I’ve taken that BIG step!
I made a commitment the other day that I’d publicly share that I’m writing a book!! It’s taken me a while to say this out loud. In fact, I’ve just completed my first full draft.
It’s currently being reviewed and will be returned with loads of suggestions, notations, tracked changes and highlights. And I’m more than fine with that. It’s part of the process. It will make it so much more than what it is. It will help me reflect and encourage me to rewrite and reshape it to create something more meaningful than how it currently reads.
It’s been one hell of a process. More than I first realised it could be. The process of ideation, writing and sharing is rich. It allows for creativity, reflection, empathy, and intellectual rigor.
At times it stretches me, confuses me, overwhelms me, and causes considerable introspection concerning the quality of my writing, and the shaping of my stories and learnings. Yet it also energises and excites me, draws me in and lets me be playful and explore my imagination.
My perspective has been enriched as I try to stand in my (soon to be) readers’ shoes and experience what they might. It stretches the boundaries of my thinking and pushes me harder to be considerate to the needs of those digesting it.
One of the most unexpected yet beautiful things which has occurred during my writing process is the sense of connection which it has brought me. Although I am writing this book alone, I have found that I am far from alone. I’ve had the encouragement of family and friends. The support of colleagues and coaching peers. I’ve found myself joining writing groups and building new friendships with aspiring and fabulously inspiring authors.
I’ve spent the last week participating in writing sprints each morning with likeminded authors, where for periods of time we’ve worked together in silence, each crafting our own independent manuscript, yet each buoyed by the common purpose which we all share. The hope that we each will soon complete a book of value and interest.
I could not have imagined the power of writing in this way until I experienced it myself. This independent yet dependent working style. We have found common threads which hold us together as we each very mindfully and quietly throw around stories, imagery, language, and cadence in our minds. For large blocks of time, our fingers dance across our keyboards and then we return together to explore what we’ve experienced in those moments.
Our independent thought is bolstered by the strength of those we are sitting with and their understanding of the challenges which we all face in advancing our writing. Is it writers block? Time? Enthusiasm which overflows onto a page? Is it structure or editing? These obstacles and more are best faced with the collective group of writers, this chapter of authors!
Just like other parts of my life, I am best served where I have self-determination at play – an ability to work autonomously, build my competencies and have a sense of relatedness. Being a part of a group of creative thinkers, all driven to fulfil their desire to write their books for very different reasons, has helped me with all three.
I’ve maintained my autonomy in writing my book yet have broadened my understanding of how I can do so. I’ve learnt how to thoughtfully use my time and control how and when I write. Mornings have served me well where my fresh rested self is ready to engage in my best thinking. Evenings are best kept for formatting and spell checks.
I’ve discovered how to build my writing competencies, including how to structure, build interest, engage emotions, and hold the attention of a reader. I am far more developed and advanced in my author’s mind than when I first dreamt of writing my book.
And I have built strong connections which have given me energy to continue with this most challenging and rewarding project. The encouragement and shared learnings have been comforting in those moments of doubt.
Kelly Irving you have provided a wonderful vehicle for us to sit within as we experience the beauty of writing, and your thoughtful and generous coaching is moving us closer towards completing our exciting goals. I’m really enjoying and benefitting from your Expert Author Academy and am grateful to be a part of it.
In what I hope is only a short while, I will be sharing some more news with you. The news that I have now written a book!