Ariel to my favorite client exercise: Meet Your Muse. I took her through a visualization from meadow to woods to a clearing and a small building where her muse was already waiting for her. For some people their muse is a totem animal–hawk, bear or even mouse. For others, it’s a wise being, an elder, a jester, their wiser self. And for still others the muse may be light, a color or just a sense of connecting with something bigger than their everyday self.

Ariel’s  muse told her the real culprit was her fear blocking her. She could feel those people in her life who’d told her she couldn’t–those judgmental adults from childhood she carried around within her psyche. I had her ask her muse to help her start to let go of that and she could feel the knot in her stomach start to unwind.

writing muse as hawk
Your muse may be a totem animal, wise being or just a felt sense of connecting with something greater than yourself.

Ariel’s muse hugged her and told her, “Yes, you can write this book. And you don’t have to do it alone. I’ll be with you every step of the way.”

Ariel thanked me for creating a safe space where she could “mess up” and not be doing things perfectly and I pointed out that she was doing it perfectly. It turns out that the exact steps she needed to go through were the steps she needed to take her readers to go through in order to benefit from the advice in her own book. Her process was important not just for her (breaking through old blocks and belief systems and expanding into her own personal power), but important for the light it will shed on her own readers’ processes.

your writing muse
One client's muse was a bird that turned into a person when she spoke to it. Photo by David Donohue.

After clearing her fears, Ariel realized she could commit Tuesday and Thursday nights to writing. From years of experience I know that evenings can be challenging, even to a night owl, and suggested she first find some time to rejuvenate before the writing–a walk outdoors, a meditation, listening to my Meet Your Muse meditation (a free download) or playing some relaxing music. This activity could provide a supportive transition to come to the writing with renewed energy.

Meet your muse visualization for writers

If you’re experiencing any challenges that are making it hard to write, I recommend a similar process to Ariel’s. First do some practical brainstorming about what you can do and then go to your muse to tap into your creative inner wisdom.

Are you beating yourself up or allowing your process to unfold? Yes, there will be a time for deadlines, schedules, holding yourself to commitments, but perhaps first you need to create the space to work through something. I invite you to listen to this downloadable gift from me–my Meet Your Writing Muse visualization and experience a shift that can help you get your book written–a compelling and powerful book that makes a difference in the world.

And please do share what you’ve done to move out of fear, transform blocks and get writing, as well as any insights you’ve received from your writing muse.

Inspired to Write: How to Keep the Juices Flowing

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book writing coach lisa tener
Your Book Writing Coach

Writing Strategies for Staying Inspired

While preparing to teach Inspired to Write tomorrow, I’ve been thinking about the importance of support in keeping our writing juices flowing. It seems to me a challenge all writers struggle with.

I thought I’d share some of the writing strategies I use myself and those I use with my private clients and in my book writing classes.

1. Find a Buddy: About 98% of the population needs some accountability to get their book (or other writing project) done. Buddies can support each other to overcome any challenges, make suggestions and offers solutions that you may not be able to see yourself and inspire you to do the writing you committed to each week. You can even meet at a cafe and write simultaneously. And a buddy is free!

Writing with a collaborator offers many rewards.

2. Engage a Collaborator. Granted, this strategy is not for the faint of heart. Collaborating takes good judgement in choosing a collaborator, a commitment to clear communication and working out the often-inevitable human challenges that can come up when working closely with someone. However, it can also be incredibly rewarding. My first book was written with two collaborators. My course materials were originally written with a collaborator and the book I am currently working on is being written with a collaborator.

Why? Three reasons:

  • Often, you can write a stronger book when you have people with varying expertise and perspectives.
  • Having that level of being accountable to someone moves me to action.
  • It’s more fun and co-creative!
book writing program
Participants in My Bring Your Book to Life Program in Narragansett

3. Join a Writing Program or Take a Writing Class:  Here’s another strategy with multiple benefits:

  • A supportive community uplifts and inspires.
  • The feedback of a writing course provides multiple perspectives, increased creativity and new ideas, resulting in a better book (or article or blog post, etc.).
  • When you fall down, there are people to make sure you get back up. If you have a week where you don’t write, you have built in support to get back in the game.
  • Your classmates and teachers offer a refreshing challenge to any voices in your head that say, “I can’t” or “I’m not good  enough.” Your colleagues can help you see your strengths.
  • A gifted and knowledgeable teacher will help you hone your writing skills and ability.

4. Find a Mentor, Coach or Editor: This person can provide support, accountability and technical skills. They can also help you problem solve to overcome any challenges.

5. Connect with Your Muse: We all have that creative part of us and inner knowing that can support us through any creative challenges. If you find yourself losing touch with that part of you, sit quietly, close your eyes and take an inner journey to connect. If this exercise sounds fun, try this free guided visualization for writers.

If the idea of a writing class or book writing program inspires you, consider my Bring Your Book to Life Program.

 

 

Why Aren’t You Writing? Afraid?

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Your Book Writing Coach

When you start writing a book, your demons will come up. That’s a good thing. You get to clear them. However, you often have to name them before you can clear them.

Here are two demons that almost everyone grapples with–just two sides of the same coin: Fear of Success and Fear of Failure.

Over the past couple weeks, a participant in my Bring Your Book to Life Program found himself severely challenged in making progress on his book. We did some work with his “muse” and got powerful answers about how to get back to the writing flow he experienced earlier on in the course. But I had a feeling the Fear of Success and Failure Demon lurked somewhere as well.

I asked him about it and he said, “I thought of that. Yes.” We went back to his muse to unblock.

His answer to the fear was to ask two questions:
1. What’s the worst thing that can happen [if I fail]?
2. What’s the best thing that can happen?

The answer to question 1: “Nothing. I’m right where I am, which is not all bad.”

Holding published books by Write Your Book Clients. Is yours next?

His answer to question 2: “It’s tremendous. I’m in front of the room having fun, laughing, joking, teaching and improving lives. And getting paid to do it. The money is important but more important is helping people.”

I asked him to connect to the second image before he writes each day. To feel how good it feels and set himself up for that success. I also suggested he start the morning envisioning himself writing with ease–feeling inspired, the words flow, and he enjoys uninterrupted writing time.

What’s your worst case/best case scenario? How can you set yourself up for success? What are you envisioning to start your day or writing time?

Writing Tips: Writing All Over the Place? Too Many Ideas?

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Walk by the ocean to clear your cluttered thoughts.

Yesterday morning, one of my book coaching clients said she had so many competing ideas for what to write–a book, a blog–and even more ideas what to write about–suburban consumption mom goes green, healing, shamanic experiences around the world. She didn’t know how to choose a writing project. In fact, she wondered if she can be writing right now with all that’s going on in her life.

As I led her in a visualization for writing, it became clear to me she needed to ground herself and feel connected to the earth. It would help her release some of the blocks coming up, focus, create structure, feel secure and safe (which cropped up as a need).

Get outside and get focused.

Nature and earth energy can be your most powerful allies for writing and creative endeavors. If your head is swirling with ideas and you feel overwhelmed, paralyzed or stuck, go for a walk in nature–in the woods to look inward for answers, by the ocean to clear the cluttered thoughts or anywhere you can breathe fresh air.

Or try a grounding yoga pose like mountain or warrior–outdoors barefoot if you’re somewhere warm. If your backyard looks like mine, an indoor yoga pose will do–maybe just look out the window.

Does it help? What do you do to ground your ideas and move forward?

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