Basics » Wally Bock's Zero Draft

Finding time to write

Dec 132011

Professional writers write every day. It’s what we do. But if you’re a business person who wants to write (or work with a ghostwriter on) a book or if you want to write blog posts, you have to find time to write. You’re have to change some things, make some choices, and exercise some discipline

Forget “finding” time to write

You won’t “find” time to write, so you can forget that idea. You have to identify some time in your day and designate as “Sacred Writing Time.” There are two ways to do that.

Add some writing time to your day

The most common ways that non-writers or writers with a day job make time to write are to get up early and write or stay up late and write. If you’re going to do that, pick the time that’s when you’re at your best. If you’re a lark, pick the morning. If you’re a night owl, stay up late.

Replace something you do now with writing time

If you can’t add work time to your day, you have to write during a time when you’re now doing something else. One of my clients writes during his lunch break. Another convinced her spouse to walk the dog in the early evening, so she could write.

Regularity builds the writing habit

You don’t have to set aside time every day to write, but you should write regularly. Clients have chosen to write every other day, to write on the weekends, and to write on Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning. Carve out time that works for you, but keep your commitment to yourself and the project.

Build your willpower muscle

Heidi Grant Halvorson writes in “Nine Things Successful People Do Differently” about “success strategies” that anyone can use. They’ll work for writing a book or any other project you choose to tackle. I think the most useful strategy is “Build your willpower muscle.”

Writing a book or writing regular blog posts will require you to change your habits. But you won’t “find” time to do it. You have to make some choices and exercise some discipline.

Don’t Rush to Publish

Basics 2 Responses »

Dec 052011

In the 1970′s, the Paul Masson winery launched a series of memorable commercials in which the memorable Orson Welles intoned this memorable tag line: “We will sell no wine before its time.”

That’s good advice, because if wine hasn’t matured, it tastes vile. It’s also good advice for anyone who writes. Prose that’s published before its time can be pretty vile, too.

One reason people publish before the work is ready is to keep to their own self-imposed deadline. They’ve decided that they should post to their blog every day or they want to publish a book before the next birthday with a zero in it.

If you set the deadline, you can change the deadline. Of course, if you are constantly missing the deadlines you set, you have a problem, but it’s a different problem.

Another reason that people publish before the work is ready is that they’ve agreed to a deadline that they can’t keep. Sometimes they do that because of pressure from a client or publisher. Sometimes they do that because they overestimate how quickly they can complete the project.

In the beginning of my career, that was me, big time. I always worked out the time a project would take, but then I didn’t allow for surprises or for other work. Crisis followed.

Here’s why you need to give your writing time.

The idea needs to ripen.
Revision takes time.
Editing takes time.

Not much good finished writing happens without ripe ideas, revisions, and editing. So, keep intoning to yourself in your best Orson Welles voice: “I will publish no prose before its time.”

Lessons from the Masters: Demosthenes

Basics 1 Response »

Nov 152011

Cicero called Demosthenes “the perfect orator.” Even though he lived in the 4th Century BC and was an orator, not a writer, you can learn some important lessons from Demosthenes.

Demosthenes overcame a speech impediment and a weak voice. He took a disciplined approach to improving his speaking. You can do the same for your writing.

Your writing will get better if you work at it. Pick specific things to work on. Critique your work. Change what needs changing.

Demosthenes refused to speak on subjects he did not know well. Stick with what you know. In the world of the world wide web you could be making a mistake in front of millions.

Demosthenes refused to speak without preparation. Don’t write without preparation and process. Research, write, and revise before you publish.

Bottom Line

As my friend Michael LeBeouf says, “The greatest truths are too important to be new.”

Develop Your Writing Process

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Nov 112011

Alabama coach Nick Saban says that “Process creates performance.” Its true for football and it’s true for writing.

Whether you’re writing a book or blog posts or a newsletter, you’ll do better work more easily if you have a process that works and that you use every time. Here’s how it works for me for blog writing over at Three Star Leadership.

I capture ideas every day, usually on a small digital voice recorder. I put them in a file and review them regularly.

On Sunday, I block out my blog posts for the week. I check my idea file and the calendar. I have some similar posts that I do on the same day every week, such as my “Leadership Reading to Start Your Week.”

I try to complete the basic outline of each post the night before. Sometimes a news event causes me to change my plans. For example, the Penn State scandal prompted me to write a post, “Moral Fog,” that I hadn’t planned.

Over the years I’ve written books, blog posts, newsletters, and even a radio column. In each case it took a little while to settle on the process for an assignment. After that having a good process and following it made my life easier and my writing better.

