I got this next piece of advice from a life coach I worked with a couple of years ago.

By the way, you’ve never worked with a coach, let it be the first thing you spend money on when you can afford it. Okay, they usually don’t come cheap but a good one can catapult your career towards the stars!

Anyway…the advice is this:

Write a letter to yourself from the future. Date it one year or five years from now and write to tell yourself how far you’ve come, what you’ve achieved and how good your life is.

Thank yourself for being who you are now and point out all the current traits (even the bad ones!) you have that resulted in your future success.

Write about all the things that inspired you and how you overcame problems to get the goals you set yourself.

The best part? Getting to the date you wrote the letter from, and rereading it. You’ll be amazed. It’s like you were psychic!

Writing, writing anything like a letter, an essay or anything at all can really be a mean of discovery. Writing is not merely transcribing some aspect of the world around us. Writing is a means by which we, as individuals, can put ourselves into the “universal record book.”

If we write something well, even if it is only a report or a resume, we have pinned down (or ‘penned’ down) in writing a perspective or an idea that is ours alone. That piece of writing has the possibility of being read by others in other places and other times than our own.

With electronic text, the ease with which we can write something that people far away can
read is greatly increased. With the World Wide Web, we can, practically for free, say something about ourselves or our lives that is it possible for a hundred, a thousand, even a million people could read, and in so doing learn something about us and lives. Today people can create personal web pages, their own places on the web where they can give others a glimpse into what makes them tick.

Technology and writing is great. But electronic gadgets will never be a substitute for a book or a personal letter to a friend. I always will remember what my grammar school teacher said to me:

“The written word may last
forever on the written page,
but the written word means nothing
until spoken.”

That’s certainly true. For many people written words mean nothing until they hear it spoken aloud.

You might remember I was whining recently about having to build some drainage channels around the house.

Well, sigh, I did all the digging. I got all the pipes and channels and joints, cut and stuck them all together and now, barring gravel infill, I’ve nearly finished.

Did I tell you I hate manual labor?

Never mind, as always I used the time to think about creative issues.

It occurred to me that I might be able to use the experience as a useful analogy to help a common writing problem.

Let me explain a couple of things first.

We live on a hill overlooking Adelaide. Nice view of the city, the sea beyond and the distant Gawler Plains. The down side is that the slope our house sits on varies from a 1 in 10 to 1 in 3 slope, depending on where you are in the garden.

This in itself is not so bad. The problem is with the rain. Living in the hills means we get at least four times as much rain as our city dwelling neighbors.

On many winter days we’re completely immersed in cloud. When it rains, gallons of water a minute come rushing down the hill and straight across our property.

Now, without guidance, the water goes where it wants – the proverbial path of lease resistance – which means if it can find itself into the house, it will. Hence the need for better drainage.

So for the last X number of weeks I’ve been digging earth and laying out new pipes to help get the water get from the top of the garden to the bottom without ruining the carpets and lower walls inside the house.

Hence I’m using fixed channels to help guide the water to flow to its proper destination. It’s a bit like plotting a novel or constructing a book of any kind.

Imagine that your talent and creativity are the water – gushing aimlessly downhill, finding your own runnels, creeping in through cracks, pooling in depressions, spilling over, ever down.

At first the water spreads itself thin until it finally digs itself a channel that deepens into a groove that, while it may act as a conduit for itself, might not be the most appropriate.

Because without structure, without a frame, (a drainage system!), your talent might get where you want to go but not without wasting lots of energy and time.

If you let yourself be taken the ‘natural’ course, your talent will inevitably get sidetracked, led into dead ends and sometimes dissipate aimlessly. But when you write with a definite purpose in mind, you really want the force of your creativity going full bore in one concentrated direction, don’t you?

Okay, it’s strained analogy, I admit, but if you think about what I’m saying, you’ll see that I’m on to something!

Because before you write anything, I believe you need a plan, a template on which to hang your ideas. You must know the direction of your creative flow and get to the point of exit the most efficient way you can.

Build a drainage system for your creativity.

Don’t waste the power of your talent.

Channel it.

I’m very organic and messy and usually throw away as much as I keep.

Generally, I start with a very general outline. The most important points of this outline is the start and the finish. Without an ending in sight, its impossible to stay on course. I also need highlights — cool scenes that will probably fit into the plot line.

All in all, I call it my “Trip to Disney World” plotting. Certainly you can’t get into a car and start driving without know where you are in relationship to the park — the beginning of the book — and you can’t stay on course without knowing where the park is located — thus the end of the book. The various landmarks are all the points of interest between you and Disney World, but if you stop is all up to your interest and how much time you have.

