The messy middle
Last week I wrote a book. It was only supposed to be a short book, but as the days moved on, it got bigger and bigger. And by Friday, it was over 14,000 words. OK, it’s not a complete book yet, although it’s getting there…
It went well for the first few days. I purposely cleared my diary, except for a hair appointment and lunch with my mum on Tuesday. Well, having some down time is essential for creativity!
As I advise my clients, I started with the main part of my book, leaving the introductory chapters to last. By Wednesday evening, the five core parts were drafted. I was a few words shy of 10,000 words before I ran out of steam.
And on Thursday morning, I was in the messy middle.
The danger of scoping out a specific period of time to work on a project like this is that you can’t always find your flow.
I prowled around the house that morning. I tried the stuff that usually works. Yoga. Reading a book. Going ‘old school’ with paper and pen. Putting the kettle on. And trying not to keep going in and out of the fridge 🙂
The ‘4 Levels of Competence’
There’s a great model that I shared with some of my Smart Author – Fast Track clients a few weeks ago that may help if you ever find yourself in the messy middle. You may have heard of it. It’s called the ‘4 Levels of Competence’. Here’s an outline and my definitions.
Unconscious incompetence – you don’t know what you don’t know
Conscious incompetence – you start to become aware of what you don’t know
Conscious competence – you know that you know your stuff
Unconscious competence – what you do is second nature and you do it without thinking
Although most authors, due to their expertise, are in the unconscious competence stage most of the time, if they are struggling to bring alive what they know, it’s easy to slip back into the conscious incompetence stage. And when it comes to the book writing process, then they often are in the first couple of stages.
The messy middle tips
If you’re ever going through this experience in the messy midde, there are a few things you can do.
- Have a call with your book mentor or a trusted colleague. Because talking through your ideas will encourage you to stop censoring your thoughts and give you insights and ideas. And put you back on the right path.
- Remind yourself of the clients you’ve worked with and the successes you’ve had, which may well be going in your book.
- Take a break. Because there’s not much point in forcing anything that isn’t working right now.
I took the first option, and soon got back into flow and then I wrote this blog to share my experiences.
There is a messy middle that most people face when working on a project. Hey, it may not surprise you that a massive tome has already been written on this topic!
And my job as your book mentor is to get you through the messy middle as quickly as you can. If you’re in the messy middle and you want to get out of it quickly, then it’s time to have a chat with me.
Ready to get help?
When you’re ready to get help with your book, here are three ways I can support you.
1. Join a Make It Happen day (via Zoom)
Like a mini writing retreat, spend a day with me to get focus. Whether you are planning, writing, editing or marketing your book, you will work alongside a group of like-minded authors, and get guidance, support and advice to make your book happen! www.librotas.com/make-it-happen.
2. Sign up for the Smart Author System
The Smart Author System is my six-week online programme where you’ll learn everything you need to turn your book idea into a manuscript ready to be published. Plus, you will discover how to self-validate and self-fund your book as you write it, so you don’t have to wait until your book is published to get results from your writing and expertise www.librotas.com/smartauthor.
3. Work with me on a one-to-one book mentoring programme
I work with a small number of people on a one-to-one basis, so if you want my personal support to help you to plan, write, publish and launch your book over the coming year, then click here to book a call.