Sometimes you just need to take a quick break.
Which is exactly what I am doing now (would you believe). I am taking a break from transcribing my small off-grid solar power supply ebook from my hand written journal into MS Word.
I needed to focus my attention on something different, so here I am!
Writing is hard work sometimes, but it is certainly made easier when you plan ahead. For this ebook, I took the time to write out a very basic book structure, giving each chapter a title, jotting down ideas for topics within each chapter, and then doing a heck of a lot of research on the interwebs to make sure I had my facts right.
I feel a lot more comfortable writing this book than I did the first two. Probably because it is not a story per se, but a genuine “How-to” book with full explanations, instructions, and pictures of components and how they all fit together. It will be much more detailed than my series of blog posts on the subject of Energy Independence, but still written in the same, easy-to-understand style that I have previously used in my books and within this blog.
If writing one book is not enough, I am also half way through writing a separate ebook about “How To Build Your Own Outdoor Clay Oven” (working title).
This book is not as easy to write as the power book for some reason which I can’t quite fathom. However, I find that if I write at least 200 words a day (equal to about three pages in my journal), it keeps the momentum going, and writing by hand also helps keep the creative juices flowing. Thankfully, I have ample time on the train twice daily to achieve this self imposed writing goal.
One thing that I can’t handle is a blank Word document. It is so daunting starting out, so this is where the basic book structure has really helped this time around.
Anyway, enough about books, I better get back to work. This typing will not magically jump onto the screen all by itself!
Do you like writing? Do you find it easy?
Hi Gavin.
I enjoy writing, but I find that writing a large report (or a book – which is something I’m working on) is much easier by using mind maps and breaking the book down into tiny chapters.
That way I don’t have to start with a blank word document, and I’m able to see results very quickly.
Cheers!
/Sig
Hi Sig. A mind map is a great tool to use as well. I find that I need to be more regimental as I find it difficult to be abstract.
Gav
I love writing.
I completely agree, Sig. I use Evernote for note-taking and mind mapping. The great thing about Evernote is that it is cloud-based. No matter where I am and what device (my Mac, iPad or iPhone) I am near, I can easily keep all my notes together in the one digital place. I’m working on a couple of ebooks myself–a “how to” and a travel story about a trip that didn’t go head as planned.
For those that aren’t familiar with my writing, I have a blog called The Kind Little Blog–if you click my name it will take you there.