Lorna Faith

Clean Fiction Author

044 How to Write Your Book in 30 Days with Kevin Tumlinson

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Do you want to learn how to write your book in 30 days or less? In this interview, Kevin Tumlinson shares that it took him two years to write his first book. Now it takes him 15 days to write a first draft… and he says anyone can learn to do it. Listen in, for Kevin’s tips on how you can learn to write your book fast 😉

In the intro, I share books I’ve been reading lately.

I’ve been learning how to make changes to my daily schedule so writing becomes more productive as I’ve read through Kevin Tumlinson’s book 30-Day Author: Develop a Daily Writing Habit and Write Your Book in 30 Days(or Less). Another book I’ve found useful to help learn better productivity habits as a creative is, Productivity for Creative People: How to Get Creative Work Done in an “Always On” World, by Mark McGuinness.

Click Here to Watch the Video Interview

Interview Highlights:

Kevin Tumlinson shares his story, of how he wrote his first book at 5 years old. He wrote for the local newspaper at 12 years old, which led naturally into a communications degree in college – which led to working in radio and TV. When he learned copywriting and started working for Ad agencies, he says that helped him develop a work ethic.

Writing novels was something he had done on the side in fits and starts. In 2008 he learned more about self-publishing. It had taken him two years to write Book 1 in his Citadel series and he delayed a year before starting Book 2 – which took him another two years to write. He then realized that if he wanted to make writing fiction something he could do full-time, he was going to have to learn to write books faster.

It was at that moment, he decided it was time to treat his writing career like a business. So he spent a ton of time reading books and listening to podcasts about writing, self-publishing and marketing.

He started to practice writing daily. When he set out to write NaNoWriMo, his goal was to write 50,000 words in 30 days… instead he wrote 70,000 words in 15 days.

Kevin says he was surprised that this book was written so quickly, and that it needed less editing than the first two books he spent years writing. He wondered if he could write another book in 30 days or less, so he tried again. He wrote another book and another. By the end of six weeks, he had four new books.

That step-by-step process, is what Kevin wrote about in his helpful nonfiction book, 30-Day Author: Develop A Daily Writing Habit and Write Your Book in 30 Days(or Less). 

Write everyday even if you only have 30 minutes and all you write is 10 words. @KevinTumlinson Share on X

Tips to remember when learning to write fast…

1.You need to make a commitment to write everyday. Anyone who can commit to write an hour or two a day can do this. Kevin says if your goal is to write full-time… if you really want that, you will write everyday.

2.While writing your first draft, you need to turn off your inner editor and just focus on writing.  When  you are writing, you only have one job, which is to write. Save the editing for later.

3.Treat all your writing projects as if they were assignments from paying clients. Work on your writing projects everyday, make your deadlines, and deliver a great project. Don’t multi-task while writing your first draft. Don’t do anything else but write. It deserves your undivided attention.

You can connect with Kevin on his website, listen to his Wordslinger Podcast or you can chat with him on Facebook or Twitter.

 

What are some writing productivity tips that you find helpful?  Please share your thoughts in the comments. It would be awesome to learn from each other 😉

7 of the Biggest Road Blocks for Writers (and how to overcome them)

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Do you struggle to write every day?

Resistance is something I battle with every single day. I used to let it beat me most of the time, but in the past few weeks I’ve been winning the battle more than I’ve been losing. To me that’s super encouraging.

Do you come up against resistance or procrastination? Do you want to write consistently everyday, but see road blocks of distraction and fear standing in your way?

In today’s post I share about how to begin getting those words onto the blank page and how to overcome obstacles that can get in the way of being the productive writer you want to be.

What Gets in Your Way and Stops You from Creating a Writing Habit?

As I’ve talked with writers just getting started and have also interviewed many bestselling writers, I’ve come to realize that writers everywhere have one major focus: to create a writing habit that takes them in a straight a line as possible towards their goals.

So the question becomes: How do you make writing a habit? How do you overcome what STOPS you from writing and put in place what STARTS and propels you toward you writing goals?

I’ve listed below 7 of the biggest road blocks that stop us from creating a writing habit:

1.Negative Self-Talk. This gloomy way of talking to ourselves is something many of us writers don’t even notice until we take the time to listen to ourselves. This shows up in many forms with comments like: “I suck at writing,” or “I just can’t seem to do this,” or “I’ll do this later.” I’ve become more aware of how I talk to myself in the past few weeks and all I can say is I really need to talk more positively to myself and encourage the child-artist inside. The negative self-talk can put a ton of doubts in our head that really defeats us… and stops us from writing. So how do we overcome this? Just listen to yourself. Become aware of the negative words you’re telling yourself and then for every negative word say something positive that counters it. And when you start writing, put a timer on and don’t stop writing (even when you really want to say “I’ll do this later”), until the timer goes off. You can start small – like set the timer for 5 minutes to start. You’ll start to be amazed by how much you can write in 5 minutes.

