Embracing the Scary Project--Why Bravery on Demand Can Help Your Writing

Simone de Beauvoir once wrote, "Every time I start on a new book, I am a beginner again. I doubt myself, I grow discouraged, all the work accomplished in the past is as though it never was, my first drafts are so shapeless that it seems impossible to go on with the attempt at all, right up until the moment . . .when it has become impossible not to finish it."

This comes from her1965  book Force of Circumstance, which is one of many published works during her long literary career. New book writers might read this in astonishment. How come such a prolific and experienced writer had such beginner's emotions?


Does it never get easier? Do we ever feel like we know what we're doing?

We're at the end of the annual extravaganza of National Novel Writers' Month.  The whole point of nanowrimo is to allow writers a window to try something they wouldn't ordinarily attempt.  Sheer volume of words each day keep the perfectionism at bay.  The point is to explore new ideas, without worrying about knowing what we're doing.

I love nanowrimo for this absolute freedom.  But once it ends, what's going to keep you exploring?  Keep you on the edge of learning?

This need for bravery in our art is not limited to writers, of course.  I once asked a professional speaker about this. I wanted to know if he ever got stage fright, felt that beginner's nervousness. This man has delivered hundreds of talks to audiences of thousands. He said he always feels jittery before he goes on stage. Every time. He has come to expect tense shoulders, butterfly stomach.  He likes the opportunity to be brave on demand.

I asked why he still gave speeches if he didn't feel he'd conquered fear in his art. "I'm glad for the fear," he told me. "It keeps me from falling asleep creatively."  If he starts taking his creative expertise for granted, he loses any freshness and edge--the elements that makes his performances memorable.

Nanowrimo works because it promotes beginner's mind and heart.  It is all about embracing new things in our writing.

So this week, as my daily nano word count wraps up, I thought about what next step in my writing life would require bravery.  I thought about a new software program I've been stalled out on but longing to try. Learning new software demands time and brain power, two things I haven't had much of this fall.  But I took a step:  I called a writing buddy who loves this software and she talked me through first baby steps to try it.

Not only did I feel instant glee at my own bravery--the simple act of trying something new--but as I practiced the new software, new ideas came through for my book.

So many writers, even published writers, hold themselves back.  They stick with what they know, be it a favorite template for stories, a certain plot idea, or even similar characters, because it is safer.  They don't want to be a beginner again.  It could be quite humiliating!  Especially if The Book has become a huge haunting presence, with so much still unknown--like how to finally finish it!

One reason Nanowrimo works for so many writers is that it is all about courage and not knowing.  For an entire month, hundreds of thousands of us have been daily explorers.  It's intense, scary, and a great way to avoid writer's block and ongoing discouragement about a writing project.

What's a scary project you might embrace this week?  Or, if not embrace, just consider?  I will be neck-deep in learning my new software program, Scrivener.  It promises to let me see my book draft in a completely new way via its electronic storyboarding system, and already I'm both excited and cranky about the bravery it is demanding of me. 

Your Weekly Writing Exercise
1.  List three scary and exciting new things you could try that would take you new places in your writing.

2.  Pick one.  Take a small first step toward trying it.

3.  Post your results here!

PS  If your exploration into bravery includes getting an overview of your memoir, novel, or nonfiction book-in-progress--and trying storyboarding yourself--join me for my popular two-day workshop "How to Plan, Write, and Develop a Book."  Offered this month in two locations:  The Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis, December 2-3, or Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester, December 10-11.  I'd love to see you there!

New House - Our Bedroom

As with the living room, Miss Jessica enjoys the sun streaming into the master bedroom. Most days after work we find her in our bedroom upstairs. In fact I don't think there has been one day she has been downstairs when we've arrived home.




How fortuitous that these lovely ropes were already holding the curtains back when we moved in. They're just my style.


One of the things I liked about this place before we bought it (OK, the main thing) was the triple width wardrobe in our bedroom.


We're going to get fancy built-in wardrobe people to come around and quote for us as there's a lot of space in there and I think we can get rid of our drawers and just have a spacious hotel-like bedroom with a bed and a wardrobe.


My makeup area. The larger of the two mirrors I found on the side of the road. I love it.



The ensuite off our bedroom. This is one end.


And this is the other.

Starting a Law Firm | Thanksgiving Edition

It is officially Thanksgiving, at least in Seattle. At 12:16 a.m., we've officially entered the day of thanks. Some would say this day of thanks is a slap in the face to the indigenous people of the United States. I get that. But for me, it's a day to eat great food, mingle with my family, and, this year at least, watch some decent football.

