Next Installment on Writing Your Book: Six Steps in Brief

School has started at Chico State, and I see my life becoming full. Blogging entries may suffer as a result.

So I’m going to simply set out the next six steps on writing with the hopes of fleshing them out at irregular intervals in the next few weeks.

1. Write three drafts: Down draft. Up draft. Out draft. Anne Lamott put it this way, "Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts. You need to start somewhere. Start by getting something -- anything -- down on paper. A friend of mine says that the first draft is the down draft -- you just get it down. The second draft is the up draft -- you fix it up. You try to say what you have to say more accurately. And the third draft is the dental draft, where you check every tooth, to see if it's loose or cramped or decayed, or even, God help us, healthy."
2. Be curious. And read a lot.
3. You probably don’t need an agent.
4. Locate the right publisher.
5. Find your marketing platform and promote.
6. Live and write in community.

Re: Writing. The Buckshot Approach

One of the scenes I often see in Hollywood movies that I don’t also in real life is the writer absolutely taken with an idea, in fact a being so consumed with a passion that she can’t help but write. Not only that—but the ultimate product after those torrid hours of creativity is absolutely stunning, a miracle of inspiration and genius. 

The fantasy of inspiration and genius

 Can I burst Hollywood’s bubble? Writing hardly ever works like that. Now, if it does for you, please don’t tell me or your friends who are writers because we might become incredibly angry. It’s just not nice. 

      

For most mortals, I’ve got the sound piece of advice: Write on a schedule.

That’s the only way to produce something good. You have to create a rhythm in which you write at a certain each day. Or every other day. What is that time? You can answer that better than anyone. But most writers I know practice their craft early in the day. I find that as early as I can get to the computer after workout and a good breakfast—and before answering emails and cluttering my brain—that’s the time to create something.

Writing means rewriting

This leads me to more advice: Write and rewrite.

Please—if there’s anything I can implore you to avoid—Don’t fill the world with more bad writing! Anybody with a cell can tweet. We can even dictate to Siri and post to Facebook with anything like rewriting. Or fact checking. Or clarifying your meaning. Those are sins I’m hoping we all avoid.

      

Now, to be clear, I’m not sure you have to be as obsessive about writing with clarity as what I’ve heard about the brilliant novelist Marilynne Robinson (who wrote one of the greatest American novels of our time that also won a Pulitzer, Gilead). I’m told that she writes only on those people for whom she’s read their entire body of work. (Twenty-three years separate Gilead from her first novel, Housekeeping.) If Robinson's rubric sounds just a bit extreme and way too fanatical for most of us earthlings.

      

Nonetheless, we can still write. And re-write. How? I find that journaling a good practice because those entries exist just for me, and thus my brain turns off the edit switch. 

     

Clearly not using buckshot here

Blogging is another valuable practice. I look at my blog like visual artists view their “studies” do before they proceed fill the canvases. This blog is filled with my essays. And I mean that word in the sense of its roots. The “essay” comes from a Middle French word that means “to try.” So try some ideas out. Create a blog. Write for a local paper or small website. Or for your friend’s newsletter. 

The buckshot approach

In a way, I’m outlining a buckshot approach. I’m no hunter (see the picture of the first time I shot a handgun for evidence). Still I do know that you can put a single bullet in a gun and take one shot to hit the target. Or you can pack it with buckshot, which sprays around eight pellets. That way you don’t have to be as accurate. Or you can be more extreme and use a number 10 birdshot with its 848 pellets. 

In any event, I think my point is clear enough: Keep writing and rewriting. Fill the paper or your screen with enough attempts and you’ll hit something at some point. Or at least you’ll have tried.

      

So just write. And do it on a schedule. 

Don’t Just Be Writer (Part Three)

Last week I mentioned personal branding—figuring out three or so words that define who you are. That way you can determine the itch that writing scratches. 

This week I turn to related topics. The first one is the most important.

Write about what really interests you

If you want to have something to say,

Have other interests.

If you address what you love in your words, the general rule is that your enthusiasm will be infectious.

      I’ll return to this below, and it is indeed my big idea point. But first I have another.

Why you can’t just write

Don’t just be a writer. In fact, being “just a writer”—throwing down your latest novel and raking in the profits as your sole occupation—that represents a relatively new thing, historically speaking. Through most of western history people wrote as part of lives in which they did other things like teaching, or being a monk.

