Karen Brown Tyson

Tag: Writing

Secrets on How to Find The Way When Writing
Book Review:
A Serious Writer Never Quits: They Find the Way

This page contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase using the links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

A few months ago, I started writing my second book. Although I have the formula I used in writing my first book, Time to Refresh, I set out to find the secrets on how to make the writing process better.

As with lots of long-term writing projects, I got lost in the messy middle. Before I knew it, I was busier than ever. Managing my writing business, along with the writing classes I teach at a local community college, took time away from writing my book. Finally, I stopped writing the book to close out a few projects.

Feeling disappointed about being behind schedule, I read Bryan Hutchinson’s book, Serious Writers Never Quit: They Find The Way. Full of insights and tips on writing, I found the boost I needed to get back to writing my book. Because of Serious Writer’s Never Quit, I see my writing routine in an entirely different light. If you are at a crossroads in your writing process I recommend Serious Writers Never Quit.

Serious Writers Never Quit: The Find The Way

Understanding The Way

When I started reading Serious Writers Never Quit, I was no stranger to the author’s work. Last year I read two of Hutchinson’s other books, Inspired Writer: How to Create Magic With Your Words and Writer’s Doubt: The #1 Enemy of Writing (and What You Can Do About It). All of Hutchinson’s books on writing are a combination of pep talks and a gentle kick-in-the-pants. More importantly, Hutchinson’s books read like a casual conversation full of advice from one writer to another.

In the book, Hutchinson introduces the reader to the idea of The Way, “the strength within you that some people call inner power, mental toughness, willpower, or blind faith. This power is within all of us, and we have to learn how to draw from it and wield it.” According to Hutchinson, using The Way liberates the writer’s creativity. As a writer who advocates change, I agree with the book’s message.

Serious Writers Never Quit is 93 pages long. Hutchinson arranged the book into 12 chapters. In each chapter, he explains how serious writers understand, manage, and embrace The Way. He explains that writing is not about perfection, grammar, or punctuation. Instead, writing is about, “Putting together words that matter to you. And to do that, to not succumb to your internal critic and to all the external noises trying ever so hard to make you stop and give up.”

Lessons Learned

Once I understood the idea of serious writing, as explained by Hutchinson throughout the book, I started to see my writing life as an ever-evolving process full of potential and possibility; I was ready to move forward. While the entire book is full of insights on writing and finding The Way, here are a few lessons I learned:
1. The Way is Never Perfect (Chapter 3)
  Hutchinson reminded me to stop focusing on being perfect. Yes, I could do better, but the most important thing is to keep writing. The best advice from Hutchinson, “Great work isn’t perfect. It’s finished.” Amen!
2. The Way is not to Overthink It (Chapter 5)
  In this chapter, the author stresses the importance of not overthinking the writing process because it stifles creativity and flow. Hutchinson’s best advice, “It’s okay to struggle if you keep moving.”
3. This is What Real Focus Looks Like (Chapter 7)
  According to Hutchinson, real focus involves taking the phone off the hook, letting friends know you are busy, and missing out on weekly group activities. A key point to remember: “When locked in, everything becomes irrelevant until the game is over.”
The most satisfying part of the book is in Chapter 11 when Hutchinson wrote, “Everything you’ve done or not done up to this point no longer matters. Let it all go.” Boom, there it was! For weeks I felt behind schedule and disappointed in my writing progress. But no more. I let those feelings go immediately. The day after reading Serious Writers Never Quit, I starting writing my book again, and this review for my blog.

Moving Forward

Before closing out the book, Hutchinson leaves the reader with a list of lessons to remember. He encourages the reader to use the list when feeling doubtful or unmotivated about writing. This list, as well as the entire book, showed me how to move forward in my book-writing process.

If you are stuck in your writing or want to take your writing routine to the next level, I would recommend Serious Writers Never Quit and the rest of Hutchinson’s books on writing. I promise you that if you read Serious Writers Never Quit with an open mind, you will come away with a new feeling of determination and strength to finish every writing project you start.

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November 12, 2019
How to Overcome Obstacles in Writing my Next Book
Have you ever wondered what obstacles there are in writing a book? Before writing my first book, I never could have imagined the highs and lows I would experience in writing a book. But I learned and quick.

This post outlines what I experienced and how I overcame obstacles in writing my next book.

Disclosure: This page contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase using the links.

