Item 1:
Meeting my work head-on…
I’ve listened to and followed Srini Rao for about six months now. I always glean plenty from his insightful Unmistakable Creative podcast–a productive collaboration between himself and his guests– and from his weekly newsletter. Here is an excerpt from yesterday’s topic: “The Power of One Focused Hour a Day”. I believe he originally wrote it in June of last year, which goes to show the power of ‘resharing’ valuable content on the Internet.
- With one focused hour a day you can write a book within a year, write 1000 words a day or finish a 45,000-word manuscript in 6 months.
- With one focused hour a day you can easily develop a daily writing habit, and even write something daily as Seth Godin does.
Note: He also suggests locking in your focused hour to your calendar rather than your digital or analog to-do list.
Item 2:
Teachable ‘course’–first steps…
It’s really more of a Teachable project [that I hope will benefit visitors].
It’s really more of a lab experience, even a tour of my process as I work on a first draft.
Sessions [not ‘lessons’] will consist of:
- excerpts of my first draft
- short screencasts and slide decks of my own editing/revising process
- thoughts on my challenges
- input from visitors to the course
- demonstrations/discussions of a variety of different writing tools, such as Scrivener, IdeaFisher [this piece of software is the prime reason I’ve hung on to my 3-ton eMac running System 9], and concept mapping programs such as Inspiration and MindMeister.
- short profiles of experienced, successful and generous writers and content creators who have helped nudge me forward.
So, basically, I have a lot to do.
If you’d like updates on the progress of the project, just fill in the contact form below. Use the comment box for questions and suggestions. Thanks very much!
Item 3:
Using an image and video for my post today…
Thought I would try some different post formats. I used the mindmapping software Inspiration today. Below is an image file of what I wanted to communicate to you.
Below the image is an eight-minute video demonstrating a few of Inspiration‘s features. [Reminder: I’m not trying to sell anything–just sharing what I like to experiment with.]
Use your fast-forward button liberally. You’ll get the gist of the program.
Item 4:
“You can’t wait for inspiration…”
“you have to go after it with a club.” –Jack London.
Seems lately I’ve been using a feather, at best.
I came across this list from WritetoDone.
Item #26–freewriting–reminded me to revisit The Accidental Genius by Mark Levy. If I had to narrow down my library to ten books, this would be one of them. [Reminder: This is a no-shilling-for-compensation blog. If I like something for my own purposes, I’ll mention it and hope it helps readers.]
My own additions to the list of inspiration sources:
- A work in your field of interest/genre that you think you could substantially improve.
- A previously successful work of your own.
- An addendum to item #8 [Music]: Some writers loop one selection to help them achieve flow. This article might help explain what’s going on.
Okay, so I’m now inspired. Time to find my version of a Jack London club.
Word Inventions 