     What are those other things? I have a friend who’s passionate about cycling and God. And so he’s writing the connection of those two. Another loves the philosophy of Thomas Aquinas, the state of the soul, and the difference between final and efficient causation. An acquaintance is consumed with how to make your eight year old’s birthday party unique. Yet another is convinced he sees the connection between X-Men films and Christian theology. (Not all have the same size markets, but that’s why it’s important to have another way to make money.)

Going deep into your psyche

This implies something else. All this focus on personal branding and one’s “lust” from last week makes writing a very personal endeavor. You begin to go deep into your own psyche. (Or else you’ll just write tweet nasty things about other people to forget about the self-discovery.) So don’t be surprised that, when you write, you discover some weird stuff. 

      I’ll quote C. S. Lewis, who observed what happened when he—in a different context—looked inside:

“For the first time I examined myself with a seriously practical purpose. And there I found what appalled me; a zoo of lusts, a bedlam of ambitions, a nursery of fears, a harem of fondled hatreds. My name was legion.” C.S. Lewis

When this happens, you might want to find a friend, a spouse, or a professional counselor to sort through this stuff.

The bad and the good

So definitely use your personal exploration in your writing. How you’re jealous about the terrible writing you read that’s somehow made it to the New York Times bestseller list. How Jello makes you irrationally angry. Why the saying, “the Pope is a trombone,” amuses you for hours.

      But I don’t want to suggest that the real me or the real you is all yucky. You might also find some good stuff. Like the fact that you really do love some learning about justice through reading every sermon by Martin Luther King, Jr. Or that you love knitting blankets so you can give them to moms and dads of newborns. Or that you like playing Scrabble and pinochle with lonely people at a senior center. 

I close with a question or two

-->How do you start? What are you doing today? What’s planned for this week? What other kind of work do you do? What’s your favorite hobby? Find some of the activities that you can reflect on. And put them into words.

Because it’s a "Lust"—that’s Why We Write (Part Two)

This week’s title comes from C. S. Lewis. When questioned about why we penned numerous books (as many, by some counts, as his 65 years of life): 

“Writing is like a ‘lust,’ or like 'scratching when you itch.’ Writing comes as a result of a very strong impulse, and when it does come, I, for one, must get it out.” C. S. Lewis

But I want an audience!

Knowing how strong the impulse is to write, I realize how we also want people to read our work. Several years back, I heard Anne Lamott speak in midtown Manhattan. It was quite a combination—this left-leaning, openly Christian, seemingly ditzy, Northern Californian with dreads addressing an assembled group of New York sophisticates (with the sufficient proportions of men in black turtlenecks and women in sleek gray dresses). At any rate, she told us directly (and I quote, very loosely, from memory): 

“We write because we love to, but as writers, we also want to have an audience—that’s why we write.” Anne Lamott

So start there. Don’t write on a topic because it’s the “it” thing. I once mentioned to Lauren Winner—after a panel she was on put together by HarperOne—that I wanted to figure out how to write on a topic that would sell. Her response? “That’s boring.” 

      

If you’re stuck on what to write on, here’s a first step: take a quick look through what you’re reading. Do you see any key themes? I’m going to guess that there are probably no more than six key themes in your assortment of books, websites, magazines, and blogs.

Finding your voice 

So having found your interest, the next question is your voice. Where is your voice? How can you find it if it’s just a bit too muted right now?

      

I’ve written another, almost devotional, book on how to find your passion, your calling, The Time for Yes. 

One key exercise is personal branding. Here’s a quick overview—and you’ll more here.

      

Personal branding

Personal branding, as I define it, applies some principles of product branding to our individual identity and therefore our goals.

      

Begin by brainstorming. Write out every adjective, verb, or noun you’d use to represent you. How do others actually describe you? Then ask friends over a coffee and through Facebook message or email for five to ten words about you. What are they? Energetic. Hilarious. Spiritual. Committed…

      

Next, chart those on the top half with words that you’d like to describe you and with words others use. Take a moment to observe what you’ve written. How do the two lists line up?