2.Feeling the urge to switch. As you are writing anything, more than likely you’ll want to switch and do something else. Wash the dishes, check social media, check your email. Again try this: set a timer for 10 minutes and tell yourself that you won’t switch to anything else until the timer is up. Write a paragraph or maybe two and you’ll be surprised how you get in the flow. But just stay in focus. When you feel the urge to click to check your email, don’t. Remind yourself, you have to stay and write or stare at the blank page until the timer goes. When the timer goes, then begin again.

3.The problem of distractions. Every writer has to learn how to handle distractions. At some point we’ve all given in to some form of distraction. The only way to really get rid of this road block, is to clear them away. If you have browser tabs open, close it. If you have your phone dinging notifications, turn it off. If  your desk is messy, clean up the clutter so you can focus. The only thing you need open in front of you is the program you are using to write your story. Start with focusing for only 5 minutes at the start and work your way up to 15 minutes. I’ve been using this count down timer I found online, and I set it for 10 or 12 minutes, and it really helps me stay focussed in that amount of time.

4.Dreaming of how easy writing will be. Writing is not easy. It’s takes a lot of time, it takes focus and sometimes can be quite messy. That’s not to say writing isn’t rewarding… because it is. But, if you are dreaming that writing your book is super easy, that illusion will get in your way when you actually sit down to write. Why? Because in most cases your dream of writing your book quickly and easily, won’t measure up to what your reality is. It is difficult and sometimes tough to get your thoughts onto the blank page, but writing is still meaningful and rewarding and something to be grateful for.

5.Distress or confusion on how to write your book. I really get this one. I was so completely stressed out when I started writing my first novel. I didn’t know anything about story structure, I was never that great at language arts classes in school and I felt like I would fail as soon as I started. These reasons all scared me to bits. Besides that, all I had going for me, was an idea for a story. But, I decided I would begin anyway. So, I just started reading books and blogposts on the craft of writing. Then I discovered writing and self-publishing podcasts, which were so inspiring and helpful. Then I started taking a few online courses so I could get better at writing, blogging and learning how to market my books. It’s difficult, when you are doing something for the first time and you don’t know how. You do feel like quitting. You feel sorry for yourself, and wonder why you’re even trying. That’s normal. Go ahead, give yourself a few minutes to feel that way, then get back up and start looking on google for the answers to questions you have. There is so much information out there, that in all likelihood you’ll find the solution to what you’re having trouble understanding.

6.Not enough time to write. Each of us are juggling many different things during the day. We’re all busy which makes it difficult to make the time to write each day. You might not have 1 hour to focus on writing, but I’m pretty sure you could find 10 minutes in your day to write a few words in your book or on your blog. Learn to be aware of what you use your time for in your day. If after your day job you spend an hour on social media, cut out some of that time. Or if you spend an hour watching T.V. at night, could you spend that time writing? If writing and getting your book published really matters to you, you’ll find that extra 10 – 30 minutes a day to write. When you finally finish your book and put it out into the world, you’ll be so happy you chose to dedicate that time to write every day!

7.Dealing with Perfectionism. Each of us wants our writing to be wonderful right from the get go. What often happens is we put so much pressure on ourselves that we nitpick our writing… and ourselves like crazy. What happens is that all these high expectations we place on our writing, actually stops us from being creative. It’s important to choose to just write messy first drafts. It’s important to just be okay with putting the words on the page, even though they seem terrible at first. Make it a habit not to go back and edit any of the words you’ve written, until you have finished your first draft. That’s something that has really helped me to get more words onto the page in a shorter amount of time.

As you have read through the above list of road blocks to writing, you probably found at least one obstacle that resonates with you.

Read through the list again, and as you find one or more obstacles you personally face to getting your writing done everyday, ask yourself why are you writing? Go ahead, write down the reasons why you are writing your novel, your nonfiction book or your blog. Once you gain more clarity on your reasons why feel compelled to write, you’ll see that your passion and motivation to move past resistance gets stronger too.

