A project update plus something for writers and consultants
I posted back in January that I was going to tackle four projects in 2022.
Q1's project was to write a new book in 99 days and, two months in, I'm pleased to say that it's still on track!
I've just shared Part 1 (of 3) with my mailing list for feedback and the 3rd section is mostly drafted so I'm cautiously optimistic that I'll hit the 100-day deadline.
Things I have to remember when I'm writing
I write my own blog and newsletter plus I'm responsible for my company's blog, email and social. Plus I'm writing my second book so I spend a lot of my week writing (or trying to).
FWIW, here are some things I have to keep reminding myself about writing, particularly writing to a deadline. Hopefully this will help anyone who's in a rut.
- Writing is work. Some days it's great and others it's not. But as Seth Godin once said, "there's no such thing as plumber's block" - you just have to turn up and get the job done.
- Take three runs at things involving new ideas: rough idea, bad draft, acceptable draft.
- Ideas need time to mature. I need to leave time between each step and, the more complicated the idea, the longer I need to leave the idea to percolate.
- Even simple writing is better if there's a break between the writing and the review.
- Editing is a necessary evil but that doesn't mean I have to like it.
- Writing isn't editing. I need to lock in my ideas at some point and then get down to editing. (I move from a text editor into Grammarly for this - if you aren't using this, start now. It's amazing and I can't recommend it enough.)
- Read the piece aloud if you aren't sure if it hangs together.
- Short words work well. So do short sentences.
- It will never be truly done or perfect. That's what V2 is for.
I hope these help anyone who's stuck in a writing rut (as I was two weeks ago),
And if there are any aspiring consultants out there...
If any IHs out there are looking to use their expertise to get into consulting, or plan to use consultancy as a side gig while you work on your project, the book might be of interest as it's a consultant's handbook. It's more focused on solutions-based consulting (vs. expertise-based consulting) but it might be useful for some folks out there.
You can download the draft of part 1 here.
Keep plugging away folks!
