Change How You Think to Reach Your Writing Goals

We are entering the last month of the year. That means that we are about to change to a new year and new life. People make resolutions, but they don't always embrace change in their lives. Now is the time to think about change and how to embrace it. Change is good for your psyche, business and writing.

While everyone talks about the devastation caused by natural disasters, few talk about the good that comes from hurricanes, wildfires, blizzards, etc. The changes in the environment is often good. Mother Nature has a way of fixing problems in the environment herself. For example, wildfires burn out the brush and thin the trees, so all the growing trees are more sustainable. Avalanches reshape mountains and bring much needed snowfall to valleys. Hurricanes wash out the dead algae, seaweed, fish, etc. They change the landscape and rivers. They get rid of dead branches on trees, so the trees remain healthy. Even though these natural disasters are devastating, they serve a purpose with their changes. They show that change is good and shouldn't be feared.

How Change Is in Books

So now, you are asking yourself what do natural disasters have to do with writing. Sometimes, you have to allow for the devastation to happen to bring forth the goodness in writing. For example, characters in fiction novels must go through a change from the beginning to the end. In some cases, these are subtle changes, such as a female character hating a man and end up loving him in the end. Other times, changes are powerful and make a statement to characters, such as those who face insurmountable odds and come out on the other side a new person. These characters have to feel the problems before they can accept the reasons for them.

This change applies to nonfiction books too, especially those that inspire others. Many people face insurmountable odds in real life and survive. They write about their experiences as if they are seeing them through a telescope. When they are happening, they are feeling the devastation. They are afraid that their life will never get better, but they have hope it will. This hope is the seed that grows inside them to get them through the devastation and changes them into a new person with a new attitude. This transformation is written into their book. The readers immerse themselves into the person's catastrophic event and sees hope. They allow hope to grow in their lives based on the story of the writer. If the writer is good with the flow and characterization of the event, the reader will be feeling the pain right along with the writer.

However, often writers don't embrace the change and are afraid of their feelings. They downplay the devastation, so the inspiration doesn't happen. The reader doesn't feel changed at the end or the hope during the event. When this happens, the story falls flat. Readers stop reading. When readers stop reading, it is the worst thing that can happen to an author. While you might have gone through the event, you should rely on a professional writer to make the story come alive to the reader. You must embrace the change in yourself and let the readers know how hard you worked to get there.

Other Nonfiction Change

You might believe that change is necessary only in inspirational books. That is a misconception. You need to embrace change for any type of book. For example, investmentbooks would not be successful if they told you that don't have to do anything different with your life to experience great wealth. Career books would fall flat if the guidebooks didn't help people change so they could get a new career or approach an interview with confidence. Self-help books force you to look at yourself and change where you can to make a better you. In every type of book, you will see that change is necessary both as a reader and writer to ensure that you will see a significant difference. Sometimes, the change is subtle, such as eating different foods written in a cookbook. Other times, the change is more catastrophic where you have to reprogram how you think and see yourself. Keeping the balance of a good story and necessary change is tricky. You also don't want to be lecturing your reader. That will turn them away immediately. Therefore, you want to discuss changes without lecturing or nagging. You want to talk about your own experiences and how that has helped you be the person you are.To use your book as a marketing tool, you have to show how change is beneficial to your reader.

So, when you are writing, don't be afraid to change. Let change, even devastating change, happen. Look at it through a telescope and see where it takes you at the end ofyour book.