Writers

Turn Your Beat Into A Book (summary: writers)

Garth Beyer

I attended a conference that hosted a panel of writers and publishers. Happy to share what I took from the writers panel with you.

  • 10 tips that one writer gave
  • Think about writing before reporting. Reporting will be natural and more apparent the deeper you get into the story.
  • He or she who hesitates “gets scooped.”
  • What you need:
    • To be gregarious
    • To prepare
    • To know when to cut bait (get out of a situation)
    • To have faith in the project
    • To make something new
  • When writing a book, always try to find more time. Time that is constructed for the sole purpose of writing.
  • “Most important picture is the next one, not the last one,” said a the photojournalist.

Lastly, and worth not having in a bullet point, always try to keep a project going.

Turn Your Beat Into A Book (summary: publishers)

Garth Beyer

I attended a conference that hosted a panel of writers and publishers. Happy to share what I took from the publishers panel with you.

  • Writers are not looking to get published to make money.
  • Publishers care about taking time to make sure everything is right in the publishing process. BUT, they are ignorant in their use of others’ time. (Certainly not all publishers, but definitely the ones on the panel.)
  • Stated by a publisher’s rep, “Writer’s quit too early. It’s fear of success.”
  • Bad movies and books are out there because writers didn’t give up.
  • Most money comes from speaking engagements.
  • You have to push the book. You’re the marketer.
  • Having articles criticized is one thing. Having your book criticized is another.

After the conference, I am even more sure that self-publishing is the way to go.

Oh, and start marketing now.

What It Means To Mashup

Garth Beyer

I preach endlessly that the new age art is created by mashing up two or more properties, objects, or entities to create something entirely new.

Here I present to you Ben Heine’s Pencil vs Camera project. Click the picture to view more.

everyoneislonely

Something I’m incredibly happy that I found: Writers as Architects.

Another artist, defying gravity.

Art was once about taking a photo of a photo of a photo of a photo. Now it’s about using a different medium at each level. It’s about combining not only different types of brushes, but different paints, different juices, coffees, and mud.

This method of creation goes beyond the easel. It encompasses us in advertising, in technology, and self-made products. The world is being redesigned and it wants you to be an artist.

Well, will you be?

 

Stay Positive & Mash Mash Mash

Garth E. Beyer

The Print Book Industry: The Real Question We Should Be Asking

Garth Beyer

Bookstores are turning into gift shops and who goes to gift shops anymore. The book selection in bookstores is dwindling down to those which are most popular. Similar to a gift shop, you visit the shop simply to get the most popular gifts for the occasion. You don’t want to sort through thousands of unpopular books or gifts; it’s there because it’s popular. Then again, what is the point of having a gift shop or a place to buy books when you can order anything you want online and have it in a day? Just as well, what determines what is put in a gift shop? Almost always what is most popular online! Nearly 20 years ago, professionals were arguing whether the print book industry was dying or was just in a slump. Then, in 1995, with the introduction of Amazon, we knew that the print book industry wasn’t just on a rollercoaster, it was on a plummet to its death. However, one can’t simply decide whether the print book industry will survive based on one-sided facts. One must look at the change Amazon has brought to the print book industry and the technological changes that are being forced. In the end, there may be a more important question than whether the print book industry will survive or not.

Video summary

Limitless isn’t merely a highlighted word in Jeff Bezos’ mental dictionary, it is the only word. Bezos, the creator of Amazon, knew that there was no limit to what can be sold and bought using the internet. What better way to start up an online retail business than by using the foundation of books? “After all, even the larger 60,000-square-foot emporiums of Barnes & Noble and Borders could carry no more than 175,000 titles. Amazon, by contrast, was virtually limitless in its offerings.” (Wasserman, 2012) Previously, Barnes & Noble and Borders took out the small independent book sellers, Amazon didn’t need to lift a digital finger. Now, Borders has been desolated, Barnes & Noble deteriorating, all the while Amazon is globally increasing their revenue. One might think this has nothing to do with the death of print books because Amazon sells print books. As a matter of fact, Amazon has been the vehicle that caused the statistics to flip: internationally, the number of eBooks sold each year has greatly outnumbered the number of print books. (2012) Here, you have the Amazon Effect. The Amazon Effect has taken something wholesome and tangible and has turned it into nostalgia. In fact, to some, it is this nostalgia that has kept the book industry going on the brink of survival for the seven years that Amazon has been leading in the book industries sales. It is the idea that technology can never replicate the feeling, smell, and experience of holding a book. Many suggest that because holding a book has become part of our culture that it will remain so. When in fact, cultural change is the only constant the American society can predict. Let’s take a look at how the cultural change of the digital revolution has reflected the number of writers and authors.

