A guest post by Katie Tallo of Momentum Gathering.

If you could order it off a menu you would. “I’ll take the life changer please. You know, the holiday where I get to indulge in the best food on the planet, quiet my deeper self and discover true, passionate love. That one.”

Reality check please!

The majority of us order whatever canned vacation the tour companies dish out. Once a year, we take a direct flight to some cheap southern locale where we eat greasy buffet food and drink enough watered-down booze to dull our deeper selves.

Or we sign up for a whirlwind tour that leaves us exhausted but self-satisfied that we saw it all, did it all and tried it all, even if we did have to drag our asses through sixteen cathedrals, forty-two museums and a dozen cheesy tourist destinations in seven days. It’s no wonder your passion gets left on the tarmac back home.

Blogging can be similar. Despite a suitcase full of inspiration when you start out, a blogger’s journey into the big bountiful blogosphere can feel like a cut-rate all-inclusive — a giant buffet that all starts to taste the same or a whirlwind tour of the endless avenues you can venture down towards becoming the best, the happiest, the richest, the most SEO-savvy, the most honest, the most strategic, the most prolific blogger on the bus.

It can leave you feeling dizzy, exhausted and ready to pack up and head back to your home page.

But there is hope for the travel weary blogger. There really is somewhere out there other than destination blahosphere. In fact, there is a journey that once embarked upon can be that life changer – that adventure that enriches your senses, awakens your soul and engages you in a love affair with life. Here’s your ticket!

Clear Your Path

Clear away the flood of subscriptions, feeds, follows, obligations and guilt clogging your path. Let go trying to be perfect, trying to keep up, trying to comment, connect, moderate and post all the time. You cannot do it all, see it all and engage with everyone. The blogosphere is just too big. Let go the whirlwind tours. Your family will thank you. Feed your soul, not your inbox. Feed it with what brings you to tears, gives you shivers, empowers you and resonates most deeply with you. That is enough.

Create Your Own Itinerary

Only you know where it is you want your blog to go and what you want it to become. Be open to adventure and other people’s ideas, but choose your own way to get there. If it’s a path that feels right, take it. If it’s a mistake, try another, tweak it, or change course. In blogging, you are your own tour guide and you call the shots, decide how fast or slow to move forward and in what direction. No one else has that power. That’s what’s so great about writing your very own blog. You decide everything. That is freedom.

Pack Lightly

Journey with a light heart. Don’t take yourself or your blog so seriously. You don’t have to be the best. Walk with easy steps, with some friends to accompany you on your journey, without being overwhelmed by anything. Let it be light. That is success.

Take Your Time

There is a time for everything and only you can feel when it’s right to take certain steps, whether it’s monetizing or renaming, starting a second blog or creating a course – do it fast or do it slow, but do it at your pace, in your own time. That is productivity.

Enjoy the Ride

Sit back once in a while and read through your archives and comments. Let go posting at a frenzied pace and bask in what you’ve already created. Learn from what you’ve done, look ahead at what you could do next, but take moments to just look, learn and love your blog. That is gratitude.

Now go. Eat, pray, blog and let the sun shine upon your journey!

Katie Tallo is a Contributing Writer for Write to Done, one of the Managing Editors for The Daily Brainstorm and a director, motivator, runner, vegan and mother. She writes a blog called Momentum Gathering where she seeks to inspire simple, joyful life change.

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We all want the write stuff. The ability to craft wonderful words that inspire, motivate and delight. Words that simply flow freely and naturally from our imagination to the page. Deep stuff. Powerful stuff. Magical stuff. Like a kind of creative Zen state in literary action.

Leading to brilliant blogs, awesome articles or best selling books that make their mark. With us being the veritable master of creating cracking content with effortless ease. Of having a penchant with the pen.

Wouldn’t that be great?

But right know that may seem somewhat far fetched. You’ve come to a halt. Nothing new to say it seems. The writing on the wall for your writing career.

Busy daily lives full of chaotic minds jamming any potential creative spark. Mundane Mondays and weary weekends hardly making you a source of stimulating sentences. You are tired and dispirited. You can’t switch on because you can’t switch off.

Maybe this is you….?

• You get writers block on a regular basis
• New ideas are increasingly hard to find
• Your are having less drive and energy with your writing
• You are tempted to do other things
• Everyone else’s writing seems better than yours

Don’t fret, it’s a common condition; authors ailment, I call it. Even the great and good have succumbed to it. Everyone loses track. Has energy dips, dry spells and inspirational indifference. I often wonder what the original names were that Shakespeare gave to his plays when he was under its spell. High Season Nights Asleep or A Big Fuss About Not Much At All before he got the titles just right.

It’s part of being the finished article to create the finished article.

But don’t put down your pen just yet. Don’t still that quill. You can get your manuscripting mojo back like never before. And connect to a fertile supply of inventive ideas that turns your writing from horrific to prolific.

The yen for zen can start again and here’s how.

Outside Influence

To fan the flames inside you need to get outside. Leave your four walls and go where there are no walls to artistic flair. The open air. Or people watching as it is popularly called. Take a space and simply observe. See people go by. The rich tapestry of life.

Wait and watch. Don’t take notes initially. Just drink in the scene in front of you from the different people who pass by to their fashions or conversations, even their movements. See what stirs in your imagination. Soon you will notice little nuances. Maybe the sun will come out and change what’s in front of you even more. Perhaps an old couple will totter by holding hands which could trigger memories of your younger love life or the joys of stable marriage or simply the power of holding hands. Let it transport you.

