The Motivational Editor

Helping Writers Go from Unpublished to Published

Understanding Omniscient Point of View

by

Omniscient point of view, the god-like view where the narrator knows all/sees all, has plagued me for a long time. I just couldn’t quite grasp how to write it.

Omniscient was the POV of nineteenth-century books. Later, as third-person limited came on the scene, omni-POV fell out of favor with publishers. I hear that it is recently making a comeback.

But there is an element of omni-POV that is essential and that many beginning writers often miss. So, let’s dive in and take a look at what omniscient point of view truly is.

[Read more…] about Understanding Omniscient Point of View

What Are You Telling Yourself About Yourself?

by

The Bible says in Proverbs 18:21, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” The words we speak have power to create life or death in our lives or the lives of others. If you doubt that, remember how God created all that He created: He spoke it.

Now combine that with “faith comes by hearing” (Romans 10:17), and you gain a better understanding of how affirmations work and why what we say to ourselves is so important.

[Read more…] about What Are You Telling Yourself About Yourself?

How to Outline a Novel

by

mind map of book outlining

Outlining a novel is quite different from nonfiction. And maybe you’ve heard the terms plotter and pantser. A plotter is one who outlines. A pantser is someone who writes by the seat of their pants—without an outline. I think most writers (fiction and nonfiction) tend to do a bit of both. I fall into that category.

Like most things, there’s more than one way to outline your book. It’s all about personal choice and writing style. Some writers, after outlining their novel, have the book nearly written. I can assure you, I’m not one of those people!

[Read more…] about How to Outline a Novel

How to Outline a Nonfiction Book

by

Scrivener cork board outline

When I hear the word outline, I’m back in grade school laboring through
I.
A.
B.
II.
III.

Is that what comes to mind for you when someone starts talking outlines.

But that’s not what you need to do!

Merriam-Webster’s Unabridged Online Dictionary gives these definitions of outline: “the principal features or general principles of a subject of discussion; a summary giving the essential content of a written work.”

So when I say, outline your book, I simply mean jot down the main content you plan to cover. Bullet points will do.

The concept behind outlining is to help you take command of your topic and organize the information in a manner suited to your audience. Otherwise you might end up with a book that includes everything but the Mad Hatter’s top hat.

Let’s take a closer look.

[Read more…] about How to Outline a Nonfiction Book

Dealing with Overwhelm: Start with the Next Tiny Step

by

Overwhelm can be paralyzing. And as I mentioned in my post “Don’t Be Afraid to Make Mistakes,” fear can be an underlying factor to that overwhelm.

Today I’d like to talk about a method that has helped me move through my fear and get things done. It’s called the Next Tiny Step (NTS) and was developed by New Zealander Richard Ralston.

What is Next Tiny Step?

Here’s how Richard describes it:

[Read more…] about Dealing with Overwhelm: Start with the Next Tiny Step

Don’t be afraid to make a mistake.

by

Overwhelm is a frequent topic of discussion among writers, as evidenced by last month’s blog post, “Are you feeling overwhelmed with publishing your book?”

Family and job responsibilities can contribute to it. A lot of things have to be done, and we look at it and think, “This is impossible.”

But that simply forces us to look at the problem rather than empowering us to open ourselves to the solution.

The fear of making a mistake can feel like stepping off a cliff.
[Read more…] about Don’t be afraid to make a mistake.

Are you feeling overwhelmed with publishing your book?

by

Dealing with overwhelm

Publishing a book can pile on the overwhelm. Let’s face it, there are a lot of things to be done besides writing the book.

Actually any project can seem overwhelming when we consider all that must be done and think we need to do it all at the same time.

A good method to deal with overwhelm is to break your project into smaller pieces. A supervisor I once had taught me this. She called it the swiss cheese method—poking little holes in the project one at a time.

[Read more…] about Are you feeling overwhelmed with publishing your book?

Morning Pages – Creative Dribble or Creative Genius

by

The Artist's Way and doing morning pages

I recently started the practice of writing morning pages every day before I begin my work hours. I asked myself a time or two whether they were a useful tool or a waste of time.

You’re probably asking, “What are morning pages?”

They’re a tool created by author Julia Cameron. She discusses them in her bestselling book The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity. The book is a 12-week course in creative recovery. She says morning pages are:

[Read more…] about Morning Pages – Creative Dribble or Creative Genius