But it also means something else. It means I don't have any court tomorrow, or Friday for that matter. It also means that right now I am waiting for my pumpkin pie to finish cooking - that's what Thanksgiving is all about right - late night cooking? And it also means that I have the time to write a ridiculously long starting a law firm post. I'm going to try to answer the questions I could find, review a book, and talk about what's going on in my firm. If you're interested in reading a ridiculously long post, you're in luck!

Mark Cuban's Book Review | How to Win

I bought this book two days ago on amazon.com. It cost me 2.99. Did I learn anything from it? No. Would I buy it again? In a second. It's the type of book I love to read from a successful businessman - it gives at least a partial glimpse into not only what it took to come up with a successful idea but what it took to turn a successful idea into a successful business. Here's a spoiler alert - it takes a ton of freaking work.

If you like to read go out and buy this book. If you don't like to read, go out and buy this book. And then read it. It's a crash course on success. It reads like this:

1. Get an idea in your head;

2. Pursue said idea with passion;

3. Work your ass off;

4. When you think you've outworked everyone, work some more;

5. Rinse and repeat.

What you'll learn from Mark Cuban is what you'll learn if you read any successful person's manifesto on success - work hard, then work harder than anyone else and you'll succeed. Don't do that and you can be mediocre. You can skate by and be comfortable. But if you want to be great, you've got to go for it every day.

Bottom line, read the book. Okay, now on to other stuff.

What Am I Up To Re Starting My Law Firm?

No one ever really asks me this, so I thought I'd ask myself. I've got a couple of things in the works right now. Here's what's going on.

First things first, I'm looking to expand a little bit. I love being a lawyer. It's great. But one person can only do so much work. Two people can do at least twice as much work. Three people three times - you get the idea. In the past couple weeks I've formed an of counsel relationship with a colleague to take care of some of the cases that I know he's good in. And I'm looking for someone to help me out with my DUI case load. Know anyone that can help? Lemme know.

Second, I'm putting together a video for my website. This isn't going to be one of those boring "if you've reached this site you've been charged with a crime. Our law firm is super boring and looks like all the rest but you should hire us" type of stuff. Hopefully it will have some production value. Hopefully it will be interesting. I've got some video people working on it and we are planning on shooting next week.

Third, and finally, I'm tweaking the website again. The current design is okay, but it's just not right. And if it's just not right, then it's wrong. I've got a new designer helping me out and I think the new look is going to be amazing. It's pretty much finalized, so it should be rolling out soon. I think it does a much better job of promoting our message than what I've got now. Hopefully potential clients feel the same way!

Revenue Goals and Projections

This is a two-fer question. The first question I got was related to this year income projections - what was I projecting. The person was asking because they were curious and because they wanted to put it into context with what I was asking for for my search engine consulting business. The second question was where I got my goal number for 2012.

For 2011, I think I'm going to be somewhere above $200K and somewhere below $250K in gross revenue. That's the best I can give you right now. I do a terrible job of keeping track of exactly what's coming in month to month. I just did my quarterly taxes and I was close to $20K a month, which puts me in the realm of where I just said.

To put that into the context of my search engine business, what I'd be paying right now would be about $1,000 a month. But, now that the question's been asked, I think that's about to go up. The reason for that is several fold. First, I'm not even close to maximizing the potential clients I'm getting to my website (that's why I'm putting on a video and revamping my website). And even with my lack of success I'm still doing better than most. Second, that number just doesn't reflect the value I'm providing. $1K per month to make $20K? Someone's getting the short end of that stick and it's me. Third, and finally, you all had the chance to get in on this early and you balked. This is an exclusive offer - when you sign up you automatically freeze out the competition. That means this service is extremely valuable.

Okay, now onto my 2012 numbers. I just looked up what I think I said, and I think I said $350K. Someone wanted to know where I got that number from, so I'm going to tell you. Last year I thought $100K was unreachable, so I made it a goal. This year I thought $250K was unreachable, so I made it a goal. For 2012, $350K seems like a lot - it make me uncomfortable - that means it's a good sign I should go for it.

Wrapping it Up

The pie is done. I'm finally tired. I've probably bored you. Happy Thanksgiving. As always, if you have questions or comments, let me know.

Saying thanks . . .

Just wanted to say thanks for writing books that share your passion with the world.  Seems appropriate on this Thanksgiving week to post this wonderful article by Derek Sivers.

Happy Thanksgiving!

New House - The Living Room

First up in my mini house-tour is the living room. Our main living area is open plan living/dining/kitchen, in the classic L shape.