There is a rich oasis outside and in so many locations. Airports. Town centres. Parks and seasides. Even your own local area backyard if you take a look. The world awaits with a world of possibilities. Get outside.

Get Moving

When people are stuck they aren’t moving. And that includes the mind. You are stuck because your head is stuck too. Thinking the same things and doing the same things. Repeatedly. You need a different kind of movement. A complete system type of one.

Get moving by doing something active that activates adrenaline, boosts endorphin production and gets blood flowing. This ending of stagnation within the body will also touch the mind connected to it. Now it doesn’t have to be too heavy. An hour or so gardening will suffice. A bicycle ride will do. Or better still gentle exercise like swimming. Even Tai Chi works as it balances mind and body. Something that gets the heart working and a new flow started. One that will lead to a feel good factor which stimulates brain activity. That pumps and feeds a fresher outlook into your pysche and your pen.

Take Laughter Medicine

When writing begins to falter the grumps can take over. A serious air starts to hang around. You get narky, touchy or frustrated which, in turn, forms a vicious circle of gloomy expectation. Deflation soon becomes depression as dark moods descend. It all seems a waste of time.

Do the opposite. Seek out an injection of humour and laughter. Spend time with people you find funny or who tell funny stories as there could be great material there. Gather friends and family together for silly nights playing games. Or watch comedy shows and films that help you laugh your troubles aside. This awakens a jovial atmosphere which is far easier to work in, live in and discover inspiration in. It’s a real health giving medicine too!

Blogger’s Bonus

Finally, if you are a blogger, here’s a bonus tip for top notch inventiveness.

Check out other blogs especially those in your niche or similiar sector. Not specifically just to read some excellent posts by other bloggers, but to utilise the comments section. Successful blogs get oodles of comments, normally by other bloggers keen on their subject matter. Being writers themselves they often leave a micro post with cracking insight as a comment.

Now, if one post has 30 comments and there are 50 posts on that blog,  just imagine what great thoughts could be generated from reading all of them? If that’s your genre they will be talking your language and giving you free input. Minimum time investement, maximum impact!

Inspiration is everywhere but we need to be in a state to witness and record it. Not a right state but a write state. A calmer and more carefree one. Practice these and you will soon unlock a more relaxed yet potent awareness in which your pen becomes the zen and you the master of the written word.

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John writes his blog on how to live as a real simple person with tips anyone anywhere can use for a carefree, uncomplicated life. At Real Simple People he believes life isn’t rocket science, but rocket salad. He is a member of the A-List Blogger Club.

The A-List Blogger Club is an absolute goldmine. Not only do you have access to all the information you need to start, develop and publizise your blog, you also can also interact with fellow-bloggers worldwide. It’s a true community full of helpful people where friendships are formed, advice and support shared, and encouragement is standard.  I’m honest, I can’t be without it. ~ John Sherry of Real Simple People

A guest post by Courtney Carver of be more with less.

When it comes to writing for the web, you are only as good as your last word. First impressions are made on the www much faster than the 30 seconds you have to impress someone in person. You have one chance to grab someone’s attention, so you better make it good. Attracting a readership organically and authentically, will always win over some yucky, spammy, get rich quick, scheme or scam. Attracting the right reader, in the right way, will ensure a devoted audience for life.

What happened to the way you used to woo? If you are in a relationship, and treat your partner the way you did when you first started dating, you might have more fun and certainly, your lover will feel inspired to return the favor. This behavior will encourage a long-term, perhaps life long relationship. Similarly, you want to woo your readers and internet relationships in the honeymoon phase, all the way through your first e-book, and ongoing. When you stop wooing, you start taking things too seriously, nitpicking and not enjoying the process. When you stop nurturing the relationship with joy and love, it will reflect in your bed and your blog!

50 ways to woo the web world.

(you may be able to apply a few of these to your love life as well!)

15 ways to woo with your blog:

1. Your blog is the heart and soul of the connection you have with your readers. Treat it that way.
2. Write about what you love, not about what is popular.
3. Write for your readers, not for search engines.
4. Dress up. Make your blog space a visually appealing place to be.
5. Don’t send mixed signals. Make sure your website is easy to navigate.
6. Ask your readers what they want, and give it to them.
7. Be responsive. When someone takes the time to comment on your blog, reply.
8. Borrow, but don’t steal.
9. Be curious. Be inquisitive and explore, and sparks will fly.
10. Be attentive. Check your grammar and spelling.
11. Keep your word. Be who you say you are.
12. Focus on the important. Do more writing than stat checking.
13. Be faithful. Stay on topic.
14. Don’t be shy, but remember that whatever you put “out there”, will be “out there” forever. (or a really long time).
15. Say thank you. Appreciate that someone cares about what you say, and make it worth reading.

10 ways to woo with guest posting:

1. Put your best foot forward. You might think about saving your best posts for your own blog. Instead, make each post your best, regardless of where it shows up.
2. Research the site where you would like to post to see if there are specific directions for guest posting. (and follow them)
3. Get to know the writer and their blog before you send your pitch.
4. Don’t assume you know their audience. Ask questions.
5. Be Considerate. Make your pitch short and sweet, but polite and personal.
6. Ask for input and recommendations. Make changes accordingly and graciously.
7. Respond to comments on the guest post.
8. Do not include your own affiliate links, but suggest that the blogger can include their own.
9. Promote the guest post to your audience and help drive traffic.
10. Say thank you. After your post goes up, send a thank you note and express interest in future collaboration.

