The 3 Traits of a Writer—and Why You Can’t Succeed Without Them

A guest post by K.M. Weiland of Wordplay: Helping Writers Become Authors.

Writers come in all shapes and sizes, from all personal backgrounds, all walks of life, and all cultures and countries. We’re a varied bunch, but we all have something in common: in order for any of us to make it past first base in this business, we have to possess three traits. These traits are non-negotiable. If we don’t possess all three of them, we’ll never be writers, and we’ll certainly never find marketable success.

What are these traits, and how do we solidify them in our lives?

Trait #1: Talent

In some ways, talent is the easiest of the three, since it’s something over which we have no control. We’re either talented, or we’re not. Generally speaking, talent incorporates one or all of the following:

  • An aptitude for words, which can include (but isn’t necessarily limited to) an understanding of language and a perceptive ear for powerful and rhythmic phrasings.
  • An instinctual understanding, however raw in the beginning, of story structure.
  • An insatiable curiosity, a desire to discover truth, and a willingness to be audaciously honest about the human experience and the world in which it takes place.

I consider talent the least important, simply because it’s the only one of the three traits that is useless without the other two. Still, it’s important to recognize that without that original kernel of talent, all the watering and weeding in the world won’t cause the growth of a burgeoning tree.

Trait #2: Learning

I use the word “learning” instead of “knowledge” because “learning” indicates more than a static pile of facts stored in our brains. Learning encompasses the following ideas:

  • An ongoing process that suggests a mindset in search of enlightenment more than a simple checklist of facts to be mastered.
  • A hunger for knowledge that is further stimulated, instead of sated, by the actual discovery of knowledge.
  • A willingness to devote an endless amount of time and energy to studying the craft.

Even the largest measure of talent can only carry an author so far. We must study to show ourselves approved by reading widely and voraciously, researching the tenets of the craft as seen by other authors who have proven themselves through their own devotion, and seeking and accepting the wise criticism of readers, editors, and other writers. Writing is a skill that can be learned by almost anyone, and it is in the learning that we raise ourselves above raw potential to refinement and eventual mastery.

Trait #3: Diligence

Finally, we come to the most important of the three traits, the bottom of the pyramid, the foundation for the previous two. Without diligence, we will inevitably lack the ability to grit our teeth and put our innate talent or our sought-after knowledge to practical use. Writers who possess diligence are able to bring the following to their writing desks:

  • A commitment to writing, even in the face of its difficulties.
  • A certain amount of hardheaded tenacity that allows them to keeping marching right past the inevitable discouragements.
  • A consistency is showing up for work every day, no matter what else has to be sacrificed.

The writing life is filled with setbacks and even outright failures. Without the determination to persevere, no writer will make it past the starting gates. We have to be willing to devote our time and energy to pursuing our craft, polishing it, and loving it even when it isn’t lovable.

In order to call ourselves writers, we have to act like writers. We must recognize our responsibility to our talent. We must open our minds to studying and perfecting the art of writing. And we must be willing to do these things day in and day out. Writing isn’t always a hobby; it isn’t always a career; but it is a lifestyle. If we can devote ourselves to pursuing these three traits, we can wake up every morning with assurance that we are writers.

K.M. Weiland writes historical and speculative fiction from her home in the sandhills of western Nebraska. She enjoys mentoring other authors through her writing tips, editing services, and her recently released instructional CD Conquering Writer’s Block and Summoning Inspiration.

Want to become a successful blogger? Join Leo Babauta and Mary Jaksch in the A-List Blogger Club,

Categories: Craft, Fiction, Habits, Productivity, Reading

How to Lift Your Writing to new Heights – in Just 10 Minutes

By Mary Jaksch

Want to Write Better? I mean, a lot better – in just ten minutes. I’m not talking about some kind of writing Voodoo; I want to show you a no-fail way that can improve your writing dramatically in minutes.

Let’s start at the beginning. And that means starting with the brain, because that’s the main machine we use for writing. Whether it’s having great ideas, or choosing a structure, or dancing with words – it’s all to do with brainpower. So a simple way to write better is to boost the performance of your brain.

