by Dave Haslett
If you focus constantly on the things you really want, it will have a positive effect on you. Things will start to happen. Success will find you.
Technology can help
What’s right in front of you when you write? Probably a computer screen. So it makes sense to put your inspirational pictures there.
You can get software that automatically changes the background image on your computer’s desktop – commonly known as the “wallpaper” – at whatever interval you set it to. Search online for “wallpaper changer” and get it to display a rolling slideshow of your inspirational images.
If you have a wide screen, reduce the size of your word processor so it only takes up half or three-quarters of the screen. Put some inspirational images in the other part of the screen so they’re always visible as you write.
Past successes
If you’re unsure of your ability to finish your book, take a few minutes to list all your past successes. If you’ve been writing for some time, you may have written – and completed – other books, articles, stories, plays, poems and other piece of writing. Some of your work might have been published – which is awesome. Perhaps you also had some good reviews. And you might have won a competition or been a runner-up in one or made the shortlist. These are all terrific achievements that prove you can do it.
Make a list of successes from other areas of your life too. These might include:
exams and tests you’ve passed
successful interviews
jobs you’ve done well
promotions
awards, medals and trophies you’ve won
things you’ve achieved and you’re proud of
things you’ve been complimented on
children you’ve successfully raised
and so on
By the time you’ve finished listing them all, and you’ve thought hard about the positive aspects of your life, you should be feeling pretty good about yourself. You’ve achieved so much; you’ve finished many things – and you can do it again.
Easy targets
How do you feel when you achieve one of your targets or beat a deadline? Really good, right? So if you’re having trouble staying motivated, set yourself some easy targets and deadlines for the next few days. These aren’t just achievable targets; they’re ridiculously achievable. You (almost) can’t fail to achieve them.
After a few days of this, you’ll feel terrific and your motivation will return. But you’ll also start to feel that something is missing: things are too easy. You’ll want to push yourself harder and aim for more difficult targets. When you get to that point, raise your targets or set them back to their normal level. They should still be achievable, but only if you work hard.
Rewards and motivators
Be proud of what you achieve in each writing session, even if it’s just a twenty-minute mini one. Reward yourself if you feel you’ve accomplished something worthwhile. Play a recording of a crowd cheering and applauding, or perhaps a rousing burst of the Hallelujah Chorus. Have a chocolate biscuit as you bask in the glory of a job well done. Keep a joke book nearby and celebrate with laughter.
Give yourself bigger rewards when you pass bigger milestones: finishing a chapter, ticking off every item on a page of your outline, finishing the first draft, finishing the editing, and so on. Finishing a chapter has got to be worth at least half an hour of a TV show you’ve recorded and been looking forward to watching. Finishing the first draft could be worth a weekend away – or even a week.
You always need a target to aim for. Writing some of your book each day will get it finished in the end. But aiming to complete at least three mini writing sessions per day, or a whole chapter, or a page of your outline, or whatever target you set yourself – and pushing yourself to get it done – will get you there faster. You’ll also feel as if you’ve accomplished something worthwhile if you make the deadline. And that’s a terrific motivator.
The evil ones
Who are the evil ones? All those people who are more successful than you! Make a list of them – and make a note of their ages too. Some of them are much younger than you, and some of them are a lot older.
That isn’t fair, is it? Show the world you’re as good as they are, if not better.
You could take this a stage further and put photos of them on one wall of your writing room – a rogue’s gallery. Or stick their photos on a dartboard and throw darts at them when you need to let off steam.
You could also put up photos of people whose success or lifestyles you admire – people who you think deserve their success. Just like you do.
Use your friends
In Chapter 15 we looked at ways of getting other people to help you write your book. They can help keep you motivated too. Ask your family, friends and colleagues to keep reminding you why you’re writing your book, and to keep pushing you onwards every time they see you. They should urge you to write it quickly too, because they can’t wait to read it.
Finished already
Imagine that you’ve finished writing your book and it’s a huge success.
Picture yourself on a stage accepting an award for it. And who’s presenting the award? Wow, you’ve always wanted to meet him! He says he’s read your book and he loved it. He says it changed his life. He’s giving you a hug. Everyone’s on their feet applauding. How fantastic does that feel?
Keep visualising yourself as successful and your brain will come to believe you are successful – it becomes a habit. Success is like money: it always goes to those who already have it. Once you start truly believing you’re successful, even in a small way, real success will follow.
