Professional Nonfiction Writing

Keeping Your Writing Gauge Full

Here are a few quick tips to keep your writing flowing:

1. When you need to research, don’t overdo it.  You can do this by not writing down information you know doesn’t belong to your focus.  It’s easy for our mind to run along the desired path and get distracted.  Discipline your mind to stay on the first path.  When you have a disciplined mind, your writing completion and time saved, will improve.
2. You don’t need to give a long list of examples to illustrate a point.  One, two, or three are fine.
3. It isn’t necessary to include an expert’s information just because they talked with you.  Allow their information to mix with yours to create something even more powerful.
4. You don’t need to repeat anything.  Once is enough.  Unless, of course, you are writing marketing or sales pieces.  That’s different.  For everything, saying it more than once is just beating them over the head with it.  Yes, they may need to re-read what they read in order for it to sink in a little bit more.  Allow the reader to make that decision.  Save your time and effort.  Say it once and move on.
5. You don’t have to use a quote just because someone else said it.  See #3 above.  It is really best to paraphrase a quote.  Of course, there are exceptions.
6. If you aren’t already using outlines, learn how to.  Outlines help clarify and keep you on track.  It is very important to use an outlines for your notes.  I attend a lot of teleseminars / teleclasses.  During that process I take notes, either in writing or typing.  I’ve learned to take the time to review the notes and place them in logical order if there is one.  And then create an outline.  Presenters have a natural tendency to jump around – or to think a little different than the way you think.  Outline and organize according to your mental thinking process not theirs.  Know what you want to take notes on.  Don’t worry about what you’ll miss.  The universe will deliver it when you need it.

 

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Going Down the Rabbit Trail

I’m a member of the Writer’s Digest writer’s community.  I host the “Nonfiction Writer’s” group.  In the group I have a continuing discussion “What is one of your biggest challenges you are facing right now in completing your nonfiction writing project?”

Ed, a member of the group, yesterday responded with, “Finding the right balance between using illustrations and avoiding rabbit trails with my illustrations.”

I thought I would post my response here on the blog for you to read.  Here is my response to Ed…

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Ed, it's been a long time since I've heard the term rabbit trails. You created an amazing visual for me when you said it. Good job. For those that haven't heard the term, it means going down the wrong path. The visual I had was a narrow, maybe two feet by two feet path with a slight upgrade going up a mountain side as far as one's eye can see. It could also mean a rabbi's sermon but I don't think that was your meaning.

I find my mind going off onto the rabbit trail quite often. From what I understand it's common for right brain, creative individuals. I also found it to be a way of avoiding completing the original path. Some exerts say it's actually part of writer's block. Years back I didn't agree with the writer's block theory. Now I do. Some therapists say it's part of anxiousness. A point when a person begins to fear something causing anxiousness. Like the writer's block theory, I didn't agree with it before but now I do. I think all of it is intertwined.

I'm certified in NLP (neuro-linquists programming) and one of the ways I have helped myself with this was to purchase the "easy" button from Staples. Because I knew my rabbit trail behavior and thinking was a habit that needed retaining. I needed a way to catch myself; become conscious of when this was occurring. There are other terms for this in NLP; however, I'll keep this conversation simple.

I would just hit the button and hear "this is easy." It would snap me back. At least most of the time. At the beginning it worked a little, then it got better, and eventually it became a "whoosh" feeling that Tony Robbins trained me on so many years ago. When it becomes a whoosh feeling you can kind-of see the easy button and you're hitting it without the action. It just whooshes through you in an quick energy wave in a split second. This now happens to me when I'm listening to someone and my mind begins to wonder.

The "easy button" isn't a must. A snap of the fingers, or taping on the elbow, or a slap on the leg or any other unusual movement can be used. However, for me the red button and the noise was required. Maybe because I use other movements, trained myself in those, for other things.

You don't need NLP necessarily. I use other ways to become aware of when I'm starting down the rabbit hole. Sometimes I just ask the question, "Catherine, where are you going now?" This doesn't have much of a success rate for me though. If I'm using the pen, I give the though two words and record it in the margin and then keep moving back to where I was.