One would imagine that there would be a decrease in writers due to the dying print book industry. However, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook, from 2010-20, there is an expected growth of 9,500 writers and authors. (2012) At first glance, this statistic would appear to support the survival of the print book industry. That observation is inaccurate. There are two major reasons for the increase, neither of which supports the survival of print books. The first reason for the occupational increase is the ability to electronically self-publish in the sense of authors converting their books and articles to digital versions and selling them online or simply offering them up for free to build a tribe of followers. The second is the increased need for digital writers. Every company, agency, and business understands the value of their digital and social media involvement. As a result, they must hire multiple writers and authors to provide consistent online content and interaction. The occupational outlook is positive for writers and authors, but it does not reflect positively on the book industry. In fact, the increase of writers and authors is quickening the death of the print book industry.

One might want to respond that the occupational outlook statistics are true and the increase in media involvement then helps publishers to sell more printed books. “The book industry thrives because it feeds into so many other forms of media.” (1997) This quote was taken from the films on demand video, Book Industry. The fact the video made that statement in 1997, only two years after Amazon was created, says something very powerful, yet contradictive. The actions the print book industry has made – to enter other forms of media – were forced by the immediate critical hit Amazon dealt to the print book industry. Yet how can the print book industry compete with Amazon?

–          Public taste is fickle when it comes to books, so Amazon opened the doors to unlimited options. It’s hard to get a store to sell a book to become a bestseller and much easier to get it on one of Amazon’s Top 100 lists – all of which can be bought in digital formats.

–          The only book reviews one sees in a store are on the book and obviously biased. However, on Amazon, you have hundreds, sometimes thousands, of honest and full opinions online from readers around the globe.

–          Traditional book stores need to keep up with trends, Amazon created a place for trends to start – online.

–          One visit to Amazon would show that the price of books can be up to 80% off the regular store price – the majority being eBooks.

Pulling from an academic article written in 1994,

Jon Berger, electronic publishing consultant for William Byrd Press in Richmond, Va. says it will take five to 10 years for electronic media to catch up with print’s volume, and another l5 to 20 years for electronic media to become more widespread than print. (Heger, 1994)

It is now 2012, 18 years after the statement was made by a professional electronic publishing consultant and while his predictions of what will happen have come true, his estimated time was far off. The speed at which the digital revolution is taking over the print book industry is occurring at a quicker pace than could have ever been predicted. All the while, the print book industry is trying to use the digital revolution to its advantage. According to, Erin Carriero, author of Electronic Books: How Digital Devices and Supplementary New Technologies are Changing the Face of the Publishing Industry says,

While it is true that the publishing industry has been struggling, new technology and the advent of digital devices on which to read books have not handed down the death sentence to publishers. In actuality, ‘computers and other new technologies may in fact be enhancing our ability to produce and distribute printed books, ensuring that books will continue to be a part of our future.’ Publishing giants all over have recognized this reality and have tweaked company strategies accordingly. (2010)

Publishers, knowing how powerful the digital revolution is, have tried to incorporate it as much as possible into the life of the print book industry.

The print book industry is using technology as a supplement. J. Ayodeji, writer of The Book an Adaptation from the Film: Technology, Narrative, Business & How the Book Industry Might Adapt the Film, thinks that the book industry can survive if it follows the transformation the film industry has made. In one example he says, “Thematically linked digital boxsets of books can be easily imagined; the digitally annotated Student Guide Edition of a book is an easy sell but what about the rest of us, the reading public? How might this networked future affect the book?” (Ayodeji, 2011, p. 6) In a sense, Ayodeji is suggesting that we can create additional digital platforms to books. Take, for a perfect example J.K. Rowling’s creation of Pottermore. She has taken her book and created a digital world of it for readers to enter. Additionally, one can find hundreds of children’s books that, when read online, provide a learning experience. In essence and at first glance, the digital revolution isn’t killing the print book industry; it’s merely giving it multiple streams to form revenue. However, one must understand that all these digital additions to books can be done to the digital versions of the books as well. In fact, it seems more logical to have everything in one place rather than needing a hard copy of a book and a computer. Instead, one simply needs a computer to have both the book and its digital counterparts.

