072: How to Start Writing a Book, Course, or Workshop

Going from “zero to one” on a big creative project can be intimidating. If you want to write a book or create a course, where should you begin? Hint: grab a pen and paper and a stack of index cards, not your laptop.

Key Takeaways:

• Start big projects by asking: what is the key transformation I am hoping to inspire?

• There is magic to the number 3: it fits in with how we understand the world. When shaping the main pillars of the transformation you’re creating, see if you can break it down into 3 key parts.

• People learn in many diverse ways, and as a communicator, try to give them as many different methods for understanding a concept or idea as possible including memes, metaphors, mantras, quotes, statistics, diagrams, research etc.

⭐️ Permission: 

Forget being linear. You don’t have to start at the beginning and end at the end. Dive into the sections that energize you the most first.

 ⭐️ Do (or Delegate) This Next: 

Indulge your desire for stationary — purchase a tall stack of index cards and start breaking your next big project idea into smaller, bite-sized chunks, then move them around on a big surface (like your dining room table) until themes emerge.

  📘Books Mentioned:

• Free Time: Lose The Busywork, Love Your Business

• Pivot

• Life After College

• Resonate: Present Visual Stories That Transform Audiences

• How to Begin: Start Something That Matters

🔗Resources Mentioned: 

• Free Author Toolkit

• MBS.Works

• Alexandra Franzen

• Alexandra Franzen’s Feel, Know, Do Framework

Related Podcast Episodes: 

• Free Time Episode 34: Organizing Research and Ideas - Notion Walkthrough #1

• Free Time Episode 36: Shaping Big Ideas - Notion Walkthrough #2

• Free Time Episode 38: Tracking Progress Toward Finishing a Book (or Big Idea) with an Essay Tracker - Notion Walkthrough #3

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