“The youth gets together his materials to build a bridge to the moon, or, perchance, a palace or temple on the earth, and, at length, the middle-aged man concludes to build a woodshed with them.” – Henry David Thoreau

I have been thinking about this quote lately as I labor away on my “woodshed” – a novel I’ve been imagining for fifteen years, i.e. since my youth. It was a bridge to the moon, a vast, complicated, light-filled possibility, a million particles of light floating through space, each the epicenter of unlimited new directions. And now it is a thick stack of pages, a collection of scenes, a character and a story and a few concrete possibilities. It is not yet a woodshed—it is the boards and the nails and the blueprint, at best.

But the idea of building a woodshed in my own backyard and the idea of hammering out this small, exact novel are both thrilling to me now. Maybe that’s being middle-aged. Maybe, though, it’s being a working artist, a craftsperson, seeing the labor of writing as physical, carried out day by day not fueled by fantasy so much as by sweat.

Some of the tools you can use to build your own “woodshed:”

• Clear, written goals. Commit to it. Make it do-able. Understand what it means each day to have accomplished your daily goal and to be stepping toward your big goal.
• Blue-collar working habits. Write like you would bartend or wait tables or build a deck. Or take care of your kids. You don’t sit around waiting for inspiration. You don’t have to feel it or feel like it. You just have to do. Really. This is a tremendous break-through.
• Practice. Remember that everyone has to practice. Every word, every sentence, every scene, even every book will not be publishable. That’s just the truth of mastery. You have to practice. Not just until you are good, but every single day. One of the members of the Book Writing World is a professional musician. He makes his living playing in a world-class symphony orchestra. Do you think he practices? You bet your sweet moon-bridge he does. All the time. He gets paid to play—but not every note gets an audience.
• A community. A community gives you encouragement, support, the sense that you are not crazy, or if you are, you are in good company. It gives you accountability, so that when you make those clear, written goals, you make them in public, and somebody else cares if you live up to your word. A community gives you a place to ask questions, to grapple, to laugh.

Say yes to your woodshed. A marvelous little world of your own making, sturdy and magical. And if you are looking for the tools discussed above, plus some professional mentoring, this is the week to become a member of the Book Writing World. I have built the BWW, another woodshed, to be exactly what I as a writer need to accomplish my goals, and it’s worked for a lot of different people. I believe in it so strongly, I have a crazy bonus to offer you if you become a member today (before Thursday, May 5 at 5 p.,m. Pacific Time).

Crazy $100 bonus FREE to you: an hour of private coaching and/or editing from me (by phone, video conference or in person). This has a value of $100, is not available to the general public right now, and will get you right to where you want to be—clarify your book idea, clarify how the heck to fit writing into your life, clarify how to get your writing into the world, clarify how to make your writing impossible to put down so that agents, editors and readers say yes!

I am ONLY offering this bonus to folks who join the BWW before our orientation class Thurs., May 4, 5 p.m. PT, because that one life-changing hour becomes so much more valuable when you have the weekly coaching and craft call with me and the wonderful writers in the BWW. So much more valuable when every Monday you publicly set your goals for the week. So much more valuable when you have guidance through the stages of making a book: planning, drafting, revising and finishing—getting your book to its readers.

Turn your writing life around today and come to tomorrow’s orientation class (Thursdays, 5 – 6 p.m. PT via video conference) and meet the gang: https://bookwritingworld.com/membership-options/

If you are local, you can join the BWW with the same bonus for today and come to Monday Night Writing Class in Berkeley starting May 9: https://bookwritingworld.com/in-person/

If you are ready to say yes to your writing life, click the links above. Still wondering if you should just pack up your tools and go watch TV? Shoot me an email, and let’s talk: elizabeth AT elizabethstark DOT com

“A woodshed can be a bridge to the moon.” – author Thais Frank (via Facebook)