I'm learning to Think Sideways through my writing career
It's no secret that I keep stalling on my fiction every time I have a major non-fiction project in the works. I can't seem to concentrate on reality and unreality, and put in the work on both, at the same time. The first quarter of 2008 I was commissioned to create 40 brain teaser puzzles. The middle of the year saw a challenge to produce 100 Squidoo lenses to reach Top 100 Giant Squid status.
Writing about writing also has its downside, and I finally decided to call it a day at BellaOnline where I was the Fiction Writing Editor for two years, overlapping with a two-year stint as the Creativity Editor.
I decided I needed something to help me focus on my fiction career - not just the writing part of it, but the development and publication side of it too. I've started a year-long course called How to Think Sideways which I think will help me do exactly this, and also keep me on track and writing at least something during those messy and exciting months when we have a newborn on our hands.
This lens is your invitation to share in my experiences with this course and whether it's working for me, and to see whether I can reach my goal of redeveloping my writing career. One of my reasons for writing about my studies is the accountability to keep going with it by putting it out there. But that's not my only reason: I'm also promoting How to Think Sideways as a course for other writers who need mentorship in building a writing career. This course is not for everyone, so this is a good way for others to find out if it is right for them.
Public domain image by Petr Kratochvil
Writing about writing also has its downside, and I finally decided to call it a day at BellaOnline where I was the Fiction Writing Editor for two years, overlapping with a two-year stint as the Creativity Editor.
I decided I needed something to help me focus on my fiction career - not just the writing part of it, but the development and publication side of it too. I've started a year-long course called How to Think Sideways which I think will help me do exactly this, and also keep me on track and writing at least something during those messy and exciting months when we have a newborn on our hands.
This lens is your invitation to share in my experiences with this course and whether it's working for me, and to see whether I can reach my goal of redeveloping my writing career. One of my reasons for writing about my studies is the accountability to keep going with it by putting it out there. But that's not my only reason: I'm also promoting How to Think Sideways as a course for other writers who need mentorship in building a writing career. This course is not for everyone, so this is a good way for others to find out if it is right for them.
Public domain image by Petr Kratochvil
My experience
Follow me as I learn to Think Sideways
IdeasThe first four lessons. How I cope with breaking my "Thinking" barriers, discovering what I really want to write; learning to generate ideas on a deadline; and how to build on these ideas.
How to Think Sideways
A writing career development course by Holly Lisle
How To Think Sideways is an intensive course combining mentorship with coursework to build and develop your writing career into a sustainable, long-term vocation. You get to learn from Holly's mistakes (see some of the proposals that sold and the ones that didn't) and successes over her career, and take the steps you need towards publication.
The Think Sideways course is available as either a six month (one lesson per week) or twelve month (one lesson per fortnight) course.
Download a free sample of How to Think Sideways
(How to Think Sideways Sample includes an excerpt from Lesson 1, plus two downloadable modules so that you can see how the system works.)
How to Think Sideways Curriculum
Section 1: Ideas
Lesson 1
How to Break the Four "Thinking" Barriers that have stood in the way of your success in the past
Lesson 2
Discover your own "genre" that you can use wherever you choose to go in the publishing world
Lesson 3
How to Generate Ideas On a Deadline
Lesson 4
How to Recognize and Build On Good Ideas - figure out which ideas are worth writing, and learn how to improve your keepers.
Section 2: Project Planning
Lesson 5
How to Define Your Project's Needs
Lesson 6
How to Discover (or Create) Your Project's Market
Lesson 7
How to Develop Your Personal Project System
Lesson 8
How to Plan Your Project While NOT Killing Your Story
Section 3: First Chapters
Lesson 9
How to Write From Inside Your Story
Lesson 10
How to "Plan" Surprises that Surprise Even You
Lesson 11
How to Design Compelling Queries, Proposals, and Sample Chapters
Lesson 12
How to Create, Complicate, and Solve Problems
Section 4: Middles
Lesson 13
Maintaining your enthusiasm for your manuscript
Lesson 14
How to Find and Use Your "Planned" Surprises
Lesson 15
How to "Hire" Spies, and Why Your Project Needs Them
Lesson 16
How to Assess Your Progress and Make any Corrections before you go off track
Section 5: Endings
Lesson 17
How to Work With Editors, Agents, Marketing Departments, and Artists, and Not Wreck Your Project.
