Debunking Myths and Dismantling Fears 

Do you find yourself plagued by any one (or all) of these thoughts?

I don’t have the time to write a book right now…

I’ve never been good at English, I’m not a writer…

There's already a million books out there on this topic; Nobody will want to read mine.

Before we jump into the process of writing a book, we need to first acknowledge and dismantle all of the fears that have held you back in the past (because, believe me, they're going to rear their ugly head in the process of writing your book). 

So let’s start by dismantling three of the most common fears that tend to hold people back:

Myth #1: Writing a book takes years!

Writing a book sounds like a huge, daunting task that takes years to complete. You may be thinking, a book could have 200 pages; it would take a long time for me to sit down and write 200 pages straight from my head! I don’t have the time right now.

Reality: Decades ago, when we were in the age of the typewriter, this used to have some truth to it. Authors of books used to literally sit at a typewriter, put the paper in, and start to literally think and type, think and type. And whenever their thoughts changed or they changed their mind, they’d rip the paper out of the typewriter, ball it up, throw it in the corner, and start again. So it would literally take people years to write a book. This is the visual that many people have in their head when they think of writing a book. As a result, many feel like they just don’t have the time to write a book.

In today’s age, this couldn’t be further from the truth. In this course we will redefine the concept of writing and show you how to seamlessly integrate the process of writing your book into your everyday life so that it doesn’t feel like a daunting task and can be completed within six months.

Myth #2: I’m not qualified to be a writer…

You may think, I'm not a writer. I hated English in school. I never went to college. I'm not qualified to write a book.

Reality: Well, let me let you in on a little secret: Writing and talking are the same thing! DON’T CONFUSE GRAMMAR AND SENTENCE STRUCTURE WITH WRITING! Writing is the act of bringing your ideas out of your head and all of the story that's wrapped around that (or the instruction, or processes, or the methods or whatever the case may be).

Sentence structure, english and grammar are completely different. There are a lot of writing tools and writing apps out there to assist you in that area. This is not an English course. LET ME REPEAT, THIS IS NOT AN ENGLISH COURSE! This is a writing course. Writing your book is literally getting your story out of your head and onto the pages.

Let’s look at writing your book as storytelling; literally, telling your story in written form. Children tell stories through pictures and visuals. If you tell a child to draw your family, for example, they will draw what they have in their head what they feel like family is. Everyone's picture is different. 

Writing is just storytelling. Storytelling is one of the most powerful forms of communication because it influences emotions. You see it in business, you see it in social media, you see it in the world of arts everywhere. No one wants to be sold anything. They want to be engaged in an experience.

You may be one who have kept diaries over the years just because you like to keep diaries. Guess what… all of those diaries are actually a book. You've written books over the years without even realizing it! Many of you listening have been writing all of your life, without even realizing it. You may be a lecturer, a public speaker, a teacher, a preacher, a motivational speaker. All that you have spoken and recorded is actually writing a book. Every sermon is a book. Every motivational speech is a book. Every class that you taught in a particular school or university is a book.

If you’re an elementary school teacher, every system that you created that you say, “well, this is just how I set up my classroom. I've been doing it for 30 years, but it's actually very successful.” Your children do better than most children in your city. But it's just something you do. You may not have realized. You have written systems that can translate into a workbook, a manual. So writing is just not pen to paper.

When you think writing a book, you may get a visual of sitting down and writing on a pad of paper, or you may think of sitting at a computer and staring at a blank screen. But that’s not the only way to write. There are numerous ways that you can get your story out of your head and onto the pages. Recording is writing, journaling is writing. I

n the Writestry Workshop, we're going to teach you how to write in a way that feels natural to you so that writing a book becomes a part of who you are and not just something you do.

Myth 3: There are already a bunch of books out there on this topic. Why would anyone want to read mine?

You may think, this is common. Nobody will want to read this. There are already a thousand books out there on this subject. Why write another?

Reality: The reality is, someone else may have already written about your topic, but how many cookbooks are there out in the world? How many books are out there on how to have a successful marriage? How many universities are teaching English courses all over the world? When you think about it, it doesn't matter how many books are out there on baking a cake. If you were writing a book on baking cake, your recipe is still not out there. Bottom line, your book is not on the shelf!

How many of you know that your grandmother made the best peach cobbler in the whole world. No matter how many places you've tasted peach cobbler. Nope. Still not like your grandmother's peach cobbler. A million recipes out there on peach cobbler. But the one that's missing is your grandma’s. Who will buy that book? The person who has not tasted your grandmother’s peach cobbler!

Before you put one word on paper, you have to first know that your words are absolutely valuable. You have to find worth in your words. You have to find value in your story. If you don't find worth in your words then no one else is going to find it. When you find value, in your words, you won't let one word fall to the ground without…

• Documenting it
• Capturing it
• Recording it
• Writing it down
• Taking a note

You paid a great price for your story, whether that price was monetary, emotional, mental or physical. If you've gone through anything, you paid a great price for your story, your words, your experience. Your words are absolutely valuable! Your words are necessary.

Exercise To Do:

1.   In your course workbook, write down all of the fears and negative thoughts that have held you back in the past. Sharing your fears is vital for the writing process so that when you leave this course, you don’t get stuck.

2.   Write down on a sticky note: “My words are valuable!” and post it wherever it will be seen by you everyday (your vision board in your office, your computer, your car dashboard)