Ask the Author: Dominika Choroszko
Answered Questions (6)
Dominika Choroszko
The best ideas come to me when I'm completely relaxed and not thinking about the task in question.
So as inconvenient as it is, vast majority of good ideas come to me...when I go for a walk! I'd say a third of my book was written on my mobile phone whilst admiring birds, trees and insects!
It sounds bizarre, I know, but there's something to it. Forcing yourself to think creates resistance. Letting yourself be and enjoying the moment puts you in that meditative state that somehow weirdly inspires creativity.
So as inconvenient as it is, vast majority of good ideas come to me...when I go for a walk! I'd say a third of my book was written on my mobile phone whilst admiring birds, trees and insects!
It sounds bizarre, I know, but there's something to it. Forcing yourself to think creates resistance. Letting yourself be and enjoying the moment puts you in that meditative state that somehow weirdly inspires creativity.
Dominika Choroszko
When I was a kid, I always saw writers as these mythical creatures haha! I thought to myself: "Wow...this stuff literally came out of someone's head! And how did they even come up with all this! And it's all in a beautiful shiny cover! And this person's name is on it!! It must be a great feeling...I guess I'll never know."
And now *I'm* one of these mythical creatures! But on a serious note, it feels great because writing a book is not something that can give you instant gratification. It requires discipline, resilience and the ability to plough through even when you're having a shit day/week/month.
There are loads of people you need to work with to make your book the best it can be: editor, proofreader, cover designer, interior designer (formatting). And as such, there will always be unexpected delays and problems along the way which you have to solve.
So when you finally get that first paperback delivered, open the box and see the physical proof of the months/years of your hard work and your own ability to commit to a long project - there's simply no words to describe how awesome that feels!
And now *I'm* one of these mythical creatures! But on a serious note, it feels great because writing a book is not something that can give you instant gratification. It requires discipline, resilience and the ability to plough through even when you're having a shit day/week/month.
There are loads of people you need to work with to make your book the best it can be: editor, proofreader, cover designer, interior designer (formatting). And as such, there will always be unexpected delays and problems along the way which you have to solve.
So when you finally get that first paperback delivered, open the box and see the physical proof of the months/years of your hard work and your own ability to commit to a long project - there's simply no words to describe how awesome that feels!
Dominika Choroszko
Not everyone likes reading and there are loads of people out there who learn better by watching videos, so my next project is to create online courses rooted in the content of my book.
Dominika Choroszko
When I was writing my book, there were days when I could happily bash out 1000 words without batting an eyelid. Happy days. But this was laced with less fortunate times when I couldn't think of anything worse than writing, my ideas were crap and I could barely put a sentence together.
That's when I'd simply force myself to write three or four sentences. Anything that came to my mind, no matter how bad it was. And what I found was that 99% of the time, this would actually 'unblock me', I'd get in the flow of things and end up writing something decent! It's just like going to the gym - you're dreading it, but then you get in the car, drive to the gym, do a warm up, do a set of shoulder presses and before you know it, you end up having a really good session.
And that remaining 1%? Well...sometimes it just wasn't meant to be and my brain needed a good reset/distraction/a shot of whiskey. And that's ok too.
That's when I'd simply force myself to write three or four sentences. Anything that came to my mind, no matter how bad it was. And what I found was that 99% of the time, this would actually 'unblock me', I'd get in the flow of things and end up writing something decent! It's just like going to the gym - you're dreading it, but then you get in the car, drive to the gym, do a warm up, do a set of shoulder presses and before you know it, you end up having a really good session.
And that remaining 1%? Well...sometimes it just wasn't meant to be and my brain needed a good reset/distraction/a shot of whiskey. And that's ok too.
Dominika Choroszko
Writing your first non-fiction book might seem like a daunting task, especially when you're staring at a blank page. Stop thinking about 'writing a book' and instead, every time you have an idea, write it down in a Word doc. As you keep adding thoughts and ideas, themes will start to emerge. That's your 'baby outline'. And after a while, you'll end up with even more themes and ideas and with a bloody solid outline. At this point, your book basically writes itself - you follow the outline (which is already full of concepts and ideas) and just fill in the gaps with a narrative.
Dominika Choroszko
For a long time, I was miserable and chased that magical 'purpose in life' and 'happiness'. And as I learnt along the way - it's not possible to only ever be happy and ride a unicorn into the sunset at the end of each and every day, BUT, there are always ways to make your life suck just a little bit less. And that's what the book is essentially about.
Personally, there are three areas that affect me the most: the physical environment (clutter and mess at home makes me miserable and stressed out), mindset (what I think and believe will greatly determine whether or not I take action, and it has a huge effect on relationships and career) and personal finances (let's not beat around the bush - if you're struggling to pay your bills and only ever eat dry toast, you're going to be miserable).
Therefore, my book 'F*ck You Chaos' is split into three categories: home, mindset and personal finances, where I describe my most successful and effective approaches from the last couple of decades, combined with personal experiences to bring them to life.
Personally, there are three areas that affect me the most: the physical environment (clutter and mess at home makes me miserable and stressed out), mindset (what I think and believe will greatly determine whether or not I take action, and it has a huge effect on relationships and career) and personal finances (let's not beat around the bush - if you're struggling to pay your bills and only ever eat dry toast, you're going to be miserable).
Therefore, my book 'F*ck You Chaos' is split into three categories: home, mindset and personal finances, where I describe my most successful and effective approaches from the last couple of decades, combined with personal experiences to bring them to life.
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