Free Workshop: Creating A Map For Your Book

Free Workshop: Creating A Map For Your Book

creating a map for your book

We’re hosting another free workshop in the Shortcuts for Writers: Editing Made Simple Facebook Group on June 4 at 7:30 p.m. EST. Creating a map for your book can change your entire writing experience. Breaking down the process into doable segments opens the space for more creativity and flow. So let’s turn the overwhelm of the journey into mini-trips of joy.

Join Willow Green as she shares how to set yourself up for success and feel like your book wrote itself! You will learn how to create a map from idea to manuscript. Once you have your legend and journey all planned out, the words just flow through you easily and effortlessly! If you can’t attend the workshop live, the replay will be archived in the group’s Units section.

overcoming fear of writing

Willow is an author, facilitator and intuitive coach who works with individuals and groups around the world facilitating opportunities to experience true freedom and deeper levels of love. Willow is certified in NLP, has a degree in occupational science and a has lived with and trained with several spiritual guides. She has a very unique and diverse set of gifts that allow her clients to see exactly what they need to empower themselves and thrive. 

Find Willow at the below sites:

Website

YouTube

Facebook

Instagram

6 Ways To Write While The World Is Stressing You Out By @alliepleiter

6 Ways To Write While The World Is Stressing You Out By @alliepleiter

I know that many writers are having trouble tapping into their creativity during the pandemic. Thankfully, Allie Pleiter has a book that can help with this problem, and I asked her to share some tips about writing under stress. Read on for some helpful advice from Allie. You’ll also learn more about her valuable book, How to WRITE When Everything Goes WRONG—A Practical Guide to Writing Through Tough Times.

Allie’s Tips For Writing Under Stress

As the author of How to WRITE When Everything Goes WRONG—A Practical Guide to Writing Through Tough Times, I’ve been getting a lot of cries for help from writers these days. The crisis we find ourselves in right now can squelch any writer’s creative energy. New words can feel impossible, the focus to revise eludes us, and we’re just plain stressed.

How to writeâ€Ĥright now? Believe it or not, there are several things you can do to help yourself. Here are a few of my favorite tips:

#1: Try Small Batches In New Formats.

The trick is to pick a word count that feels doable–even if it must be tiny. One hundred words, for example, can fit on an index card. I suspect even the most traumatized of writers could manage six imperfect sentences that can be edited later. That work, once accomplished, can become the foothold for more. Can you tuck three or four cards into your pocket and set yourself the challenge to fill them? Your smartphone, a small notebook, or even email can help a small task feel small. All you need at first–maybe all you need at all–are baby steps.

#2: Change Locations.

Give yourself time in a different location in order to compartmentalize your brain space. You may not be able to go far—maybe only to the next room—but even that shift can make a difference. Ritualize it if it helps, saying: “At two p.m. I go out on the balcony with a cup of coffee and do my writing,” or “After lunch I make myself a cup of tea and write.” Remind yourself this is your time to work, and you can be fully present to whatever problems are facing you when you are done with your writing.

#3: When You Feel You Can’t Escape Your Situation, Start By Describing It.

Many books—fiction and nonfiction—have been born of personal difficulties. Writing about where you are right now can “prime the pump,” proving to your creative self that writing is possible. As a bonus, you may also discover the seeds of a new project in the process.

Creativity is possible. You are just going to have to go about it in different ways for a while. @alliepleiter #writingtips #writingcommunity Click To Tweet

#4: Embrace The Lousy First Draft.

Brilliance is likely beyond your reach—even if you discover you work great under pressure. Tell yourself: “It doesn’t have to be perfect; it just has to be written.” You can revise and polish your draft at another time once you get through the difficult stage of putting the words down on paper no matter how inelegant they feel. As best-selling author Nora Roberts famously said, “You can’t fix a blank page.”

 

#5: Set A Timer.

Pick whatever span of time feels possible—even fifteen minutes. Most of us can stand fifteen minutes of almost anything. Once or twice a day, set the timer and have at it. During those minutes, give yourself permission to “be a writer” rather than someone ill, caring, or coping. Starting is often the hardest part, and you may discover you can work longer than you think.