Obstacle #1 – Figure out my ‘goal’ for writing book #2

My reason for writing Time to Refresh was clear: Show readers how I renewed my mind following my third job layoff. At the time, I wasn’t concerned about making money, seeing my book in stores, or making the bestseller list. All I wanted was to get my thoughts out of my head and organized into a book.

Since the first book, I know the importance of incorporating SMART goals in the book writing process. Besides, I researched book marketing by reading, The Book Marketing Audit and learned about setting goals based on the costs associated with producing a book. The Book Marketing Audit outlined the following categories which I considered in writing my new book:
- Glory and fame – The satisfaction of seeing my book on bookshelves, read by book clubs, or honored by literary organizations.
- Build a fan base – Answering the call made by Time to Refresh readers to write something new and just as satisfying.
- Earn a certain amount of money per year – Catapult my new writing career into an annual salary.
- Building my brand for my business – Before finishing my book, I started my own writing business to help companies and people write better content.
- Break-even – Make enough money to cover the cost of writing, producing, distributing, and promoting my book.
Time to do the math

I decided on two goals: (1) Break-even; and (2) Earn a certain amount of money per year. Why two goals? First, my decision to choose break-even helps me take in the same amount of money to produce my second book. Second, once I reach my break-even goal, it would be nice to add any profits made from my book’s sale as part of my business income.

But first, I need to determine the costs to publish my next book. After doing research, my estimated expenses for book cover design, editing, formatting, printing, and book launch marketing and public relations will be between $3,650 and $7,750. Also, I plan to factor the royalty fees associated with print and ebooks on:

Amazon (printed and Kindle) and Ingram Spark

into my expenses.

Obstacle #2 – Finding time to write my next book

Despite being laid-off when I wrote my first book, I still had a full schedule with family, church, and community activities. During the book writing process for book #2, I have two new responsibilities: (1) business owner and (2) community college instructor.

So how do I find the time to write? Here’s my current formula:
- Use a writing journal: I’m using a journal this time to track both all writing and non-writing tasks needed to complete my book.
- Schedule writing sessions: I schedule time on my calendar to write for a minimum of two hours per day.
- Eliminate unnecessary distractions: Email and social media can wait until after I finish writing.
- Plan for other distractions: It’s hard to put your family on hold during the book writing process. My schedule has enough flexibility to take care of my commitments involving family and friends.
- Track my word count: I didn’t do this last time, but I plan to keep track of my daily word count as a motivator and gauge to monitor my progress.
Obstacle #3 — Creating a book production plan

As I mentioned before, my only goal with book #1 was to finish writing and publishing book #1. For my next book, I created a book production plan using Trello. One note about my plan: one size does not fit all. My project fits my needs and includes having a:
- To-do List – I like to keep track of tasks I am working on.
- Self-Publishing Checklist – I decided to follow a self-publishing checklist published by the Nonfiction Authors Association that reminds me to do everything from secure ISBNs to book design.
- Book Marketing Plan – This plan outlines my book launch plan, publicity, media, and marketing tactics.
- Word Count Tracker – Before each of my writing sessions, I determine how many words I want to write using a word count tracker.
Writer at work — Creating the perfect workspace.

I wrote my first book standing at my kitchen island. Every morning after my workout, I would spend two hours writing in my kitchen. I know most people think writing in the kitchen is a bad idea, but I could write during a time of day when everyone was out of the house. Sometimes I wrote more than two hours and in places other than the kitchen, but mostly all of my writing occurred while standing.

Since the first book, I have a new writing space equipped with a standing desk and all the supplies I need to get the job done. Here’s a list of supplies to consider for your writing space:

AboveTEK Compact Standing Desk

Writing journal

Notebooks

Folders

Pens, pencils, markers

Wall planner

Timer

Flash drive

Post-It Notes

Ready, set, write!

I have my plan in place, and now I am ready to start outlining and gathering research for book #2. Whether the plan works or not is yet to be seen. But I’m excited and ready to go.

If you are writing your next book or your first book and have questions, let me know if I can help.

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September 18, 2019
How to Unlock Time to Write Amazing Content
This post includes both free and affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.Writers are busy people. Full-time freelance writers work on multiple projects simultaneously. Aspiring writers with full-time jobs write during the wee hours of the morning, late into the night and on weekends. Despite family commitments, distractions, and busy schedules, writers must unlock time to write.