7 ways to woo with affiliate sales:

1. Sell products you believe in. If you are selling shit, your readers will know it, and they will tell their friends.
2. Only recommend something that has entertained, informed or inspired you.
3. Recommend products that fit the theme of your blog.
4. Stand by your money back guarantee if you have one.
5. Encourage feedback from readers about the products you sell.
6. Don’t make someone say yes or no to a product before they can read your blog, even if it’s free.
7. Say thank you. When the buyer feels appreciated, they will buy from you again.

4 ways to woo when commenting on other blogs:

1. Do not include links to your blog when you leave a comment.
2. If you don’t have something relevant to say, don’t say anything at all.
3. Disagree, but do it with respect to the writer and other readers.
4. Comment thoughtfully. Avoid generic comments like “Great Post” or “Thanks for the info”.

13 ways to woo with social media:

1. Do not underestimate the responsibility and power of the opportunity to build your audience.
2. Offer compelling, interesting, useful information.
3. Network, but keep your readers in mind.
4. Be yourself. If you aren’t funny in person, you aren’t funny in 140 characters or less.
5. Don’t follow to get a follower.
6. If you can’t be everywhere well, don’t be. Choose one or two platforms and make them work for you.
7. This is not your personal diary.
8. Ask questions.
9. Start conversations.
10. Engage in conversations.
11. Say enough, but not too much. When you start losing your audience, your saying too much.
12. Only follow the number of people you can keep up with.
13. Say thank you. Show your appreciation when others retweet your info or share on Facebook.

1 more way to woo:

A guest post by Srinivas Rao of The Skool of Life

If you are a new blogger, one of the most common pieces of advice you’ll get about how to increase you traffic is “find top blogs in your niche and write guest posts for them.” I want to give you some counter-intuitive advice that I have heard from several A-list bloggers after conducting over 60 interviews: Find top blogs on the edge or outside your niche and write guest posts for them.

The Niches within Your Niche

While there are probably thousands of blogs in whatever niche you write about, there might only be 25-30 that are considered A-list blogs with thousand of subscribers. At some point even if you manage to score several guest posts on some of these blogs, diminishing returns will kick in and you won’t get as many subscribers as you did from previous posts. Talk to people who have written multiple guests posts on Problogger, and you’ll realize this is not the answer to all your blog traffic problems. Sure, it helps, but it’s a small piece of a much bigger picture.

6 Sub-Niches in the Personal Development Niche

For the purposes of exploring this concept I want to use not only a very popular blogging niche, but one that is a perfect example, Personal development blogs. Within the personal development niche there are an endless amount of sub niches that you can write guest posts for.

• Health/Fitness: As anybody who reads my blog knows, I’m an avid surfer. It’s something I write about quite regularly on my blog. A few weeks ago it occurred to me that I hadn’t ever written about surfing for a health and fitness blog. I did a google search for top health and fitness blogs and I found one that Leo had actually written about. So, I knew it was quite popular and submitted a post on the health and mental benefits of surfing, which got accepted.
• Personal Finance: I’m not a personal finance genius, but the top personal finance blogs are some of the most popular blogs on the web. Blogs like Get Rich Slowly and I Will teach You to Be Rich have several hundred thousand daily visitors, and guests posts on these blogs can send your traffic through the roof.
• Dating/Relationships: Another area you might not have thought about writing guests post for is the dating/relationship niche. Personal development is largely connected to this niche and the amount of people searching for dating advice online is probably in the millions every single day. Yaro Starak even said that dating/relationships is one of the 3 meganiches of making money online.
• Your Hobbies: Be sure to explore your own interests in a bit more detail. You never know how many popular blogs there are out there that you could guest post for. If you are a musician, find a popular music blog and submit a guest post for it. If you are an artist, find a popular blog about art and write a guest post for it. At this point, I’m convinced there are popular blogs on just about every subject imaginable.
• Productivity/GTD: Productivity is another one of those areas that gets explored quite a bit by personal development bloggers, yet it’s not often that somebody tells you to find a top GTD blog and submit a guest post. Some of these blogs are also the most popular ones on the internet.

How to find the Edges of Your Niche

You might be wondering how you go about finding the edges of your niche. While it might be a bit harder if your niche is extremely narrow, don’t limit yourself. If you write good content and can tie your own experience to the subject of the blog you want to guest post for, then your guest post will be accepted. Let’s say you play guitar and you have a blog about playing guitar. You could actually write a post for a personal development blog about life lessons from playing a guitar, what it takes to learn a musical, instrument, etc, etc. If you want to find the edges of your niche, sit down with a mindmap and start brainstorming all the things that are connected to your subject. Once you figure out what all those are find blogs that tie to those and you’ll have discovered the edges of your niche.

Benefits of Writing Outside Your Niche

New Readers: The most obvious benefit of guest posting in general is the influx of new readers. When you start getting outside of your niche, you’ll reach an even wider audience than you would when posting within your niche. If for example you look at some of the top personal development blogs, it’s often the same people who read, guest post, and comment on all of them. It’s somewhat incestuous. Writing outside the niche allows you to truly attract new readers.

New Relationships: Another thing that writing outside your niche will enable you to do is form new relationships. When I have clients who ask me about how to grow fan pages, audiences, etc, I tell them to consider forming relationships with people who compliment your niche. I have a client who makes Ionic hair straighteners and they give one away for free every single week (search for Bio Ionic on Facebook and you can win). I told them to consider partnering up with mom bloggers, and other bloggers who write about cosmetics. This is just one example. Writing outside your niche will result in some great relationships.

Have you found other ways to reach new readers and audiences outside your niche? Let us know in the comments below.

