Confident Writing

10 Ways My Coaching Clients Inspire Me

The inspiration theme has got me thinking about my own sources of inspiration, not just what inspires me to write, but to do what I do, including my work as a writing coach. 

I get a great deal of inspiration from the people I work with and I thought this might be a good moment to explore some of the why and the how (using the structure of the numbered list to get me thinking.) 

These were the ten ways I came up with.

10 Ways My Writing Coaching Clients Inspire Me

#1 I am lucky enough to have a number of clients who are themselves coaches, or leaders in their field, people who are interested in big ideas, pushing the boundaries of the professions they're in.  I get to learn from their learning, their ideas, their teaching and coaching as we go

#2 I have clients all over the world.  This excites me, intrigues me, inspires me - this crossing of borders, boundaries, continents - I love it

#3 However much I try to package and bundle the services I offer to make it easier to explain and promote - the beauty of coaching is that every client brings a different story, a different set of issues and requirements, which means I learn something new from every interaction

#4 Writing is important to my clients - I know it sounds obvious but learning about why their words count be it for business, to write a blog, for creativity, self-expression or a stronger sense of identity reminds me that what I do is valuable, it matters, it counts

#5 I can lose myself in the detailed work of editing, providing feedback and critiquing - maybe this is what people mean when they talk about working in a flow state 

#6 It's a buzz when I see my clients putting what they've learned into practice

# 7 Everyone's writing style is different - so getting under the skin of their words helps me learn from other people's writing, to extend my own register, to see things I could do with my own writing

#8 I know that opening up and asking for feedback can be a big thing - so each time someone does it feels like a privilege to be invited in to share their words.  I value and respect that invitation.

#9  I'm learning with a purpose.  When I'm researching something for a client whether it's detailed guidance on comma splices (not too often thankfully!) or coming up with assignments to get over blocks, to get the words to flow - I'm reading, researching, thinking, checking notes, files, books and references with a purpose, making it a most enjoyable search

#10 Their words want to be free.  And it is so much fun helping to find the way to liberate them!

How about you?  What kind of inspiration do you get from the people you coach, teach, manage, raise, encourage, write for?

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If you'd like to inspire me with your own writing project, please do contact me.  I work with people in a variety of ways including telephone coaching, coaching by e-mail, writing critiques, assignments + feedback as part of a mentoring programme - you'll find out more by clicking onto the work with me page.

This piece is a contribution to this month's inspiration theme - stay tuned for more!

Joanna Young, The Confident Writing Coach
Because our words count

Photo Credit: Leading By Inspiration by Thiru Mirugan on Flickr

10 writing remedies for the post-Christmas blues

Feeling the after-effects of over-indulgence?  Before you reach for the medicine cabinet here are 10 writing remedies to see you through the post-Christmas blues:

1.    DO keep writing over the holidays  Steal a little bit of space to write your journal or update your blog.  Writing helps to clear to the head.  You’ll feel better for it.  The people around about you might thank you for it too.

2.    DON’T let words make things worse Over-generalisations, dramatic language, critical thoughts can magnify a problem.  Test and challenge the words you find yourself using.  Use your word power to find a more detailed and specific way of describing it.  Then watch the problem start to break down and dissolve.

3.    DO write your way through it  Create some private writing space where you can write the specifics of the things that are getting you down.  It’ll help you digest the experience.  Try some backwards prompts to get the words to flow:  10 minutes on “I don’t want to write about…”

4.    DO write what you’re grateful for  Find the specific words and write them down.  It’ll make you feel better.  If this seems like a challenge right now, look for the one thing in the last 24 hours that you’re most grateful for.

5.    DON’T discount the power of your own words  The excesses of consumerism can leave us feeling that everything is pointless.  Writing isn’t.  Ask yourself who your writing is affecting: your clients, customers, friends, family, peers, colleagues, readers.  Yourself.  Focus on ways you can make that impact a positive one.

6.    DO focus on what you can change  There’s always a chance to learn, to stretch, to grow.  If nothing else you can follow Confident Writing, improve your writing style and write with greater confidence

7.    DO make 2008 to start writing a blog  It’s a great way to get feedback on your writing, to experiment with new writing styles, to learn what works, to make connections with other bloggers.  This time last year I never dreamed I’d be running an Italian writing workshop with a freelance writer who lives in Sardinia, who I haven’t met (yet), but I’ve come to know, well, through the power of blogging.

