Are you a writer? What is needed in inspiring writers? Then what keeps them going?
I held a class with coaching students who I inspired to write a book together. We all wanted to write a book. Why not make it one in which we each contributed? How about creating a book to inspire other people?
So, what happened next?
Process
My process was to get everybody started with an idea on which each could speak. Every person is a genius in their own life experience. First I asked each person to take the time to quietly write on a piece of paper about three personal experiences. They wrote in class.
Next, a large paper sheet was put on the wall. I asked one person about their experience. Focused with spiritual listening, I coached with curiosity questions, such as, “How was that for you?” Moving deeper, I asked for a metaphor for what they revealed in their story. All this informatio was gathered on the wall with scented, colored markers using their exact words and images that arose from discussion. Finally, I stood back, and pointing to the wall reference, I asked the person to tell me the story from start to finish. Wow! When a person passionately tells their stories they literally glow! I could feel the energy emanating in the room, too.
Life is not a destination but a journey.
Stories we tell about our life are like a travel log – but even more. These journeys help us understand what happened.
In the telling of our journey … we see responses in the faces of our listeners… and many times we get that there was far more than what we realized at the time. Why? Because we have new perspective now. We are in a different time, older, wiser. As people hear about the journey, we feel a sense of being connected as they listen to our story. You are not invisible. You are real. Something grows, too. You.
Each participant in the class had a turn being coached about the experience, words and pictures adding to the the wall. In the process people were heard. They found their words and images and metaphors! A great start to a book! So, what happened next?
Photos were snapped of the wall chart with phones or cameras, people wrote notes from the contents of the wall chart, and excitedly planned writing a book.
Plans were made. We discussed what we wanted to do. People took on different duties, like researching e-books, editing, planning cover design, etc. A deadline was agreed upon and everyone left with hugs! So, what happened next?
Excuses
Inspiration is great in the moment. But what happens when you leave the environment, and haven’t committed to your part in a plan?
People became involved in their lives and stopped writing after the initial beginning class. Maybe the timing of the holidays slowed the next step. Family was visiting. Illness took their energy. Too many other activities. Lots of excuses for most people, except for one or two people. It wasn’t until we got back together three weeks later in a webinar that people started writing again. So, what happened next?
Sharing the Goal
Well, I’m glad you’re still in with me. In the webinar I reminded people, asking them, “How much do you want this?” and “Is this important to you?” and “What will happen if you write?” and “What will happen if you don’t do your part?” I left them to think till next class.
On the next week-end of the class we all shared what we wanted again in the book and reviewed the goal. What happened to stop them previously? People had simply made it a lesser priority. Their activity of writing had been place on the bottom of their “To Do List” and they never got back to it. We prioritized the goal and agreed to do writing here on the coaching week-end where they could focus on it instead of other activities of life. When they got stuck in their writing, each was instructed to coach their cohorts with the tools people learned in the course so far. So, what happened next?
Imagined Author
In the week-end we did several coaching processes. One was to “imagine” that there was a published author in the room. One person sat in a chair and “pretended” to be the author. We looked at them as if they really were the imagined author and peppered them with questions.
We chose Albert Einstein first and then Kahlil Gibran, authors we admired. Sitting in the chair and answering as though they were the published experts the “pretenders” gave fabulous replies! People in the class looked and treated the person in the chair with respect and awe, asking how to write? And how did they get their books published So, what happened next?
Words… Lots of Writing!
Before you knew it, people were penciling, writing, typing and so much got done! It’s amazing what comes up when you speak with the voice of an enlightened soul.We wrote. We shared. We wrote more. We encouraged. We coached. We wrote. We made progress!
In the process with the two imagined authors, two quotes came up that were especially inspiring to me!
- “I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.” – Albert Einstein
- “No human relation gives one possession in another—every two souls are absolutely different. In friendship or in love, the two side by side raise hands together to find what one cannot reach alone.” – Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet
So What Happened Next?
Stay tuned! So far we are all still working on the book. We are all on the way to sharing our experiences in a book. It may even inspire you! I hope you were inspired by our little adventure. If you want inspiration, and you are a writer, please see Cat Wilson for Coaching the Author! Simply give us a call, set up and appointment. Then find out what happens next!