The end is the beginning
You have this idea for a book. There are voices in your head that you just can’t quiet. You’re struggling to do something about it, but you have 108,000 other things to do.
The book idea is tempting. You may know you can do it. You may even think, yes, I am the one to write this book. The story or premise is speaking to you, and you have to do something about it. You can’t wait to write “The End” just so you can get this behind you.
But how?
We can agree that each one of us has the same number of seconds in a day. What you do with that time is decided upon by your priorities, as well as how you’ve been conditioned to survive.
Time and space cannot exist without the other.
As Steven Pressfield says in Do the Work, imagine seeing a box in front of you. Open this box. What do you see?
What you see differs from what I see and what your closest friend sees.
What you see and what you hear when those voices in your head that implore you to “write this down” is where your true desire lies.
Why hold back?
What are you afraid of?
(Write that down.)
Resistance, which Pressfield also famously writes about, is what’s holding you back. It’s your internal critic trying to protect you from the dangerous unknown territory of letting your truth be known. It senses you’re about to make a ripple in the calm waters of the status quo.
And guess what. It doesn’t matter why this happens. Recognize these old learned patterns are there. Recognize, too, your desire to write is there. You have the power to decide, to choose, to determine your fate.
You can ignore the call. You can stick your fingers in your ears to make the voices go away, but that’s not where you’re hearing them. Your truth needs to express itself, from within. Allow yourself the opportunity to see what it needs to say. Let it guide you.
Once you do that, it will be the end.
The end of the old you, the you character living the normal day-to-day who is about to go off on your own journey.
You may discover a wonderful story, whether fiction or non.
You may discover you can offer your knowledge, skills, or expertise through the written word, so that your words may inspire others to have a positive effect on the world.
This next step will require you to take a leap of faith. You are worthy of expressing yourself. You are worthy enough to block time in your calendar, to protect that time as sacred, important enough to see this through the end.
Don’t know where to start? Start where you are—at the end—and work your way back. The voices, the words, the images, are already there waiting for you, which means there are more to unearth. You’ve already found the idea (or the idea found you). Keep digging.
If you need help, schedule a free consultation call. I have an opening later this month and next to work one-on-one with writers who are ready to take the next step in their journey as a writer or entrepreneur.
If you’re not ready for a consultation, feel free to fill out my survey that helps me see where you’re at in your transformation to becoming a published writer.