Many people have tried this technique and found it works, so it’s got to be worth a try.
As you set yourself goals, milestones and deadlines, imagine you’ve already achieved those too. Visualise yourself completing them and celebrating, even if they were only little ones. It’s all part of the process of getting you to see yourself as a highly successful writer.
Repeat after me…
Try repeating the same phrase out loud ten times. Do it several times a day. It’s important that you say it out loud because then you’ll hear it as well as think it. This reinforces the message and encourages success.
Choose a specific phrase to repeat.
If you’re having problems writing your book, you could try:
“I, [your name], will finish writing [title of your book] by [specific date].”
If you’re having doubts about how successful it will be, you could try:
My book, [title of your book], will win [name of award] by [specific date].”
Or
My book, [title of your book], will sell [large number] copies by [specific date].”
As you repeat your phrase – ten times out loud, several times a day – picture yourself achieving the thing you’re talking about. How good does it feel? Very good indeed, I hope. Visualise every detail of it. Wallow in your success.
As we saw above, you need to convince yourself that what you’re saying is true. And when you truly believe it, it will become true.
This process is called affirmation and is well worth studying further if you’re interested in how it works. It can also be used for other things, such as healing. You’ll find more information about affirmations in the appendix at the back of this book.
A poem a day
For an inspiring way to start each day, try reading a short poem as soon as you wake up. You might like to keep a book of them by your bed. A good poem will inspire you and brighten your day. You’ll also absorb the imagery and rhythms, which will filter into your writing and make it seem more lyrical and alive.
You could also try reading a poem each night just before you go to sleep. You could read the same one that you read that morning, or the one you’ll read tomorrow morning. Or choose a different one – maybe something visual and imaginative that might inspire interesting dreams.
The book cover on your wall
Ha
ve a go at designing a cover for your book. It might not be the final cover that goes on the published book, but it will help you see your book as a tangible object rather than just a concept in your mind. Stick the cover on the wall near your writing desk so it inspires and motivates you every time you look at it.
No one else ever needs to see this version of the cover, so it doesn’t matter if you’re no good at art. You could give it a funky, over-the-top design if you like.
And perhaps you could add a fictional quote from a newspaper or magazine review that you’d love to see in real life:
Another masterpiece from Stan Bean that once again proves he’s the writer Hemingway longed to be.” – The New York Times.
Motivation workshops
Try going to a motivation workshop. They’re more common in the USA than in the UK, but they’re gradually becoming more popular, especially with business people and sales teams. Writers can benefit from them too.
A good book coach should also be able to help you with your motivation.
Longer writing sessions
If you’re in a creative mood and have plenty of time to spare, why not try a longer writing session? They can make a pleasant change from the intensity of mini-sessions.
Longer writing sessions are quite different from mini-sessions though. For example, it can take you up to thirty minutes to settle into a long session, and you might end up feeling that you haven’t achieved very much.
To counteract this, I usually start a longer session with a couple of mini-sessions, so I’m immediately productive.
Once you’re up and running, try writing the next section of your book without planning it in your head first. This might sound scary if you’re used to writing in mini-sessions where everything is rigidly planned, but it’s the more traditional way of writing. It’s also much easier to get locked into the groove, and once you are, you should find that your words flow quickly and easily.
You’ll still be working from your detailed outline though; not making it up as you go along.
If the words don’t come easily, don’t waste the time fretting about not being able to write. Do some more mini-sessions instead, and try a longer session another time.
Let your characters take over – or not
If you write fiction, you’ve probably noticed that your characters sometimes take on a life of their own. This generally happens in longer writing sessions, where you don’t plan every sentence in your head before you write it down.
It’s fantastic when this happens: all you have to do is write down what your characters do and say. These sections are usually “right first time” and should need very little editing. But you need to make sure your characters stick to the script and don’t stray too far from the outline.
This is easy in short writing session where you’re simply expanding the outline. But in longer, more creative writing sessions the characters sometimes try to take the story in a different direction. Some novelists relish this, and follow the new direction to see where it leads.
If you like to work that way, that’s fine. But if the new storyline drifts too far from your outline, and then fizzles out, you’ll have to scrap that whole section and write it again – and there’s a high risk that you’ll abandon the whole project. So it isn’t the best way of working if you want to write your book quickly.