Srinivas Rao is an avid surfer/personal development blogger at The Skool of Life and editor in chief of Flightster. He’s also the host/co-founder of BlogcastFM, a podcast to help you take your blog to the next level.

By Mary Jaksch

What are you working on right now?

A blog post? A novel? Your best article ever? A poem? A film script? An Ebook?

Maybe you’ve just finished something you’re really proud of? Or you just can’t tell whether it should get a Pulitzer or be thrown into the trash?

Or maybe you’re noticing some barriers that are getting in the way of your creativity?

Here’s your chance to share and discuss with each other what you are writing about. And how it’s going.

Whet our appetite with the opening paragraph of your future bestseller, give us a link to your best article, or tell us what you are writing at the moment.

Who knows, your piece might even attract the notice of a major publishing house!

Here are some guidelines:

A. Writers:

• State what aspect you’re working on. For example, you might want to say, “Here’s a link to my article “The Role of Rabbits in Nuclear Science”. I’m currently working on eliminating superfluous words.”

B. Commenters:

• When commenting, first list everything you really like about a piece.
• Only then offer careful suggestions.
• Treat each other with respect, friendliness, care, and honesty.
• Remember that we are all still learning.

Now it’s over to you. Take a deep breath. Then jump into the comment section and bring out your treasures!

Mary Jaksch is the Editor in Chief of Write to Done and writes the blog Goodlife ZEN. Together with Leo Babauta, Mary runs a spectacular training environment for bloggers: the A-List Blogger Club.

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Grab the 39 page FREE Report by Leo Babauta and Mary Jaksch: 201 Tips to Rock Your Blog

By Mary Jaksch of Goodlife ZEN

Do you dream of being discovered? Imagine if someone spotted your novel, dragged you into the limelight – and  publishers came crawling. Or what if  your blog post went viral, admirers crashed Twitter, and readers scrambled to subscribe – wouldn’t that be great?

It happens. New writers are discovered every day. It may look accidental, but there are ways to become ‘accident-prone’. Here are five shortcuts to fame that work:

Tip #1: Throw yourself up the learning curve.

Every worthwhile endeavor has a steep learning curve. If you want to have success as a fiction writer, you need to learn how to create a compelling novel or short story. If you are a blogger, you need to learn how to write a blog post that can go viral. Make sure that you learn what has made others successful. Money spent on education and training is always a good investment. And if you can snag a mentor on your learning journey – you’re allready half-way to fame.

Tip #2: Hang out where you can be spotted.

One of the sure-fire ways to fame is to be endorsed by an expert in your field. You can see how that works when you read the blurb on the back of books. Be discovered and endorsed by a leading exponent, and you are on the fast track to fame.

But how to get discovered?

It’s simple. You need to figure out where the experts hang out and join them there. Let’s say for example that your dream as a blogger is to have a guest post on Zen Habits which was recently listed by Time Magazine as no. 1 of the 25 best blogs of 2010. Zen Habits now has about 200,000 subscribers, so a guest post there catapults you automatically into fame.

How do guest posters snag a primo gig like this one? Well, the last two posts on Zen Habits were from Jeffrey Tang of The Art of Great Things and Barrie Davenport of Live Bold and Bloom – both of whom are members of the A-List Blogger Club. That’s where their talent was spotted by Leo Babauta. They both hung out where they could be discovered.

Tip #3: Be insanely useful.

I was recently writing up my blogging experience as a case study. I noticed a weird pattern, over and over. I’ve always tried to help others, whether they were newbies or experts. Being helpful is the main reason behind my success. It’s the same with people I’ve pushed into the limelight: their relationship with me usually started with consistent offers of help. So, be insanely helpful to others in your field.

Tip #4: Grab opportunities as they flit past

The Internet is a place of fast change. Opportunities only come around once. If you’ve built a connection with an expert and they ask for help, say “yes” – even if you are over-committed and unpaid.

Here’s an example: a joint-venture project that emerged from the A-List Blogger Club is just about to launch.  The Daily Brainstorm – a blogazine to rock your mind – has turned into an amazing opportunity for three Club members destined for the A-List:  Barrie Davenport is the Editor in Chief, and Katie Tallo with Jean Sarauer are Managing Editors. They embraced this opportunity without hesitation. The combined count of monthly unique visitors of all the blogs contributing to The Daily Brainstorm is already in the millions – and that’s even before today’s formal launch. This thing’s running hot and is going to be BIG!

Tip #5 Use ‘vitamin’ C in high doses.

Vitamin C is something that aids vitality. But I don’t mean pills here. C stands for Connection. Because connection is what makes opportunities happen on the Internet.

How can you connect? Start with your end of the conversation. If the expert you want to connect with is on Twitter, send him or her regular Tweets with relevant comments. If it’s a blogger you want to connect with, comment on her or his blog. In time the expert will notice you, and a connection will form. Once you’ve forged a connection, make sure that you’re insanely helpful.

Meet good fortune half way – and don’t sit around, waiting for it to find you.

But what about those who are disadvantaged? What about those who are eager to become top blogger  – but they can’t afford the cost of training? I’m thinking in particular of writers in the Third World.

In my experience, blogging is the quickest way to create a career with fast fame and a solid income.

The A-list Blogger Club has grown to more than 500 members,  and as a celebration, Leo Babauta and I want to offer five scholarships, each worth $20 a month. We’re looking for talented writers who can’t afford the  A-List Blogger Club membership fee (although it’s less than the price of a cup of coffee per week). If you would like to put someone forward, or nominate yourself, please write a comment below and tell us why we should consider them or you.