Jessica loves how the sun coats her fur through the French doors.


As tempting as it is to update the whole house straight away (after all we plan to be here for quite some time), it's a more exciting prospect to pay the mortgage off quicker whilst making do, and doing things over time and within our everyday budget. That actually thrills me more.


Creativity will be called in, and the style will evolve. Things that I would have considered non-negotiable when we moved here (less than a month ago), I now can live without.

It helps to have a father-in-law who lives just down the road and is very handy and has kept every piece of timber or curtain rail he has ever come across. We even have a rimu bannister coming from one of his friends.


We have joined the 21st century with wireless internet. I made the tablecloth from a $10 curtain remnant.


I feel so content and at peace that we own our own home. It is such a fantastic feeling and I am so grateful.


The gorgeous handmade bookshelf from my Dad a few years ago. Both my father and father-in-law are retired engineers. We are doubly blessed.

Valarie

It was my Nana’s birthday yesterday. She would have been 88. Nana died a year and a half ago and I miss her so much. I can still hear her voice and it’s horrible that I can’t pick up the phone and call her. You just think people will always be around, but they won’t.

Thinking back, there were many ways Nana was a chic mentor to me, although I might not have realised it at the time.

She was a tiny thing, less than five feet tall in her later years. Nana was always a ‘normal’ weight, but in the last 5-10 years she became concerned with her weight and eked her Christmas and birthday chocolates out so she didn’t get fat. 'I’m getting a little pot you know’ she would say to me as she patted her flat stomach.

For breakfast Nana would often have a piece of toast, and a coffee with cream. I remember her lunches would be a slice of ham and some fresh salad vegetables on a small oval plate.

She lived near to town in her tidy and stylish flat, and mostly walked to buy a few groceries or to meet my Mum and Aunty for lunch. She kept her home immaculate and maintained her clutter-free status by asking for ‘consumable’ gifts if we gave her anything. Her home style was very classic and elegant, and I now proudly have her sofas in our living room.

I also have her Belle Fiore dinner-set which she started collecting as a young woman, adding on pieces as the years went by. It wasn’t cheap, and she used to buy it from a beautiful shop in town which was a jeweller but also sold fine china. I have always loved this dinner-set. It is English but looks Italian (hence the name which means ‘beautiful flowers’). She didn’t keep it for best either - it was her only set, so she used it every day.

Even though she was 86 when she died and a great-grandmother, she always seemed youthful. When I was in my late teens or early 20s I remembered buying a pair of shoes and finding out she had the same ones. How often would that happen to a young girl? I probably had mature taste for my age, or maybe we both liked the classics.

I borrowed some of her tops and skirts then too. I remember she would offer for us to have a wear or two of one of her new skirts before I shortened them for her. Since there was over half a foot difference in our height, a nice mid-calf length on her would be knee length on me. This was the late 80s/early 90s when mid-calf was THE length.

The elegant scent that always surrounded Nana my sister christened ‘Eau de Val’. Her home smelt lovely and so did she. She favoured spicy florals, and after she had gone and we were sharing out her tops and scarves, her fragrance lingered.

Nana’s hair was mostly in a silky silver bob which she would comb back and then pat up at the back and towards the crown of her head. If she came somewhere with us she would always dash into her light and airy bedroom to powder her nose and put some lipstick and perfume on. And she would always self-tan her legs in the summer so they would look nice with skirts and cropped pants.

Nana remained youthful I think by not really acknowledging her age. She always dressed appropriately and not too young, but she didn’t really identify with her peers. She just always seemed younger than the other women her age who had their hair set and wore floral frocks with a cardigan and comfortable shoes.

She would often pick up groceries for her elderly neighbours and run errands for them. When the local post office closed down she wasn’t concerned for herself, but said ‘what about the old folk, what will they do?’ We found this so cute that she didn’t think of herself as one of the old folk even though she was well into retirement age.

She was a registered nurse and until she was about 70 worked part-time at a rest home. Because she was often older than the residents, visitors would often confuse her for one of them rather than a staff member.

If you called around to Nana’s after work on a Friday, you were offered a brandy and dry ginger-ale. I could only have the one if I was driving home as she did a good pour. When I was first going out with my beloved, we went to a house party where everyone took what they were drinking. He had some beers in a cooler bag. I felt like a brandy so I took my bottle along, with a bottle of dry ginger-ale. The hostess, quite a hard-case beer-drinking girl herself screeched ‘Brandy! That’s an old lady’s drink!’ To me it was a normal tipple choice.

