What holds you back from telling your story?
Ideas are like a flooding rain in my mind. I have more thoughts about stories and concepts than I can work with until I sit down and focus on the one idea that I’ve decided to turn into a book. At that point, a drought settles in which is usually followed by doubt.
What was I thinking? Why do I think I can write a book? Ali, if you were a real writer, you could pick an idea, outline it into a sequence and write a story or nonfiction book.
The pressure from my inner voice tempts me to procrastinate until I give up. However, if I had listened to the naysayer in my subconscious, I would not have 12 books for sale on Amazon.
So, how does a writer move from procrastination to publication?
Today, I want us to look at what I believe is the most important step for a writer to go forward and that is to answer a very personalized question. Understanding your deepest motivation for writing your books is not the only tool a writer needs to move from procrastination to publication, but it is a big one.
The #1 question to answer before writing a book
Why do you want to tell your story?
The answer to that question is your BIG STORY goal. Knowing this fact will carry you through doubts and negative self-talk about becoming a writer.
Goals act like as a self-regulating device. Challenging goals that are very specific increase our performance more than goals that are not.
Writing a book is a massive undertaking, so we have that part of the equation under our belt. The second part of the equation is to set specific tasks to accomplish your goal.
Think for a moment about a football game. The BIG STORY goal is to get more points at the end of the game than the other team. The LITTLE STORY goals are tasks – first downs, field goals, blocking, running, and crossing the goal line with the football in your hand.
Sometime before the game, the coach has studied the other team’s strategy and formed his strategy to beat them. He shares his plan with the players. They practice until the coach believes they have the moves down well enough to give the other team a run for its money. The reason the players want to practice the strategies is that they understand the effect specific tasks will have on the BIG STORY goal – win the game.
On the night of the football game, the coach and players work their plan. However, it’s not uncommon during the middle of the game for the opposing team to throw in a few surprises. A seriously minded coach is ready for this. He prepared ahead of time. He understands his BIG STORY goal. He knows the typical moves the other team makes, and he’s got his list of specific plays for his team members so that a surprise means he can make adjustments, not devise new plans.
Your reason for telling your story is your BIG STORY goal. Work backward from there to map out the specific tasks you need to accomplish to get your book written. Once you organize your specific tasks, break them down into timed tasks. I will outline my book in 4 hours, or I will have an outline ready by X date. Make specific deadlines for every task giving yourself the freedom to make adjustments along the way.
Specific goals help us reach the finish line… publication.
- Specific goals focus our attention.
- Specific goals energize us.
- Specific goals affect our persistence.
Knowing the reason you want to tell your story is your BIG STORY goal. Setting specific tasks to get there will help you move past doubts and procrastination all the way to a published book.
If you want to learn more about moving from procrastination to publication check out Shelly Hitz’s book Procrastination to Publication: How to Write a Nonfiction Kindle Book in 7 Days
What holds you back from finishing your stories?
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