But just in case you haven’t reached this point in your writing career, I’m sharing my time management and productivity tips with you to help you strengthen your writing routine. In 14 months, I moved from corporate life to blogger, author, coach and communications consultant. It’s been a blessed journey and very busy.

In this post, I share the steps I take to manage my time, admitting some days are better than others.

One thing to remember: There is no one way to manage your writing time or get more writing done. Take a look at my ideas and pick out what works for you. Be authentic and stay true to yourself.

Look for waste in your writing process

While I was happy to finish writing my book, I knew there were things I could do to work more efficiently. To find the answers, I conducted my own version of a Waste Walk through my writing process. An actual Waste Walk involves a team of people looking at different parts of a process or a work environment in real time, not analyzing or evaluating after the fact. But since the exercise works to improve a process, I wanted to find out where I wasted time while writing my book. Using the 8 Wastes, which are defects, overproduction, waiting, non-utilized talent, transportation, inventory, motion, and extra processing, I found my biggest waste, in terms of time, was in the following areas:
- I uncovered defects in my process when I stored my research notes and my manuscript in two apps instead of one.
- I wasted time in overproduction when I spent over ten hours formatting my book.
- During the five days spent waiting for comments from my editor, I could have worked on another part of publishing the book.
- Not using a designer (non-utilized talent) to design my book cover cost me five days I could have spent promoting my book.
Since I know where the wastes are in my book writing process, I can get rid of unnecessary steps and activities.

Start with a writing brief

Before I begin writing, I like to create a brief outline of what I want to accomplish. My writing brief includes an overview of the project, goals, status of each task, and the project deadline. When I’m working on a client assignment, I add my customer’s input or follow the submission guidelines when working on an article or guest blog post.

Map out time for each project

As a writer, it’s essential to determine how much time you plan to spend on each project. If you are not sure, spend one to two weeks monitoring how long it takes you to write a blog post or a chapter in your book. Once you find your ideal writing time for each piece of content, allocate a specific amount of time to each task on your schedule. On the road to being a fearless writer, resist the urge to compare your writing times with other writers.

Keep track of your tasks

To avoid wasting time, I like to keep track of my writing and nonwriting duties. When I first started my blog, I quickly realized I had more to do than just writing blog posts. There was lots of researching topics, updating my website, formatting graphics for each blog post, and so much more. As a die-hard fan of to-do lists, I turned to a productivity journal to keep track of my tasks. Another good planning system is bullet journaling (see also ‘Best Bullet Journal Supplies‘). Created by Ryder Carrol, a bullet journal is a blank journal that helps you divide your responsibilities under different sections in an index, monthly, daily, collections and a future log. You can learn more from Ryder’s video here. See a list of my favorite journal supplies here.

Know when to say no

It’s essential for every writer to know when to say no. You cannot work on every project that comes your way. Based on your values and beliefs, be clear about the projects you will accept and the ones you will reject. Why is this important? There’s no reason to waste time working on projects you don’t believe in, or that take time away from other priorities. I use a yes/no/maybe chart to keep track of my writing commitments.

Know when to hit publish

Don’t waste time rewriting the same content over and over hoping to get it just right. At the start of my writing projects, I determine how many rounds of edits my document will go through. I also use writing software like Grammarly or ProWritingAid to help during your editing process. I have learned to hit publish so I can move on to my next writing assignment.

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March 19, 2019
How to Conquer Creative Muse and Write on the Go (infographic)

Do you wonder how some writers can write on the go? Or how they seem to conquer their creative muse to write anywhere like on the beach, or while on an airplane?

You are not alone.

“But you don’t need the perfect setup to do the work. For example, I’ve written five of my books completely on airplanes.” Seth Godin

Disclosure: This page contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase using the links.

There are several things writers can do to increase productivity (see also ‘How To Use Preparation To Increase Productivity In Your Creative Life‘). For example, consider adopting different writing habits to make every minute work to your advantage.

Here are more ideas.

6 Powerful time management solutions for time-crunched writers
How to bend time to fit writing into your busy life
10 awesome tips on how to overcome time anxiety when writing
How to be a successful writer despite having a full schedule

Tools like Trello and Asana are great for organizing writing projects. You can also use a web-based, Kanban-style tool like MeisterTask.

In addition, there are editing tools like Grammarly and ProWriting Aid to help make our writing clear and mistake-free.