Nana was just plain good fun. There aren’t many grandmothers you would look forward to going and staying the night with, or call around for an after-work drink as a young adult. One day it was my sister and I and she, with a brandy each flipping through Hello magazines. ‘Bloody Rome!’ she exclaimed, as we pored over beautiful photos of the Italian city.

Happy Birthday dear Nana. We miss you.

PS. I chose this image of a Daphne flower, as Nana would often have a sprig of Daphne in a dainty vase on her dining table in the winter, casting its divine perfume. Now that we have our own house, the first thing I am going to plant is a Daphne bush.

Starting a Law Firm | Marketing a Law Firm

I know I've talked about marketing a law firm many many times, but I just think it's something you can't talk about enough. I met with a guy yesterday who's just opened his practice up here in Seattle, and as I was talking with him I heard over and over what I'm sure many of you are saying when you have conversations with yourself.

Me: What are you doing for marketing?

Him: Not much. I've finally got a couple of paying cases so I'm just trying to work those up.

Me: (Sigh) You've got to come up with a plan to start getting clients. (I tell him what I do).

Him: Yeah, but I hate doing that stuff. It's not fun.

Me: I know it's not fun. But you know what is fun? Having clients to help is fun. Counting money is fun. You don't get to have fun without doing stuff that isn't fun.

Him: I guess...

I'm sorry if this isn't all roses and lollipops for you, but nothing ever is. You've got to be good at something, right? Some sport, some craft, something. Did you just start off good at it? No. And if you say you did you're lying to yourself - ask someone that saw you when you first started out and I bet they'll tell you you sucked.

One thing I'm good at is sports. I'd say I'm pretty good at basketball and okay at golf. But you know what? When I first started out I sucked at both. I had to practice for hundreds of hours at both before I was even mildly good. Think of this marketing work as your practice for being good at starting a law firm.

That's all I've got today for the come to Jesus hard knocks motivational speech. Now let's talk about marketing from a practical perspective.

Before You Start Your Law Firm Draft a Marketing Plan

If you don't do one other thing before you start your law firm draft a marketing plan. You can do it in an hour easily. Here's what you do:

1. Make a list of all the qualities your ideal client has;

2. Think of all the places that person hangs out;

3. Think of all the people that person talks to when they have the problem you can help them with;

4. Make a plan to create a presence in those places your ideal clients go and to create a relationship with the people they talk to;

5. Create a website - and make it not only functional but visually appealing;

6. Start letting people know what you do.

Easy, right? Fun? Not all of it, particularly if you're the "I want to practice law" type of personality. At some point in the day you're going to have to take off your lawyer hat and put on your business hat. It's just a fact.

Some New Marketing Things I'm Doing

Since we're talking about marketing I thought I'd tell you about some stuff that I'm doing to execute my marketing plan.

First, I'm adding an intro video to my website. No, it's not going to be your old stuffy traditional video (think something like this - without the long intro that makes you want to click away before you even hear what the guy has to say). I'm thinking something that's more along the lines of something like this (though obviously made for what I do - and this video is a breakdown of the video I'm talking about - watch the whole thing, you'll learn something, guaranteed). Do you see the difference in the way the videos make you feel? In this business, no matter what type of law you practice, the key to success is showing people not only that you're good at what you do but why they should choose you (and pay you more) than the hundred other attorneys out there doing the same thing.

Second, I'm revamping the website. The look is okay, and it's been working, but it isn't exactly what I want. I think it can be better. So I'm going to make it better. It isn't so much about changing the content (though some of that will be changed) but changing the feeling of the site. Right now it just feels a little too passive. I want people to feel like when they hire us they are getting a champion for their cause.

Third, and finally, I'm doing more to reach out to people physically. I'm sure I've talked about my bar owners plan on here several times, so hopefully you remember what that is. But I'm going to actually pursue that with the vigor that I have my online efforts.

The End of the Year is Near

It's already November. That means several things. First, the holidays are coming up, which is always fun. Second, and most importantly, it's time to start wrapping this business year up and start thinking about next year. It goal making time! I've been making some notes for possible goals for me next year, and you should be doing some of the same. Here are mine (these are both personal and professional - in my mind they are one and the same).

1. $350,000 gross revenue;

2. Get a new car;

3. Pay down current car by at least $10,000;

4. 5 clients in SEO work;

5. 4 trials;

6. Baby;

7. Hire an associate.

These goals are not finalized yet, but should give you an idea of what I'm thinking about. In all honesty, I think the goals aren't ambitious enough. But we'll see what the final ones look like.

