Structure vs creativity, in need of advice

Hi everyone

I'm not sure if I'm posting this message in the right forum, it isn't exactly about designing my website, just only my freebie.

I'm having problems developing it. First, I have so many ideas that is hard to choose one. Then it seems that I'm getting much more specific about how I can help my clients that my compass is continually changing north.

My question today is of a very specific nature. For those of you already seasoned writers. Please help :-P

A brief update.

I decided to write about a topic, then all my clients seemed to have the same problem. Guess what? not the one I was focusing on with my freebie. "Ok -I thought- I'll better change it to that more specific problem." I had already some material written, and recorded. I suppose I'll use in the future.

So I begun another freebie, with that other subject.

Usually once I've decide upon a subject, I make a little mind map to find threads, titles, etc. My experience is that if I write without that in mind then things aren't connected. It's like trying to grow muscle without a supportive bone :-)

Well, that is my intention, but then, when I begin to write my mind goes to something different, I begin to have wonderful inpirations and I need to wirite them down. I end up with lot of material, but then I can't put any other to it.

How do you structure your creative writing? Can you stick to your subject? How do you do it in a practical way? How do you combine inspiration, creativity with structure? How do you get your material done?

I feel overwhelmed right now. With so many note books full of ideas, pieces of texts, articles, etc, but my freebie is still unfinished! I feel so frustrated... It is taking me so many months just to develop this freebie!

I need help!
Ok I'm not so desperate as it sounds but I'm sure I'll feel a great sense of relief once I have it finished. :-P

Love
Charo

Hi Charo

I do understand what you are describing - everytime I would start to write about anything, I'd end up writing about everything! Design and structure are crucial - did you work through this free programme: http://www.inspired-entrepreneur.com/Inspired-Teaching.aspx?

Let me know

Nick

Hello Charo

I am not a mind-mapper, but it strikes me that using mind maps encourages you to go on and on ... and never finish.

I would suggest beginning by thinking of the end product. For instance, decide that you will write 20 pages, or 6 separate chapters or whatever. This might seem mechanical but when you write a hard-back book for a publisher you have a certain number of pages to fill, or, if it is in a series, you need to follow the format of existing books, so it is what happens in the publishing world.

Next, decide on the title of those chapters, or decide what topics need to be covered in the 20 pages so that you know how many pages you will allocate per topic. I've looked at your site and your subject is numerology, by the look of it (sorry, I don't know much Spanish). So, you might have ten topics, the digits 0-9, say. Decide you will write two pages per digit, and stick to that. It doesn't matter if you have much more that you can say about the topic - that information will go towards another book or report. You may write three or four pages per topic, but edit brutally. The result will be waffle-free 'tight' copy.

My advice would be to return to the subject you were first preparing, before you discovered that your clients had other problems. Perhaps this topic will result in your attracting new readers, and new clients. I imagine that you will feel an enormous weight off your mind when you publish something, and this may motivate you to want your next freebie finished quickly.

You are probably very different from me, but I work best when I have a deadline. I find it slow-going to write for my own website and drag things out for months, yet my day job involves writing articles for magazines with very tight deadlines - and I always manage to meet them. Perhaps contact an editor and say you will have copy ready for her in a month. Perhaps make an announcement on your website that your next e-book will appear on such-and-such a date.

I hope that some of this will be of help.

Best wishes

Susan

Winning Names

www.winningnames.co.uk

Hi Charo

First of all I'd like to reassure you that you are not alone in finding it challenging to discover the right point of connection between the creative flow and structuring your ideas!

Many writers have to work on finding this balance, and the right approach also depends on what you are writing, who your audience is and the purpose it is intended to serve.

Allowing your ideas to flow onto the page without censorship and following interesting new threads as they emerge is very much part of the creative writing process and comes primarily from the right brain. It represents the first draft of any piece of writing and is incredibly helpful for exploring your topic and developing your ideas.