Despite this positive transition the print book industry is pursuing, to combine the digital revolution with the hard copy of books, there is an important question that must be answered before one can decide whether they believe the print book industry will die or not. How much change will the print book industry withstand, until it becomes something else completely? If the print book industry performs all the technological adaptations it must to survive, can one still call it the print book industry? In other words, if hard copy books become one small piece of a much larger puzzle, it seems illogical to look at it as the print book industry. It would seem that the print book industry’s efforts to leverage the digital revolution to its favor, is actually speeding the process of the elimination of print books.  It is not a matter of whether the print book industry will survive or not, it is a matter of what we are willing to still consider to be the print book industry.

 

Stay Positive & It’s Pretty Crazy We Decide The Fate Of It, Isn’t It?

Garth E. Beyer

 

 

References

Ayodeji, J. (2011). The Book an Adaptation from the Film: Technology, Narrative, Business & How the Book Industry Might Adapt the Film. International Journal Of The Book, 8(3), 113-122.

(2012) Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2012-13 Edition, Writers and Authors, on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/ooh/media-and-communication/writers-and-authors.htm

Carreiro, E. (2010). Electronic Books: How Digital Devices and Supplementary New Technologies are Changing the Face of the Publishing Industry. Publishing Research Quarterly, 26(4), 219-235. doi:10.1007/s12109-010-9178-z

Films Media Group. (1997). Book industry [H.264]. Available from http://digital.films.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?aid=3891&xtid=8559.

Heger, K. (1994). Print: A road kill on the information superhighway?. Communication World, 11(9), 30.

WASSERMAN, S. (2012). The Amazon Effect. Nation, 294(25), 13-22.

Quadruple Book Regurgitation

Garth Beyer

Following my breakup with girlfriend, I have decided to streamline my goals to accomplishments. At the beginning of 2012 I had decided that I wanted to read 25 books before the end of the year and last night, or this morning – I don’t recall what time it was – I completed that goal.

In the last week I have read four books that I would now like to regurgitate for you. However, unlike past book regurgitations, these will be more similar to reviews, as I did not highlight or pull out too many examples to share.

Ironically, during pre- and post- breakup I was reading The Mastery of Love by Don Miguel Ruiz.

I firmly believe that this book should be read by every adolescent of love. I would define an adolescent of love as anyone who has not read the book. This makes it very black and white as to who I think needs to pick it up. Did this book help me save the relationship? Obviously not. Could it have if I read it earlier, yes, but everything happens for a reason. (And that reason is usually based on the fall of three aspects, which you can read more about in my Twelve Pillars regurgitation toward the end of this post).

While you may solely believe that the book is supposed to help you master love, develop an honest and stable relationship and build a stronger chemical bond between you and your partner, you have correctly assumed only half of it. Reading this book during the break-up assisted me in making realizations and accepting them. The key to it though is not necessarily the eye-openers or realizations, they come naturally if you remain objective. However, if I had to simplify it for you, love is about acceptance.

In short, no matter when, where, or why you would pick this book up, you are going to feel that it was written for you, just you, at just the perfect time. Love is all there is, better to learn how to master (accept) now than later.

1-5 with 5 being read it right now, I will give it a 4.5

—

The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield

This book was on my 50+ book list to read and to be straightforward (when am I ever not?), I got exhausted from reading all of the references to this book, all of the reviews and people suggesting others like me, to read it. As a writer, the more I know about the Resistance the better and who better to learn from than the one who put a title (the Resistance) to what prevents us from being creative.

After reading it in nearly one sitting, I was disappointed. Not in the sense of how it was written, or the advice in it, actually, the book is perfect but…

It’s perfect for someone who doesn’t know about the Resistance yet. For me, I’ve been aware of it, dancing with it and fighting with it for a fear few years now. As I set the book down, I really do believe that it should only be read by anyone who either has no clue about the Resistance or who is just starting to learn what being creative really entails.