How to boost brainpower in only 10 minutes?

Here’s what made me consider this question:  I was recently in Las Vegas at Blogworld where I spent 5 days in canned air with piped muzak. I tried to write – but my imagination was sluggish and my focus scattered.
When I got back home to New Zealand, I inhaled the pure air deep into my lungs. And I got really excited about raising my fitness. After all, as a writer I tend to sit at my desk a lot. Maybe you do too?

I started an 8-week Fitness Challenge and wrote a post, called Want to be Fit, or even Ultra-Fit? Join the 8-Week Challenge People are joining in droves. (Leo Babauta joined too and is super helpful in the Challenge forum).

As soon as I started cranking up my fitness, my creativity flooded back. It’s not only the oxygen that sharpens our skills, what makes a difference is that exercise is a circuit breaker that lifts us out of the writing rut.

Here is how to lift your writing to new heights in 10 minutes

  1. Exercise briskly for 10 minutes
    If possible, exercise outside so that you have a change of environment. Once you’re outside, walk briskly or run. If you can’t go outside, use whatever is at hand for exercise. For example,  a staircase is a great exercise tool. Run or walk up one flight of stairs. Then take some deep breaths and repeat.
  2. Raise your pulse rate
    It’s important to raise your heart rate substantially. When you do that, the mind lets go of worries and preoccupations and focuses on the exercise itself. This means that you can return to writing with a clear mind.
  3. Get out of breath
    Being out of breath is good! Use it as your benchmark for brisk exercise.  When you are ‘out of breath’ you are gulping huge amounts of oxygen which will refresh your brain.
  4. Be mindful
    When you exercise, leave mp3 player and phone behind. Focus on your present experience. Notice the color of the sky, the ground under your feet, and the sounds around you. When we are mindful (which is really a form of meditation), the mind becomes expansive and open.
  5. Drink water
    At the end of the 10 minutes exercise, drink a couple of glasses of water.  Hydration also helps your brain to function well.

Taking ten minute breaks like this is a great habit. Not only does exercise boost brainpower,   it also acts like a circuit breaker. This is especially helpful if you get stuck with the piece you’re writing, or if progress is sluggish.

Once you get back to your desk, remember to sit upright. Good posture helps your mind to focus. That’s why most forms of meditation include instructions for upright posture. When the spine is aligned, random thoughts die down and you are less likely to get caught in endless cycles of ‘what if’ or ‘if only’ thought patterns, and can open up to your full creativity.

Mary Jaksch is Chief Editor of Write to Done. Read more on her blog Goodlife ZEN. Together with Leo Babauta, Mary runs the A-List Blogger Club, an ongoing training for bloggers that members rave about:

Categories: Blogwriting, Craft, Fiction, Habits, Productivity

How to Prepare Public Presentations that Knock the Socks Off

By Mary Jaksch

Have you ever had to give a public presentation? If so, you may remember damp palms, butterflies in your stomach, and an overwhelming wish to hide in a cupboard instead of striding onto the stage. If you turn into a successful writer, chances are you’ll have to get used to public speaking.

The good news is that you can learn to speak publicly with confidence – and even enjoy it.

There are two keys factors that change the way you experience public presentations, one factor is the use of mental strategies that enable you to feel confident and in charge. The other factor is the preparation that results in a presentation that rocks – this is what this post focuses on.

In tandem with this post, I’ve published an article on Goodlife ZEN that covers the psychological and physical strategies that you can use in order to become a cool presenter: How to Speak in Public With Confidence – And Be On Top of Your Game. Read both articles to get the full juice.

Nail the benefit

Before you start preparing for your presentation, you need to ask an important question: what is the benefit to my audience? In order to get a good response from your audience, the presentation needs to have a clear benefit. It’s important to formulate the benefit right from the start. What new knowledge, new inspiration, or new skills do you want your audience to take away from your talk?

