Ask the Author: Julie Bestry
Answered Questions (5)
Julie Bestry
The biggest inspiration for me is when someone has a organizational or productivity problem that needs to be solved. When someone complains about a challenge, my instinct is to figure out what areas of my expertise can be used to help them. But I take that inspiration further when I ask myself how I can make a metaphor (often one from pop culture) to make sense of that problem. It doesn't mean I will use it in the writing, but if I imagine how this generic problem might be faced by a pop culture icon (maybe someone in a Shonda Rhimes show) and how my little solution might propel the plot in the direction I hope it will go, I'm inspired to be more creative in expressing the solution.
Julie Bestry
Don't wait. Write. Find writing prompts, and write. If you write non-fiction, use the writing prompt to come up with 5 different disparate answers to any given question and flesh it out. If you write fiction, take advantage of "morning pages" even if you don't actually write in the morning, and use writing prompts to open your mind, shake out the cobwebs, and get started. It's amazing how much just writing ANYthing will give you content you can later use when you're ready to actually follow an outline and write.
A writer writes. We're all guilty of procrastinating, but reading about writing (and editing and publishing) is not writing.
A writer writes. We're all guilty of procrastinating, but reading about writing (and editing and publishing) is not writing.
Julie Bestry
Secret #46 in my book, 57 Secrets for Organizing Your Small Business, is actually all about overcoming writer's block, so I could fill up a lot of space on this topic. But I'll I share two my favorite ideas:
1) Write to an imaginary pen pal. Sometimes, you know too much about a topic to get a handle on where to start. Begin with "Dear Pal, I am trying to write my [article, book, etc.] It's generally about [overarching idea]. I'm trying to bring together [list one to five major categories]. For example…" and then just free-write and talk about the subject. Don't worry about grammar or fret about logical connections. Just concentrate on creating understanding. Because it's not the monumental THING (book, project, etc.), but merely telling a random someone about the thing, that omnipresent fear of failure -- what usually keeps our brains in a tizzy -- dissipates.
2) Do nothing. Seriously. A whole LOT of nothing. Set a timer for 30 minutes, and block all distracting stimuli. Face a blank pad or empty screen, but don't write. You may have to sit on your hands, but do not, under any circumstances, write. You have no idea how slowly time passes when you're staring at nothing, forbidden to create. Your thoughts may wander a bit, but by the end of the half-hour, your brain will be fairly bursting with ideas and you'll be chomping at the bit to start writing.
1) Write to an imaginary pen pal. Sometimes, you know too much about a topic to get a handle on where to start. Begin with "Dear Pal, I am trying to write my [article, book, etc.] It's generally about [overarching idea]. I'm trying to bring together [list one to five major categories]. For example…" and then just free-write and talk about the subject. Don't worry about grammar or fret about logical connections. Just concentrate on creating understanding. Because it's not the monumental THING (book, project, etc.), but merely telling a random someone about the thing, that omnipresent fear of failure -- what usually keeps our brains in a tizzy -- dissipates.
2) Do nothing. Seriously. A whole LOT of nothing. Set a timer for 30 minutes, and block all distracting stimuli. Face a blank pad or empty screen, but don't write. You may have to sit on your hands, but do not, under any circumstances, write. You have no idea how slowly time passes when you're staring at nothing, forbidden to create. Your thoughts may wander a bit, but by the end of the half-hour, your brain will be fairly bursting with ideas and you'll be chomping at the bit to start writing.
Julie Bestry
My last book, 57 Secrets for Organizing Your Small Business, part of my publisher's series for small business professionals, was for a pretty huge "niche" -- there are a lot of professionals out there.
My next book also tackles an increasingly large niche -- people with diabetes and the parents/loved ones of people with diabetes. Almost everyone needs organizing guidance in some area of life, and anyone with a chronic condition such as diabetes knows that there's so much to keep organized (e.g., medications, supplies and food; maintaining and making sense of medical bills; dealing with health-related needs at work, school, home and while traveling, etc.)
As a person with diabetes myself, I know first-hand that T1s, T2s, people with LADA and MOBY and gestational diabetes, and all the people who care about them, need improved organizing systems (in terms of tangible space, behavioral habits and time management) to make life with diabetes easier.
Organization is one key to thriving, so I'm really excited about working on this next book project.
My next book also tackles an increasingly large niche -- people with diabetes and the parents/loved ones of people with diabetes. Almost everyone needs organizing guidance in some area of life, and anyone with a chronic condition such as diabetes knows that there's so much to keep organized (e.g., medications, supplies and food; maintaining and making sense of medical bills; dealing with health-related needs at work, school, home and while traveling, etc.)
As a person with diabetes myself, I know first-hand that T1s, T2s, people with LADA and MOBY and gestational diabetes, and all the people who care about them, need improved organizing systems (in terms of tangible space, behavioral habits and time management) to make life with diabetes easier.
Organization is one key to thriving, so I'm really excited about working on this next book project.
Julie Bestry
57 Secrets for Organizing Your Small Business developed directly from the questions I was getting -- and the answers I was giving. My clients contacted me because they struggling with how to deal with overwhelm in their time, space and thoughts, and kept telling me how they wished someone had told them "this" (whether it's about time management or paper control, filing systems or dealing with writer's block) earlier in their lives.
So often, people think they're "special snowflakes" -- the only ones with a particular problem -- and that they can't change how they do things. Yes, we're all unique, and our solutions have to be customized to us so that we won't struggle against the implementation. But most often, people have just never been given solutions that make sense to them, or been convinced that a problem really is surmountable.
57 Secrets for Organizing Your Small Business was my way of reaching out to all the people who don't already have innate organizing skills to cover ALL of their needs, to show them that there's an easier, more replicable way to get what they want. To let them know they aren't alone, and don't have to be frustrated.
So, the credit for the idea of writing this book goes to my clients, who let me know that people needed this kind of guide.
So often, people think they're "special snowflakes" -- the only ones with a particular problem -- and that they can't change how they do things. Yes, we're all unique, and our solutions have to be customized to us so that we won't struggle against the implementation. But most often, people have just never been given solutions that make sense to them, or been convinced that a problem really is surmountable.
57 Secrets for Organizing Your Small Business was my way of reaching out to all the people who don't already have innate organizing skills to cover ALL of their needs, to show them that there's an easier, more replicable way to get what they want. To let them know they aren't alone, and don't have to be frustrated.
So, the credit for the idea of writing this book goes to my clients, who let me know that people needed this kind of guide.
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