If a blank mind opens the book, it will be taking in the knowledge Pressfield presents quicker than the desert floor absorbs a bit of rain, and craving more all the same.

While most of what Pressfield shares is only a reminder to me, there are certainly a few actions I will take as a result of reading it. One specifically is in response to reading the chapter “The Definition of a Hack”.

“I learned this from Robert McKee. A hack, he says, is a writer who second-guesses his audience. When the hack sits down to work, he doesn’t ask himself what’s in his own heart. He asks what the market is looking for.” (pg 152)

For quite some time I have been eliminating multiple sentences and sometimes entire paragraphs, rewriting portions that I think are too personal or that the reader wont give a damn about, excluding swear words and even holding back a bit of my real potential. Possibly more times than not, I’ve been a hack.

Rest assured, that phase is over thanks to reading The War of Art.

1-5 with 5 being read it right now, I will give it a 5 if you don’t know what the Resistance is, a 1.5 if you do

—

These next two books are ones that came with the Success book package I purchased last November to jump-start my pursuit for just that, success.

An aside about reading Success books: You don’t need 20 of them. You probably don’t even need 10. A strong handful will do since they regularly repeat themselves in different forms. Also, you can purchase huge packages of 20-30 books on Success but what I have learned is that when you make and devote time to reading on personal growth, you have less and less time to continue doing so. Why? Because you are putting thoughts into action, advice into results and lessons into experience. By the time you begin going through your whole list of personal growth/ success books, you will have already changed your life so much that you are living the life you read about.

My immediate reaction upon reading and resting The Seasons of Life by Jim Rohn on my side table was that it’s a book that should be read in the Winter. It is a highly motivating take on the cycle of personal growth and from experience, most people are already feeling the height of their life during Spring/Summer. The Seasons of Life is not set to make where you are standing now even better, it is to give you a deep understanding of why you are standing where you are at this moment and advice on how to control where you will be standing one season, two seasons or three seasons from now.

Something I really enjoyed about the book was that it did not overdo it with the seasonal/nature analogy. There was a depth of optimistic realism – yes, that may be an oxymoron – that enables you to relate your life to that of trees, flowers, leaves, or the seasons themselves.

We all know that in the Spring we are often times ecstatic, in the Summer we are happy and content, in the Fall we are at peace but at Winter we are depressed. Reading The Seasons of Life does not present to you a way for balance or consistent happiness, but a mind-set and strategy to make the absolute most of every season.

1-5 with 5 being read it right now, I will give it a 2.5 and suggest again to read it during Winter

—

The next book in my “success series” we can call it, was Twelve Pillars by Jim Rohn and co-author Chris Widener

They took a fictional approach on telling the Twelve Pillars of success. It felt real in the sense that we all wish it would happen to us, so there is an instant connection between reader and protagonist. Speaking of it being fiction,  it was slightly predictable, at least the plot twists were but nevertheless the foresight did not degrade the story in any way.

There is truly a plethora of incredible quotes. For example,

“‘That’s great,’ Charlie said. ‘I am so glad for you. You will have to keep me posted as it progresses. Just remember that once a flower blooms, it still needs water and sun to keep it from wilting. The work isn’t over when the color comes out.”

The Twelve Pillars:

  • A Chance Encounter (Personal Development)
  • Live a Life of Health
  • The Gift of Relationships
  • Achieve Your Goals
  • The Proper Use of Time
  • Surround Yourself with the Best People
  • Be a Lifelong Learner
  • All of Life Is Sales
  • Income Seldom Exceeds Personal Development
  • All Communication Brings the Common Ground of Understanding
  • The World Can Always Use One More Great Leader
  • Leave a Legacy

Overall, Twelve Pillars was an entertaining read that allows you to put each pillar into action in your own life at the end of each chapter.

1-5 with 5 being read it right now, I will give it a 3.5

– As stated with the first book regurgitation on The Mastery of Love, I will now go into a quick insight about love/relationships from a combination of these two books, plus experience. Building a relationship is based on three factors: time, effort and imagination. HT to Jim Rohn, but I think I’ve taken it a step further than that.

Time can be based on quantity or quality, but in the real world, “time” is more “timing” than anything. It’s about spontaneity and creating the perfect moment.

