Your relationship with the blank page

So, I stumbled across this slideshow by Mark Sherbin a few weeks ago and it struck me as fucking fantastical. Particularly for YOU. It’s called “The Marketer’s Guide to Writing A Book,” but it applies to every writer.

My unabashed goal is to help writers write. Whether that means pushing through fear or shattering bullshit excuses, you come here for advice. We have a nifty system going. Anyway, Mark’s slideshow talks about those things, as well as ways to generate content, stop freaking out, and settle into the idea that you can do it.

I like it. A lot. And you will too.

“You’re used to the blank page. You’ve maybe even grown quite fond of it. Like all strong relationships, you’ve had your ups and downs. But the two of you are together, for better or for worse,” Mark says. “There’s one line you won’t cross. Whatever unstructured ideas fill your white board or word processor page, you refuse to call it the start of a book. The very thought of writing a book, in fact, makes your mind shut off and your pen go dry.”

6952472683_9c779796b7_oFor the record, I asked Mark to get his ass over here and guest post about this. But he’s so freaking busy writing other people’s books, he couldn’t do it for a few weeks. I didn’t want you to wait that long, so he gave me the green light to share it.

It’s also worth noting that I despise slideshows because they are typically boring as fuck and don’t give enough information on their own – without the speaker present to fill in the gaps. That is NOT the case this time.

Consider slide #6: “You don’t need to make any commitment whatsoever. You barely even have to try. You’ve always had more than the chops to write a your own book — you’ve had the content.”

Or slide #10: “Imagine walking into a meeting and fielding a question with, ‘Actually, we wrote the book on that.’ ”

The remainder of the presentation talks about the content you already have – but don’t know about – and how to shape it into YOUR BOOK.

“Your existing content is an enormous start that cuts out those pesky first steps that haunt the nightmares of so many first-time authors. But it will only get you so far,” he says. “You’ll notice something missing. Actually, you’ll notice lots of things missing. At this point, you just need to fill in that missing information. This is actually pretty easy…”

Go here to check it out. And let me know what you think.

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Mark Sherbin is a freelance writer living in San Francisco. You can reach him via Twitter,  LinkedIn, or email.  

Our only task as writers is to tell the truth

You know that thing you can’t stop thinking about? The idea or memory that wakes you up breathless and sweaty?

THAT’S what you write about.

Because the shit that gets your blood pumping also keeps you motivated – fuck, it burns you up – when the writing gets difficult.

At no time is this more important than when you’re writing a book. It’s hard work, people. The more you write, the more confusing and overwhelming a book becomes. All those timelines and transitions, story and character arcs.

But you need to get it out. You can feel it burning the back of your throat, threatening to come up without your permission.

You have a choice: You can stare at the blank screen and sweat, or you can dive in and be true to yourself. Maybe for the first time in your life.

write_fearlesslyOh my God, my Mom is going to freak when she reads about the night I did cocaine.

My boss is going to fire my ass when he sees what really happened on that business trip overseas.

What will people think of me when they read I had an abortion when I was 14?

Really, it’s not your job to care what anyone else thinks. In fact, nothing screws up a writer faster than fear.

I mean, if you really believe jail time, divorce or family drama could result from your story, use a pseudonym. Or wait to publish until someone dies. (I know it sounds cold. But many authors do just that.)

The point is to never, EVER soften what’s yearning to come out because of some false notion that another person might do/think/feel/say something you don’t like when they read your work. Someone might be offended? Someone may not want to be your friend?

Newsflash: Anyone who truly knows and loves you already knows your stories. Putting them on paper won’t change a fucking thing.

Our only task as writers is to tell the truth. Not everyone likes the truth, and that’s okay. Because not everyone is supposed to love us and what we do all the time.

Some people will suck down your words like tequila, and some will vomit it up like it’s too much. That doesn’t matter. That is actually none of your business.

We writers have the singular distinction of being paid to tell our stories. And we are the only ones who can tell them. YOU make your stories unique and alive.

Unfortunately, honesty and authenticity are so rare these days, people scramble for it on the rare occasions it appears. Nowhere is that more evident than in books.

Blurring scenes, leaving out pertinent but messy details, softening real experiences – all of those things are a disservice to your readers. You owe them the whole story. And they can tell when you hold something back. They also tend to get cranky, and then they don’t trust you to tell the story anymore.

So, um, don’t do that.

Instead, take a deep breath and say what you need to say. And don’t you dare apologize for being you.

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Subscribe in the upper right hand corner and grab my free book A Writer’s Voice, designed to help you write like YOU. So you can say what you want to say, how you want to say it – and stop worrying about what everyone else thinks (and quit writing like a pretentious asshat). It matters.