My Writing Process Blog Tour
Well THIS is an Adventure of a different sort.
This post is part of the My Writing Process Blog Tour.
Normally by now, I’d be telling you a story about the last Secret Adventure for Courageous Women, where, yes, we really did start out at 6:15 in the morning. In the dark. On a Sunday. And where, yes, everyone really did show up without having any idea of where in the world we were going, or what in the world we’d be doing.
Yes, it really was terrific. :)
But you’ll have to wait a little longer for that story.
Because right now, it’s my turn to take you on the blog tour.
To tell you the truth, I wasn’t even quite sure what that meant when Nozomi Morgan invited me to follow her here a few weeks ago, but now I get it.
This is a series of posts by different authors, each of whom has been asked to answer 4 key questions about their writing process, before passing the baton to others. I’ve found it fascinating to go back and read the wide variety of ways folks have handled this assignment, so I hope you’ll do that too!
I met Nozomi during my first experience at an international mastermind group in Asheville back in March. She’s an Authentic Success Coach who lives in Atlanta but works with young professionals around the world. I found her absolutely delightful and am honored that she’s passed the torch to me. You can read her lovely post here.
And so now – on to the Four Questions.
1. What am I working on?
One life is just not enough to do half of what I want to do – so I’m always working on several things at once.
Right now, I’m writing my first e-book, a primer on how to to consciously create and step into your personal power. This is such a critical skill for the women I work with – and the happy news is that it really is something they can learn how to do. I can’t wait to share this with you!
By popular request, I’m also creating a C2C Certification program that will launch this fall. I’ll be teaching women therapists, healers, coaches, and other small business owners how to use Secret Adventures in their business, as a way of providing a greater service to their clients, increasing their income AND their impact in the world.
Not to mention having more fun. :))
And of course, I’m deep into the work of planning MY next Secret Adventure, a Courageous Women’s Camp Out in Damascus, Virginia, June 19-22. We’re opening the doors to that 4 day bunch-o-fun on Saturday.
Wanna come? ;-)
2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?
I’m not entirely sure I can answer this, as the voice you hear in my writing may not be the same voice I hear in my head as I write.
But I can say that I try to write as if you and I were sitting on my porch, you in the swing and me in the rocker, sharing a glass of tea while we work our way through the worries and joys of the day. I am not a formal person – never have been – and my writing, I suspect, reflects that.
I hope my writing is more like a comfy pair of well-worn hiking boots than a classy but not so comfy pair of pumps – because I can clomp through anything in my boots, and it doesn’t matter too much if things get a little messy along the way. :)
3. Why do I write what I do?
I’ve never been any good at making up stories. Couldn’t even do that with my kids when they were little.
But I grew up in a southern family that sat on the porch as the sun went down, telling their stories, our stories, most every night, as the crickets sang and the lightening bugs danced. I loved that. Learned from that.
There was music, memory – and magic – in those stories.
I want to tell your stories, and mine, in that same kind of musical way. I want you to see the magic that I see in you, the Courage that I know – I know – is already there. I want to use all of these stories to inspire you, teach you, enCourage you, my lovely Courageous Women.
I created Secret Adventures so we can re-write old stories that hold us back while creating new stories that lift us up. I teach, travel and coach so that I can help you write the story you want for your life…
And so we can celebrate that story together.
4. How does my writing process work?
Oh my goodness, that’s a great question!
The best answer is: it depends.
If I’m working on a speech, a presentation or something more formal, I start by brainstorming about what I know, what the key points might be and what I want you to walk away with. That turns into an outline, the skeleton of the work, and gradually, I begin building the body around it.
My blog posts are much more organic. Even this one. They stem from some tiny seed that takes on a life of its own. I ‘see’ blog posts everywhere I look – in the stories that people tell, or an off-hand comment someone makes. I’m constantly adding a phrase or a line to Evernote – my favorite app for capturing the constant stream of ideas that are in my head.
I’ve tried writing in some structured, planned way – but that doesn’t work so well for me. Instead, I lean on those seeds for inspiration. Then I write – obsessively – for waaaaay longer than I should.
I go back over every single comma, every “a, and or the”, for what seems like 100 times, until everything is just right. Each word is like a note in a piece of music, and it bothers me if it’s out of tune – so each post takes longer – and yes, is longer – than it should be. I can’t seem to help that part.
Thankfully, many of you don’t seem to mind so much. :)
I do love to write – so thank you, for allowing me the pleasure of sharing my thoughts with you.
Next Up: Three Other Writers I’m Proud to Introduce.
Gloria Rand.
Gloria Rand is a leading expert in copywriting and social media marketing, and a former writer and producer for the award-winning PBS program, “Nightly Business Report.” She helps entrepreneurs and small business owners overcome their biggest internet marketing challenges so they can create an online presence that dramatically improves their leads and sales. I met Gloria about 5 minutes after the whole Secret Adventure idea struck me like lightening, during Tory Johnson’s Spark & Hustle conference in Atlanta a few years back. You can find her post at gloriarand.com/blog.
Evie Burke.
Evie Burke is the Entrepreneur’s Productivity Coach over at One Insight Closer. She helps work-from-home entrepreneurs determine their focus so business doesn’t feel like they’re constantly pushing a boulder up a hill. I met Evie the same day I met Nozomi and was immediately impressed. You can find her post here.
Denise Hughes.
Denise is a Financial Coach, Speaker and Author of the book: Earn Save Spend Give: 4 Things to Do With Your Money, and How to Make It All Work. She’s been dubbed “a Financial Anthropologist, Dean of the Money School and dynamic speaker on the Psychology of Money.” She works with individuals and couples across the country on the intersection of money, heart and soul. Denise and I met at Michelle Pippin’s Women Who Wow in Virginia Beach last year, and were instant friends. You can find her post here.
So how about you? Do you love to write? Struggle to write? Find yourself somewhere in between?
What’s YOUR process like? I’d love to know! :)