If you have some more tips to add about shortcuts to fame, please share that in the comments as well, ok?

Mary Jaksch is the Editor in Chief of Write to Done. You can enjoy more of her stuff on Goodlife Zen. Remember to check out the A-List Blogger Club.

A guest post by Jean Sarauer of Virgin Blogger Notes.

It’s 7 a.m., and I’m in trouble.

I’ve got a guest post due for a popular blog in a few hours . . .  A new writing client expects an outline of a marketing piece first thing tomorrow . . . The pitch I submitted to a local magazine was a hit, and now the editor wants the article for the next issue.

You’d think such a sizzling stack of opportunities would have me salivating all over myself.

Instead, I’m scared spitless. My heart pounds, my stomach lurches, and fear has me pinned to the mat.

If you’ve been writing for more than 7.5 seconds, chances are you’ve spent some face-time with fear too.

Maybe you’ve experienced:

• Fear of failure.
• Fear of writer’s block.
• Fear of rejection.
• Fear of success.
• Fear of criticism.
• Fear of financial ruin.

Whew!

With a list like that cheering us on, it’s a wonder we ever string more than two sentences together.

Still, the show must go on, and just as actors learn to work with stage fright, we writers must carry on with page fright.

For me, carrying on means experimenting with self-coaching techniques to find the ones that let my creativity flow despite an ever-present fear-factor. Through testing, tweaking, and combining these methods, I’ve created a simple process to help myself and other writers move from paralyzed to productive.

Here’s how it works:

1. Recognize fear. Fear is a shape shifter. Although it’s easy to spot when it’s smacking us around in a full-frontal assault, sometimes it’s masked in behaviors like mindless eating or dawdling in the face of deadlines. These forms of fear may seem harmless, but they undermine our work and health and need to be seen for what they are.
2. Return to reality. When I’m in the midst of a major fear-fest, my body is present, but my mind drifts to faraway lands where rejection lurks under every lamp post. To shrink fear and get back to reality where I can get some work done, I breathe deeply and slowly, touch objects in my physical environment, and stretch to release tension from my body.
3. Stop struggling. Just like a snare tightens around a frightened, struggling rabbit, fear’s claws sink in deeper when we resist it. Fear is an instinctive, as well as a conditioned, response to the risk that’s part of living a creative life. When I remember that, I save my energy for writing instead of squandering it in an eternal wrestling match.
4. Listen. Even though I don’t applaud its arrival, fear often delivers important messages. I’ve learned to sit quietly for a moment and ask myself what I’m really afraid of. This helps bring insecurities, triggers, and potential dangers to the surface where they can be addressed as needed.
5. Recommit. Writing is a choice. We have the option to let our blogs sit dormant, turn down writing jobs, and break contracts. When we’re scared, we forget there’s a whole world of ways to be creative and make a living, and that we chose this one. Consciously recommitting to our work, if that’s truly what we wish to do, restores our sense of power.
6. Get in the flow. Practicing the previous steps puts fear into perspective; moving into the creative process helps keep it there. The key is to work quickly, staying immersed in the writing process, without judging the work. For me, this means writing ‘fat and fast’ rough drafts without thought to sentence structure or punctuation. As my fingers move across the keys, words appear on the screen, and momentum builds. If my project is in later stages, I’ll work in quick sweeps, making easy changes without getting bogged down in the pursuit of perfection. My work will need fine tuning soon, but right now, it’s all about building up that momentum.
7. Take a breather. I’ve learned the hard way that fear sneaks up on me when I let my batteries run low. Even though taking breaks is the last thing my creative spirit wants to do when it’s on a roll, I step away for a few minutes here and there to refresh and recharge.
8. Sculpt and polish. Words like ‘revise’ and ‘edit’ make me twitchy, so I use softer language like ’sculpt’ or ‘whittle’ to describe the home stretch activities. At this stage doubts can pop up fast, and doubts are to fear what gasoline is to a flame . . . . Whooosh! If you feel that big fiery rush of fear come over you as you polish your work, acknowledge it, take some deep breaths, and keep working if you’re able. If not, repeat the above steps as needed to complete your project.

I’d love to tell you that practicing this process will eliminate your writing fears forever, but that’s not true. Odds are, fear will be waiting at your desk in some form the next time you start a new project, work with a new editor, or shift writing gears. Perhaps, it’s already there.

That’s okay though. We’re all fraidy-cat writers sometimes, and there’s no shame in that. No, the only real shame would be if we let our fears hold us back from experiencing the wild adventure of this writing life.

Your turn: How do you deal with your writing fears?

Jean Berg-Sarauer is a writer and blogger living in beautiful northwestern Wisconsin. She provides information and inspiration to beginning bloggers at Virgin Blogger Notes.



A guest post by Doug Armey of The New Wealth Paradigm.

“Without the commentary in my mind, I could gather myself in silence of body and mind, and then explode into action from within that deep silence.” Mary Jaksch

David, a 3rd degree black belt in karate, was standing across from me ready to attack. It was one of my first voyages into formal sparring as a lowly orange belt, one step up from karate kindergarten. We were given a preset attack and defense by our sensei. Then he commanded, “Attack when ready.”

David stood there for a moment, his eyes half closed, totally relaxed, the picture of serenity. I remember thinking, “What’s he doing?”

Then, I made a mistake. I blinked and he hit me. I never even blocked. Never saw him move. My initial thought? “What the hell just happened?” I realized that day there was a whole other level in karate.