Create a memorable structure

As I explain in my article How to Speak in Public With Confidence – and Be On Top of Your Game one of the fears we face is that our mind goes blank during a presentation. There are some simple psychological tricks you can use to avoid memory blanks. In addition, you can structure your talk so that it is memorable for you as well as for your audience.

An structure that storytellers have used since ancient times is the three-act form. In the design of your presentation, Act 1 is the opening. It is the description of the pain points, challenges, and frustration that your audience faces in respect of your topic. When you promise to show how to overcome these challenges in order to reach a desired outcome, you sets up a dramatic tension.

The corresponding part of your presentation is Act 3. It offers the resolution, and describes how one is changed and rewarded through overcoming the challenges and attaining the desired outcome.

Act 2 is the detailed description of the path from A to B. It is the ‘how to’ section of the presentation.

No matter what your topic is, this structure ensures that you connect with your audience, because people feel understood when you name their pain, and inspired when you show them how to overcome it.  This three-act structure ensures dramatic tension and release – which you need in order to create a memorable presentation.

What is your story thread?

Whatever the topic of your presentation is, it’s useful to consider using a consistent story thread or motif. We have all internalized many archetypal motifs through stories that have been told and retold through the generations. Here are just a few:

Climbing a mountain: how someone overcomes all difficulties to reach the summit.

Finding the missing piece of a puzzle: how a search is finally rewarded with a new insight into how pieces fit together.

Voyage into the unknown: how an adventurer set out into the unknown and finds a place hitherto unknown.

The treasure hunt: how someone follows hidden clues and finally uncovers a treasure.

The reluctant hero: how an ordinary person overcomes all odds and ends up a hero.

Finding the source: how someone walked back in order to find the source or origin.

The blockbuster story: you can use a story thread from popular culture. An example would be Star Wars.

There are many more such story threads. If you use a story thread, your presentation will be strengthened with an invisible backbone. A consistent motif will make it easy to find appropriate metaphors and images to support your topic.

The building blocks of a great presentation

In keeping with the underlying three-act structure, you need three main building blocks, the opening, the development, and the closing.

The opening

Your first task is get your audience’s attention and to create a connection. A great way to do this is to relate a personal story, the ‘why’ of your presentation. Why are you passionate about this topic? How does this topic relate to your life? If you lead in with a personal story, it’s much easier for people to relate to your topic. And your personal story establishes authority. In order to grab your audience’s attention, see if you can start in a way that’s unexpected.

Let’s say you are going to present a talk on how to become a runner, in order to go from flab to fit.

Your opening could be your story about how you were overweight, and then managed to become slim and fit by taking up running. Once you’ve established your motivation and authority, it’s time to start with Act 1, that is, you need to speak about people’s pain, frustration and barriers in respect of your topic. The pain points here could be feeling unattractive, unhealthy, or unfit. The challenge could be the beliefs that ‘I could never learn to run’, or ‘I get puffed after only a few meters – how could I ever get fit?’

The desired outcome (that’s going to be Act 3 of your presentation) is to become a runner in only 5 weeks ‘by using the following 5 step body-control program’.  In this scenario you would need to spend a moment explaining why the ‘5 step body-control program’ is effective. Then it’s time for the development phase.

The development

This is the phase where you lay out exactly how to overcome the pain points in order to reach the desired outcome. The brain learns best if you offer bite-sized bits of information. This is why numbered steps or bullet-points work so well. This is going to be the ‘meat in the sandwich’, so to speak. The development part of your presentation should be the longest part with detailed information. Once you have laid out how to achieve the desired outcome, it’s time for the closing.

The closure

In the closure it’s time to talk about how it feels when you achieve the benefits. Maybe you can give examples of others who also achieved success in order to inspire and motivate. It’s a good idea to repeat briefly the main steps of your development phase. In other words, you need to remind them briefly of the main content of your presentation.

Then comes the call to action.  You need to outline the next step for your listeners. What should they do now in order to move closer to the desired outcome? Are there special resources they can access? Is there an action they can do today that will start them on a new path?