Once you’ve written a few books the fast way, you might have enough time and money to take things more slowly if you want to. You could try writing with a looser outline – or no outline at all, letting the characters do whatever they want and seeing where the story goes. But keep in mind that you may end up scrapping weeks of work if it doesn’t work out.
I used to write in longer sessions, and I gave my characters free reign, but it rarely worked out. I don’t do it that way any more. All the creativity goes into preparing the detailed outline. Then I stick to it rigidly as I expand it to create the first draft.
A change is as good as a rest
After a couple of weeks of intense writing, your brain will probably need a rest, especially if you’re writing a novel. This is a good time to take a break for a day or two and try writing something completely different.
If you write intense thrillers or horror novels, for example, how about writing some articles on gardening? You’ll need to know something about the subject, of course. If you don’t know anything about gardening, pick something you do know about. But choose the most relaxing thing you can think of.
Another good option might be to write reviews of garden centres – or wine, beer, food, films or TV shows, soft toys, spas and beauty salons, and so on – anything that you enjoy and find relaxing.
You could also write poetry. Or how about writing some really short 100-word stories?
Try writing short stories in a completely different genre from the novel you’re working on.
Short stories are also useful for working out issues with your novel. You could write the same scene several different ways to see which one you like best.
Passion is important
I’ve mentioned passion throughout the book. It’s a terrific motivator. You should always try to write with passion: every word, every sentence, every paragraph, every page, every topic, every scene, and every chapter.
Connect with your market
Try talking to some of your future readers and make friends with them. Visit a place where they gather together, or chat with them online.
Tell them about your book, the ideas or subject it’s based on, your ideas for future books, your background, your writing methods, your thoughts about your book’s cover or other people’s covers, how you plan to get your book published, how you plan to market it, and so on.
The people you talk to should be interested in your book, and they might have ideas or suggestions that will help make it better. Or they might come up with ideas for other books in the series. Many of them will tell you they’d like to read your book when it’s published, so make sure you collect their details so you can let them know when it’s available.
You’ll return to your writing desk feeling refreshed and motivated, and ready to make the final push to finish your book.
…And you’re done
Congratulations, you’ve finished your first draft in record time!
You should also have some ideas about how you’ll publish and sell your book, some thoughts about the cover design, several useful contacts, some great ideas for your current book and future ones, and the beginnings of a mailing list you can use to market them.
Continue your journey
Although you’ve completed your first draft, it still needs work to make it publishable. Some people spend months doing that, but it can be easily accomplished in less than two weeks if you know the right techniques. Continue your journey to publishing success in the next book, The Fastest Ways to Edit, Publish and Sell Your Book – available now.
18. Conclusion
As we’ve seen, writing a book needn’t take up a huge chunk of your life, or restrict you from doing other things. The days of having to shut yourself away for hours at a time, for months on end, missing out on all the fun are thankfully in the past.
Writing a book quickly has many advantages. For example, if you spot a gap in the market you can fill it almost immediately. The techniques in this book will allow you to get that book into your readers’ hands before most other writers have started the first chapter. And you can write and publish a whole shelf full of books in the time it takes most professional authors to write one or two.
Another huge advantage is that you won’t have time to get bored. That’s one of the main reasons why writers abandon their books.
Modern technology can make you more effective, efficient and productive. You can research, plan and write your book at greater speeds than ever before. When you combine the latest technology with the speed-writing techniques used by the writers of the past, you can produce excellent books at a phenomenal rate. And just
about anyone can do it, even if they can’t write.
I’d like to leave you with these final thoughts on being a successful writer:
I hope you never write books just to make money. If you’re a natural-born writer then you have to write; you have no choice. If you have a wealth of knowledge that you’d like to share with the world then by all means share it, but the emphasis should be on sharing rather than selling. That doesn’t mean you can’t make a very good living from it though.
Unless you write purely for pleasure – which is unlikely if you’re reading this book – you should aim to sell every book you write. And you should feel confident that it will sell. Most importantly, you should feel proud to have written it.
Before you write your book, do some market research and make sure there’s a large, easy-to-reach market for it.
If you’re aiming for a traditional publishing contract, don’t write a non-fiction book, or more than the first three chapters of a novel, until you have a contract to write the whole thing.
Always strive to give excellent value for money. Try to pack in as much information and/or entertainment as possible. And then go the extra mile by including additional resources and bonuses.