When I became a black belt and teacher I began to understand. One class, I was teaching, we’d been drilling basics and putting them into formal sparring.

After class a student asked, “Why do we practice these formal techniques? In real life I won’t ever use them. Why don’t we just free spar? That’s more realistic.”

I responded, “You’re partially right. You probably never will use that exact technique in a match or for defense. But you’re practicing the techniques and how to move in various ways so in the ring or on the street you’ll just react. You won’t have time to think. You need to trust your skills at that point and accomplish what you need to automatically.

Great writers are much the same way.

They write fast and effectively. When you read their writing it feels like you are sitting having coffee with them discussing profound ideas. Some of them talk about writing posts in an hour or two, though I would guess the norm is longer. They’ve learned to let writing flow naturally and seemingly effortlessly. Yet, it comes out good.

For the rest of us mere mortal writers it isn’t quite like that. We struggle to craft our posts. It can easily take a week to put together a good one. Sometimes it seems to flow and sometimes it’s like trying to push a car uphill. A lot of struggle with very little gain.

It’s easy to become discouraged and think, “How can I ever master this? Why is it so slow and hard for me and so easy for so many others? Will my writing ever just flow consistently each time?”

It first comes back to the basics. Obviously, practice a lot, read about writing, take classes, be a part of a writers group, and write as much as you can.

But then beyond that is what I learned in karate.

It’s called the principle of the “Empty Mind.”

No, not the one my wife thinks I’ve mastered.

It simply means, after all the practice, when you’re in a real life situation in karate or in writing you empty your mind of all the rules and just let it flow. You trust your ability and let your actions go where they need to naturally. And amazingly they will. Your subconscious will take over and you’ll react in effective ways.

So how do we apply this in writing?

For me, I break it down into steps. I try to separate my creative side from my analytical side. You know the whole right brain, left brain thing? Never could remember which is which. That probably says which I am.

When I’m writing I follow this procedure.

First, I research and outline the post. I think about the format, title, focus. I research other articles, get quotes, fill in illustrations and figure out the overall tone. This is analytical and is kind of like practicing the basics to get better at my craft while I’m actually preparing to write.

Second, usually the next day, I write the first draft. I simply open up a blank page, follow my outline and write as fast as I can. I don’t worry about spelling, grammar, sentence structure or any other rules. My mind is completely empty of form and only focused on getting words on paper. Leo Babauta has said about this stage he didn’t care how crappy the first draft was. This is a creative function. It emphasizes flow and natural conversation.

Third, again after a few hours or the next day, I copy edit. I make sure the sentences flow properly. I whack out all the extra words, check the spelling, work on the logical progression. This again is analytical and back to the basics. I try to craft my writing into the rules of effective communication.

Fourth, usually in the same sitting, I style edit. I read it out loud. As I related in a previous post, I picture a friend sitting with me and I talk to him or her naturally. My mind again is empty of all the rules. I’m only focused on conversing with my friend.

Then when it’s polished and flowing naturally I put it in blog post form and publish.

This process helps me combine good structure with natural conversation. It allows me to be creative yet communicate effectively. It’s a secret black belt technique that has helped me in so many ways including writing.

What techniques have you found? What works for you?

If you have found this post helpful please let me know. And share it with a friend. I appreciate it.

Doug Armey is a writer and financial adviser who writes about building true wealth and living richly at The New Wealth Paradigm.

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The A-list Blogger Club has been the best investment I’ve made in my blog. Fantastic webinars, terrific articles, helpful forums and personal coaching. Everything from technical know-how and writing technique to learning how to land guest posts like this one. I would not be where I am today with my blog without them.
- Doug Armey

Guest post by Scott Dinsmore of ReadingForYourSuccess

How do you get someone to find real value in your book review; Let alone read the book? With only 10% of books being read past the first chapter, it’s a tall order indeed.

The simple answer: you must become a ninja. Only a true master of the written word can successfully capture the all-powerful opponent: your audience.

Four years of writing reviews and summaries for ReadingForYourSuccess has taught me all kinds of ninja-like tricks. I almost exclusively cover non-fiction books that can somehow improve one’s life but what I’ve learned can be adapted to most genres. At times they’re counterintuitive at best, so pay attention.

The goals for me when writing reviews are three-fold:

1. Get them to read the review.
2. Give them something that can directly use to improve their life–Get them to take action!
3. Get them to order the book and read it cover to cover.

Getting all this done in a 1,000 word review isn’t always easy. When I first started, #3 was most important to me. With how little the average person reads in today’s ever-distracted world, I took it as my duty to get people to dive back into books. I soon learned that this proved nearly impossible in a short post, especially if you also want to accomplish 1 and 2 above, so the real goal is to get readers off on the right foot. At the risk of people only reading my summaries and not the books, I decided that them getting an immediate benefit was most important. You may have your own goals and the below secrets will help for most any non-fiction review.

Giving the reader an immediate benefit has to be most important.

10 Secrets to Writing an Engaging and Useful Book Review:

1. Grab them with a killer headline. I know this goes for any post but I can’t tell you how often I see the title of a book review be the actual book title. In fact I used to do this as well. Your review post is no different than any other post when it comes to engaging the reader. Make them want to dive into your review. A crafty headline is your ticket. Zen Habits, WriteToDone and Goodlife Zen are where I learned the great importance of this.