Questions, comments? I'd love to hear them.

Building a Questions List to Keep Writing Fresh

This month I've taken on an insane project--which I try to do each November.  I've signed up for National Novel Writers Month, or nanowrimo as it's affectionately called by those who know and love it.  Each year, hundreds of thousands of writers from around the world log on to the www.nanowrimo.org site and commit to writing 50,000 words in 30 days.  That's about 1667 words a day, give or take a few.

Nanowrimo boasts
that many note-worthy books have gotten their start during November insanity, Sara Gruen's Water for Elephants perhaps being the most famous.

I use nanowrimo for revision each year.  This year, my sequel to Qualities of Light is my nano focus.  Before November 1, I started a list of questions to fuel my daily writing.  These questions would help fill holes in the draft I am working on  for this new novel.

Whether you're involved with nanowrimo this year or not, the questions list is an excellent tool to get you going each day, or each writing session, with fresh material.

The Power of Unanswered Questions
As someone who loves it when the ducks are lined up, as an editor with many years answering whatever was unsolved in a writer's manuscript, I used to dread questions in my own work.  They were problems I hadn't yet solved, dilemmas yet unresolved.  They drove me nuts. I worked hard to stay ahead of any potential questions,  applying solutions to every problem that might come up.

Staying on top of all the problems of plot, character, method, and pacing felt like I was really in control of my manuscripts.  When unexpected questions came up, I got answers as fast as I could.  They may not have been the best, or deepest answer, but they kept the fear of the unknown and out-of-control at bay.

But the more books I wrote and published, the more I learned that books are large, unweildy events, worse than organizing a family wedding. Hard to predict what will happen. Hard to plan entirely. Full of unresolved problems and big questions that may not get solved until the final draft.

My first books were nightmares, partly because of my need to solve every problem right away. Luckily, back in the olden days when I began publishing, I worked with patient editors who helped me with my unanswered questions.  When the editors left, I was on my own with the questions.  I had to begin loving them or learning to work with them.

Love the Questions Themselves
Rainier Maria Rilke, the German writer responsible for the beautiful volume Letters To A Young Poet, said, "Have patience with everything that remains unresolved in your heart. Try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books written in a foreign language. Do not now look for the answers. They cannot now be given to you because you could not live them."

Rilke's point was that hanging around with questions leads to the best answers. You need time to live your way to the answers. There's real gold in the questions themselves because they open up the creative self.

So I began to train myself to be OK with things I didn't know yet about my manuscript.  It wasn't easy.  It made me tense and anxious at first, but then I saw how often the truer, better answer came if I let things sit a bit.  So I started loving the unanswered question in my work.

I began working with the questions list.

Now I ask my book-writing classes, especially those in revision, to create a list of questions about their books-in-progress. Add to the list, one question daily, and let yourself muse and wonder about what the answer could possibly be. Once I became patient enough to try this myself, I saw great improvement in my writing. It was as if a creative faucet got turned on.

I wasn't just working my problems to find solutions; I was creating something new. My random, creative, wondering and wandering writer inside was excited.

Does Unanswered Equal More Creative?
Why are unanswered questions so helpful for book writers? Why do we need NOT to know everything before we begin our writing process?

Theme, subtext, and inner story all emerge from the random, creative side, not the linear left brain of the writer. You can't get good theme by going after it directly. It bubbles up. It surprises you. A writing mentor once told me: "If it doesn't surprise you, it won't surprise the reader." You'll have a too-predictable plan, leading to an unoriginal and uninspired book.

This week, make a list of unanswered questions. Things that are worrying you about your outline or theory, plot or characters, theme or beginning or ending. Let the list simmer. Let the questions become part of your breathing and living each day. When you get the bubbling up of a possible creative idea that addresses your question, listen and take notes.

Your muse is talking.

PS This exercise isn't just limited to writing. I've used it to create answers to tangles with family and friends, health issues, everything under the sun. It's fun, creative, and it works.

Living a Small Life

The more time I spend on this earth, the more I realise I can please myself and be myself. I don’t need to pretend to want great things and I don’t need to fret that I’ve never had or probably never will have a high-powered career.

I’ve come to realise that’s not what I’m about. I enjoy a quiet and simple life. Ever since I left school I’ve always worked at ‘normal’ office jobs. I didn’t attend University because I didn’t really know what I wanted to study, and I didn’t want to go just for the sake of it. So I started my first full-time job at 18 (although I had already been working part-time after school and in school holidays since I was 14) and have been working ever since.