      

I’m assuming you have about twenty to thirty words. Enjoy those words for a few minutes. But now comes the hard part. You start saying no.. Take a first whack at the list. Reduce your list to about ten words. Take time: Hang with those for a few minutes. Then let them sit, and come back to them later. When you do, then prioritize them. Look not only for descriptors that apply today, but also for your preferred future. Let the priorities determine the remaining three. The three you’ll say yes to. 

Now write out those three essential, goal-defining words. That's your personal brand. It will direct your life and your writing.

And let those words define your “lust” for writing. Hey, maybe it’s even your lust for life. Next week I’ll get into why you need to love life. You’ve got to have something to write about. You can’t just be a writer.

Writing Your Book: From Fear to Confidence in Ten Steps (Step One)

1.    Don’t Think You’re Going to Become Rich And Famous

My first tip on writing is a negative. Put another way, I’ll start by saying a Yes to No. 

Don't think writing will make you a billionaire. In fact, one of the worst things you can do is that that it's your birthright to sell a million, or even a 100,000, copies of your book.

This mindset will freeze you for sure.

Don’t listen to stories like I’ve heard. Like from Paul Young. He was poor, living the Pacific Northwest, working three jobs to support his wife and four kids. On the way back and forth to work, he wrote a story, a tragic story of despair and redemption. In desperation, he prayed for God to help him print enough copies for his family and friends. 

At Christmas time, an anonymous check of $100 arrived at his door. After buying gifts for his family, he took the balance and walked to Kinko’s where he made 15 copies of his manuscript. As he told me, 

“Making those copies—That was all I wanted to do.” 

People read them and passed them on. He found a publisher. It became viral, and ultimately The Shack: When Tragedy Confronts Eternity went on to sell something like 20 million copies and become a first-run movie starring Octavia Spencer and Sam Worthington

Now that’s a story of faith and confidence.

An outlier

The reason we love that store is it’s exceptional. It’s an outlier. We love it because Paul is a remarkably humble person whom, frankly, it’s hard to dislike even if you're tempted to envy his success.

But wound within this tale is something dangerous: Thinking you’re writing to become rich and famous is ultimately demotivating for almost all writers. 

This will happen to me. Write it and they will come and buy.

Looking into my crystal ball

So I’m going to make a prediction—that won’t happen to you. It’s just basic statistics.

I read this the other day, 

“The average U.S. book is now selling less than 250 copies per year and less than 3,000 copies over its lifetime.” 

That's certainly what I've seen and heard.

Nevertheless, there is a positive

How’s that for negative? Let me assure that in it, there’s a surprising positive. 

I’ll give you hint. Next week I look at why you do publish: Because it’s an itch, even a lust.

What do you think? Please feel to tell me what you think. 

After Three Weeks...

I certainly knew that there would be no front-page story in the New York Times or parade through the streets of Chico when my book, Say Yes to No, came out three weeks ago. I knew that the most important response would be the personal—emails, Facebook messages, gifts of wine and champagne (keep those coming!). Say Yes to No hasn’t set the world on fire, I haven’t become a millionaire—or even a thousanaire—but I'm thankful that it’s already touched some lives in the first three weeks.

Since the book is finally out, I became to reflect on what I learned over the past seven or eight years since I began jotting notes on the importance of saying no, then an actual sermon called “A Time for No” and then chapters on the book. I learned—well, I really heard from God, to be honest—that I have a vocation to write. And that process is exactly that—the process of responding to a call. It’s the ongoing response not only to God directly, but to those authors (C.S. Lewis, Anne Lamott, Marilynne Robinson, John Updike, William Shakespeare, Blaise Pascal, to name a few) who really move me with their words. They penned books where I can recall the place, date, weather, and beverage in which I first encountered specific passages. As a result, I want someone else to read my words and feel the same way. (At least Ican hope…)

All this means that the response has been the right kind. Hoopla is not really the response to vocation—things much more subtle, nuanced, and meaningful are. Interestingly, in the midst of writing this post, I got a call from a reporter with USA Weekend, who is going to interview me and ask my opinion (as the author of why we need to say no) on Jim Carrey’s movie, Yes Man. Now, with 48 million readers, USA Weekend is pretty good hoopla. So that brings good fodder for another post...

For now, let me wrap this up by saying that whether there’s buzz or not, writing is something you do because God calls. And that’s reason is certainly good enough yes for me.