8.    DON’T set yourself writing resolutions you’re not going to keep.  You’ll know inside if you’re deceiving yourself.  Focus on what you can and will do: it's more motivating.

9.    DO think about your inner resources  Spend a bit of time thinking about the inner resources you’ll draw on to achieve your writing goals.  This process will quickly make you start to feel more resourceful.

10.    DO check out our new Absorbing Writing workshop: 4 days, 5 nights in sun-drenched Sardinia learning how to write with rapport, with authenticity, capturing the essence of a place.  Hmm. Four days of absorbing writing.  It might be just the tonic you’re looking for.

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Absorbing Writing is a four day workshop taking place in Sardinia, Italy on October 2 - 7 2008.   

It's being run jointly by me Joanna Young and Emma Bird from HowToItaly.  You can find out more on the Absorbing Writing blog, including how to enrol.

Joanna Young, The Confident Writing Coach
Because our words count

Photo credit: Spencer E Holtaway

Resources for writers: your writing wish-list

I asked you last week about the resources that would help you achieve your writing goals in 2008.  And we weren't so much talking about the practicalities here but the inner resources that you'd draw on to inspire your writing.

You might think of it as a frame of mind, or a different way of looking at things. Perhaps you are used to thinking about the state you're in, and ways you can manage your state to live life more deliberately.   It's the qualities that we know will help us to write, to live, the way that we want to.  It's some of the things that I describe as the ingredients of confident writing - not just the art and craft of writing but the essence of what goes into it: passion, spirit, intention.

The post generated some interesting discussion about the value of setting goals, and the need to balance long-term big-picture dreams with shorter term goals.  As Jim Murdoch from The Truth About Lies put it:

Short-term goals are the way to go. They boost confidence for starters. If you have a history of small successes bigger ones don't look so unattainable.

Following on from this the inner resource he'll be drawing on in 2008 is realisticness.  As he says, maybe not a 'proper' word - but we know what he means.

Jeanne Dinnini from Writer's Notes reminded me of the quality of niceness - something to be treasured in other bloggers, and a quality that can work its way softly into our writing style, helping us to write with humanity, kindness and rapport.

I'd suggested that short, even one word answers would be fine for this particular writing challenge.  Emma Bird from HowToItaly picked this up by 'tweeting' her reply (= microblogging entry on Twitter, with 140 character max).  She mentioned:

Our own experiences.  Our travel memories.  All our senses

She's right (and I recognise so much of this in her own writing).  Drawing on things that we already know - things we are seeing, witnessing, experiencing, breathing in, absorbing.  Working them into our writing so it absorbs us and our readers too.

There were four powerful one-word answers from Brad Shorr at Word Sell Inc, getting straight to the point.  His answer sends shivers down my spine - which suggests it's telling a powerful truth, or reminding me of something important that I need to learn or remember. 

Simplicity.  Honesty.  Clarity.  Compassion.

Mervi shared the challenge, at times, of finding the passion to write for other people, including the translating work that he does.  And talked about ways of balancing this writing of other people's words with finding the space to write his own.  Two key resources emerged here:  creativity, and time.  As he says,

I can't force myself to be more creative but I can try to give more time to my own writing.

Terry Heath talked about the importance of honesty in his writing:

If I could have any writer's gift for Christmas, it would be honesty. Honesty in voice, style, and content. Honesty in the uniqueness of ideas.

I think many of us would share this wish.

There's one other resource that I was reminded of this morning.  I got a lovely e-mail from a blogging friend who talked about the importance of quiet:

When there is a quietness around, the muse needs no urging, it just flows.

So there we have it, the Christmas wish-list for confident writers.

Realisticness.  Niceness. Our own experiences.  Our travel memories.  All our senses.  Simplicity.  Honesty.  Clarity.  Compassion.  Creativity.  Time.  Quiet.

Of course you'll know by know that these aren't things we can get by wishing for.  They aren't going to magic themselves under the tree.  I couldn't put it any better than Terry when he commented:

I know if I really want that gift I'm going to have to go out and get it for myself; wishful thinking won't deliver the goods, and I'm ready to do the work. I know that is part of the message behind your wish list. Once we realize what we need, we can set out to get it.

So I guess that would be my Christmas gift to you.  Asking  yourself what inner resources will help you achieve your writing goals in 2008.  Because once you realize what you need, you can set out to get it.

