Book writing is, for the most part, measurable and predictable. But coaching is a whole other animal, and each client’s writing schedule dictates just how much they can produce.
Each book creates a relationship with the reader...your job as an author is to create the one on one relationship that the reader is looking for, a relationship that often has them begging for more to the point that they can't simply put the book down. By sharing a story that is vulnerable, honest, and truly depicts the essence of who you are, you are inviting the reader into more than just a story, you are inviting them into your soul.
Our stories are trapped inside and between our experience. They are the network of moments around each milestone. When the whole picture starts to evolve, like a face pushing through a pin art mold, the urgency to tell the story is palpable. It’s gotta get out. It can’t stay locked in its safe, fenced-in pin farm one more second.
When it comes to writing, we try to hold ourselves accountable to the work through creating a solid routine. But, when we are faced with a block, we step away. Typically we go down the same path we have gone down when inspiration struck the last time, just enough out of the routine to seem new. What happens if the muse still doesn’t come? Maybe when you least expect it, when you stop expecting inspiration to come, is when you will see the story unfold.
So often we do what's practical, rather than pursue the marvels that live in our hearts and imaginations. As we grow, childhood aspirations get cast aside in favor of more sensible and realistic goals. Yet, with the right push from trusted friends and a supportive community, it is possible to find the way back to what fulfills our souls.
When we meet someone new, there are a myriad of questions that we start to ask to get to know the person. Each question builds on the last, helping us to get a glimpse of a person's story. For Aleksandra Corwin, asking the deeper questions that help people to craft their story is what turns her job into a career - the place where passion and purpose meet.
Writing is a very personal act, so when you are asked to work as part of a team, each person could have a very different reaction to that approach. Two RTC editors share their thoughts going into this approach and how "Rock On" can be the start of something beautiful.
We humans are relational creatures, and when we honor the value of that connection, especially in person, deeper trust makes vulnerability possible. When a writer-author team gets together to share ideas in real-time, watch as feelings are embodied by one another's expressions, and experience the presence of one another's character, it allows for yet another layer of of trust and depth to envelop the writing process. Trust is established by simply being there, in front of one another, as we both—sometimes cautiously— bear witness to our real selves.
Editor, cheerleader, taskmaster, or fact-checker – these are just a few of the roles that a writing coach can bring to the table. But, more often than not, the hat that a writing coach finds themselves wearing is that of listener. Alison Hennessee shares how the role of listener can be the most important role of a writing coach and why having someone to talk through your story with can lead to brilliant results.
To have an idea is to be thinking, problem-solving, engaged in the surrounding world, alive to possibility. But ideas alone can't carry a narrative. Instead, consider this question: what is (in one of our clients’ words) the story that your life prepared you to tell? Chances are, your ideas--your philosophies--are inextricably intertwined with it, so don’t be afraid to start there. Form will always follow.