Did you hit snooze today? Me, too!

What I’ve been challenged with this week is beginning again, i.e., how to get back in the saddle and back in the flow, after a break (intentional or not...). With dozens of books under my belt, I very often have been writing one book, producing another, and thinking about a third (in addition to helping folks like you get their books done). I’ve been doing that consistently for the past decade. Taking a break was just what I needed, but I had to do a few things in order to prime the pump and get the words flowing again.

Note: If or when you find yourself needing to "begin again" after a brief or loooong time away from your book, these might help you, too.

I had to:

1. Remember why I wanted to write the book in the first place. I always answer three questions before I start on a book: What do I want to accomplish with this book? What do I want the reader to do after they read it? What do I want them not to do after they read it? I went back and reconnected to my “why,” and it got me excited to dive back in. The book I’m working on is fun, I think people will read it and benefit from it (and hopefully love it), and I had forgotten that! Remember what inspired you to write your book in the first place, and getting re-started will be easier.

2. Get the lay of the land. My current WIP had been neglected and somewhat forgotten. My first writing hour was re-reading what I’d written and other notes about the project. If your project is like mine, schedule some time to review and bring it back to front of mind where it be easier to work on.

3. Recommit. I don’t know about you, but I wasn’t thrilled to set an alarm (as opposed to waking up naturally), and I wasn’t super excited about getting up almost three hours earlier. I know my future self will be totally psyched when the book is done and out into the world and that made it easy to commit to getting up early and getting back in the swing of my daily writing habit. I focus on the end result when I am leaning toward procrastination.

4. Engineer myself for success. I didn’t just roll out of bed at 4:30 a.m. on the first day. In fact, I fell back asleep for about 15 minutes and may or may not have grumbled a bit as I rolled out of bed. But my evening routine is as tight as my morning routine—meaning, I know putting all of the pieces in place helps me to follow through on my commitments (big and small). I was ready to go because I had coffee brewing, my workout clothes laid out, and my mind in the right place. With my WIP open on my desktop, I sat down and got right to work. It took almost the whole first half hour to get back into the flow. The second day was better, and the third day even better still. I don’t expect perfection, and my word counts aren’t yet what they used to be, but I know I’ll get back there faster than if I didn’t try at all. My entire process in the book I mention below...

Writing, publishing, marketing, and monetizing a book is challenging. It takes courage, commitment, focus, and determination. (Patience, you’re also going to need patience!) You’ve done harder projects than this and you can do this, too. You'll want to read There is No Such Thing as Writer's Block because it's not just a book about writer's block--it can set you up to not only write as easily as you breathe, but to do many other things easily, too! Get it here .

Happy writing! I'll see you tomorrow.

Honorée Corder I help aspiring authors create revenue-generating business assets in the form of a book. Learn more here .