If you've been thinking about this book thing for a while and you haven't made much (or any) progress, I want to tell you something... What if it's not your fault you’re not writing your book?!
The lie
There's a big ol' lie our society likes to tell about doing creative things (like, say, writing a book). The lie says: You should be able to do this on your own.
You think, I can write. I write all the time for work/life/emails/my sanity. I just need to stop faffing around, get my butt in the chair, and do it.
(If you're not familiar, "faffing" is the English term for doing, doing, doing without actually achieving anything. I'm English-Canadian. You will hear a lot of lovely English-isms from me. And I am intimately familiar with faffing!)
So we think we SHOULD be able to do this thing.
Then, if it’s not working, we figure that must mean there’s something wrong with us. Our idea. Our time management. Our ability to write.
Our story. Our struggle. Our experience that we thought meant something but maybe it doesn’t.
Our worthiness as a human being.
We think maybe our book idea isn't anything after all. Maybe we're not capable after all.
What if there's nothing wrong with you?
What if your story IS worth sharing? Is worthy?
What if the problem ISN'T your idea or story or ability, but your support system.
Maybe you haven't been able to do this yet because you haven't had the right support.
Because think about it: Do you have a solid book writing support system? Do you have mentors and comrades and writing buddies and input from people you trust?
You DO need that.
You need a support system because...
Writing is not the same as writing.
Writing is not the same as writing
Yes, I said that, and no, I'm not having a stroke.
I mean writing A BOOK is not the same as writing an EMAIL or a JOURNAL or a THESIS or a LETTER or any of the other million things you write week in, week out.
It's a unique skill, and if you've never written a book before, then of course you don't know how to do it!
You are not the problem
I have written sixteen books, taught college writing classes, and worked with hundreds of authors to write books they are proud of.
And my experience has taught me that you are not the problem. Your idea is not the problem.
Your support system is the problem.
That means different things for different people, of course. Finding the right support could be about finding community, learning information, finding structure, forming habits, or something else. We are all different, and we come to this with different skills, abilities, and understanding. We'll talk more about that in the future.
But for now, I know that there is nothing wrong with you or your idea.
Please don't believe the big ol' creative lie.
Thanks,
Liz "No Lie" Green
Editor, Book Coach, and Ghostwriter
Green Goose Writing
P.S. If you don’t want to wrestle with this on your own any more, check out The Idea Investigation. Let's do it different. Let's do it together.
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