To PowerPoint or not?

Most presenters these days use PowerPoint slides. That can be very effective. Because you can use images and motion in order to hammer home your points. I think in general, PowerPoint presentations are great if you want to convey information. However, if your presentation revolves is inspirational and revolves around your personal story, then just words may well work better because such a presentation is more intimate.

Whether or not you use PowerPoint, it’s important for your presentation to sound like your talking, and not reading aloud.

Here are two books that I find especially helpful in creating PowerPoint presentations:

Cliff Atkinson: Beyond Bullet Points. This book explains in detail how to put together a presentation that is based on the 3-act structure. For Mac users, iWork: Keynote ’09 by Richard Harrington is a great resource that shows how to create stunning presentations that inform, motivate, and inspire.

Conversational tone

The best presentation are conversational. Even if you’ve worked them out to the letter, they still need to sound spontaneous. The way to write conversationally is to read aloud your draft to others. Whenever you notice that a sentence sounds contrived, mark it for further work. What often works is to shorten sentences, use simple language and use contractions, such as ‘you’ll’ instead of ‘you will’. These rehearsals are a key part of building confidence. Read more on how to conduct rehearsals for maximum effect here.

Timing

Each presentation usually has a timeframe that you need to adhere to – especially if you invite questions at the end. Make sure you time your rehearsals. Then cut your text so that you spend only 80% of the allotted time, in order to have some time up your sleeve.

Conclusion

As you can see from the notes above, the key strategy for creating a riveting presentation is to set up a dramatic tension, using the 3-act structure that sets up a tension between the paint points that the audience experiences and the desired outcomes that your presentation offers.

Most importantly, if you use archetypal story threads that bind the parts of the presentation together, you  can create a memorable presentation.

What are your tips for creating a presentation? Please share them in the comments.

Don’t forget to read the companion article: How to Speak in Public With Confidence – And Be On Top of Your Game

Mary Jaksch is the Chief Editor of Write to Done. Enjoy more of her stuff on Goodlife Zen. And check out the legendary A-List Blogger Club that Leo Babauta and Mary run jointly.


Categories: Craft, Habits

7 Secrets of Spectacular Bloggers

A guest post by Stanford Smith from Pushing Social

Top bloggers didn’t achieve their success by accident.  They had a plan and they worked daily to achieve their goals.  For many it was a short list of simple objectives.  For others it was a complex strategy perfectly executed.

What about you?  What’s your plan?

I’ll be straight with you; most people aren’t master strategists.  It takes a while to learn how to plan and execute a success effectively.  So, I’m going to give you the shortcut no one talks about, setting powerful Habits.

Habits Are the Building Blocks of Achievement

As a parent, I’m constantly guarding my children from bad choices that lead to bad habits.  Why?  Well, habits are incredibly hard to break.  A child that uses whining to get their way turns into a whining and complaining teenager.

The reverse is also true.  Good habits are incredibly hard to break too.  Our minds are wired to maintain the status-quo.  Once a habit has taken hold, your own body will conspire to turn your habit into a lifestyle.

Why not use this to your advantage?  Your shortcut to success is to use your habits as tools to propel you toward your goals. This notion isn’t theoretical.  In fact, close study of popular A-List bloggers show that they rely on 7 habits that they use as tools everyday.

Let’s take a look at 7 of their most powerful tools:

1. Writing Daily

Interesting, compelling, and entertaining writing is the secret to growing a blog fast.  The only way to get good at writing is to write constantly.

Setting aside time daily to write will immediately improve your style and voice.

How much you write is up to you but for most the minimum is 1 page or 30 minutes.  The best way to start is to make it a priority to write your page before you go to sleep or immediately after you wake in the morning.

2. Confronting Your Inner Critic

Superstar bloggers are fearless.  They write provocative posts.  They take on controversial topics.  They guest post with abandon.  Even though they seem confident almost all of them will admit to wrestling with their own self-doubts.  The difference is that they learned how to harness their self-doubt to push them forward.