When I start to write, I think of the book in three segments: set up, middle, end. I usually don’t worry about knowing in detail what the middle is while I start setup. I need to hammer down who the main characters is, what type of world this is, and where this novel is going.

If I was truly writing a trip to Disney World, the set up would introduce the reader to the POV characters, their life on Earth sometime after the opening of Disney World, with a desire to visit Disney, and now — the point of change that triggers the trip — the means to go. I also have to introduce whatever conflict will be happening throughout the entire book. What problem is this trip going to solve? Am I trying to show the family’s determination despite their disfunctional makeup, ala National Lapoon’s — or is this the dying wish of one of the terminally ill children, and Disney World will be the last time the family will be together or is the POV trying to discover where the next serial killer will strike? The various building blocks are put forth and the POV leaves familiar ground behind.

The end, of course, it the point that all main conflict is resolved. I usually have that scene in mind, and sometimes I write it out rough to keep it in focus. However, writing like taking a car trip, is part exploration. I can’t marry myself totally to that rough draft ending. On the other hand, the set up does make certain promises to the reader. If you tell the reader that the family of the terminally ill child MUST leave for Disney World to make things good — then stopping at South of the Border just doesn’t cut it.

The middle is far more nebulous than the Set Up and end. Since I usually write mysteries, I think of the middle is the point where the POV (and with them the reader) now knows enough about what is happening to act instead of react. For example, in LOTR, Frodo flees the Shire in front of forces of evil — he’s reacting because he doesn’t know enough to act. Once he reaches the elfin town, he know has enough information to act — to volunteer to take the journey. Once he makes that decision, he moves the plot to the official “middle”. Of course in LOTR, the middle is 1000s of words long.

One of the beauties of writing in three parts is that you can keep an eye on pacing/word count. A standard standalone sf novel runs around 100,000 words. Each section should be in the neighborhood of 33,000 words. I try to introduce all plot threads in the first 33,000 words as Set up, but its okay to introduce small elements in the Middle.

Once you hit 66,000 words, however, you know its time to start wrapping up plot threads, not introduce new ones.

If ideas aren’t beating a path to your door then maybe you’re looking too hard.

Try playing the ‘what if’ game.

Think of a person, real or imaginary.

Ask yourself 5 ‘what if’ questions. For instance:

1. What if he/she decided to kill someone?
2. What if they won a million dollars?
3. What if they had quadruplets?
4. What if aliens landed in their garden?
5. What if they turned into a frog?

Apparently, Stephen King plays a variation of this game called, ‘Wouldn’t it be funny if…’ to come up with his horror ideas.

It’s a great way of getting the mind churning!

Facts about Non-Fiction

One of the main drawbacks about writing fiction is that you generally have to write a novel or two before you go to a publisher.

This is especially true for the beginner.

You can spend anything up to 2 years, or perhaps even a lifetime writing a novel.

And all that time you’ve had to support yourself, live your life AND find the time to write.

Wouldn’t it be so much easier if you could just pitch an idea to a publisher, get the money, and THEN write.

If you’re a professional, you can do that.

William Goldman, author of classics like Marathon Man and the soon to be remade Stepford Wives, says he doesn’t bother writing novels and screenplays anymore.

He just writes ‘pitches.’

He comes up with ideas, forms a synopsis and pitches the idea at whatever medium he wants to experiment with, whether it be Hollywood or an agent or a publisher.

And only when he’s got a green light and some cash up front does he actually sit down and do some writing.

Nice work if you can get it.

But it’s actually not so rare as you might think.

Hollywood especially, increasingly works this way. Individuals and production teams spend their time coming up with ideas they pitch to movie producers who will find actors, funding and contracts before anyone even thinks of contacting a scriptwriter.

Of course, if you’re a successful author, you can get paid for books you haven’t written of course but that’s because you have a track record.

How can the humble beginner compete?

Simple. Write non-fiction.

Here’s how to do it:

Step One: Come up with an idea for a non-fiction book. It could be a coffee table book with pictures, a biography of a current or historical figure, a self-help guide, whatever you fancy.

Step Two: Write the pitch including a brief synopsis of the book, chapter by chapter, a report on why your book will sell and some good reasons why you’re the person to write it. (This is not as hard as it sounds!)

Step Three: Post out this pitch to a dozen relevant publishers. Then, sit back and wait. If none of the responses come back positive then repeat the process until someone bites.

And eventually they will.

