How Do You Eat an Elephant (Write a Book)? One Bite at a Time.

Photo by Nam Anh on Unsplash

"Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.” – Picasso  

By the way, I would never eat an elephant, in fact, I love elephants, but this saying is so true when it comes to writing a book. I’m a certified book coach who specializes in nonfiction and recently I’ve also returned to writing fiction, specifically, a mystery.  

I felt good, purposeful and on track when I was writing every day. Then, the new year  started and amidst the noise, I missed writing for almost a week. When I reentered the story, I felt a bit lost. I said to myself, “Now what was I trying to do here? How does this connect? Is this consistent with what came before?”  

When it comes to writing any book whether it’s nonfiction, mystery, thriller, romance, memoir or something else, it’s difficult to keep the thread going without daily attention. I had to go back and reread everything that led up to that point. I had to reenter the mystery story I had been creating.

Creativity is a Living Thing

In many ways writing a fiction or a nonfiction book - creating something new out of nothing  - makes it a living thing. It’s like a plant that needs to watered, fertilized, and exposed to sunlight.

James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits, advocates this consistent, daily attention. In True and False Magic, Phil Stutz writes about the Plane of Will and how returning to a writing practice every day (if you can) puts you in a place where magic can happen. An added bonus? The worst finished draft of something, he says, is better than not writing at all. As Picasso said, “Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working."

Stay Open to Magic

I’ve felt that inspiration many times when writing fiction and nonfiction. Serendipitous things happen, resources appear, answers come. Often experts advise writing every day, as a practice, to get the book done etc. I’d advocate writing every day to stay open to the unexpected, to stay open to magic.  

Now, does it help to have a plan to keep the mojo going, to eat that elephant one bite at a time? Yes, almost always, especially if you’re a new to writing.  I advocate establishing a strong foundation when it comes to writing a nonfiction book – defining your idea, ideal reader, method or plan and structure or Table of Contents but I admit that when I write fiction, I don’t always use an outline.

Keep in mind that I’ve already written and published four natural remedies mysteries with Gallery/Pocket. Yes, even when it comes to fiction as well as my nonfiction, I gravitate to natural health and wellness!

Often, I don’t outline because when I’m writing a mystery, I don’t want to know what is going to happen. I want the characters to come alive and speak to me and tell me where they want to go. I also don’t want to know the ending, I want to be surprised, just as my reader will be. In fact, I’m writing to discover that surprise.

One day, I was working on my new mystery and I had an Aha! moment. I realized that one character, a cop was, in fact, the villain. He had “dun it.” As I looked at the page, this realization felt like an electric shock. The character had become alive. I didn’t plan it that way it just happened. Nothing is more exhilarating for me than this when I’m writing a novel.    

Now, if I hadn’t been writing regularly, if I hadn’t been in the Plane of Will that Stutz described I would not have kept my book alive – watering it, fertilizing it, giving it the sun of my attention - which generated the aliveness of this character. In fact, I might not ever had written it at all. The book, that chapter would have been in my Someday, I’ll Do it folder.

Meeting Creativity with Devotion

Being creative and adopting a practice where you work on something that matters to you and meeting it regularly with devotion is a powerful process. This is true whether you’re writing fiction, working on the foundation for your nonfiction book or your book proposal or writing or revising pages. Attention and devotion to what matters, returning to the Plane of Will makes creative life (and often life itself) feel more consistent, productive, inspired and meaningful. I highly recommend it.

Ready to enter the Plane of Will and write your natural health self-help book? Get in touch and get started:

📅 Email me: info@thenaturalhealthbookcoach.com to book your FREE 30-minute book coaching session. We’ll talk about your idea, see if we’re a good fit, and make a solid plan so that you can write the book you’re dreaming about.