Some example headlines I’ve written include:
How to live to 100: Lessons from the Blue Zones
A Guide to Finding Zen in Social Media Marketing
Eat Simply and Reclaim Your Energy: Skinny Bastard
Quadruple Your Productivity and Enjoy a Little Life: 8 Steps to Getting Things Done
Power Negotiating Crash Course: A Few Tricks that Can Save You A Fortune In Minutes

2. Mention the benefit to them up front. Ideally do this in the headline if not in the first few sentences. Keep it short and impactful. At the risk of being too direct, why not just go right out and tell the reader why it’d be good to read this review and book? Perhaps add a bold heading to the top that says: Why you should read it:…. Be sure it is directed towards them as opposed to why you read the book. When in doubt keep the focus on their benefit, not yours.

3. What’s your purpose? Before doing anything, you should critically ask yourself why you’re doing it. Whether it’s reading, writing, eating, speaking, you name it. Being sure of the purpose of your review gives you a much better chance of connecting with your reader. You saw my goals above. What are yours? Is this to inform, to teach, to entertain or to inspire action? Be crystal clear on your purpose before you write your first word. Your readers will appreciate it.

4. Make it personal. Especially when it comes to personal development books, people want to know how this is going to improve their life. And the best way is through anecdotes. I only review the books that have had a profound impact on me so this step comes easy. You should be writing from passion in the first place. Let the world know how this book impacted you and how it might impact them as a reader. Tell a story!

5. Add in a little social proof. Get creative on how you can find a way to tie in your relationship with the author. Amazingly, ReadingForYourSuccess has allowed me to form incredible relationships with very well known authors. I in turn mention this in my reviews, which helps with my social proof and authority in that area. People are then more inclined to listen. Ideally you’ve met or gotten to know the author or perhaps you recently heard them speak or even mention that you were given the book by someone well known and trusted. When I wrote a review on one of Tony Robbins’ books, I tied it in by mentioning having just gone to his Unleash the Power Within four-day event and that I used a Robbins Coach for my business. Any connection helps.

6. Make it easy to learn. People do not want to read paragraph after paragraph of text. We wanted it yesterday, which means that since we’re not getting it until today, it must be concise and easy to fly through. Bullet points, bold sections, called-out quotes. A good rule of thumb is “if they read the bold, they have enough to break the mold”. Simply put a few things in bold that, if the reader decides to only read that section, they will be better off for doing so.

7. Decide on 5-10 main points to get across. These will be your numbered lists and bold sections. This is the body of your review. There should only be a few paragraphs in addition to this section. The goal here is genuine transfer of knowledge and inspiration to take action.

8. Tell them how long it takes to read. This is a general online writing strategy I learned from Tim Ferriss of the 4-Hour Work Week. Add the average reading time to the top. If it’s less than 6 or 7 minutes, you’ll have a great shot at them getting to it right then. If there’s no time mentioned, we tend to assume these things will take much more of our time than they actually will. Simple math is to divide your total number of words by 250 words per minute, which is the high average reading speed. Put it at the top in bold. This can sometimes do as much influencing as a powerful heading.

9. Make the page dance with color: Add some life to your review. Our minds love images and being the visual beings we are, we’re much more likely to remember a picture than a bunch of text. Spend some time finding the right couple images. One tendency with book reviews is to just include a picture of the book. This is definitely more engaging than text but it’s only half way there. I used to start every review with the book image. It was quick. It was easy. But it was not effective. Save the book image for further down the post once you’ve hooked your reader. Start with some pop.

10. End with Action! Non-fiction books and especially personal development books are not written to be read. They are written to induce action. Massive action in most cases. At the end of my review/summary the reader should have enough information and inspiration to go out and directly modify some part of their life for the better. Encourage action in your last paragraph and especially last sentence. Often asking a question to the reader is a nice way to transfer a feeling of obligation or responsibility to them.

Here are two examples of recent reviews I’ve written using the above framework:

• How to live to 100: Lessons from the Blue Zones
• A Guide to Finding Zen in Social Media Marketing

I have been developing these master tools over years of writing and they’ve made quite the difference. Just changing my headlines and adding average reading time has increased my readership by at least three-fold. This stuff is powerful and it’s easy. Hopefully it helps take the burden off of writing longer, arduous reviews, and gets you excited to be concise and have some fun.

Once you’ve created something you’re proud of, be sure to send it to the author. They love seeing their work in the spotlight and this can be the start of a genuine personal relationship with them and a little social proof (see #5 above…).

Keep these in mind and you’ll enter the sacred realm of book review mastery with ninja-like victory. You’ll begin producing reviews that will get people reading, and more importantly, get them acting. Put it to work and inspire your readers.

Read more inspiring articles, book reviews and summaries from Scott Dinsmore at Reading For Your Success where he is committed to making your life and career a success through “action-based reading”. You can Subscribe to Scott’s future articles here.

A guest post by Barrie Davenport of Live Bold and Bloom

Next to Chris Guillebeau’s photo in the “about” section of  his blog, The Art of Non-Conformity, is the unabashedly bold statement–

“Challenging authority since 1978.”

We must assume by looking at his photo and reading his blog  that 1978 was the year Chris was born. It was also the year after I graduated from high school, a time during which I did not challenge authority one iota. Too bad for me.

His bold statement, which I’m sure he meant to be both tongue-in-cheek and partially true, made me wonder about Chris’s poor mother, God bless her!  He was probably a breech birth, delivered in the hospital parking lot, and he entered the world wearing a backpack and holding a passport.

I’m sure his parents, teachers and friends could tell many enlightening stories on the various and sundry ways Chris has challenged authority over the years!

What interests me most about Chris, however, is not that he has challenged authority, but that he has chosen to live life on his own terms.