Like any type of retraining, it takes conscious awareness and consistent effort to change. It's so worth it though. I noticed my writing improved significantly and my completion rate as well. This occurred many years back when I was barely getting one article done a day and I wanted to change that to five a day. After a few months I was up to five a day and my publication rate increased significantly as well. Then again, remembering back, I used a rotating format for this. I drafted one article, then another, then another, etc. Sometimes all five and then returned to the first one for editing. Sometimes I would get through the second one and return to the first. I flopped back and forth if needed to accommodate my mind shifts and to walk with the rabbit trail.

- Catherine

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Capture Your Sleep Writing

Many writers have a very powerful creative side and a weaker left side.  Imagine creating a stronger whole-brained writing process.

Here’s is a technique to help you.

This exercise is exactly like laying out your clothes out the night before. Without even thinking, without making any conscious choices, you jump into your clothes in the morning and you're on your way.

Your first step begins by consciously working out the best approach for you in the early morning.

When it comes to getting ready in the morning, some people place their clothes on hangers close to their bed.  Some set them out in a dressing room.  Others hand their clothes on the back of the bathroom door and dress in the bathroom in order not to wake up the spouse.  Maybe you don’t set out your clothes and prefer to decide in the morning.  You admit that isn’t the most effective way to save time.  If you aren’t sure try different ways to find what works best for you.  What’s your preferred method? 

Now, think of how you want to be ready to write in the morning.

Think about where your want to set up your writing area.  Is it next to your bed?  Is it at a table or desk in the bedroom, on the couch in the living room, on the patio during the summer?  Where? 

Next, think of what tools you need to be ready.  Is it simply a tablet and pen next to the bed to capture those times when you wake during the night and need to record something fast or if you prefer to begin writing as soon as your feet hit the floor next to the bed.

Or do you prefer to set up your tools in an area in another room? 

I use the dining room table and not my regular desk in my home office because I become distracted in this area. I place a blank writing tablet on the right-hand side, position my writing instruments – several favorite pens, a few different highlighters, and a red pen – above in a old coffee cup.   I place my supporting docs if I have some to the left.  If you find you have a tendency to review the docs before writing, I suggest you don’t include them in this space.  If you are a laptop writer, place the laptop above the tablet, plugged in, monitor up, but not on.  The writing tablet can capture the words while the laptop is booting up. 

For a period of time, I kept the table next to the bed and in my morning writing area. 

Before retiring, clarify your focus.  Try creating a focused question, headline or sub-headline.  Record it on the tablet (both if you use one in each area). 

As you are drift off to sleep, repeat the question, or key focus, several times.  Ask for the answer.  Ask for the words.  Ask for the language.  Ask for what you want to accomplish the next morning.

When you rise, if you can’t wait to get to your morning writing area, grab the tablet and begin writing.  If you prefer, move to the writing area you set up and begin writing.

You may want to do both.  I did for a few years.

It's best to start writing without reading anything.  Start recording what your brain worked on during the night.  Begin wherever your mind wants to start. Sometimes the words don’t seem to connect to the focus. This is okay.  Sometime later you will see the connection.  Then again occasionally your mind just needs to clean out the spider webs. 

You will find in a short timeframe, your mind will lead into your focus. 

When I began this ritual, I found it took time for me to let go of control and trust the process.  After being consistent with the process, the flow came easy and the wording improved.  I remember my subconscious wanting to fight the process. 

When my students practice this, they tell me a similar story about how their metamorphous occurred. 

Share yours here.

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Are you on Twitter? Join me!

Are you on Twitter?  I’m writing this quick email to let you know I am on Twitter as well.

@proNFwriter

You can always catch me there live on Sunday evenings from 5 pm to 8 pm Eastern.

Come share what you have been up to. Maybe you have a marketing, writing, or law of attraction question.  Come ask.

FYI, I don’t have many individuals I’ve entrusted to be a follower on this site.  Some sites allow
anyone.  I’m picky.  I only want the best.  This means, if you see someone on my Twitter account, you know I’ve screened them.  I do this because I know how much your time is worth, mine too.  And I will respect that.

Hope you visit and follow!  Have some great info lined up for Sunday!

Many blessings, Catherine Franz

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