Are You Starving Your Soul?

  • An honest evaluation by Guest Blogger Nina Amir:

    I had to get really honest with myself. And then I had to get honest with others . . .

    I have been unhappy. I have not been successful. I have given away my power. I have not followed my own path. I have lived up to other people’s expectations.

    I have not lived the life I wanted to live or done the work that is my purpose in this lifetime—my life’s work.

    And something had to change. I had to change. My life had to change.

    I’d been starving my soul.

    Now, I am feeding it. I am creating, day by day, a life that feeds my soul.

    And every day I’m a bit happier and fulfilled.

    I’m starting to recognize myself again.

    I’m making little changes that put me back on the path I want to walk.

    People have asked me: “Why are you offering a program about personal and spiritual growth? You are an expert on writing, publishing, and blogging.”

    Well . . . I’m also a Certified High Performance Coach—which makes me an expert in personal growth.

    And I’ve been studying and writing about spirituality and metaphysics for years. And I’m a Law of Attraction (LOA) coach and a minister. I guess that makes me an expert in spiritual growth.

    And . . . more than any of the credentials, writing and coaching about personal and spiritual growth makes my heart and soul sing. It’s my passion. It inspires me.

    And, if I am going to live a life—create a life—that feeds my soul, I have to focus on my life’s work. I have to write and speak and coach about personal and spiritual growth.

    Watch the changes happening . . . to my website, my offerings, me . . .

    And ask yourself: Is your life starving your soul or feeding it?

    In this crazy world . . . at this crazy time . . . start living a life that feeds your soul. None of us know what will happen to us tomorrow.

    You are a creator. You are meant for more. Create a life that feeds your soul.

    If you want to know how to do that, go to www.ninaamir.com/ICC.

    Nina Amir is known as the Inspiration to Creation Coach because she helps her clients combine their passion and purpose so they Achieve More Inspired Results. It’s Nina’s mission to help people step into the best version of themselves, fulfill their purpose, and achieve their potential as they create fully lived lives.

    Nina Amir’s Books
    Nina is a hybrid author who has self-published 18 books. Her traditionally published books include How to Blog a Book, The Author Training Manual and Creative Visualization for Writers.

    Nina’s Blog

  • The following is from Nina Amir’s Blog, Write Nonfiction Now. Nina posts writing prompts on Fridays.  I really enjoyed Nina’s Prompt #10 and thought you might like it, too.  These ideas can also work for fiction writing.

    Create Book Ideas to Support Your Goals: Nonfiction Writing Prompt #10 by Nina Amir.

    Nina writes:

    If you want to write and publish books, the first step involves developing ideas. You may be a nonfiction writer with just one book idea or with many. However, if you have nonfiction writing goals, your book ideas should support your goals.

    I have many book ideas. Despite the fact that some of them really excite me, I have put quite a few on hold. I have them queued up in a logical order, one following the other so they help move me toward my goals.

    Sometimes those goals could be simple, such as get a traditional publishing deal. That may not sound “simple,” but, for example, I put aside some projects of mine that were outside my area of expertise to pursue that goal. I used my expertise to accomplish it. With traditionally published books under my belt that have performed well—a track record—I can move into other categories more easily, should I want to pursue traditional publishing for my other ideas. I can also pursue self-publishing now more successfully.

    Your goals could be to:

    • Attract more clients
    • Make more money
    • Develop authority
    • Tell my story
    • Serve others
    • Teach
    • Build a business around a book
    • Get more freelance assignments
    • Become a professional speaker

    Whatever your goals, it’s time to develop book ideas that support them.

    Write down your top two or three nonfiction writing goals. For each goal, also write down one or two reasons why you want to achieve that goal. Here’s an example of what that might look like:

    what are your writing goals

    Next, brainstorm tentative titles or subjects for books that would support those goals. Come up with at least one, preferably two for each goal. Prioritize them based on which will help you achieve your goal fastest. Here’s an example (without actual titles or subjects):Books for NF Writing GoalsIf you come up with other nonfiction book ideas you’d like to write during this process, write them down as well, but put them away for later. That’s what the “Other Books” category is for.  

    Nina’s newest book, The Author Training Manual is now available.  Be one of the first to own a copy of The Author Training Manual : Develop Marketable Ideas, Craft Books That Sell, Become the Author Publishers Want, and Self-Publish Effectively.

    Nina Amir Nina Amir, author of How to Blog a Book and The Author Training Manual, transforms writers into inspired, successful authors, authorpreneurs and blogpreneurs. Known as the Inspiration to Creation Coach, she moves her clients from ideas to finished books as well as to careers as authors by helping them combine their passion and purpose so they create products that positively and meaningfully impact the world. A sought-after author, book, blog-to-book, and results coach, some of Nina’s clients have sold 300,000+ copies of their books, landed deals with major publishing houses and created thriving businesses around their books. She writes four blogs, self-published 12 books and founded National Nonfiction Writing Month, aka the Write Nonfiction in November Challenge.

     

  • The following is from Nina Amir’s Blog, Write Nonfiction Now. Nina posts writing prompts on Fridays.  I really enjoyed Prompt #10 and thought you might like it, too.

    Create Book Ideas to Support Your Goals: Nonfiction Writing Prompt #10 by Nina Amir.

    If you want to write and publish books, the first step involves developing ideas. You may be a nonfiction writer with just one book idea or with many. However, if you have nonfiction writing goals, your book ideas should support your goals.