They wrestle self-doubt to the ground and challenge it at every turn.  They don’t let a negative idea find a place to nest in their mind.

You can master your inner critic by equipping yourself with these questions:

  • What action can I take now?
  • How can I continue moving forward in spite of my doubts?
  • Is this problem/doubt really a showstopper or can I deal with it later?

Remember, your inner-critic wants you to stop. The best way to beat it is to form the habit of always pushing forward.

3. Connecting with Your Readers Regularly

Blogging isn’t meant to be a lone-ranger activity.  Your content gets stronger when you connect with your reader’s experiences and aspirations. Top Bloggers make it a habit to set-up easy ways to get one-to-one contact with their readers. For them Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn is not an option.  This is where they find inspiration for their posts and recharge their batteries.

But be careful, Twitter and Facebook can be a time-waster if not used properly.  I recommend you start with a goal that focuses you on achieving a result for your reader.  Leo Babauta recommends you spend 80% of your time promoting others, 10% promoting your blog, and 10% on personal tweets.  I agree.  Set aside time 3x a week to connect with your readers and make it a priority.

4. Win/Win Writing

“Help Others Achieve Their Dreams And You Will Achieve Yours” – Les Brown

Steven Covey encouraged peak achievers to seek Win/Win solutions where both parties walk away feeling great about what they achieved.  The same goes for blogging.

Every post you write should satisfy a core desire for you and deliver a real benefit for your reader.  If you are simply writing to satisfy yourself then purchase a moleskin notebook and write away.  But if you want to blog publicly then you owe it to readers to deliver real value.

You can form a Win/Win habit by asking yourself this question before you start writing:  “How will my reader benefit from reading this post and how will I grow from writing it?

5. Be Consistently Upbeat

Optimism is powerful and attractive.  The power to put a smile on your reader’s face is magical.  You should strive to add a little light to your readers lives everyday.

On the other hand, “rants” are a zero-sum game that pushes your good readers away and attracts the wrong crowd.  The best bloggers avoid rants and focus on helpful and upbeat posts.

A great way to this is to consistently write upbeat headlines for your posts.  Start with the right attitude and your optimism will radiate from your post.

6. Master the Art of Storytelling

The words “Let Me Tell You a Story” never fails to get someone’s attention.  We are wired to listen to stories and we love to tell them.  Spectacular bloggers understand this and actively work on their storytelling ability.

The best way to develop your storywriting ability is to read great books.  Work to set a habit of reading at least one fictional book a month.  Start with the New York Times Bestseller list and go from there.  Pay special attention to how authors begin their stories and develop their characters.  This is pure gold.

7. Get Your Voice Right

Your writing voice is your #1 asset. Your voice is what the reader has in their head when they read your post.  It builds rapport and encourages your reader to engage with your content.

Successful bloggers spend considerable time refining their voice.  Most emphasize writing as if you are just talking to your best friend on the phone. One shortcut for finding your voice is to record yourself speaking about your topic.  Just naturally answer a question or even have a friend interview you talking about your passion.  Listen closely to the recording.  That passionate advocate you hear – is YOU.  Now write with the same voice

What A-List Habits Will You Work On?

Which habit do you need to establish to take your blog to the next level?  How have you caged your inner critic?  Talk to me in the comments below.

Stanford Smith obsesses about how to get passionate people’s blogs noticed and promoted at Pushing Social, except when he’s fishing with his boys. Follow him to get the latest about his new ebook “Get Noticed.”


Categories: Blogwriting, Habits

4 Reasons to Appreciate Your Self-Doubts

A guest post by Joan Dempsey of Literary Living

Let’s face it – every one of us experiences self-doubt, even the most well-established writers. Dean Koontz, for instance, an author who has sold more than 400 million books and is one of the most highly paid writers in the world, says “I have more self-doubt than any writer I know.”

And Alice Munro, the celebrated Canadian writer who’s been called our Chekhov, worries every time she finishes writing a book that she’ll never write again.