Bottom Line

No matter what kind of writing you do, you’ll do better if you develop a process that works and use it every time.

Idea Development Made Simple

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Nov 102011

Developing an idea into a piece of writing is a challenge. It helps to understand the way the process works.

Trust your brain. The human brain is nature’s connection-making engine.

Take it easy. You’re more creative when you’re relaxed. Don’t believe that “I do my best work under deadline” stuff. The people who say that generally do their only work under deadline. Deadlines may force you to make choices, but they won’t help you be more creative.

You will have ideas, the trick is capturing them. Robert Tucker said, “Everyone who has taken a shower has had a good idea.” You’ll get your best ideas when you’re doing something that’s mostly on autopilot, leaving your mind to roam free. Dishwashing, walking, exercising, driving, and taking a shower are good examples.

If you don’t capture your ideas, they will slide away like butterflies on the wind. Use index cards, pocket notebooks, digital recorders, your smartphone or anything else that works to capture your ideas when you get them.

Review those ideas. Look over your ideas. Your trusty brain will make connections between some of them and between your ideas and other things you know.

Play with the ideas that interest you. Try putting different ideas together. Look for more information and see where it leads you. Good writing is made from the clay of ideas. When the clay takes shape, it’s time for the final step.

Polish your ideas into finished work. Write and re-write and edit.

What’s the “zero draft?”

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Oct 242011

I met Peter Drucker more than thirty years ago. I only met him that one time, but I picked up ideas and concepts and questions that I’m still using. One of them is the zero draft.

The zero draft is what you write before the first draft. It’s the best way I know to discover how well you understand your ideas and what you need to learn so that your book, blog post, or copy will be as effective as possible. I’ve written zero drafts for every writing project since that evening, three decades ago.

I named this blog “Zero Draft” because I want it to be a place where you find out things that you don’t know. If you’re a business person who wants to write better blog posts or marketing copy or a book to boost your career, this blog’s for you.

I’m going to bring everything I’ve learned in a career of writing and from my work as a ghostwriter and book writing coach. You bring your curiosity and your questions. Many of those questions will be answered on basic information pages that are listed to your left.

If you want to explore whether I can help you, the Contact Form is just a click away. You can also use it to suggest things for me to write about here.

What You Will Find Here

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Oct 232011

Do you want a book with your name on it that will boost your career?
Would you like to write better business blog posts?
Do you want to be sure that the copy on your web site is doing everything possible to contribute to business success?

If you’re a businessperson who answered “yes” to any one of those questions, you’ll find answers, ideas, and support on this site. Here are some of the topics I cover.

Writing a Book

A book with your name on it is a great career builder. But writing isn’t your main business so you need to know the options that are available. Return here to learn about how a coach can help you through the process so you create a better book and how ghostwriting works. I’ll include information on why writing a book is probably different from any writing you’ve ever done and on what it takes to create the best possible book.

Publishing a Book

Every day there are more and more publishing options available. For physical books you can use Print-on-Demand (POD) publishers or short-run publishers, who offer a confusing array of services and a stunning range of fees. Of course, you can always go the traditional publisher route, but then you’ll use a different process. We’ll discuss the pros and cons of it all.

I won’t forget the electronic options, either, from Kindle versions to PDFs. I’ll cover how they fit into the book publishing process and when they make sense as stand-alone products.

Profiting from a Book

The sad fact is that hardly anyone who writes a book makes serious money from book sales. But, and it’s a big but, a book can be the credential that pries open the door to higher consulting and speaking fees. It can be a powerful marketing tool for your business. And it can be the centerpiece of a product system that pours money onto your bottom line.

Writing Better Business Blogs

Most business blogs fail in two ways. They fail as blogs because the writing is simply bad and readers leave, never to return. And many also fail as business tools because they don’t help build your business.

Writing Better Web Pages

Your web site is the face you present to the outside world. Quality web copy helps you tell your story and inspire people to contact you. But great web page copy does more than that. It’s both human-friendly and search engine friendly.

If you want to know more, check back here to see how the site grows and develops. Sign up for the RSS feed so you won’t miss a post. I look forward to helping you learn to create or acquire the writing that will build your business.

Suffusion theme by Sayontan Sinha

Wally Bock's Zero Draft

Finding time to write

Don’t Rush to Publish

Lessons from the Masters: Demosthenes

Develop Your Writing Process

Idea Development Made Simple

What’s the “zero draft?”

What You Will Find Here

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