    I have many book ideas. Despite the fact that some of them really excite me, I have put quite a few on hold. I have them queued up in a logical order, one following the other so they help move me toward my goals.

    Sometimes those goals could be simple, such as get a traditional publishing deal. That may not sound “simple,” but, for example, I put aside some projects of mine that were outside my area of expertise to pursue that goal. I used my expertise to accomplish it. With traditionally published books under my belt that have performed well—a track record—I can move into other categories more easily, should I want to pursue traditional publishing for my other ideas. I can also pursue self-publishing now more successfully.

    Your goals could be to:

    • Attract more clients
    • Make more money
    • Develop authority
    • Tell your story
    • Serve others
    • Teach
    • Build a business around a book
    • Get more freelance assignments
    • Become a professional speaker

    Whatever your goals, it’s time to develop book ideas that support them.

    Write down your top two or three nonfiction writing goals. For each goal, also write down one or two reasons why you want to achieve that goal.

    Next, brainstorm tentative titles or subjects for books that would support those goals. Come up with at least one, preferably two for each goal. Prioritize them based on which will help you achieve your goal fastest.

    If you come up with other nonfiction book ideas you’d like to write during this process, write them down as well, but put them away for later.

    How many ideas did you come up with? Tell Nina in a comment by clicking here.  Scroll down to the bottom for the comments section. 

    Note:  Nina’s original post includes a chart and examples. . . to view the complete post, click here.

    Nina’s newest book, The Author Training Manual is now available.  Be one of the first to own a copy of The Author Training Manual : Develop Marketable Ideas, Craft Books That Sell, Become the Author Publishers Want, and Self-Publish Effectively.

    Nina Amir, author of How to Blog a Book and The Author Training Manual, transforms writers into inspired, successful authors, authorpreneurs and blogpreneurs. Known as the Inspiration to Creation Coach, she moves her clients from ideas to finished books as well as to careers as authors by helping them combine their passion and purpose so they create products that positively and meaningfully impact the world. A sought-after author, book, blog-to-book, and results coach, some of Nina’s clients have sold 300,000+ copies of their books, landed deals with major publishing houses and created thriving businesses around their books. She writes four blogs, self-published 12 books and founded National Nonfiction Writing Month, aka the Write Nonfiction in November Challenge.  Nina will be the November 20, 2014 Writers Forum Presenter.

    Nina Amir

  • B Lynn Goodwin

    What Would You Do With a Goal and a Deadline?

    Guest Blogger:

    B. Lynn Goodwin

    NaNoWriMo, www.nanowrimo.org, invites you to draft a 50,000 word novel in one month. I’m doing it for the second time, and I’m going for higher word totals than the 1667 suggested daily allotment. I just want this first draft out of my head. I want material to work with.

    Not a fiction writer? You can still achieve a 30-day goal with memoir, biography, or any other form of non-fiction thanks to author and writing coach Nina Amir’s WINFIN, http://writenonfictioninnovember.com/about-2/. WINFIN (Write Nonfiction in November) is “an annual challenge to create a work of nonfiction in 30 days.”

    The rules are simple: Decide what you’re going to complete and go for it. You can create “an article, an essay, a book, a book proposal, a white paper, or a manifesto” The program “operates on an honor system…no word counts logged in here. It’s a personal challenge, not a contest.” Simply describe the nature of your project and come back at the end of the month and say how you did.

    Working on a memoir? Guest blogger Dennis Ledoux provides a day- by-day guide that conveniently runs for 30 days: http://writenonfictionnow.com/how-to-write-your-memoir-in-30-days-2/. November 1 is an arbitrary start date, of course. Pick your own starting day, but pick it soon, and commit yourself to working on the project for the next 30 days. Need weekends off? Commit yourself to working for the next 40 days.

    The author of the bestselling How to Blog a Book: How to Write, Publish and Promote Your Work One Post at a Time (Writer’s Digest Books), Nina Amir is a nonfiction editor, proposal consultant, author and book coach, and blog-to-book coach with more than 34 years of experience in the publishing field.

    The other day I thought about starting a National Journaling Month. Journaling primes the pump and greases the wheels. It gets writers started. It helps them dig deeper into their thoughts and find multi-dimensional truths. Participants in the National Journaling Month could record daily events, track their eating or exercising or arguing behaviors, analyze and resolve a decision about school or work or parenting, derail a negative thought pattern, or celebrate the joys of life. Journaling is an outstanding preparation for any writing project. It helps you figure out what you really want to say.

    Journaling for 30 days can achieve its own set of miracles, just like completing a non-fiction project or even writing a 50,000-word novel. Set a goal. Then share it with a community of writers. You’ll never know what you can accomplish if you dream of writing instead of actually doing it.

    B. Lynn Goodwin is the owner of Writer Advice, www.writeradvice.com, and the author of You Want Me to Do WHAT? Journaling for Caregivers, available on Amazon. Her stories and articles have been published in Voices of Caregivers; Hip Mama; the Oakland Tribune; the Contra Costa Times; the Danville Weekly; Staying Sane When You’re Dieting; Small Press Review; Dramatics Magazine; Career; We Care; Thickjam.com, Friction Literary Journal, and The Sun.

    A former teacher, she conducts workshops and writes reviews for Story Circle Network and InspireMeToday. She’s working on a YA novel and brainstorming a memoir.

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