This is my last post before Christmas, should be back (briefly) just after Boxing Day, then normal business will resume from the 7th onwards.  So it just leaves me to say congratulations to Mervi who was the lucky winner from the "inner resources" reader competition, thanks to everyone who contributed ideas, suggestions and qualities to add to our list, and to wish all of you a very happy and peaceful Christmas.

Joanna Young, The Confident Writing Coach
Because our words count

Your writing resources for 2008: a reader question and offer

Photo by racatumba

At this time of year our thoughts naturally turn to goals and resolutions for the year ahead.   And that might well include some writing goals and resolutions too - if you write as part of your work, are looking for more and better ways to write about your business, want to be more confident in the words that you use, have got a book in you (somewhere), or just know that 2008 is the year that you're going to become a writer.

But just as important as the goals we set and resolutions we make are the resources at our disposal to make them happen.  And although there might be some practical resources thrown in here - like a new laptop, a fountain pen or a moleskin to record your scribbles and thoughts - I'm thinking more about our inner resources that will get us writing. 

You might think of it as a frame of mind, or a different way of looking at things. Perhaps you are used to thinking about the state you're in, and ways you can manage your state to live life more deliberately.   It's the qualities that we know will help us to write, to live, the way that we want to.  It's some of the things that I describe as the ingredients of confident writing - not just the art and craft of writing but the essence of what goes into it: passion, spirit, intention.

I wrote a wish list of my own for a piece of writing at Joyful Jubilant Learning.  Oddly enough, all I wanted for Christmas started with a "p", including:

Persuasiveness: Maybe this sounds funny coming from a writing coach but I know I can take my writing further - for greater impact, power and persuasion.

Power: I talk about people realising the power of their own words.  I need to realise mine too.  To learn how to toot, sweetly - and not to be afraid of where that takes me.

Passion: It goes hand in hand with impact, power and persuasion.    I see the fire-power in others, but I'm sometimes too hesitant or cautious to breathe it fully myself.

And then I thought it might be interesting to compile a list of the resources that help us to write.  That will help you to write, and to achieve your writing goals.   The good thing about this exercise is that we can't do it without tapping into our inner knowledge of how we function best, of remembering the resources that will help us get where we want to be, and of starting to feel more resourceful.  (In a nutshell - this is how coaching works.)

Which makes it a win-win.  I learn more about the resources that help us to write.  You start to tap into your own natural resources.  We learn from each other's perspectives.  Oh and seeing as how it's the holiday season I'm going to throw in a lucky dip draw* for readers who respond to this question:

What inner resources will help you achieve your writing goals in 2008?

How to take part:

• Leave a comment in the box below, or blog about it and share the link
• UPDATE: Or leave me a message on Twitter (Thanks Emma)
• Short answers are fine - but let me not stop you if you want to compose a list, blog post, poem...
• And yes I mean short, one word if you want (but please be nice!)
• Names of contributors will be put into a hat
• Lucky winner gets a choice of book from my Confident Writing Amazon store *
• I'll leave this open until midnight next Thursday (20th) December

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If you've already started thinking about your writing goals and know that you want to work with a writing coach to help you achieve them - why not get in touch so we're ready to roll come the start of January?

And if you know a regular supply of writing tips will help to keep you motivated, don't forget to subscribe to the confident writing feed.

Joanna Young, The Confident Writing Coach
Because our words count

Boost your writing motivation in five minutes

Why does curiosity feature in my 12 ingredients of confident writing?  One of the main reasons is that it's great for keeping us motivated and enthusiastic about writing.  And when I'm coaching people to write with more confidence we often need to look as much (if not more) at attitude and motivation as at some of the more technical writing skills.  It's also good for keeping my own motivation levels up!

This week's podcast looks at 5 ways that curiosity can kick-start our motivation - not so much for beating writer's block, more for those times when we're too jaded to write. 

I'm sure there are more but in just five minute (and 10 seconds to be precise) I covered:

Curiosity about words: enjoying words and language, being playful and flirtatious with words

Curiosity about your own writing: spending time writing just for you, and learning from what you write

Curiosity about your readers: how well do you know your readers?  Getting to know them better, fleshing them out as real people makes the writing process more engaging and enjoyable

Curious perspective: changing your point of view and looking at things in a new light can reawaken your own interest in what you're writing about

Curiously specific: getting below the surface, being specific about what you see, hear and feel will make your writing more vivid.  It can also reawaken your senses, and make you more interested in the world round about you - which does tend to be good for the motivation...