Let’s agree, then, that self-doubt is an ordinary part of every writer’s experience, even yours. You’ll never be without it. The question is, what can you learn from it?

Here are four reasons to appreciate your self-doubt.

1. Self-Doubt is a Protective Instinct

Self-doubt arises out of your own instinctive desire to protect yourself, which is actually a nice impulse that you probably don’t often acknowledge. We usually bemoan or bludgeon our self-doubt; we believe what writer Sylvia Plath famously claimed, that “the worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.”

I beg to differ!

You can be more creative if you welcome and examine your self-doubts.

It’s true, though, that we writers allow our doubts to keep us away from our work. Why? To protect ourselves from pain. Author James Baldwin says we’re good at fooling ourselves because we don’t want to get hurt. “We don’t want to have our certainty disturbed,” he said.

Psychologists call this self-handicapping . If you stay away from your work you’ll never have to face the pain of writing poorly, or you can fool yourself into thinking you’ll be a great writer if you do get down to work.

The problem with that, though, is that you’ll never really be a writer. Baldwin believed that the trick is to know when you’re fooling yourself.

The best writers live an examined and therefore honest life, and that includes scrutinizing your self-doubt.

2. Self-Doubt Sounds an Alarm

Not unlike a smoke detector, self-doubt alerts us to the presence of fear, the typical cause of our doubts.

Thich Nhat Hanh, a well-known Buddhist teacher, advises us that because fear is a natural and constant presence in our lives, we’d do well to welcome it rather than fight it:

It is best not to say, “Go away, Fear. I don’t like you. You are not me.” It is much more effective to say, “Hello Fear. How are you today?”

The next time you feel self-doubt, don’t despair or fight – look around to see what might be smoldering; be grateful for the alarm.

3. Self-Doubt is a Call to Action

Dean Koontz is notorious for obsessively polishing his paragraphs. “I began this ceaseless polishing out of self-doubt,” says Koontz, “as a way of preventing self-doubt from turning into writer’s block: by doing something with the unsatisfactory page, I wasn’t just sitting there brooding about it.”

In Koontz’s case, feeling uncertain about his abilities actually motivated him to take an action he might otherwise not have pursued.

Similarly, Write-to-Done Chief Editor, Mary Jaksch, believes that a “healthy dose of self-doubt, of not knowing” can lead writers to the “edge of creativity” by not allowing us to stay complacent.

I learned this first-hand through kayaking. After more than twenty years of paddling, I finally took a safety class. I realized I’d avoided such a class because I was afraid I wouldn’t have the strength to learn the appropriate skills. But the longer I kayaked, the more my fears began to be about saving someone’s life. I knew I didn’t have the right skills to be safe and those doubts about my ability became my call to action. I took a safety course and before long I was happily flipping over in my boat, certain I had the skills to save myself from drowning.

4. Self-Doubt Provides Fresh Perspective

If you keep your doubts to yourself you’re missing a valuable opportunity. By sharing your doubts with friends and writing colleagues you’re bound to get a fresh perspective. Others often don’t see your failings or uncertainties in the same way you do.

By sharing your doubts you’ll likely learn something new about yourself, feel companioned, hear a helpful cheer, or receive a much-needed boost to your self-esteem.

James Baldwin, in discussing why he writes, says he does so to describe. What he means is that by describing something in detail you come to understand it intimately. Describe your doubts in writing, or through dialogue – either way, your new understanding can help disarm your doubts.

The next time self-doubt keeps you away from your writing, try this:

  • Review these four reasons to appreciate your doubts;
  • Say “Hello, self-doubt, how are you today”; and
  • Get to work.

What have you learned from your self-doubts?

Joan Dempsey is a writer and the founder of Literary Living, an online program for serious, aspiring writers who want to overcome resistance and self-doubt to create a unique writing life. Sign-up for more information, a free audio interview with Leo Babauta, and a free e-book, The Power of Deliberate Thinking: 5 Strategies for Staying at the Writing Desk (Despite Your Self-Doubts)

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