Writing a Book About Writing a Book

Many books inform how to write a book. The book I’m writing isn’t one that tells you what to do. Let me explain.

Twenty or more years ago, I set out to write a memoir. I’d majored in writing in college. I’d been a voracious writer all my life. But none of those years acquainting myself with writing and books had prepared me to understand what to write about or how to start.

Heck, I knew nothing about writing a book.

So I went to a guru. Stay with me. This gets interesting.

This guru had written a book, but her knowledge about writing was of no interest to me. What I needed was an answer to what I should write about. I didn’t want to just write any book. My intuition was guiding me to create a book, using my experiences to help me and help others.

These were issues I was grappling with. How best can I help others with the experiences I’ve had? What focal point will the book be about?

Abraham describes itself in the plural as “a group consciousness from the non-physical dimension.” Other names for this dimension include Muhammad, Source energy, the Universe, God, Jesus, and many others.

Before these concepts about spirituality throw you, you’re questioning my sanity or you think I’m from another planet, please wait.

Now here comes the best part.

Information from Abraham is available through the internet on You Tube. Esther Hicks, who channels Abraham, was featured in the movie “The Secret”.

Abraham is channeled through Esther Hicks. Abraham’s answers, spoken through Esther, pertain to “your joyous deliberate creation and control of every event and condition of your life.” To translate; we’re always creating. The trick is to create what we would like.

I’d been to several workshops where Abraham answers questions from the audience. Each time I went, what Abraham said resonated with me. I would see problems I’d been having with more clarity, and the truth of what Abraham shared became evident when I followed the information..

The question I asked Abraham at one workshop was what kind of book should I write. The answer I received from Abraham was, “Write a Book About Writing a Book.”

What kind of answer was that? I didn’t want to put all my time and effort in what I perceived to be a silly attempt. But now that I’ve written three books, and now that those three books are flip/flops — (flip) an instance of flipping; (flop) to be a complete failure — I understand why writing a book about writing a book might have been the better option.

According to Abraham, “You only hear what you are ready to hear.” That was true for me writing those three books. I realize now that guilt drove my first memoir. I wanted to defend all I had done. All that explaining, defending and justifying made for some boring reading. That book flopped.

Ten years later, I lightened up in the second book I wrote. I flipped from making my story be about me and instead my story became about a woman I imagined being. That book flopped because it couldn’t decide who I was.

Another ten years went by before my third attempt. This time I was ready to write the truth about myself. I had forgiven everyone I’d blamed and had forgiven myself about my past. This time it would be easy. And it was easy, but not good. Something was wrong.

I tried to sell it and got a lot of interest because of the premise, but one reading after another led to more disinterest. The truth revealed: the writing sucked, and it wasn’t the truth.

I wouldn’t give up.

Believing I had a destiny, that I was to write a book that would help me and others, I trusted the way to do this would come.

Giving up now meant giving up on myself. It would be tantamount to forsaking my faith in my vision. It would mean what I’d done didn’t count for anything.

All the signs, the serendipitous events, the times I’d come in contact with what I needed at the perfect time, were they all just phantoms?

Then it hit me!

Maybe this is the test. Maybe if I hold on to faith, success is right around the next corner. I know now what’s wrong. Maybe now I can do it right.

I’ve already learned a lot more about writing. I am seeing/hearing/feeling the truth more and more. I can do this now.

This is what I will share with you on my blog. I’ll be posting about writing this book. All the ways I had to change course will be included.