When you sit down to write there are
two powerful time tools you can call upon: the obsession and the
deadline. Both are useful and if used right they will help you get
the kind of results you want. However each should be used at
different times and for different occasions. If you do use them,
you’re almost guaranteed you’ll never have any problem writing
that book of yours and more than likely in record time. But if you're
new to writing and you’re just learning how to write a book you
may not be as familiar with them as you’d like, and not know how or
when to use them correctly and to your advantage. Here’s some tips
on how using them and the amazing results you can expect to get with
each.
First there's “The Obsession”.
This has nothing to do with some muse sitting on your shoulder or the
mythical wonder of inspiration. Let's say that several months ago,
just for a fleeting second or two, a thought popped into your head
that you’d decided to write a book about it someday. Perhaps you
had the topic or story idea all fleshed out in your mind and you knew
exactly what you wanted to say.
And then, POOF, the moment was
gone. Just like that.
Then a few weeks later, out of the
blue, the thought to write a book came back but this time it lingered
for a minute or so. A month after that, it was a 15- 20-minute
daydream. Now it has become all you can think of. You’re driven by
who knows what, but when you wake in the morning, it’s on your
mind, and it stays there even after you fall asleep, haunting your
dreams. This is the obsession of writing your book you need.
The result of this process is almost
magical. One day you’ll sit down and you’ll arise, refreshed, a
few days later, with your entire book completed.
How do you bring this obsession
about? It’s not difficult. After you’ve finished reading this
article, just think about the book you want to write, if only for a
few seconds. Write it down on a scrap of paper or even better a
“to-do list”. Tomorrow, remind yourself to do the same. As well
as the day after that, and the day after that.
Each time, think about your book for
a longer and longer period. After just a few days, you’ll start to
see that the thoughts are coming by themselves, now. And you’re
giving them more and more time.
Don’t write, just think. Watch as
the thoughts become an interest, the interest into a passion and the
passion into an obsession.
This is the kind of technique I hear
about when other writers tell me they couldn’t believe it but they
just sat down and before they knew it, the book was writing itself
and without thinking about it, it was nearly half done, or even
completely done.
Now on to the deadline for writing your
book. Here’s the logic behind this strategy. If you give someone
all the time in the world to do something, how long does it usually
take them? That’s right, all the time in the world.
Giving yourself until next week to
accomplish something is a good start, but I’ve learned that the
shorter the deadline, the more impending the goal, the easier it will
be to accomplish that goal.
So, instead of saying that you’ve
got to finish your book in a few weeks, or this chapter in three
days, I tell myself that I have an immediate deadline of five minutes
to produce 200 words. I’ll be able to master that only if I have a
substantial blueprint for my book, and if I write (er.. type) as
quickly as I physically can. If you write 200 words in five minutes,
you’ve got a 10-page chapter in just 75 minutes of writing. That’s
progress.
Start using time as you’re ally,
rather than your enemy. If you can master either of these techniques,
you can write your book faster than you ever thought possible. If
you get control of the time factor you will make it happen if you let
yourself.
Come back next time for more tips,
tricks and techniques to assist you in your writing,marketing and
sales efforts. Remember we're all in this together and I'm pulling
for you.
Mahalo.
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