Writing Information

Five Tips to Find More Time for Your Writing Life

When I asked new ezine subscribers, "What is your Number One writing question?" the answer came back loud and clear: "Time!"

How do I find time to write? I'm busy all day -- and when I make some time, the phone rings or someone needs to see me right away.

Here's how a coaching session -- or series of sessions -- might address these questions.

1. What's happening in the rest of your life? Are you chronically late? Waking up exhausted? Feeling out of control? Some people have gotten so accustomed to feeling pressured they need to learn a whole new concept of creating space in their lives to do what they want.

2. Why do you want to write? Do you have room in your life for everything but writing? Maybe you need to find a new way to reach your goals.

Remember: You do not need to write. This is your coach speaking! Writing can be the most powerful tool in your marketing arsenal -- but chances are you can find ways to succeed by hiring a writer and promoting your service in creative, non-writing ways.

Alexandria Brown, the "ezine queen," has to have an ezine to be credible. Most of the rest of us don't. If you are a life coach, an ezine is a nice-to-have. Some successful life coaches do fine with a signature website and no ezine. They network extensively and build business from referrals. And some have thousands of ezine subscribers but no clients. Use the marketing tools that feel comfortable to you.

3. Have you bought into the myth, "Good writing takes time?" Think of each piece of writing as an email you are writing to a good friend. You might need to combine two or three short emails to make up a single article or a few dozen to make up an ebook. As you get time during the day, dash off an email to yourself or a very trusted friend. Don't edit or censor your work.

When you're in a good mood, arm yourself with your favorite beverage. A piece of chocolate is okay, too, if you're not allergic. A cat in your lap will discourage frequent breaks. Turn on your favorite music. Now -- look over what you have written. Fix typos and spelling errors. Cut out as many words as possible; short is almost always better.

4. Remember the Odd Couple? Following their divorces, the excessively tidy Felix moves in with the proudly sloppy Oscar. Most of us tend to relate to one or the other. If you are a Felix, you have to learn to let go. Send out your work when you are eighty percent satisfied and move on.

Oscars have to learn to hang on. Sit on your work a few days -- even weeks. Remember that your potential customers and clients include some Felixes.

I must admit I tend more towards Oscar in most areas of my life. I dashed off a website and proudly set up a "work in progress." My writinglady.com site continues to change while I invite subscribers to visit. That's my style. I wouldn't be motivated if I spent too much time working on perfection. However, I've learned to let writing projects simmer for a few days, and I revise extensively.

5. Are you forcing yourself to choose a topic you think you "should" write about? Take your topic off its pedestal and write from the heart. What topics get your juices flowing? Are you so happy, angry or frustrated that you want to jump up and down? Use that energy to create an idea and transform that idea into an article.

About The Author

Cathy Goodwin, Ph.D., is an author, speaker and career/business consultant, helping midlife professionals take their First step to a Second Career. http://www.cathygoodwin.com.

"Ten secrets of mastering a major life change" mailto:subscribe@cathygoodwin.com

Contact: cathy@cathygoodwin.com 505-534-4294