A new equation: focus plus urgency equals book!

Last time you had your eyes here, I was talking about urgency and how that’s really the only way to get your book done.

And I really think that it is. You can schedule it in, you can hire all kinds of writing coaches, take programs, and analyse the crap out of your own head, but in the end, there’s just you, the page, and whatever sense you have of life being a fleeting, fragile, beautiful thing that needs you to DOTHISNOW.

I still think that.

But.

If you have urgency (great!! Don’t let it go. You NEED that) but don’t have a direction, you’ll just be spinning your wheels, feeling like you’ve got a lot to give, but no idea where to put your energy.

My own husband had this problem just last week. Actually, he’s had it for the last 18 months, but that’s a discouragingly long time, so we won’t mention it. 😉

He’d been feeling like he was stuck. Blocked. He had so much material floating about without a structure that it was overwhelming, and he felt like he could never get it back under control.

Worst of all, he felt like a project he’d promised himself he’d get done was just Not Going To Happen – and when that feeling comes to stay, it’s easy to believe that you’re sunk.

Basically, Himself has been brewing a book for the last year and a half. In his mind, on paper, in various writing programs on his laptop. And I’ve been offering to help him sort it out for months. What good is having a partner who’s a (insert whatever useful occupation you like here) if you don’t take advantage of the free service??

So there I was, offering and offering, and adding his name to my courses, generally asking encouraging questions, and letting him muddle through.

And finally, yesterday, I offered again: “So how about that half-hour consult on your book that I’ve been going on about? We’ve got time before bed.”

Miracle of miracles, he said yes!

We sat down, first charging our glasses, and making sure we had enough of the chocco stuff to last me the half hour.

 We talked book. His book.

As we talked, the problem became clearer.

It turns out that he has about five books in him, that were all trying to come out at once, as one book. He had so many different ideas vying for his attention and noisily demanding to be written that in trying to do them all, he did none.

What we did to solve this was talk about his original idea – the one that started the whole thing off. We decided how his reader needed to be led through his book so that it made the most sense, and also had the most impact. (It’s a non-fiction book, so it was practical to do it this way. If you’re writing fiction, there’s a little more flexibility in the process)

Then we looked at his original thoughts about the topic, and ordered them, and put them in a structured plan.

His homework is to transfer all of the material that he’s already written into the structure that we’ve nutted out. Then he’ll get back to me, and we’ll list all the parts that still need to be written.

Next we talked about what to do with all of the material that wouldn’t fit into this book.

That’s when I got the biggest surprise.

He took off running, arms flung wide into a future as an author, with books pouring out of his brain like it was some kind of ideas factory and … they all accumulated, just sort of frolicking about being distracting. Certainly they’re good ideas, and definitely needed in his industry. (Eco-cities, anyone? My word, yes!) But he’s an engineer, and this sort of ideas-fountain was totally unexpected.

(Yes, I stereotyped him. I very meekly apologise and beg forgiveness!)

I suddenly understood why he’d had such trouble getting his book finished.

He needed to catch all those ideas, write them down, and then pick the one to work on first. The rest can wait, nicely noted down and corralled in places where he can jot a note or two so that no random thoughts get lost.

Narrowing the focus gives him scope to really explore his topic, but stick to the structure we’ve outlined, and write that one first book fully, without being scattered in his thoughts. He has a point to make, and one he needs to make strongly. If all those other books got mixed in, then his point would be lost, diluted by the noise and showiness of the other ideas.

After our sorting-out session, Himself has renewed vigour and commitment to his book.

He now has a direction for that urgency about life that all of our community is still feeling after the death of our friend in mid-December, (written about here) and that means that he stands a much better chance of getting his book written this year.

And I have a new equation: urgency + focus = progress.

The steps we took again, just to you have them in the clearest possible way are:

1. Narrow the focus. Note your original idea, or the one that’s speaking to you loudest, begging to be written. Assure the others that you’ll get to them in their turn, in their time.
2. Order your thoughts: how would you lead your reader through your book?
3. Keep other book ideas away. Note them down elsewhere, but not anywhere near your current book project. I hear lots of good things about Evernote from authors.
4. Write the parts that need to be written. If that’s your whole book, then fine. If you have a lot of material, then fill the gaps.

It seems simplistic, and yes, there’s a whole lot more in there that can – and does – trip a Writer up. But the basics are there. If you do them, you’ll have your book.

If your book needs to be written this year, and you think that a free half hour strategy session with me might help get you some focus and nudge you over the starting line, click here to book one in.

Remember, life is short, in the end. If you’ve got something you dream of doing, now is all you have. Go to it!

And let me know in the comments what you rely on to tame the flow of ideas and narrow down your focus so that you can get something written.