Effort can be dwindled down completely to compliments. Women do not receive enough of them and once you begin to put in the effort, you will realize just how many they deserve.

Imagination is doing something fun, weird, and different together. It’s about getting her to think about the crazy things she has always wanted to do but never has and doing them! Dates, dinners and distractions have their place in a relationship but nothing will make a girl more happy than to do the oddball things she has always questioned about life.

Let me know any of your responses to my thoughts or your thoughts on the books in the comments section and keep coming back for more book regurgitations. After all, I have more time to read now. Is that an up side?

Stay Positive & Genuine

Garth E. Beyer

Unlocking Potential: Interview #3

Garth Beyer

I was thinking about motivation (what’s new…). I thought about how much I love to motivate people, I mean, I live for it, I give motivational speeches and obviously I write a lot of motivational content. The question popped in my mind, what motivated me to motivate people?

I came up with two answers. The first is that seeing people like Zig Ziglar, Seth Godin, or my interviewee today Karthik, motivate other people. If there weren’t people motivating other people, nothing would get done in the world, it would be void of accomplishments that matter. The second answer is that I am freaking amazed at us, at people, at human beings. Our abilities are out of this world, literally. I simply want to bring out more of these godlike abilities in people, I want to continue to be amazed at a higher level which means I need to motivate more.

This is an aspect of the Unlocking Potential series. To motivate these artists and to have these artists be motivated to motivate other artists. If you are just jumping in, you can catch Interview #1 here and Interview #2 here.

Without further do,
Interview: Karthik Puvvada

As you know from my “Pick Yourself” post, I attended Seth Godin’s Pick Yourself event in New York a couple of months ago. This interview, the third in my Unlocking Potential series, is with Karthik Puvvada, a friend who I met as a member of Seth’s tribe. Karthik’s blog is one I visit often for, not so much for information on how to fail, be free and break the status-quo (although it’s loaded with it), but for a reminder that there are other people like me that have a truly unbelievable spirit for progress, an unstoppable force for enjoying life and making the most out of it in every way possible. This is only touched on in Karthik’s introduction to the interview and provides great insight to the rest of the Q&A. -Enter Karthik-

My story:

I’m Karthik Puvvada and I hail from India. And like most Indians, I was brought up in a very conservative and struggling middle class family nudging and budging my childhood dreams with whatever little money we had.  Since I was born into the era of  “Great Indian Outsourcing Boom”,  I was compelled to chose the well established path of becoming an engineer and to work at a software company that I disliked.

I was clearly unhappy with what I was doing with my life.  Modifying bits and pieces of computer software written by some other engineers didn’t seem appealing to me. Especially when I loved building things. Especially when I believed I should be able to create things.

As a kid I dreamt about robotics,  and that suddenly appeared to me as my next destination. Despite heavy peer pressure and uncertainty of how I’d manage the finances to afford such a costly technological degree, I gave all the entrance tests with full vigor and hope.

After a dramatic turn of events, and with help of some amazing people, here I am, in the USA,  doing Masters majoring in Robotics with full scholarship.  I started believing in dreams even more from then.

This phenomenal dream-come-true incident in my life changed my perspective totally. It gave me enormous CONFIDENCE to go get what I want in life. I started reviving my half-killed dreams from childhood.

Writing is one.

Q: What would you die without?

Fire in the belly.  If there’s going to be a day when I feel sapless about my dreams, and give up on them, that day, you can proclaim me dead. Officially. I don’t see any reason to be called alive when I’ve killed my dreams. I am what my dreams are. The rest is just a piece of flesh.

Writing, film-making, advertising, technology startups, for now I’m in love with these. So badly that I can exchange going to heaven for a chance to live my dreams.  This feeling, the feeling of otaku, the feeling of going any far to follow your passions in life is what I call “fire in the belly” and that is something I can’t afford to live without.

Q: How much time does following your passion consume each day? What is a typical day in your life’s conquest?

It’s an interesting question because the time it actually consumes to me is irrelevant.  I rather count it based on whether I had done the task I intended to do for that day or not.

Consider blogging. Sometimes it takes 20 minutes to write a blogpost, and sometimes 3 full hours. The beauty of imagination is it’s without limits. All kinds of limits, including time.

