The irony is…

The crazier, more nonsensical, personal, candid, and let’s face it – strange – the things that you’re thinking of writing are, the more you should consider sharing them with readers.

Creativity takes courage. Being a writer turns that courage into words.

So how do you get the guts to turn the thoughts in your head into words on the page?

Here’s some inspiration, reasons & questions to challenge yourself:

1.Why not? What’s the worst thing that could happen if you brought to life on the page some of that writer weirdness floating around in your head? We’re long past the age of actual tarring & feathering, witch hangings, and torch yielding mobs. Sure, there’s the internet version of all that by way of social media. But fortunately the internet has an off switch. Also, you could get crucified on Twitter for disagreeing with the popular opinion about a TV show so why not at least make the internet crucifixion worth it by REALLY going there as a writer?

2. Speaking of being a writer – you’re a writer! You have the actual talent and ability to translate the thoughts in your head into words. Show off a little, take your talent out for a spin like the intellectual Ferrari it is, enjoy the talent that SO many other people would love to have by sharing something juicy! Being an author is FUN!

3. There are other people out there who will relate to your thoughts, no matter how crazy. That’s the beauty of the human race – it’s literally huge, so you have the law of statistics and probability squarely in your corner. SOMEONE somewhere will get and maybe even love your crazy ideas! And for the ones who don’t get you and maybe even hate your crazy ideas – who cares? They’re not your audience. To heck with them. Some other author is writing for them, not you.

4. If your crazy, candid, personal ideas are even overwhelming and confusing to you, then you absolutely MUST write them down! Even if you don’t end up publishing them, just getting all the weirdness down in writing will help you sort them out, make sense of them and yes, make them less horrifying. I promise you. Let your ideas (stories, lessons, thoughts, visions) see the light of day. Shine a light on the monster in the shadows and make it your friend.

5. Finally, think about all the authors before you… many of them famous, some legendary, who also thought their thoughts were horrifying and strange. But they wrote them down anyway – and made a difference in the world by doing so.

Speaking of other authors, and certainly on the “non famous” end of things, here’s my own personal confession.  Of my own 4 books (not counting the dozen plus that I’ve ghostwritten), one is a novel, and it ranks pretty high on the “crazy” scale too. My two protagonists are delusional murderous criminals. But as it turns out, my readers fell in love with them! My middle-aged female readers even wanted to mother one of them. One reader connected so deeply with the characters, she sent me a McDonald’s gift card based on a particular meal that happened in the story. (Did I mention? Being an author is FUN!)

The point is, my characters and their escapades were weird, dark, and intense. If I’d have thought “logically” about it, I could have easily come up with at least a dozen reasons NOT to write and publish Canyon Road. But instead, for some of the very reasons in the list above, especially the “fun” one, I chose to take a chance and empty the crazy thoughts in my head onto the page.

And later this year, I’m doing it all over again with my memoir, this time sharing real life, not fictional, details of my life, some of which I NEVER thought I’d share. Because it’s worth it.

I hope it’s worth it for you too!

PS: Need help coming up with a game plan to get started on your book? Click here to schedule your free 30 minute consultation with me to bounce your “crazy” book idea off me!