Recommendation: A awesome book that will help give you clarity as a writer and creative is a new release by bestselling author Jeff Goins, titled The Writer’s Roadmap: 12 Steps to Make a Living Writing. You’ll find useful tips and inspiration on how to focus your creative energy to get more stuff done as well as learning how to make money from your art. Get your FREE ebook here.

Make it a habit everyday to find the time to write so you can put more of your books into the world. Allow yourself to write a messy first draft, use a timer to help you focus and watch as little by little you finish writing your book!

What are some obstacles you face as you write? Are they different then the list above?  Please share your thoughts in the comments below, we can learn from each other 😉

3 Benefits of Accountability Groups for Writers

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There are amazing benefits and reasons for writers to be part of an accountability group.

One of my biggest lessons learned this past week, was that it’s amazing how much you can get done, just by being part of a support group that encourages you but also keeps you accountable to your goals.

Somewhere in my head I knew I needed accountability, but it took days and weeks of finally being frustrated enough – of not reaching my writing goals – to force me to take the next step… which was to reach out to other writers and ask for help 😉

It sounds simple, but it’s not easy. Asking for help is hard for many of us to do, I think.

I was inspired to start an accountability group from the last coaching call I had with Nina Amir in her High Performance Writers Group Coaching. So at the end of last week, I posted in Facebook in one of the writing courses I’m taking, telling other romance writers that I was struggling with getting my word count in each day.

When I reached out to other writers, I was hoping for maybe 2 or 3 other writers to join me and was surprised when that number more than tripled.

We had our first 60 minute meetup – via Facebook group and messenger – on Friday. Each of us let each other know where we were at with our writing, talked about what was working and what wasn’t and then toward the end of our chat we wrote down what our goals were for the coming week.

Scary? Definitely yes.

But I knew this was exactly what I needed and I wasn’t going to let my own fears and limiting beliefs in my abilities or whatever else, to hold me back. I had finally had enough and was ready to run.

This week there have been many lessons learned in writing and in being a part of an accountability group, which I share below…

3 Benefits of Accountability Groups for Writers

I realized this past week, that it’s so incredible and helpful to have writers surround you who are listening to you, offering advice and most of all cheering you on.

Since I started last Friday(the 1st time we met as a group), I have so far written a little over 6000 words in 5 days. I’ve really surprised myself, but most of all I feel encouraged and inspired to keep writing.

Here are 3 Benefits for writers when they are part of an accountability group:

1.You know you aren’t struggling alone. When you’re really struggling with writing that blogpost, novel or nonfiction book, it helps to know that you’re not alone. When another writer lets you know that they’ve struggled too with reaching their goals, you feel like you’re not alone and it makes reaching your goal seem much more doable. When you are trying to finish your book, knowing you aren’t alone, somehow makes getting that first draft done, less daunting.

2.You learn from others in the group. In the writer’s group chat last week, I was busy soaking in all the tips from indie romance writers who had written and sold many books. They shared what worked and what didn’t as far as marketing and productivity. It’s so great to learn from other writer’s success and also be challenged to keep going when you feel like you aren’t reaching your goals.

3.You can encourage others and you are encouraged in return. Maybe they’ve tried a new way of writing or are writing in a new genre that they are excited about and it is selling well. You can encourage them and add value to their lives.  At the same time, you can also be challenged with your own writing. Or maybe someone will say how they had all these crazy things happen in their lives this past week and they still continued to write. I feel inspired to keep going when I hear stories like that.

There are also other benefits of being in an accountability group, like reaching your deadlines and having people to celebrate with you. I’m shooting for hitting my writing goal by Friday!

I hope you find this post useful to you. Maybe you’ve been inspired to start an accountability group of your own… that would be amazing! You might just be surprised, like I was, at how many other writers are in need of the support of other writers so they can accomplish their goals.

Are there other benefits that you would add for writers to be part of an accountability group?  Please share your ideas in the comments below, we can learn from each other 🙂

7 Ways to Reignite Your Passion for Writing

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You have a dream to be a writer.

But maybe somewhere along the way, you gave up because the not-so-pleasant part of life happened. Life threw too many curve balls that upset your world and you felt like you struck out.

Maybe fear or worry inched it’s way into your life, sucking away your passion for writing.

And now you feel listless and sluggish not sure how to move forward.

Now you’re unsure how to get back that excitement you once had for writing. You’ve tried and failed to reignite that spark that seems to be lost.

Maybe you’re like me and you want to find the wonder, passion and joy that creating something new in the world brings to you.

If that’s you, I want to help bring the spark back today. You don’t have to give up. You don’t have to let go of your writing dreams. You don’t have to settle for less.