But, yeah, if I look back and estimate an average number, I think I spend around 2hrs per day on writing. The rest of time I spend on my other passions.  And on sleeping.  And on eating. And wait, on bathing too.

Q: How do you go about searching and finding motivation/inspiration?

Two things. One, I go outwards into the huge sea of knowledge online and offline and try to find stuff that stimulates my thinking. Something that pushes me away from my comfort zone. Something that provokes my mind, into action.

Steve Jobs, Seth Godin, Malcolm Gladwell, Mahatma Gandhi, Ayn Rand, Friedrich Neithzche, Swami Vivekananda,  Gautam Buddha, Pablo Picasso, Vincent Van Gogh, Randy Pausch ,Jon Goethe, Rabindranath Tagore,  Aristotle,  Michelangelo, David Ogilvy etc.

I read a lot about these incredible people. And their incredible faith in themselves that they can change the world.

Second, I go inwards into myself finding resonance for all that I read. There is a deeper level of consciousness in your own self that you can actually unleash if you poke it long enough.

It unravels an incredible urge that was within you all these years to do something in this world. To make your presence felt. To shake the world gently. Not for the heck of fame or money,  but to leave a legacy in the world, to leave a story of yours, to write your own destiny. This motivates me frantically. Sometimes, the motivation stays for weeks and drives me nuts to do something I thought I couldn’t do earlier.  I will elaborate on this in the further discussion.

Q: What two habits have you developed that produce the best results?

Over the past 2 ½ months, the greatest habit I have developed is the habit to develop a habit.  Like I wrote here, it was extremely painful for me to write everyday initially.

Most amateur writers would know that, after a few days, the challenge of writing something original is by itself a challenge and to do it every single day makes it even more of a nightmare. But still I didn’t give up. There were days where I sat with my laptop for hours and yet couldn’t produce an interesting write-up. But still I didn’t give up.  I tried just once more. That made the difference I think.

I once wrote, “The greatest thing about doing the greatest thing is actually doing it.”

So I knew there is no red button.

Though it didn’t look appealing to me initially, I realize how accurate Steve Pavlina was. He speaks about creating a habit, like a ritual everyday and doing it for 30days. Non stop. If you can pass this phase, most likely you are already enjoying what you are doing and you’ll want to continue. Makes total sense to me.

So, the two habits I’ve developed are a) develop a habit and b) develop a habit. Damn, that is the single most important thing.

Q: Do you plan on shipping a tangible product? Any ideas?

Yes. First, I want to finish up a new screenplay that I started last week. It’s a sci-fi mystery about a delusional scientist on a marooned island.

Second, I want to film an already existing script that I have. It’s going to be about fortune cookies in 3 different countries.

Third, I want to write an ebook, with illustrations, on my most favorite theme, “failing”. I love failing. I think that’s the best thing that happens to me everyday so that I wake up with a better game plan.

Fourth, I want to start up a new project on advertising this September online.

Q: How do you conquer the troubles that come with trying to write every day? (Time, Writers block, etc)

Simple. Have an iron will. I earlier had a plastic one I guess. It would always give up on my dreams. But this time around, I took the pains to form an iron will. The will to do it at any cost. Anyhow. Anywhere.

I remember writing a blog post borrowing a friend’s laptop after having a tiring day of paintball shooting.  I wrote one in a vacation in Chattanooga. I wrote one while I was sick with a stomach bug. When I’m in my regular daily routine, taking time out for writing is easy because I would have planned the day accordingly. It was quite a challenge to do the same when I’m out on the roads travelling or camping etc. Still, the iron will to do what I wanted to do cleared the way for me.

I don’t do it for the count, I don’t do it for the world. I do it ‘coz I challenged the most important person in my life, Myself.

Writing block, well, here’s where the travelling inwards theory I spoke above helps me. Swami Vivekananda spoke volumes about the power of the mind. He says, the question is in the mind, and if you look deeply, and probe keenly, the answer too is in the same mind, just a few blocks away.

It was a fantastic eye-opener for me. All my frustration, disgust and restlessness vanish into thin air whenever I recall this, and I head straight into a peaceful self-questioning mode. And voila, it has worked magic so far.

Q: If you had to give one piece of advice what would it be?

“It’s not the deed; it’s the “doing” that you should attach yourself to.”