My husband and I now own a small retail business which we started almost seven years ago. We have decided for now we are content with one shop and a simple online presence. We’ve talked about it and agreed that opening a second or subsequent shops wouldn’t necessarily make us any happier.

It’s all about balance. By running one shop between us we have the flexibility during the day to do things such as run errands, go to the gym or yoga, take a walk, or just disappear for a while if we want to.

In terms of a social life, I’ve had my times of going out a lot especially when single. But even then I loved nothing more than to be at home with the fire lit, knitting or reading. I knew I had to go out to meet someone though for they don’t come knocking at your door, so I did what I had to (and actually met the perfect man for me, now my husband, in a bar).

It’s not just about what I do for a job, or socialising though, it’s everything in my life. I happily share one very ordinary car and enjoy creative and frugal pursuits at home. Expensive hobbies scare me.

Even though I enjoy the dream of living in or travelling to Paris or New York City, I love living in New Zealand and can’t see myself living anywhere else. And for travel, I know it will come, I’m happy to forego it now, in this phase of my life where we are running a business.

If it sounds like I’m putting off happiness, I’m not. Every day I feel grateful and satisfied and thankful that I am where I am. I enjoy small luxuries frequently and make my own happiness. I collect simple pleasures such as going to bed early.

My Mum always said ‘bored people are boring’ when we complained of having nothing to do. I guess I took that to heart as now there aren’t enough hours in the day for all the things I love to do – reading, writing, sewing, knitting, cooking, pottering, movie-watching – as well as living my everyday life in a thoughtful and stylish manner.

I no longer feel I have to apologise for not being a faster and more driven person. I am content to live my own life, at my own pace.

That's the greatest luxury of all I think: living a life custom-designed for me.

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Crafting an Agent-Catching Chapter One

I was given the news by the editor at my publishing company.  It was a shock, even in these shocking times in publishing.  "We only read the first two pages of chapter one," she said.  "If it doesn't grab me, it doesn't get further."

What intense pressure for writers these days!  To craft a chapter one that
sings loudly and uniquely enough to catch an editor's (or an agent's) eye.  To keep them reading past the first two pages.  To make them fall in love with your story, be it nonfiction, fiction, or memoir.

Chapter one is perhaps the hardest chapter to write. It has to establish three essential elements that pull the reader into your story. These elements are key to successfully placing your manuscript with an agent. If you don't have them securely in place, you won't get a contract. They exist in any genre of book, if you know how to find them.

Dilemma is the conflict, the question, the quest.

Players are characters, or the narrator, or anyone on stage, whom should we care about.

Container is where everything happens, both outwardly as setting and inwardly as emotional or cultural environment.

These elements create a kind of tension cord. It pulls the reader through your book to the last page. If they are not all in place, the cord is slack and your manuscript doesn't make it past the round file.

Be Aware of Your Natural Strength

Every writer gravitates toward one of these three elements.  It is her or his natural, almost unconscious, strength. I've worked with many mystery writers, for example,  who dream up plots--dilemma--without any effort. One writer I worked with came to class each week with a new plot twist that had the rest of us envious.  She would enter her story from the question What happens? And that question always led toward new ideas.  

Another writer might dream of characters.  A psychologist in one of my weekly groups loved to analyze how people ticked (no surprise, given his profession) and was adept at writing them on the page.  

Then there's the writer who loves setting.  Who goes deep into the details of a culture, defining the marketplace or the mountain range or the English garden without any effort.  We salivate at her descriptions of weather and sounds and smells and the lattice work on a wall, details that bring the environment of her story alive.

So we first need to recognize what we do best, and keep doing that.  And at the same time, bring the other two elements into our awareness too.

Otherwise, the mystery writer might have a fantastic plot that comes across completely ungrounded:  she has  overlooked the place it happens, and the characters who are complicating things and getting deeper into trouble. So her story is interesting but the agent or editor might say, "Your prose needs tightening." Read: "Two elements are missing here; plug them in." Or, most important: "Make us care!"

A medical memoirist might also think of dilemma first--the accident that left him in a wheelchair, for instance. Event is what matters most to him, but the reader engages through first caring about his dilemma--or character. So the memoirist must begin to reveal himself on the page, more and more. Not always comfortable, but essential.

The psychologist writing a book on mental illness might think first of players--the people she counsels at the clinic or hospital, their personalities. She presents their background, their case histories (disguised or with permission), but she can't figure out how to place them in a setting that's believable. She begins to write the setting--a hospital--and suddenly we see the frailty of these people because we smell the antiseptic or hear the intercom paging doctors.