Bringing structure and order to the words on the page is a separate stage in the process and is usually best done at a different time as it is more of a left brain function and includes the editor's perspective which is that of effective communication of both content and style.

So I recommend that you are clear about which stage of the process you are working on before you start any piece of writing and set the intention to focus your attention there. Some people achieve the best results starting with the structure and then writing creatively to fit and others work best the other way around. You'll have to explore and practice to discover what suits you best.

Having said all of that, writing the 'freebie' for your website is a specific task which has a specific purpose. In this situation I would recommend that you are very clear about who your audience is and what information they are interested to know from you. This is your chance to show them how your offering can contribute to their situation so it needs to be in line with what they are looking for.

With that in mind, I recommend that you listen to what they want and choose your topic based on that. Then follow this 3 step process:

1. Write down a maximum of 5 key points about that topic which you feel it is crucial to convey.
2. For each point, add one additional comment which elaborates on the original point you have made.
3. Include one practical suggestion for each point OR two or three suggestions at the end which incorporate all of the points you have made.

This will give you your structure. Then you can add a paragraph or two at the start to introduce the topic and explain why it is important. Plus a paragraph or two at the end to bring everything to a conclusion and lead people into some kind of 'call to action' which offers them a way forwards to take their interest further.

And hey presto! You have your freebie written.

I hope that these comments help you move forwards and wish you every joy and success with completing this piece of writing ...

Julia

ps giving yourself a deadline to work to is definitely a good idea!

Hi Nick

Thanks for the reminder. I had the info but never went through it. I guess this is the right moment for doing it :-)

Love
Charo

Hi Susan

Thanks for your comments and suggestions.

I know it sounds weird to use a mind map and still be struggling with structure, but who said I followed it? :-) My mind was a mess with so much ideas. I'll try the deadline idea. That will move me through my tendency to want it perfect.

Love
Charo

Hi Charo

Yes, that programme along with Julia's suggestions should serve you well

Nick

Hi Julia

You've lifted and enormous weight from me!

That concept of the two brains working for different things makes so much sense.
Now I see, I was trying to do both things, forcing me to do something with the wrong side of my brain. I should be more able to use my left brain, alas I'm an engineer! but guess what? I love the creativity part of writing (or doing anything) that's why I'm making numerology interpretations :-)

Ok,  from now on I will set a different moment for each type of work and will connect with a different part of me. That's what I use to say to my clients, that we're made of different tendencies and parts, don't you see the irony? I do :-P

Lots of love and thank you so much
Charo

Hi Charo

I'm glad to hear that my post helped you to separate out the different (albeit related) processes you engage with when it comes to writing ...

And it's fine that you used to say such things to your clients - it has been said that we teach what we need to learn. So we all need to pay attention to what we are teaching and learn to 'walk our talk' consistently!

Enjoy

Julia

Hello everyone

Just a little bit of update about my work.

I'm glad to say that my freebie is already finished and on my website :-)
I finished it yesterday.

I can't believe how much work I've put in there, even though it doesn't seem so much after you see the result, now I'm much more appreciative of other people's freebies :-)

Thanks again to Julia McCutchen. Your ideas were very usefull.

I finished writting the draft by the end of July and then took all august off. When I came back in September I polished the texts a little bit, specially since I've been clarifing more what it is that I do, and who I am serving.

I was a bit scared of installing the autoresponder and it was a mess at the beginning, specially since I had to learn the software as I was installing it, but it was very easy, more than I expected. So I'm really happy, and proud, to say that everything is already installed.

I've encountered a lot of inner resistance, I feel really vulnerable because I share lot of myself in those texts, of my journey, my ideas and all that stuff. Now it is so much evident that I left my architecture behind and I'm totally into the personal development field...

Some days I wouldn't do anything, unless I did a bit of tapping (EFT) on that fear I wouldn't move an inch towards my goal. Will power seems to have stopped working for me :-P I sooo remember what Nick says about having a business as the best personal development course there is :-)

If you are so nice to have a look at my website, even if you don't want to suscribe (which I understand because everything is in spanish) I'll be glad of any comments you can give me about the new look, tell me if you're able to see the sign in form, etc.