I wrote a post titled “Do you love the doing?”. I’d say it is by far the hardest advice anyone can ever follow. But ironically, it is the surest way to excellence according to me.

Q: I believe mottos are vitally important for motivation. Would you create a new motto right now for the readers, a motto they have likely never heard before?

Speaking about how important risk-taking in life, atleast once in a while is, I wrote, “Trust your guts, and remember it’s all about the journey, not the destination. No one jumps of a cliff to experience landing, but to experience flying.”  

The favorite ones I wrote are:

“When your ideas, energy and focus are united by one, you become divided by zero, Mathematically they call it, THE INFINITE!  Be that!”

“Be the king. But first, fight the war.”

Q: As you know, I am on a constant verge to learn new life lessons and share them with people. Do you have any crucially important life lessons you would like to share?

I only have one lesson in my life. The lesson of hope. The lesson of dreams.

Einstein once famously said, “There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle; or you can live as if everything is a miracle.” For me, everything has begun to appear miraculous once I started following my dreams. Once I opened my eyes and shunned my doubts. We want the perfect world. The perfect skills. The perfect people.

And hence we are eternally pissed off at what’s at hand. If you think about it, an email from a teenage artist in Europe telling you how much he loved your writing is a miracle. A subscriber asking you if you majored in English literature is a miracle. A counselor of anti-bullying campaign loving your blog you wrote from miles away is a miracle. What more you want?

Life opens up to the fullest when you are ready to see it positively.

I once wrote, the moon is the moon always, it depends on who you are to perceive it beautifully or full of scars.

Look at life differently. Be the most energetic person you have ever met. Surround yourself with tons of positivity. Make new friendships. With extremely positive people. Have the brightest glimmer of hope in your eye. Feel thrilled about little things. May be you’ll look delusional to your naysayers. But try new things. Fail at them. Fail often. Fail publicly. Have an extra coating to your chest called courage. Coz it takes just one time to get it right, and remember, you will never be the same person again.

Q: Where can people find you and your art?

I write my heart out at www.bethepurplecow.tumblr.com.

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Stay Positive & Purple

Garth E. Beyer                                                                                       “moo”

 

 

 

Paulo Coelho: How I write. Reader: How Do You Write?

Garth Beyer

Paulo Coelho 2010

Less then a week ago I finished The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. It was serendipitous when I checked Tim Ferriss’s blog and saw his post: Paulo Coelho: How I Write

I have since followed Paulo on Facebook and Twitter and am continually inspired and ignited with a worldly creative vibe. I thought, as writer to writer’s, I would re-blog Tim’s post and offer my own advice. In doing so, I hope to set a chain reaction off for other readers and writers that admire Paulo’s writing and style to give their input. I want to read the answers to the questions below from other people because I know that if they are followers of Paulo or Tim, then I know they are destined for some unnatural form of significance. Directly below is the recording of Paulo answering the questions that follow the recording.

If the recording does not show up for you, follow this link

From Tim Ferriss’s blog: I will answer the interview questions.

– When on deadline, what is the first thing you do in the morning? What does your daily schedule look like? Do you take any days off, and what determines if you’ve had a “successful” writing day?

Garth:
Work is what I do months before a deadline and days right before it. Writing for entertainment is what occupies my time in between. In this sense, I am clearly stating that I love to have things accomplished far before a deadline. So the work I do months before the deadline is the collaboration of ideas, organization and understanding of my focus and goals for what I am writing. The work I do the few days before the deadline is when I blow the readers mind. I have always said that I work best under pressure and it still stands true. Stress for me, opens up this sector of imagination in my brain that nothing else will unlock. As for the time in between these fragments, this is when I write creatively for various segments of my overall project. To break it down,

A daily schedule months before the deadline: Waking up and eating a healthy breakfast at the computer as I do research before my writing. Then I go to my “I’d rather be writing” job where I brainstorm and take notes that pop into my mind. As soon as work is finished I am back at the computer working endlessly on planning, set up and having a lot of free writing sessions. I’ll typically exercise at least 6 days a week for a break from staring at the computer monitor and restarting the system.

A daily schedule in between the start and deadline: Waking up and eating healthy breakfast, light music, reading some blog posts and then some fiction. Going to my “I’d rather be writing job” and relaxing, not specifically focusing on the writing task. This is when I start to have more wonderful life experiences that I could incorporate into my writing and I write when the vibe is highest and the flow as unstoppable.

