Success Demands Action: Writing a Story From Beginning to End Demands Self-Confidence

He's an international sensation, houses in five different countries, a TED host and a successful non-fiction journalist. He falters when considering his fiction. Having worked with him in the past on developing the plot for his now completed suspense novel, he calls for another appointment. Double-thinking the job his agent is doing pitching his novel, he asks for help establishing his "brand" in support of his novel and developing a plan to create an on-line presence in hopes of impressing editors and publishers as an expert in the field covered in his novel.

We speak and, like the first time we consulted on his novel, he again resorts to fearful self-talk about what others will think, his image and reputation, uncertainty, low energy and self-doubt. For one so externally successful, I  feel for the inner turmoil he suffers. Sensitivity to past rejections fuels a lack of self belief. He finds real difficulty in recovering from criticism, negativity, setbacks no matter how small.

Reminding him of his past doubts and ultimate accomplishment -- having written from beginning to end an incredibly exciting novel in a relevant and compelling setting about issues in the news today, he's shocked. He doesn't remember expressing the exact same doubts when starting the scary proposition of revising a complex novel as he's expressing now when starting the scary proposition of building a brand.

The less we dwell on his fears and doubts and more on establishing a concrete and measurable plan, the  less fearful and doubting he is as he sees the steps leading him from uncertainty to confidently moving in the direction of his goals. His inner story of fear and uncertainty is replaced with the realty of his success, what he's shown he is capable of and together we weave for him a new story filled with possibility.

He's not the first writer I've worked with to doubt himself. Over the course of my career as the Plot Whisperer, I’ve learned quite a lot about the structure of stories and even more about the influence our inner stories have over every success and failure we experience in life.

Success demands action. A plan, a pre-plot, a Plot Planner keeps you grounded and directs your actions toward success. Re-imagine the stories you tell yourself about the way life operates and become the person you’ve always dreamed of being.

*****NEW Space available for our Concept, Logline, Pitch Workshop . Have a bunch of ideas but not sure which one to write? Have a completed manuscript and ready to start querying and pitching to agents and editors? Literary agent Jill Corcoran knows concept. I know plot. Join us live and online .

If you'd like more, join me at an upcoming a writers conference, picture book workshop , middle grade and young adult intensive , and WRITER'S PLOT RETREAT and read my plot books.

Writing Forward Everyday

Her fear of having lost her passion for writing wanes and she finds herself writing more consistently.  Her progress forward does not hide the struggle it's taken her to get that far. Morning after morning she let slip by precious writing time. She's intrigued by the story as it appears in her head. The problems cut on the edge of nearly personal, making the anticipation of writing certain scenes difficult and easier to ignore. Often as she follows the prompts in The Plot Whisperer Book of Writing Prompts: Easy Exercises to Get You Writing she can't always remember exactly what she's already written.

All of these problems arise in her quest to forge forward rather do as she's always done when writing her other stories by continually slowing herself down, going back and refining. She knows she has something in her story and is excited to read it and refine when she's accomplished her goal of writing it all the way through to the end first.

She feels differently writing this story than when she wrote the others. The leap of faith feels further and positioned directly over a canyon of sharp rocks and shallow water. Granted her word count increases everyday she does write. Her story is full of conflict and excitement from following the prompts and from completing exercises in  The Plot Whisperer Workbook: Step-by-Step Exercises to Help You Create Compelling Stories.

She's nearly to the halfway mark... if she can hold on and keep writing forward just a little bit longer.

*****

Knowing what to write where in a story with a plot allows for a more loving relationship with your writing. Whether writing a first draft or revising, if you falter wondering what comes next in a story with a plot, follow the prompts inThe Plot Whisperer Book of Writing Prompts: Easy Exercises to Get You Writing

Today, I write.

To familiarize yourself with the basic plot terms used here and in the PW Book of Prompts:

1) Watch the plot playlists on the Plot Whisperer Youtube channel.
2) Read The Plot Whisperer: Secrets of Story Structure Any Writer Can Master
3) Fill out the exercises in The Plot Whisperer Workbook: Step-by-Step Exercises to Help You Create Compelling Stories
4) Visit:
Blockbuster Plots for Writers
Plot Whisperer on Facebook
Plot Whisperer on Twitter

The Joy of Writing a First Draft

My hope in providing you the prompts in The Plot Whisperer Book of Writing Prompts: Easy Exercises to Get You Writing is that you'll have an incentive everyday to write forward without going back. Following one prompt at a time is meant to eliminate the need to run back to the beginning rather than face a blank page and instead to fill that page with words.

The joy of writing a first draft is that you don't have to worry if your scenes are too long or not long enough, if the character is likable, the action compelling. For now, your task is to show up everyday and generate words on the page. This is the generative stage when you're most closely linked to the muse unlike subsequent drafts when the critic and editor come into play. Have fun with this first draft.

You may find that the first 4 prompts all contribute to one scene or perhaps have stimulated your imagination to write three separate scenes. Don't judge what you've done as right or wrong. Don't judge your writing as superficial or cliched. For now, simply write.

Today, I write.

If you're following along and wish to comment or ask questions, please use Twitter and be sure to include @plotwhisperer and #pwprompt to catch my attention.

The Plot Whisperer Book of Writing Prompts: Easy Exercises to Get You Writing gives you the inspiration and motivation you need to finish every one of your writing projects. This book guides you through each stage of the writing process, from constructing compelling characters to establishing an unforgettable ending. The book also helps you get into the habit of writing creatively every day, with brand-new imaginative prompts for how to write a novel, memoir, screenplay with a plot. 

Join me here everyday as together we write our stories from page one and through all the prompts to the very end.

To familiarize yourself with the basic plot terms used here and in the PW Book of Prompts:
1) Watch the plot playlists on the Plot Whisperer Youtube channel.
2) Read The Plot Whisperer: Secrets of Story Structure Any Writer Can Master
3) Fill out the exercises in The Plot Whisperer Workbook: Step-by-Step Exercises to Help You Create Compelling Stories
4) Visit:
Blockbuster Plots for Writers
Plot Whisperer on Facebook
Plot Whisperer on Twitter