Lesson 18
How to Find the RIGHT Ending
Lesson 19
How to Bend Your Plan Without Breaking It
Lesson 20
How to Write the Ending That Sells the Next Book
Section 6: Wrap Up/Start Again
Lesson 21
How to work with editors and others in the publishing industry. Learn the "rules" that can make the difference between living the dream or fighting a nightmare.
Lesson 22
How to Plan Your Revision
Lesson 23
How to keep the parts of the book that must be in there for it to be the book you wrote (and identify what needs to be fixed)
Lesson 24
How to Deliver What You Promised and What They Want On Deadline
Lesson 25
How to NOT Be a One-Book Wonder---Learn to Produce Repeatable Results. Holly shares the secret to her success of being able to write the books she wants to write and keep selling them year in and year out.
Also...
In addition, you get:
A monthly video introducing you to the month's big concept
Weekly technique demos
A monthly checklist of all the steps you take to work your way through that portion of the system
A monthly Q&A where Holly answers the questions you've asked about the course on the board
Private workgroups of no more than 20 students, where you can brainstorm with colleagues (workgroups are entirely optional; you are not obligated to join in)
And a private class discussion board where you can network and research
Also included:
A selection of Holly's proposals - both successful and unsuccessful, so that you can see what worked and what didn't. Learn directly from Holly's mistakes instead of repeating them yourself.
A selection of critiques Holly has received from either an editor or agent.
First drafts and final drafts of some of Holly's published books, including a brutal line-per-scene from one book.
A selection of Holly's worldbuilding and development notes, sketches, and maps, to give you a feel for the way things change as project development goes along.
Copies of some brainstorming sessions from Holly's notebooks.
Holly says, "...before I learned how to do this right and then spent 17 years doing that, I spent seven years learning an amazing number of ways to do the job wrong. I'll steer you around my many, many mistakes while getting you to the system, techniques, and processes that work."
I've been floundering myself for 13 years, so this statement hit home for me.
Weekly technique demos
A monthly checklist of all the steps you take to work your way through that portion of the system
A monthly Q&A where Holly answers the questions you've asked about the course on the board
Private workgroups of no more than 20 students, where you can brainstorm with colleagues (workgroups are entirely optional; you are not obligated to join in)
And a private class discussion board where you can network and research
Also included:
A selection of Holly's proposals - both successful and unsuccessful, so that you can see what worked and what didn't. Learn directly from Holly's mistakes instead of repeating them yourself.
A selection of critiques Holly has received from either an editor or agent.
First drafts and final drafts of some of Holly's published books, including a brutal line-per-scene from one book.
A selection of Holly's worldbuilding and development notes, sketches, and maps, to give you a feel for the way things change as project development goes along.
Copies of some brainstorming sessions from Holly's notebooks.
Holly says, "...before I learned how to do this right and then spent 17 years doing that, I spent seven years learning an amazing number of ways to do the job wrong. I'll steer you around my many, many mistakes while getting you to the system, techniques, and processes that work."
I've been floundering myself for 13 years, so this statement hit home for me.
More workshops by Holly Lisle
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How to Beat Writer's Block
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I have been a fan of fantasy author Holly Lisle for many years. In addition to her prolific output of novels, Holly has also written extensive resources for other writers at her website and in ebook format. I have found her ebooks to be packed with g...
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How to Beat Writer's Block reviewed
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Although I managed to break a major case of writer’s block a few years ago, this year I found myself struggling through a series of minor blocks. The latest session arrived three weeks ago – just in time for me to try out Holly Lisle&rsqu...
Freebies
Download the following writing ebooks
- Introduction to Holly Lisle's Create a Plot Clinic
- This is the first 50 pages of her Plot Clinic ebook and contains so much information and analysis in itself that you'll be busy exploring the ideas for weeks.
- Mugging the Muse
- This is an old ebook, but a good one. If you don't already have your copy, grab it now. This is all Holly's advice for writers that she learnt the hard way at the start of her career. This one has to be downloaded through Holly's shop, but has no charge.
Novels by Holly Lisle
What do you think of your writing career?
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- Adrienne Jenkins Adrienne Jenkins Jun 17, 2009 @ 7:16 pm
- I keep stalling on my non-fiction book writing Squidoo lenses so I'm trying to tackle the writing of my book by breaking it down into lenses. Know what you mean.
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