Lisa Tener
Book Writing Coach
I would think that a rejuvenating activity would inspire rich exploration. But not on Day 6. I write my list and don’t feel like doing anything on the list. Instead, I skip to Day 7 and come back to my list the next day. I add “write dreams” to the list and write a short…
Today’s list-making prompted a list of a few of my favorite animals, as well as some animals that intimidate me, like the coyotes I hear baying outside my window on cold winter nights. When it came time to write, I combined a few of the animals. Coyote and owl became a “coyowl” and deer and…
I like to write in bed, first thing in morning. As I worked with today’s prompt, I ended up writing about my dream journal, where I record the night’s dream(s) and my associations and insights. As I write one scene, often more scenes surface. I might remember and write four or even five scenes on…
Returning to my day 3 list of things that spark joy, I’m struck by the very first entry “eating violets.” Violets taste so….well…purple to me. But I didn’t journal about eating violets. My journal writing begins with a feeling of despondency, then the woods where I find “the fey green ferns, dappled sunlight, dark wet…
Welcome to Day 2 on the journey through The Joy of Writing Journal. Here I share an excerpt from my journey and I hope you will share something about yours—an excerpt, an insight, a challenge, a joy… Journaling helps me derive meaning. In this excerpt, I begin to find meaning in my own resistance to…
Welcome to Day 1, where I share some excerpts from my journey through The Joy of Writing Journal and invite you to share an excerpt or a response to the experience. Join the community—read and comment/share! Sometimes writing for me is pure elation, but in today’s exercise I struggled with my inner critic. Here’s an…
Welcome to the journey of working through the 30 days of The Joy of Writing Journal. Get ready for fun, insights, playfulness and creative breakthroughs! If you want to get October’s super-brief daily email reminders to help you form your daily journaling habit, just purchase your copy of The Joy of Writing Journal on Amazon…
Perhaps you’ve heard about the many benefits of journaling—from creative expression to health and wellness to finding creative solutions to life’s challenges and much more. But do you wonder how to start journaling? Or how to return to journaling? Or how to enrich your journaling practice? How to Start Journaling Many people aren’t quite sure…
This summer I worked through the prompts in my upcoming book, The Joy of Writing Journal. Many times it flowed and sometimes I met internal resistance. You see, occasionally, I made my list as per the instructions (the ones I wrote for my readers!) in the exercise but then I felt resistance or even grouchy…
It’s important to know when to hire an editor and when to share writing. You can wait too long or you can also share too soon! Sometimes people feel nervous when it comes time to share writing with me. They want to polish or perfect it before sending. And they wait and wait and wait….
The other day, a client talked about how she’s written little pieces of her memoir, but that she felt blocked because she didn’t want to hurt the family members of her abuser by writing about the trauma. Two decades after the abuse, she met with her abuser to tell him how the abuse had impacted…
Javier (not his real name) contacted me for memoir writing advice because he had a story to tell. And he wasn’t sure he knew how to tell it. This book will be about navigating my life as a black, gay man. It will address my coming out experiences, gay stereotypes, getting involved with men…
As I get ready to launch my book, The Joy of Writing Journal, on Sept. 22, I’ve been thinking deeply about my readers—”Who is this journal for?” and “What can it do for them?” Much like you may wonder about the readers of your own book. In a way, it seems like a simple question….
Today I’m sharing 12 blogging tips for authors, because blogging was one of the smartest and best things I ever did for my business as a book coach and author. In this post you’ll learn the why, how, what, when and more, in order to grow your community and write a book your readers will…
I don’t read all my emails. I hardly ever read the stuff that goes to promotions or social or trash or spam. And I skip more than half of those in my regular inbox! Yet, once in a while, I receive a mass email that I can’t help but open and read all the way…
Most of my clients write prescriptive books–self-help, how-to, business…books that help people acheive goals, create transformation or solve problems. For these types of books, its especially important to understand your readers–who they are, what they think and feel and want, how to connect with them. How do you get inside a reader’s head to understand…
The online Nonfiction Writers Conference offers excellent up-to-date information for nonfiction writers. For the third year in a row, I’m one of the featured experts in the “Ask-a-Pro” sessions. So, if you sign up for Gold, Platinum or VIP access, you get up to 3 private one-on-one sessions with experts on: Book writing Publishing PR…
Several of my favorite book propoal tips came up in recent phone consultations with a couple of emerging authors in my Bring Your Book to Life® Program. As I shared some of my favorite book proposal tips, I found myself offering a few new tips, as well, that have to do with a changing marketplace…
As I’ve been meeting with students in my Bring Your Book to Life® Program, several have had moments of overwhelm: “I can’t believe I signed up to write a book. There’s no way I can do it in the middle of this stressful time.” And I get it. But I also get how writing and…
I’ve been thinking about what puzzles teach us about writing. Why? As part of my return to health, I’m spending time each day relaxing. That has meant choosing activities that bring me pleasure and nurture my inner child, like doing puzzles. The Gifts of Puzzling The more I puzzle, the more I appreciate the many…