Here is the link: http://www.propositodelalma.com

Next steps: To insert some pictures (I haven't got any in the website), and to install the sign in form in every page.

Lots of love
Charo

Hi Charo,

Lovely to receive your update.  Great to hear your progress! 

I really wish I understood Spanish as I'm sure I'd love your site.  Pictures would be great.  As a 'visual person' I find images really liven up a web page for me and bring it to life. 

You know I can't speak Spanish (though I studied Italian and it's kind of similar!) so even I understood the 'subscribe here' button and decided to subscribe anyway!  But then it came up with an error message and wanted me to tick boxes to subscribe to newsletters that did not seem to be related to your site.  So I am a bit puzzled. 

Anyway, well done you for pushing through your resistance!!!  I'm doing the same :-)

Lots of Love

Claire

x

Hi again Charo

The structure looks good to me but oviously can't understand it!

Yes, and the amount of growth involved in running your own business is amazing - its is like getting paid to do several MBA's!

Nick

Hi Claire

How nice of you to suscribe :-)

A couple of people have told me the same about the sorry message. I'll work that out today.

I wanted to share the title and a bit about the content, but then forgot! I was too exhausted to keep things in my mind, I guess :-)

The freebie is titled: "6 keys to finding your path with the help of numerology"

I gave it a lot of thought.
Seems too long, but if I take out the word numerology, the freebie won't seem related to the main content of the site.
I've made my niche of expertise finding your life purpose, but people find me through numerology (which is one of the main tools I use)
I've also focused much more the keywords in the site with numerology (given that nobody searches "life purpose" in spanish) to improve my google ranking. Let see if that helps! :-)

It is structured in six parts which are:

- The magic of knowing yourself better
- How numerology helps you to discover who you are
- How to calculate the Life Path number
- The 9 different Life Paths and their meanings
- The secret ingredient for a happy life
- How to find inspiration to life your truth

I intend to make a new version with 7 parts, given the 7 has a magical symbolism, but couldn't find the energy to make it longer (ha,ha,ha) I'll wait until version 2.0 of it :-P

How are you doing with your work? I'm always happy when I receive your newsletter, by the way.
You put so much info there!

Lots of love
Charo

Hi Nick

Thanks for your time :-P

It really helps me to know that you can see the page and the sign in form (don't know why some people can't)...

With respect to the structure, I've somehow followed what you did in this site.

Blessings
Charo

Hi Charo

Congratulations on moving through your resistance & completing your freebie! I'm so glad that my ideas were useful.

I'm sure that your learning & experience from achieving this will stand you in good stead for your next piece of writing.

Good luck with your next steps ...

Enjoy!

Julia

Hi Charo

Really kind of you to go to all the trouble of translating for me -  I think the headings for your freebie sound great!  You must be really excited to be making such progress.  Well done you!

it all takes time doesn't it? But bit by bit we get there, and suddenly we have created something!

How sweet of you to say you like receiving my ezine.  (Feedback is always so encouraging).  The next one should be with you before the weekend is out.  Not sure if I've got the format and content of the newsletter right yet.  It seems to be an ever evolving creation - as is the website!

I recently had a little break in Devon (by the sea and the countryside) so had time to reflect.  I asked myself those questions like 'if I was really wealthy, what would I continue to do/stop doing/do more of/do less of.  I kind of thrilled myself by answering that I would continue to do my website - I felt quite excited about that!

I was also surprised by something I thought I would no longer do if I was very wealthy.  But I think it may be 'resistance' rather than not wanting to do it.  No doubt  time will tell...

I am working diligently on 'turning up' as Nick puts it.  (You'll see what I mean when you get the ezine! ;-)

Lots of Love

Claire

Hi Claire

I'm looking forward to receiving it :-D

Love
Charo