A daily schedule days before the deadline: Wake up and write, eat, write, work, write, eat, write, exercise, write, write, and write. Some of my strongest writing is written very late at night while I am flowing between the dream world and reality. I will have a post out on this particular topic within a few days.

To me, a successful day of writing occurs in two ways. The first is when I have written 5 or more segments, or chapters if you will. The second form of success is when I spend an hour and a half creating one of the greatest segments of the overall project and the rest of the day is left to churn new concepts and experience life to inspire new ideas for future segments.

I have to be half-corn-half-cheese and say that I do not take any days off. I am known for always carrying a book and a notebook around with me everywhere I go. I look for ideas to write about in everything I do.

– How do you capture ideas that might be helpful in your writing? These days, what software and tools do you use for writing?

Garth:

On the go, I use a notepad on my phone.

At any events or meetings, I bring my journal to write in.

When I am at the computer, I have a word document always open to write in, I call it “Infinity Works”.

At work or any other place, I write on sticky notes or whatever it is I can find.

I have tried phone apps, and software help like Evernote but none of them seem to satisfy me. I like to keep it all simple and easily able to manipulate my writing.

– How much of your books do you visualize/outline upfront vs. writing organically piece-by-piece? In other words, how much of the story arc have you decided before you start writing?

Garth:

As stated before, I visualize the organization and types of stories and points I want to incorporate into my work, but the segments themselves, I write organically based off the idea I set for it. The greatest part about writing this way is that it allows you to maintain an open mind for fresh ideas. Imagine writing something that has been completely thought out. How do you expect to create additional originality?

– What are the most common mistakes that you see first-time novelists making? Most common weaknesses?

Garth:

Since I am a first-time novelist, I can only speak for myself. One of the most common mistakes I began making was that I would critique myself over and over in order to write what I know the audience would want to read instead of finding a balance between what it is the audience wants to read and what the audience could read and feel my passion inside each word.

– Do you base your characters on real people? Why or why not? If not, how do you develop those characters?

Garth:

Whether we realize it or not, what we write is based off our experiences. So either our characters are based off of real people directly, or they are based off parts of real people that we have come in contact with in our lives. Personally, I air on the non-fictional side of people because I want people to make connections to my fictional characters and think to themselves how similar the character is to someone they know.

– What are the 2-3 things you personally find most invigorating or helpful when you’re stuck or feel stagnated with writing/ideas? Do you have a team of any type (researchers, etc.) who help you?

Garth:

There are three tactics I take until I stop for the day and wait for the next to continue writing. The first is to have music on. Currently it is “And Then There Were None” that I can listen to and for some reason, it increases my energy, doubles my positive aura and triples my creative thinking process. I think it’s a great idea to find some music that can get you motivated and that will create a barrier by preventing any distracting thoughts to come in. By having music on, your mind is taking up only the music you are listening to and the focus you have on your writing. Without the music you are subject to random thoughts, any noise distractions and you are no longer forced to focus harder on your writing.  The second tactic is exercise, for some this could be confused with cleaning, which may or may not be a good thing. Regardless, there is nothing like burning your physical energy to leave the majority of your mind to focus. After a workout, you are too tired to want to do anything else but sit down, so you might as well write! Tim, I am sure would second that. The third tactic is to read some fiction that relates to the topic you are stuck on. Get an idea of what others think, even if it does not help with your particular writers block, it will create ideas for future segments, thus preventing future stagnation.

Re-Blog This

and post your own answers. Make sure to add credit to the source where you read this below in the “Credit” section with a link. If everything goes as I hope and will continue to push for, we will have twitter interactions in no time discussing the different ways we write that beginners can view and connect with writers that sync the best with them. This is as much about Tim, Paulo, Me, You and the millions of other writers in the world.

Stay Positive and Share For The Other Writers Seeking Advice

Garth E. Beyer

Credit

Credit for the interview and basis of this post goes to Tim Ferriss. After reading one post, you will without a doubt be checking Tim’s website daily waiting for the next.

Thank you to Paulo for sharing his personal expertise and enlightening us with fascinating posts at Paulo Coelho’s Blog