Do you use any of these techniques to get you past that 'same old, same old' feeling?  Or do you have other tips and techniques you'd be willing to share?

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You can listen to the podcast by following this link or going to my gcast page. You can explore the archive of Confident Writing podcasts here.

Linked pieces:

The motivation to write
5 top tips for beating blogger's block
Who are you writing for?

Do you have a writing question you'd like me to cover in a podcast or writing tips piece?  You can let me know in the comment box below or e-mail me at joanna@confidentwriting.com

Joanna Young, The Confident Writing Coach
Because our words count

PS Sorry if my voice sounds a little flat in this week's podcast - it's not that I'm lacking motivation, honest, I think I'm coming down with a cold and it's amplified in the audio...

How to write feedback to make a connection

One of the things I love the most about working as a writing coach is providing feedback on people's written work.  I love delving deep inside their words, getting a feel for their rhythm, tone, style, their patterns of speech.  I love figuring out how their words could be even clearer and punchier, how cutting away some of the verbal clutter or restructuring the text can create an instant, powerful impact.  And I love working out how to construct my own feedback to the person who's invited me in to their writing space to share their thoughts, their feelings and their words.

I've been thinking about some of the things I try and do when I'm writing feedback - and that it might be useful to share these with you.  (Of course my feedback is on people's writing, but I think the same principles apply to other areas of endeavor.)  My ingredients of constructive feedback include:

A relentless focus on the positive People already spend too much time beating themselves up.  I often have to work hard to get people used to the idea that their words, their writing, is of value.  I will always pick out the positive features of a piece of writing

Recognise the positive intention I try and figure out the positive intention behind the words.  It's another positive hook to focus on, and allows me to identify practical ways to adjust the language in order to deliver on the intention

Acknowledge subjectivity Feedback can only ever be partial, based on your knowledge, skills, experience, perspective.  I try and say things like "if I were writing this I'd try and do it this way round..." rather than a more directive "you should" ("shoulds" don't tend to help anyone that much)

Share your reactions This follows on from feedback being subjective. If a piece of writing has moved me, affected me in some way - even if it's just a short sentence, a turn of phrase, a most powerful word - I'll say so.  (This alone can forge the most powerful connection)

Be specific I think this is why I love giving feedback.  It forces you into the detail - what specifically has gone a bit skew-iff with this bit of writing?  What specifically did you like about it?  Which words specifically struck a chord with you?  And again, playing those specific words back can create a strong connection between you and the other peerson

Be constructive People are looking for ways to improve.  Don't criticise and pick holes - look for ways to help someone become even better

Be honest A client asked me recently if I'd be honest in the feedback I gave them.  My answer was yes, of course.  That doesn't mean I'll be blunt, or pick holes in their writing.  I might want to get to know them (and their writing) a little better before we got down to the bare bones - because it might be that what they need more than anything is positive feedback, suggestions and confidence-building

Put yourself in their shoes That's about finding the positive intention, what the writer was trying to convey, and feeling your way into their words.  For example if someone is always writing exceptionally long sentences that might suggest that they're lacking a little confidence in expressing the point, or don't (yet) believe that it's okay to use short sentences.

Build on strengths Everyone's writing is different (just as everyone's contribution at work is different).  There's no point trying to build an identikit worker or writer. My aim is to build on, encourage, inspire the writer within to realise the power of their own words

Mean it Feedback is a way of forging a most powerful connection with someone else - their work, their words, the intention that's driving them.  It won't work if you don't mean it - but it sure will if you do.

Can you help me add to this list of ingredients?  What kind of positive feedback works for you?  What do  you build in when you're offering feedback to someone else?

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Looking for feedback on your own writing?  It's a powerful way to learn.  Find out how to get a critique of your writing from me,

Joanna Young, The Confident Writing Coach
Because our words count

Getting clear on solutions: the writing coach business

I'm working on ways to improve the way I write about my own business (do you have days like that too?)

Earlier this week I was reading Liz Strauss on ways to market your business.  She was talking about business strategy too - like not inventing a new and better product just because you can.  Because products only have value in relation to the problems that people have and the solutions that you can offer.  This was pitched in the context of mice and mousetraps (go read the post for the whole story!)