Even if you explained you won’t be writing anything until you get an advance!

The publishing industry is starved of good non-fiction and everyone is waiting for the next surprise best seller.

As long as you have the enthusiasm and can convince a publisher of the soundness of your idea and your ability to execute it, you too can get to write books for money.

But wait up, you’re thinking, but surely little old me doesn’t have the credibility or the credits to get a gig like this?

Well, let me tell you a story.

I met a guy recently who was paid to write a ‘Screenplay Writing for Dummies’ type of book. Over a two-year period he was given advances totaling $50,000.

When I spoke to him, I asked if his publisher had ever asked him whether he had any credits or experience or was indeed, in any way ‘qualified’ to write a book like this.

He frowned, looked at me quizzically and said, ‘No.

It never came up!’

I think the following scenario has appealed to all of us at one time or another:

Go on holiday, relax, soak up the atmosphere, take a few photos, write up on some of the more interesting aspects of your trip and get published in a travel magazine or the local paper.

Sounds like money for jam, doesn’t it?

Well, maybe, but if you want to stand out in this competitive crowd, there are several ‘rules’ to take into account.

Rule One: Do Not Write Like a Tourist.

You know the sort of thing. ‘We went to see the cathedral/waterfall/show etc and it was fabulous. We couldn’t believe our eyes. The people were so friendly and the food was delicious.’

Editors of travel writing articles do not want this kind of empty enthusiasm.

Telling people you had a good time and should go there is not enough.

People want to know if they can have a good time, yes, but you have to pique their interest, get them excited at possibilities, and make them want to see and do things for themselves.

Rule Two: Be Objective

Unless you are a famous name, try to keep yourself out of the writing. Your opinion will be respected more if you are seen to be fair in your assessments and impartial in your judgments.

If you do have a strong opinion about a place especially if it’s bad, measure it against something more positive. Places are rarely all bad.

Rule Three: Be Informative

If you want to sell articles to, say, in-flight magazines or travel books like The Lonely Planet, it’s your job to tell as much as you can about a place in the possible shortest time.

Don’t waste wordage on flowery language. Keep everything succinct, factual and interesting.

Rule Four: Be Well Researched

Don’t take the local guidebook’s word for anything.

Tourist guides will always try to put the best spin on a place and are frequently inaccurate. Research facts later (or before) at your local library or on the Internet.

Similarly, if you’re quoting what somebody told you, no matter how authoritative, make that
clear in your article. You don’t want to get caught out relating some old wives’ tale or local urban legend as fact.

Rule Five: Keep Your Writing Structured

Your travel articles should read as strong as any other kind of article you might put together. Keep the writing tight and upbeat.

Have a common theme that outlines the points you want to stress and don’t get sidetracked into relating information that weakens your writing.

Rule Six: Have An Angle

Editors will love you if you take some time before you write to come up with an angle.

Instead of saying a particular place has a good fishing industry for instance, you could find out what a few fisherman have to say about that, whether they agree, or not, and perhaps explore their differences of opinion.

Rule Seven: Use A Good Camera

The snaps you take on holiday are rarely good enough to print in a magazine.

Digital cameras, though they look fine on a computer, do not usually have sufficient definition – even for newspapers.

If you’re sending in photos with your articles – and its a good idea – use the best quality camera you can get, use fast film and perhaps take a few black and whites, which can look very good in print.

Rule Eight: Think Outside the Square

You don’t necessarily have to travel to be a travel writer. You could quite easily write about your own town and sell articles about it all over the world.

Just because you live there doesn’t mean other people won’t find it fun and fascinating.

Rule Nine: Be Prepared.

If you’re going away, take everything you’re going to need. Pads to make notes, files to collect information, tape recorders to interview people, and film and batteries for your cameras.

Plan ahead and tell hotels, tour organizers and places you intend to visit that you are a travel writer.

Even if you never come away with anything to write about, you’ll be amazed at the improved service you get!

The negative self-image is what lies deep within the subconscious. This is the deep substrate from which all negative self-defeating behavior comes from. Why might you have such a negative self-image, and how was it formed?

Interestingly, you are not born thinking negatively about yourself. Usually, such concepts are formed through your own lack of inner monitoring of your internal self-talk. Self-talk is what you say to yourself about yourself in your mind. In fact, this internal babble does not need to even be framed in the form of words. Simple feelings of negativity and anxiety contribute to the subconscious self-image just as effectively as words could ever do.

The problem is that the subconscious is non-critical. It accepts without question whatever is fed to it, and interprets it as fact. Sadly, all too often, the thoughts we have been feeding into our minds have been far too negative.

