This article, from Blue Horizon Communications, originally appeared on that site on 5/11/09.
The most difficult problem you face in writing your book can be summarized in just two words.
Getting started.
You have a brilliant idea, of course, and an outline or some notes. Maybe even a chapter draft, or two. But now what?
If you are like most will-be authors, you begin casting about for other things that demand your attention — first.
The birdfeeder needs cleaning. The gardening stuff at the back of the garage needs weeding. Heck, the entire garage needs to be emptied and put back in pristine order. It’s good feng shui, you tell yourself.
In other words, after the brilliant idea, the outline, the notes, and the drafts, you’ve earned the right to your resistance.
Why? Because you don’t know — that is, know specifically — what to do next with your book. Writing it feels so frustratingly vague, so frighteningly VAST.
So, you tackle the things that you do know how to do: birdfeeder, gardening stuff, garage. And then you feel guilty and pained. Uncomfortable.
But wait. You needn’t be stuck in discomfort. There is a solution to resistance. A simple solution. It is a . . . Box.
Yes, a box. Not a literal box, but the imagined form of a box, which you can use as a magical tool to get to work on your book — without suffering from let’s-just-do-other-things-first-itis.
Here is what it takes to create a Box:
Read the rest of the article on Blue Horizon Communications.