A better mousetrap becomes a paperweight when no one has mouse problem.
Customers don’t want innovation. They want solutions.

Anyway, she got me thinking about the mice and the mousetraps in my business.  I guess one of the things that I need to get clearer on is just what the writing coach 'mousetrap' is for.  I know that a lot of people make a leap from the words 'writing coach' to someone who helps great writers finish their novel, or offers advice on plot lines and character development, or whips young journalists into shape on the training ground of a national newspaper. 

And that's not the kind of coaching that I do at all.

(Perhaps I need to find a better term for what I do - but it hasn't occurred to me yet.  If you think of one maybe you could let me know?)

I work with people who write as part of their everyday work - whether that's writing reports, letters, e-mails, blog posts, correspondence, promotional material or a book about what they do.  I work with people who would never think of themselves as 'writers'.  Just people who need or want to write with greater confidence.

I work with people who have:

• lost confidence in their words after many years of being criticised by a teacher or a boss
• unrealistic expectations about what they should be able to write, and hate writing as a consequence
• fears and anxieties about grammar rules that they've learned from school, and can't shake off
• lost their own voice
• got stuck in their job because they can't find a way to release the power of their words
• lost their own words in the dead lifeless language of large organisations
• got so close to their own purpose or cause that they can't find the words to describe it
• an idea that 'writing' is something different to do what they do - and so disregard the power of their own words

Okay, I'll stop there.  It's not a bad start.  It's a bit more about the problems with the mice than the benefits of the mousetrap.  But it's helped me in getting clear.  Getting clear about who I'm working with, and why.

Helped me take some of my own medicine: finding my own words to talk about what I do.  Stepping back from the fear of a sales pitch and reaching for the words that tell a more important story: why you do what you do.  And why it matters.

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Do you want write with greater confidence? Click here to find out how we can do just that: together.

Joanna Young, The Confident Writing Coach
Because our words count

Business writing with confidence: beyond the training room

Would you like to be more confident writing at work? 

You wouldn't be alone.

There are lots of reasons why people lose their writing confidence.

• It could be a result of being criticised, year after year.  One client told me she'd only ever received negative comments on her written work.  I was the first person to say something positive about what she'd written.

• Many people are carrying fears and anxieties from school and college days - trying to remember distant grammar rules that never made sense at the time and don't seem to help in getting the words to flow now.

• Sometimes people lose confidence in their own words because they have spent so many years adopting the language of a large organisation - whether that's a big corporation or a faceless bureaucracy.  Losing your own words can be soul destroying - and deeply demotivating.

• A lot of clients have just got tangled up in fears and anxieties about writing at work.  Their writing skills turn out to be okay, room for improvement maybe, but the biggest problem is the associated feelings of frustration, irritation, boredom and anxiety that kick in whenever they know they have to start to write. 

• Lack of confidence in your written communication skills can affect your overall feeling of confidence at work.  And poor writing skills can get in the way of you fulfilling your potential at work - leaving you feeling stuck and frustrated when you know there's so much more you can do, so much more you have to offer.

Any of these sound familiar?

Maybe you've thought about ways to change things for the better - to improve your skills, to tackle your underlying lack of self-confidence.  But where do you go for the kind of help that you're looking for?

Books on business writing and communication skills can only take you so far.

Business writing courses will teach you some of the basics - but you might be at the point in your career where you don't want to have to share your learning needs in that kind of environment.

Perhaps you're looking for more personal, tailor-made support.

Working with a business writing coach gives you the opportunity to go beyond the confines of the training room.

You'll have the one-to-one space to explore your writing needs in confidence and check out how those needs relate to your overall career ambitions and aspirations.  We can work together to tackle any underlying blocks and barriers - limiting beliefs maybe that are a hangover from school days, or things you tell yourself about being hopeless at grammar.  And I'll analyse your written material to provide you with:

• constructive criticism - to help you identify the strengths of your writing style and writing 'voice'
• learning points - tailor made to your writing needs
• writing tips - based on any recurring patterns and errors in your writing

Individual feedback and analysis.  A coach to support you along the way.  Tailor made learning points.

How different to the experience of your average business training.

And yet the business writing with confidence  costs no more than the price of a half-day business training course.

Which do you want to spend your training budget on?

Interested? Find out more on the program including how to sign up.

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Joanna Young, The Confident Writing Coach
Because our words count