This is especially true as we were growing up. Parents, teachers, other children, and life situations contributed to our negative self-image. Often people may have meant well in what they said or did, but the effect is the same as if they had not. Negativity is gradually imbedded deep into your psyche. It is because we respect the opinions of others that we so readily and uncritically accept their assessments of us. Indeed, the more you respect another, the more their opinion matters deeply to you.

Nobody needs to feel like a failure, worthless, or whatever. Yet, because of what has been fed into our minds over the years, that is how we often end up. Indeed, it can even seem “natural” to feel this way. After all, doesn’t everybody think like this?…..

Moreover, if you have such a negative self-image deep within, it does not really matter what you think consciously. You may actually be quite positive at a conscious level. As a result, you can easily fail to comprehend why you consistently undermine your own best efforts in subtle ways. It seems like you have an enemy within. In a very real sense, you do.

Remember this. The subconscious is actually not out to harm you. Rather, it has uncritically accepted what YOU have fed it; what you have told it that you want to believe about yourself! From then on, it acts like a thermostat temperature control. Whenever it senses that you are acting outside of the bounds of your own self-image, it initiates actions that will bring you back into your comfort zone. You may call this self-sabotage. However, to the subconscious, it is merely acting to keep you out of harm’s way. After all, it has blindly accepted your own self-assessment and does not want you to go out on a limb beyond what you have told it you are capable of! Thus, you remain imprisoned by your own negative self-image and your own lack of self-esteem.

In order to get to grips with the problem, merely changing your conscious thinking is not sufficient. You have to dig out the weeds right down to the roots. The good news is that just as you have unknowingly programmed your subconscious negatively, you can now get to work to knowingly program it in a positive manner that totally supports you.

The key thing to remember is that as you think, so is your life. You draw to yourself whatever your primary dominant thoughts focus upon. Thoughts create your world. Thus, you are ultimately responsible for what happens in your life, and certainly how you react to, and interpret, what happens to you. Depending upon how you interpret events, you increase or decrease your levels of confidence and self-worth. This is how it is possible for some people to achieve positive spirals of self-esteem, and achieve ever more for themselves. Conversely, it is also how others sink ever lower on their descending spiral staircase of negative self-esteem. Eventually, they sink so low that it seems almost impossible to them that they could ever recover.

However, by developing inner belief and clarity about your life, and acting with confidence, determination and persistence, you can achieve life breakthroughs that may once have seemed unthinkable. This is what self-worth and inner empowerment can do for you.

Esoteric philosophy tells us that there are only two forces in the universe: Love and Fear. It is fear that is at the heart of low self-esteem, poor self-confidence, and lack of empowerment. Deep down, we exhibit these symptoms, but the inner problem at the core of it all is fear of something. By contrast, those on the positive spiral exhibits self-love. Moreover, by doing so, they are far better place to display love to others too. It is only when you think that you are wholly worthwhile that you can truly value another without resentment or jealousy.

People lacking self-esteem does not feel in control of life. They respond to others with suspicion, negativity and doubt. They are fearful and fall far short of their true capabilities. In truth, even a highly intelligent person with low-self esteem will radically under-perform someone with less intelligence but who possess better self-esteem and confidence.

However, the good news is that you can work upon your levels of self-esteem, self-confidence and empowerment. The levels of these qualities you have experienced to date is a direct result of your thoughts, and the way those thoughts came about.

Such thoughts may come about through peer pressure, environment, family or whatever. However, once you become conscious of how your thoughts are affected by your environment, and your own mental conditioning, you can work upon yourself to break this negative vicious circle.

It is excellent to know that you can start off from a position of low self-confidence, and actually increase it through systematic training. Indeed, by discovering what confident people of high self-esteem consistently do, and by copying the way they act and think, you too can achieve the exact same inner and outer results.

Thought has power. All you have attained in life so far came through the power of your thinking. In some areas, it is more coherent and focused. As a result, you have achieved more in those areas. In other areas, your thinking is more negative and unconfident. It is thus not too surprising that here, your levels of success are much lower.

Hence, high self-esteem comes ultimately through mental discipline. This is the key step to achieving outer success. Outer success is preceded by inner success. If you get the first before the second, you are far more likely to lose it all and have neither. However, those with inner qualities of success can live in any circumstance, without ever feeling that their outer circumstances are a direct reflection of their self-worth.

Being filled with self-esteem and confidence means that you have a far better chance of achieving your highest potential.