There is hope for your writing, hope for your creativity and hope for your dreams.

Read on to discover 7 ways how you can reignite your passion for writing again…

7 Ways to Reignite Your Passion For Writing

I wanted to share with you what has helped me to re-connect with my passion for writing again.

It’s been a seriously tough last couple of months or so and I feel like just in the past couple of weeks, I’ve started to rediscover my passion for writing and storytelling.

So, if you need a little inspiration to help you stick with it, the follow 7 ways are what have helped me.

1.Reconnect with your Big Why. It’s super important to write down why you want to write in the first place. It’s been shown by studies that writing down your goals and/or dreams helps to reinforce them in our minds.

Give yourself permission to write down whatever reason for writing that comes into your mind. There’s no judgement here and no wrong answer. Whatever your reason is for writing and telling stories that compels you, let that pull you forward.

Maybe you want to earn a living writing. Or perhaps you want to be able to make money to save for your kids college education. Maybe for you, there’s a story inside of you that keeps you awake at night, compelling you to put words on the page.

I’ve been re-writing my big why down in my journal in the past few weeks, and it really has given me clarity. I want to write novels as well as nonfiction books and make a full-time income from it.

2.Read/Listen/Watch what inspires your writing goals and dreams. I believe creatives need to be inspired on a regular basis. For myself, I need to either read or listen to something that helps me step beyond my self-doubts and into belief, every single day. For example, when I listened to this YouTube video on Getting What You Want, by Oprah, and was reminded that if you have faith as a mustard seed you can move mountains and anything is possible.

As I watched this video, I was reminded of when I was ten years old. My mom gave me a necklace with a mustard seed, in a little clear box and said Lorna Faith, this is for you. Think of your name [Faith] every time you wear it. It’ll help you get past your mountains. And someday I know you’ll encourage others to have faith when things look impossible. 

This was a great reminder to keep going after my dream of writing. I hope it helps you too and that you find blogposts, books, audios or videos that inspire you to keep telling your stories too.

3.Talk about your dreams with a loved one. This is so good. I share constantly(probably too much), with my hubby and sometimes my kids, the books I’m writing – and my ideas and goals, what I’m blogging about or the very fun chats I have with so many amazing authors. They tell me it inspires them to go further with their own dreams too.

Sharing your dream with people who love and believe in you, empowers and motivates you.

4.Speak out loud your goals and affirmations. I started doing this on a regular basis around the start of 2017, and it has helped me stay motivated and focussed. I learned this in the awesome book Miracle Morning for Writers by Hal Elrod, Steve Scott, and Honoree Corder. I’ve also learned how a focussed morning routine that includes affirmations, increases your productivity and income.

So instead of saying words like:  I can’t; I shouldn’t; or this won’t work – change those words to – I can; I should try this; it will work. You’ll start to be amazed how it begins to change your perspective about yourself and your writing.

5.Go for a walk in nature or visit a museum or other places that inspire you. Take a little bit of time to go on an Artist Date. Julia Cameron in her book The Artist’s Way, encourages creatives to go once a week to someplace that inspires you(museums, craft stores, walking in nature), fills the creative well of your inner child. I go for walks by the lake or sometimes a take 30 minutes to visit to the craft store, which gives me many ideas for stories.

6.Stay Connected with Other Writers. This is something that is really helpful. I have quite a few writing groups that I love to connect with and share ideas on. Some are in courses that I’ve taken like Tribe Writers and others. But, a group for indie writers that isn’t from an online course, that is super helpful to anyone wanting to write and self-publish their books, is Susan Kaye Quinn’s For Love or Money FB Group.  There are a ton of great ideas that get shared in this group and people are more than willing to help. Just ask to join and you’re good to go!

7.Make a list of all the things you love. I find that thinking of and writing down what I love, helps to inspire me. Go to places like Pinterest, Instagram or just google a topic that really interests you. Often I’ll go to Pinterest and look for pictures, which gives ideas for my characters or for some next scenes. It’s really quite fun how ideas just pop in your head as you’re researching stuff. So make a list of things that you love and then do more research on them. You might be surprised at ideas you get from it!

So, I hope this list has helped to reignite your passion for writing. I practice doing most of these ideas every week, and it keeps me grounded and focussed. I hope it does the same for you and that you stay focussed and inspired on your writing dreams 😉

What inspires or reignites your writing dreams? Please share. I’d love to hear your ideas in the comments below. Let’s learn from each other!

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