CoSchedule is great for organizing your blog posts, email, and social media promotion all in one place if you are a blogger.

Friends and family ask me all the time how I can get my writing done. I like to keep a notebook or journal with me at all times to record ideas or to write.

I compiled a list of motivational books, notebooks, headphones, and snacks that help me.

I also created the infographic below to offer five suggestions on how to write on the go.

If you have any to add, share your input in the comment box.

After all, we’re all in this together.

Productive Writer’s Guide on How to Write on the Go (Infographic)

February 5, 2019
The power of asking, ‘why’ to improve your writing

This article is part of my guest post blog tour. You can find this article on Beverley A. Baird’s blog https://beverleyabaird.wordpress.com

Do you remember always asking your parents, “why?” You wanted to know why you had to eat your vegetables, why you had to go to bed so early, and why you could not play longer outside. When you wanted more information, you always asked why.

As a writer, I realized that must be just as persistent when something in my writing life is not working. When I find it hard to write blog posts, magazine articles, or my next book, ask myself, “why.”

In my work as a certified Six-Sigma communicator, I love helping people find new ways to improve their plans, projects, and writing. Change is my thing, so when I hear writers tell me how hard it is for them to finish their writing projects, I immediately ask “why?”

Change begins with me

Last year I wanted to understand my inability to finish personal writing projects. I started by asking myself why I lose interest so easily. My list of reasons included too much work, family obligations like taking my son to swim practice, and two workouts per day. The list was long and revealed one important thing—most of my reasons were excuses.

But why have I relied on these excuses for so long? I turned to an exercise I like to use with clients to solve problems called “5 Whys.” You begin with a problem and with each answer you ask “why” to drill down to find the root cause of the problem.

Here’s a glimpse at my “5 Whys” exercise on my inability to write my book.

Question #1: Why did you stop writing your last book?

Answer: Because I was waiting to find the right time during the day to write.

Question #2: Why did you wait to find the right time each day?

Answer: Since every day is different, I am afraid I cannot get anything accomplished because of possible interruptions.

Question #3: Why do you allow possible interruptions to stop you from writing?

Answer: Because I want to write at least 2,500 words every time I sit down to write.

Question #4: Why do you want to write 2,500 words every time you sit down to write?

Answer: Because I read articles about writers who can write between 2,500 to 3,500 words per day. If I can write 2,500 words per day, I can finish writing my book in 30 days.

Question #5: Why is it important for you to finish writing your book in 30 days?

Answer: I don’t know.

Whoa! Did I stop writing because I was afraid I wouldn’t meet a daily word count and finish writing my book in 30 days? It blew me away.

At that moment, I knew I had to change my approach to writing.

How I improved my writing life

The first thing I did to improve my writing life was to get rid of the idea I had to be like other writers. Second, I stopped focusing on writing 2,500 words per day. With those two decisions, I completely changed the trajectory of my writing life.

I created a new writing habit which included one key component: I focused on writing in the morning for two hours every day. I chose two hours in the mornings because it’s when I have the most energy to write.

Whether I wrote 500 words or 2,000 during that time did not matter. What mattered most was showing up every day to write for two hours.

The result: I finished writing my first book in less than 90 days.

Time to act

Analyze your current writing life to determine what works and what doesn’t work. Once you find the problem, ask yourself “why” to find the root cause. Be honest with yourself. Determine what small actions you will take to improve.

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Karen Brown Tyson is the author of, Time to Refresh: A 21-Day Devotional to Renew Your Mind After Being Laid Off, Fired or Sidelined.

She works online, in person and by phone as a communication and writing coach and helps her entrepreneurial clientele focus on business and nonfiction writing.

December 4, 2018
How to use writing to improve your health

Want to improve your health? Research shows how writing is good for you.

The infographic below graphic by The Expert Editor is an excellent reminder of how we can use different forms of writing to heal and move forward.

Give it a try. It could be just the boost you need.

Ready for Change? If you want to change how you approach your writing routine, get a monthly planner (see also ‘How To Create A Planner To Sell?‘) to help you plan your writing life and stay on track. Get the monthly planner here!

Karen is a lean six sigma-driven communicator, writer, and entrepreneur with more than 25 years of experience in public relations, corporate and marketing communications. Karen used journaling to complete her book, Time to Refresh: A 21-Day Devotional to Renew Your Mind After Being Laid Off, Fired or Sidelined.

September 20, 2018