Your job is to think of all three, no matter which strength you build from. And they all must appear in chapter one.

How Does Chapter One Reveal Dilemma, Players, and Container?

In my weekly classes, we use published books as examples of how to craft chapter one.  One of the favorites is the opening chapter--only three pages long--of Judy Blundell's What I Saw and How I Lied. Blundell won the National Book Award for this novel. Her first chapter made me want to buy the book, and I'm not surprised that both an agent and editor felt the same way. 

Because that first chapter covers all three elements beautifully.

The chapter opens with the main players, in their unique "container"--a mother still dressed from her evening out, as daybreak slides into a room.  The mother, who smells of cigarette smoke and My Sin perfume,is lying in bed next to the young daughter who pretends to be sleeping beside her.  There's huge tension between them, even though nothing is said.  On the next page, the dilemma is heightened:  a man, Peter, has died tragically, the father who left, the mysterious friend. We learn of the dilemma--a small reference to the beach town and his body pulled in from the sea by fishermen.  We don't know how it happened, but there's enough hint to present the mystery this book will solve.  We also learn (still in the first two pages) how everyone at this Florida resort hotel knows the family's faces because they've been in the news recently. 

So players and dilemma are solidly presented.  How is the container in these two pages?  Expert.  Blundell creates an amazingly engaging container, both physically and emotionally, with lines like "The match snapped, then sizzled, and I woke up fast" or "I heard the seagulls crying, sadder than a funeral, and I knew it was almost morning." 

Studying the first two pages of your favorite published book might teach you how writers manage this.  Blundell's book is usually a revelation to its readers, compact and elegant and effective.  It grabs you immediately.  

That's what you want your first chapter to do, as well.

This Week's Writing Exercise

Want to join my writing class--at least virtually--this week? Try focusing on chapter one in one of your favorite published books. Pick one that's been published within the last 5 years, a book in your book's genre, one you admire a lot.

Photocopy the first two pages and see if you can find the three elements:  dilemma, players, container.

Then, once you've seen how it works, try it with your own first chapter.  Can you draft it--or look it over if it's already written--and check it for these three elements? What's missing? What's already present?

To read more about Judy Blundell's book, click .http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6624886.html

Steve Jobs' Biography and Starting a Law Firm | SEO Spot Available | Overcoming Fear

As you can tell by the title of this post, this might turn out to be a long one. I've decided to go from two posts per week down to one, so the one per week could turn out to be longer than usual, if I have something to write about (which I do this week). If you don't like it, too bad. Just read the post slower to stretch it out over a week.

I'll give you a brief overview of what I'm going to write about in case you want to skip something or jump around. First, I just finished reading Steve Jobs' biography and I'm going to tell you what I thought about it and what lessons, if any, I plan on trying to take with me moving forward. Second, a spot has opened up for SEO services if anyone wants them. One of the people I was helping, though they'd just gotten on the first page of the search results for their term, decided they didn't have the funds to move forward. Bad for them, good for you. And finally, I'm going to talk about overcoming fear and getting out of the loop that we all find ourselves in from time to time. Here we go!

Starting a Law Firm and Steve Jobs | What You Can Learn

First things first, I'm not going to keep you in suspense - I thought the book was fantastic. As I'm sure you know this book is a full run through of Jobs' life, from start to finish, with everything in between. Although I don't know Steve Jobs, I believe the book is a good recitation of his life, and did a good job capturing who he was as a person and as a businessman. The author was instructed to include all the good and the bad that make Steve Jobs who he is, and that comes through. And included in that life story are a bunch of great lessons we can use to help our business moving forward.

This Book Shows You the Hard Work that Success Requires

One thing I love about this book is its refusal to gloss over the early years, the hard work, the late nights, and the sacrifice that are required to have a successful business. Too often authors decide to glamorize a company as some instant success, some sure thing, when in reality it's anything but that. Okay, now on to some things I thought were cool and interesting.

Differentiate Yourself with User Experience

As you begin to work on your practice and think about ways to get clients (you will spend a lot of time thinking of ways to get clients when you are starting your law firm and when you are growing your law firm) you'll soon come to realize that if you could just show other people what makes you so special then you'd be half of the way there.

One way to do that is to create the best experience out there for your clients from start to finish. And the best thing about this is that it's possible - you can control their experience from the moment they find you or are referred to you for the rest of their interaction with you. It just takes some thought, some planning, some attention to detail, and a commitment to stick to it. If you want, you can create an experience that makes it nearly impossible for a potential client to say no to your services.