Challenging authority is a natural by-product of living a bold and fearless life.  And being the gentleman he is, Chris likely has worked to smooth ruffled feathers over the years, even as he has chosen a life and career that is far from the norm for your average thirty-something.

Here are some of the unconventional things this guy has done since 1978 (I’m sure most of it he’s accomplished in the last 10-15 years):

• Volunteer executive for a medical charity in West Africa.

• Graduate student at the University of Washington in International Studies.

• World traveler to over 100 countries with the intention of visiting every country in the world (that is politically stable) in the next four years.

• Entrepreneur all of his adult life as a coffee importer, publisher, writer, speaker, consultant, and now founder of his blog, where he offers a variety of Unconventional Products , including his wildly successful Empire Building Kit.

• Author of the soon-to-published book, The Art of Non-Conformity coming out September 2010.

• Husband to Jolie. (Pretty conventional decision, but probably an unconventional lady if I had to guess.)

Chris was kind enough to answer my questions about his life as a traveling blog master. I think he was somewhere between Frankfurt and New Guinea when he answered these questions.

Barrie: When did you realize that you had really made it as a blogger?

Chris: One tipping point would be the publication of my 279 Days to Overnight Success manifesto—that was when I got a lot of attention for showing how I created a full-time living from writing in less than one year. Probably more important than the external recognition, though, was the internal awareness after the first 3-6 months when I realized I could actually do this, that I loved it, and had no plans to stop.

Barrie: How do you feel about your celebrity status in the blogging world?

Chris: Being a celebrity in the blogging world is quite relative. A few people have recognized me on flights or at concerts, but for the most part, I live anonymously. I like how Maggie Mason describes it: “famous among dozens.”

Barrie: How does your blogging career differ from your previous careers in terms of your life satisfaction?

Chris: I’ve always been self-employed and I spent four years as an aid worker in West Africa, so I’ve had good life satisfaction for a while. But it’s true that blogging has brought me a great deal of joy, especially in terms of the new relationships I’ve acquired from all over the world. I’m genuinely excited to get up each day, to write, to plan the next project, and hear from people.

Barrie: How has your success as a blogger impacted other aspects of your life?

Chris: First, I don’t separate my life and work—I try to do work that I enjoy, so I don’t really think of it as work. But second, one interesting thing is that I’m a natural introvert and have always tended to keep to myself—but since I started hosting meet-ups with readers all over the world, I’ve been challenged (in a good way) to come out of my shell. I’ve heard so many fascinating stories of people living their own unconventional lives, and I’ve been encouraged many times to think bigger with my project. So in that aspect, I’m definitely a different person because of blogging.

Barrie: What has brought you the most fulfillment in your work as a blogger?

Chris: Definitely all the response from readers. I say that I get paid in nice emails more than anything else. I know that some people get overwhelmed with email or think that it distracts them from important work, but for me the email is a big part of the important work.

Barrie: Now that you have such a broad impact on other bloggers through your readership, reputation and your great products, what do you feel is your responsibility to them?

Chris: I like the word responsibility. As I see it, success (however you define it) and responsibility go hand-in-hand. I think in this case the responsibility is to a) keep doing good work, hopefully better and better as time goes on, and b) keep empowering people to do their own good work. When it comes to blogging, my message is that everyone has something important to say, and everyone can find a community who cares about their point of view. It’s a great practice, whether it becomes a profession for someone or not.

Barrie: Are there any downsides to being so well-known?

Chris: Again, I’m not sure I’m well-known—I guess it’s all relative. But there is sometimes the question of being misunderstood or unintentionally offending someone. It does seem that some people are inherently uncomfortable with other people who become successful. Hugh MacLeod said, “If you want to make a lot of people hate you, all you need to do is make a lot of money doing something you love.” I think the same thing is true with any kind of success, whether it’s through making money or something else. Thankfully, however vocal these people are, it’s good to remember that they are a small minority, usually talking amongst themselves in an echo chamber.

Barrie: How do you keep balance in your life when blogging, and all of your efforts around blogging, are so time consuming?

Chris: Well, see my answer to #4—I don’t really believe in life/work balance. I’m not a workaholic, but I enjoy what I do so much that I do it every day from wherever I am in the world. I could always work in a bank and have a rigid schedule with plenty of time off, but where’s the fun in that? So I’m grateful, and speaking of responsibility, working hard is a good responsibility to have.

Barrie: If you could give one piece of advice to other aspiring bloggers, what would it be?

Chris: Have a clear plan before you make the first post, and even consider creating a backlog of three month’s worth of content before going live. I like to jump in to lots of things, but for a new blog, it’s good to spend some time in the beginning thinking about where you’re going. What’s the goal for the blog? Will it still be around one year from now, or three, or ten? If so, what will it look like then?

This doesn’t mean you’re locked into a plan; it just means that if you are somewhat intentional about your goals, it will help when you run into obstacles or resistance.

Barrie: Do you see yourself doing this forever?

Chris: The format may change, but yes, I do. I plan on writing and connecting with people as my primary work for the rest of my life.

To avoid getting tired of something (I have the classic entrepreneur’s personality of starting things and moving on), I think it helps that there are so many different forms of writing—and even different forms of blogging.

***

This post first appeared in Live Bold and Bloom on June 5, 2010. It is part two in a three-part series of interviews with top-notch bloggers Leo Babauta, Chris Guillebeau and Mary Jaksch. 

Barrie Davenport is a personal and career coach and the founder of Live Bold and Bloom, a blog about bold and fearless living and Editor in Chief of The Daily Brainstorm. Download her free e-book, How to Have a Meaningful Life.