Writing Your Book › wp-content › uploads › 2010 › 09 › … · Bali Retreat October 2010 1...
Transcript of Writing Your Book › wp-content › uploads › 2010 › 09 › … · Bali Retreat October 2010 1...
www.TheCreativePenn.com Bali Retreat October 2010
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Writing Your Book h
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Power smoothie
check in
How are you
feeling?
Any „aha‟ moments
What you want to
learn in this session
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“Here’s the thing: The book that will most
change your life is the book you write”
Seth Godin
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“What are you going to write about? Anything you
damn well want”
Stephen King
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What has stopped you so far?
What do you need to break through in order to
write/finish your book?
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“Write at the edges of the
day”
Toni Morrison, author of Nobel Prize winning novel
‘Beloved’
http://www.flickr.com/photos/grantneufeld/11792994/
What do you need to
give up in order to
make the time to
write your book?
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Working 4 days per week
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http://www.chrisbrogan.com/inch-by-inch/
“ Overnight success doesn‟t sleep in...or
watch a lot of TV... Or have a whole lot
of hobbies..Overnight success has hard
work”
http://www.flickr.com/photos/joriel/2360038974/
“Brick walls are there for a reason. They give us a
chance to show how badly we want something”
Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture
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Passion and excitement
Scared
Embarrassed
Self doubt
Bored and ‘over it’
Frustrated
Exhausted
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“Life is a daring
adventure...or nothing” Helen Keller
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Legacy
Mortality
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What do people say when you say you are writing a book?
Volume of Comments
Time
CriticismPraise
“Writing is a bit like going on a
diet; you should either tell
everyone or no one”
Maeve Binchy
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pichler/412548808/
I am creative.
I am an author.
I am a wealthy, famous, published author.
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How do you actually write a book?
How/when do you write at
the moment?
“Get black on white” Guy de Maupassant , 19th century French
writer
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Write Fast
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http://writeordie.drwicked.com/
“Don’t wait for the muse. Your job is to make sure the muse knows where you’re going to be every day...If he does
know, he’ll start showing up, chomping his cigar and making his magic”
Stephen King
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Write without stopping or editing until you have finished first draft.
Put it away and then edit.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lo9883/158623108/
Structure your book into chapters, andsub-headings and then fill in the blanks
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Write lots of notes on your material and then stitch it together
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Draw process flows or mind maps of the book and then put them into words
http://www.flickr.com/photos/deathtogutenberg/321549648/
Speak into a recorder for each chapter, get it
transcribed (or use speech to text software - Dragons)
and then rework
http://www.flickr.com/photos/readerwalker/146648823/
http://www.elance.com/
http://nuance.com/dragon/index.htm
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Create questionnaires, conduct interviews.
Write up into book format with your own ideas.
Write in scenes
“You‟ve written a scene when
something important changes”Holly Lisle
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2113/1704875109_9b414964f5_m.jpg
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Set deadlines
for word
count or
chapters
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“The only way I can get anything written at all is to
write really, really shitty first drafts”
Anne Lamott, ‘Bird by Bird’
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You have to
make the
marble block
Before you
make a
masterpiece
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Set deadlines
for word
count or
chapters
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2636/3996257609_199123f9a9_m.jpg
http://www.nanowrimo.org/
http://www.thecreativepenn.com/2
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Learning
the craft
of writing
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Stephen King “On Writing”
Anne Lamott “Bird by
Bird”
Stephen
Pressfield
“War of Art” Natalie Goldberg “Writing
down the Bones”
“How not to write a novel” Mittelmark
& Newman
“Story” Robert McKee
Holly Lisle Shop
Online Courses or Writing
Centre Groups
Holly Lisle Shop
How do you
like to
learn?
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevendepolo/3015116374/
• 23 years : aged 10 -33 Dreamed of writing a book
• July 2007: Decided this time I would manage it
• Xmas 2007 First draft
• Jan – March 2008: Rewrites and editing
• April 2008: Published on Amazon
Nov 2008 – Nov 2009:
Wrote “From Idea to
Book” and “From Book
to Market”
Nov 2009 – Nov 2010:
Wrote “Pentecost” – currently
with editor. 7 book series
planned.
What can you change
in your writing
schedule?
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“Books aren’t written – they’re rewritten”
Michael Crichton, author of ‘Jurassic Park’
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Write
Read and Edit
Editor
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Proof-Reader
Thomas Hardy
Marked up copy of:
‘Tess of the D’Urbevilles’
Great English literature
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First ideas written during conferenceAugust 2007
Notes from books on subject, Oct 2007
Notes from one of my proof readers
Professionally edited draft
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Focus on
the big
stuff first.
Typos
last.
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Reorganising the book made all the difference
Reorganising scenes
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Write in
layers
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http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4055/4560874197_92b04675c8_m.jpg
Be specific.
Describe in
detail.
Read your book out loud end to end http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BG_H_aEc8pk
http://www.Elance.com
http://awmonline.com.au/
http://wefollow.com/twitter/editor
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Editorial Review:
Evaluation noting good things and
places for improvement in plot,
character etc. What will make it more
„publishable‟
Copyediting: Developmental edit, down
to line editing.
http://www.noveldoctor.com/
Have a working title, but you can change it. Think about it, but don’t obsess.
Reuse is ok, there is no copyright on book titles (but check domain name)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/em0rix/2510861496/
Buy the domain name early –http://www.GoDaddy.com
Use keywords and a sub-title especially for non-fiction
https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal
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Test title using Google Adwords or Facebook advertising – Timothy Ferriss did this for “The 4 Hour Work Week”
Get cover done early for promotional purposes
Will the book
sell?
Is there a
market?
Do you have a
platform?
http://www.CreativeCommons.org
© Copyright
vs. Plagiarism
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http://the99percent.com/videos/5822/seth-godin-quieting-the-lizard-brain
Seth Godin
“shipping”
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Begin at the beginning and go on ‘til you come
to the end and then stop”Lewis Carroll, author of ‘Alice in Wonderland’
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“Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the
talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard
work”
Stephen King, ‘On Writing’
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jvk/63823393/
Persistence
Discipline
Write down your target now
“Thoughts become things. If you see it in
your mind, you will hold it in your hand”
Rhonda Byrne, from The Secret
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/alphaducentaure/2607814349/
Cocktail checkout
What did you
learn from the
session?
What are you
going to do with
the information?