Great Expectations Get Great Results

Throughout the book many different people talk about Jobs's "reality distortion field," or his ability to will project to succeed in ways people didn't think were possible. The way he would do it is, for the most part, tell the people working with him that the way he wanted it was the way it had to be, so if it was impossible right now, find a way to make it possible - and most of the time they did.

That lesson carries over to the practice of law in several ways, but for purposes of this blog it's the idea that it's okay to expect success - see the the outcome you want and then go work at it until you make it happen. If you give up before you even try you've already failed.

If You're Standing Still You're Moving Backward

Toward the end of the book Jobs mentions a couple of times reading a book called "The Innovator's Dilemma" which discusses successful company's tendency to languish in their success and miss what should be an obvious shift in the dynamics of their business (see Borders and Blockbuster for concrete examples). He never wanted that to happen to Apple so he was constantly looking for ways to innovate, to stay ahead of the curve. Those lessons can be applied to law firms as well.

No, I know we're not working against the newest technology, trying to find the next big thing, but there are changes to society, to the way we live, to the way we think, to the way we consume information, and to the way we look for lawyers that are dramatically different than they were ten years ago. If you aren't constantly looking around and adjusting your business plan to take advantage of these changes and adapt to these changes, you're going to find yourself at the back of the pack.

It's Important to have "A" Players on Your Team

On of Jobs's core beliefs was that "A" players get you "A" results and everybody else gets you crap. In Jobs's eyes, if you weren't an "A" player, you might as well be an "F" player. He got rid of several people because he just didn't think they were up for the job.

This lesson is maybe the most important lesson of all. The people who work for you, the people you work with, if they aren't the best, they're bringing your work product down. And, likewise, if you aren't bringing your best, you might as well be giving nothing.

Go read the book. You won't be disappointed.

SEO Spot Available

If you remember a while back I let all of you know that I was going to start doing some SEO work for law firms and lawyers that needed or wanted my help. I've had some great success with my own law firm and I wanted to pass the opportunity to get the exposure to potential clients that comes with organic search results on to other people.

I decided to take on two clients, because that's all I had time for. And I did. That was a few months ago. Today, one of them decided they couldn't afford my help anymore. This person, by the way, was already on the first page of Google for his desired keywords (it had been about 10 weeks, which is pretty darn fast). I don't think he had all of his ducks in a row and needed to take care of some other, more basic things first.

His loss is your gain. If you are interested, please email me and we'll chat. I will tell you though, the right person for this has at least one thing in place - a website. It doesn't have to be the best website, but it needs to be up, it needs to be functional, and you need to be willing to make a few minor tweaks to really make it pop. As I said, it can take a couple of months to take effect (and depending on the keywords it can take a little bit longer than that), but once you're up on the top of Google you've got priceless real estate, and that's going to be reflected in your bank account.

Email me if you're interested. If I don't hear any responses I'll ask some other colleagues I know that would be interested in the service.

UPDATE: Spot is filled. Thinking about expanding to add a couple more people - this service is just too important if you're starting out. I'll keep you posted

Starting a Law Firm and Overcoming Fear

If you read this blog at all then you know by now, two and half years into this gig, I consider myself to have moved out of the starting phase of law firm growth and into the growing stage of law firm growth. What that means for me is that if I wanted to tread water, if I wanted to just stand still, I probably could for a while, and I probably have been for a few months. Once you get to that point you have to start doing new things, start branching out, start spreading your wings - but that's scary.

Now, I'm not talking about going into a new practice area or anything like that. I'm a DUI lawyer, and that's what I'm always going to be. What I'm talking about is taking advantage of the marketing systems I already have set up and building additional layers on that to open up my services to more clients. These new layers, though, they're not just new, they're unfamiliar. They're scary.

But you've got to overcome that. That's the fun part of this entire experience - doing things that you probably never thought you'd do. And I'm doing that in three ways:

1. Recognize that the fear isn't rational, that it's made up in my mind.

2. Know that the worst that can happen is you fail - then you just go try it again.

3. Set up real deadlines with real consequences just in case you have a harder time with number 1 and number 2 than you anticipate.

So that's what I did. I had a meeting with my business coach today and we set a hard date to do a couple of things I know I should be doing. And if I don't make that date I'm going to take a $100 bill and burn it up.

The way I see it, I'm letting a lot more money leave my office every month than $100. That's a small price to pay, if necessary, to motivate me to do what I need to do to make my law firm better.

What should you be doing that you're afraid of? Get over it and get started.