 

#6: Try Dictation.

Chances are you won’t need any special equipment for dictation because most computers and nearly every smartphone comes preloaded with some form of basic dictation software. If typing feels beyond you—or if you have a physical limitation such as carpal tunnel syndrome, eyesight issues, a bad back, or a broken wrist—close your eyes and dictate a scene, a setting, or even a character description to get you started. Carry on dictating as long as you can. An added benefit of dictation: You can’t edit or see mistakes, so there’s nothing to impede your progress.

Creativity is possible. You are just going to have to go about it in different ways for a while. The gift of writing God has given you hasn’t gone awayâ€Ĥit may just be in hiding. I hope these tips will give you help to go find it. The world needs your stories!

As the author of The Chunky Method Handbook, I’m passionate about creative people be more productive. If you’d like to join my Chunky Method mailing list and get many more writing productivity tips, simply text the word CHUNKY to 22828.

how to write when everything goes wrong

Buy The Book

How to Write When Everything is Going Wrong: A Practical Guide to W riting Through Tough Times by Allie Pleiter – Is your muse yelling “SOS”? How do you keep the words pouring onto the page when your real life feels like it’s under attack? Every writer knows how stress and personal crises can strangle your creativity. Help is on the way in this brilliantly practical guide. Inside, you’ll find advice that:
– Gets you through the thick of your crisis
– Gives you tactics that will energize you to keep writing
– Teaches you to use your stress to inspire your writing
– And much more! As the author of over 30 books and the creator of The Chunky Method of time management for writers, Pleiter has met deadlines in the midst of some imposing traumas. With candor, insight, and the wisdom of experience, she shares practical and inventive strategies for how to stay afloat and creative amid life’s stormiest seas.

 

writing in difficult times

More About Allie

Allie Pleiter writes both fiction and non-fiction working on as many as four books at a time. She is the bestselling author of over fifty titles with a twenty-year career of over 1.5 million books sold. Allie also coaches on productivity and speaks on the creative process. Visit www.alliepleiter.com. 

Get a free download of her 15 tips for writing under stress!

Free Motivation For Writers Workshop – Invigorate Your Writing

Free Motivation For Writers Workshop – Invigorate Your Writing

 
motivation for writers
 

Do you need to jump-start your writing in the new year? Special guest Hallie Avolio will visit the Shortcuts for Writers: Editing Made Simple Facebook group Jan. 6, 2020 at 3 p.m. EST to share some motivation for writers. Hallie will present an interactive video workshop on How to Get Unstuck and Invigorate Your Writing. 

If you can’t make it live to this inspirational event for writers, no worries. You can watch the replay. The workshop will also be archived in Unit 8 of the group’s learning center, where you can catch up on all the past guest speakers.

Topics will include:

– Knowing your why
– Creating a safe space to think
– Creating an affirmation
– Having self-compassion
– Managing your time
– Finding balance
And much more!

To join the Shortcuts for Writers: Editing Made Simple Facebook group, you must answer a few short admission questions.

Hallie Avolio is the president and founder of Sassy Healthy Fit, a lifestyle brand that empowers In Demand Women to prioritize themselves and unlock their sassy side without guilt. Hallie is a huge believer in the power of positivity, affirmations and taking action that is simple, sustainable and fun. She is the host of Sassy AF TV on YouTube, a writer, a speaker and a passionate leader for her growing community of In Demand Women. You can find her at www.sassyhealthy.fit and on social media @sassyhealthyfit.

Here are some questions Hallie would love for you to answer to help her gear the workshop toward the group members’ needs. Feel free to share your answers in the comments below.

✔️1. Where could you use the most support in shifting your mindset?

✔️2. What excuses do you have to avoid writing, editing, or working on tasks to further your writing career?

✔️3. What gets you the most stuck? Where do you need the most help getting unstuck?

✔️4. What questions would you like Hallie to answer?

 
Not a member of the Shortcuts for Writers Facebook community? Head on over and answer the screening questions. Members can download the free toolkit 7 Simple Steps to Nailing Your Book Blurb, and you’ll get access to Hallie’s free motivation for writers workshop.

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