Found gluten free ramen with this guy. Andrew has been an immense helping me getting moved out very quickly from my apartment here. This is probably one of the healthiest relationships I’ve ever had. He’s letting me stay with him.

Currently I feel like I need to choose between hunkering down indefinitely with him in Japan or racing to Maryland to hunker down there. It sortof sucks to have to be in this position as I wanted to return next month but who know where the world will be….probably even crazier in the us and an even crazier time to travel.

I’m not posting this to seek your imput–so please don’t tell me what to do or what’s safe or unsafe, I’ve got plenty of thoughts and every news article published in real time racing through my mind already. Reducing the panic and noise so I can think is one of my prime directives currently. Just putting out there my gratitude and appreciation for this man right here.

I’ve just turned my manuscript for Freedom Year into my editor. Want to show off my system a little bit.

Everyday I toggle between several documents. I begin early. Right now it is 645. I work for half an hour.

First document are reminders of my purpose, the why of my writing this book. Who it will helps. What I get out of it. The change I want it to make.
Then I have a letter to my higher intelligence. This is a running log where I put the new date on top and journal thoughts and questions to myself through the process. If I don’t know what to do I start here. I also come up with next steps or todos for later.

Near the end I began reading the book out loud. Links to my recordings have a doc.

People who inspire me have a doc (Dolly, Madonna, Banks, Emily Haines, Jewel…). Tracking log has been new and super important. In brief words I write the date and each action I take on the book, if I edited a chapter or made a change etc. It’s very helpful to see my progress. Validating too. I write the new info at the bottom.

Character notes…it’s a memoir but everyone name is changed from real life so it gets confusing to me.

Outline/editing notes was old. It was a list of all the chapters and what they needed done but I’ve gone through all that at this point.
There’s a first manuscript half which is really 235 pages. The second half is really like an epilogue and that’s what I am working on now that the main story is on my editors desk. It will hopefully be a lot shorter lol.

Happy writing! If want to write better and faster on a book or something else, let me know!

Want your writing to be good?

Here are tips for editing yourself, in both fiction and nonfiction.

1. Capture attention from the start. 

There is a great book called the First Five Pages that lists a number of beginner mistakes when it comes to books, but it applies to all writing. For me, areas of over-description, also called “infodumps” are a bad sign early on. You only want to give the minimum of back information if you are writing fiction.

If you are writing nonfiction make sure those first few pages or paragraphs excite the reader with a sense of urgency to read everything. Jump into the fray and give them some good stuff. Tell them how their life will be different by reading the whole book. Or start with an action scene–take a leaf from fiction and start with a compelling story!

2. Use your senses to ground the reader. 

Breathe. Remember how it feels when rain slides on your skin when you get caught in a storm? Or when the wind moves your hair when you look off the edge of a cliff, and stones fall down it? Be sensory. Try to find ways to get your reader to imagine things vividly from the outside world. 

Even nonfiction needs grounding sometimes–avoid being too conceptual and heady. (This means you channeled writing people!) Take your time to ground things using your senses and people will feel better after reading your words.

3. Vary things. 

I don’t like it when every paragraph begins with the word ‘I’. You want to try to say the same thing in different ways and avoid repetition. Both sentences and paragraphs should vary.

If you are just starting out, have someone else read over your work; they’ll notice if you have a pattern, even when you can’t. Now, how you handle critical feedback is a whole other discussion, but one trick is to be specific about what you want them to look for. When you give readers guidance on what kind of feedback you want, you can avoid emotional complications and it’ll be more useful.

4. If you describe dialogue with quotes, stick to: ‘He said,’ ‘She said,’ or ‘I said.’ 

Steven King says it is a no-no to use too many other words. Avoid being creative with this as it can become distracting. Of course, if you write it so that the speaker is obvious from the dialogue or the order of things, then skip it. In that case, you don’t have to keep reminding the reader who is talking.

5. Be precise. 

Make sure everything you mention has a purpose! People can assume some details. I read a lot of fiction books where the author describes how someone makes coffee because characters drink it a lot. No one cares. Don’t bore us.

In nonfiction, don’t overwhelm us. It’s easy to throw in a ton of details, but you need precision. Narrow it down and relate it back to your point so that everything is supporting your main idea. Chunk down your information into bite-sized blocks, and put it in a logical order.

Bore or overwhelm your reader, and they will stop reading and leave you!

A special note about precision in memoir: 

starting with birth is overrated. You don’t need to go in linear order through your entire life unless your birth and childhood are truly remarkable. Otherwise, it’s dull. You can always introduce earlier parts of your life out of order as it pertains to your story. The key question is: What is really important? What’s the real beginning? How can you hook a reader so they keep reading for hours?

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What is the difference between developmental editing and proofreading?

If you have trouble getting your point across and organizing your thoughts so that you capture the reader and impart what you want to say quickly, then try developmental editing!

Usually writers will engage a developmental editor before they are completely done their work. Proofreading is a final step, but people often skip to the proofreading stage too soon. All five of the tips listed above are problems a developmental editor can help you solve.

Did you know I offer developmental editing?

I’ve helped numerous non-fiction writers including coaches, spiritual healers, and entrepreneurs to whip their writing into shape. If you want your writing to be good, then you need to do more than spell things correctly! I help you create a clear, coherent message so people will be wowed by your work.

Recently I’ve been editing a new edition of a book “A Radical Approach to the Akashic Records.” I was the original developmental editor. It is STILL an international bestseller at #1 in three different categories on Amazon since it came out in August, 2018. It has a 4.4 review average, and 187 five stars reviews. While editing the new edition, we realized many of the few low reviews it got were probably from a glitch with Amazon. There are hoards of reviews that say the book was both compelling and easy to understand.

Write Better with an Editing Sample:

Get a 15 minute sample of how I edit your work. 

If you like my notes and think they make your writing better, then we can keep working together, and I’ll throw in a free 20-30 minute consultation with me. During that call, we can discuss your project and my ideas on how to make your writing better and faster.

Put down a $50 deposit. If you like your sample, then you’ve already paid for it. You’ll also get the private consultation, and an additional 45 minutes of editing included with your deposit. Or you can decide to pass. In that case you will be refunded your $50 no questions asked.

Get notes to make your writing better–contact me to claim your sample!

Now available on Patreon with any donation

To celebrate my recent show in Japan, I am adding recordings of all the original material I played on 3.14.2020:

“Bolt”, “Harmony”, “Never Break”, “Walls”

Some of my lyrics:

Bolt: “I’m sorry for holding back, but I’m too afraid for speech.”

Harmony: “Harmony is all I ask for, but Harmony knows she is not for me.”

Never Break: “All I got to do is wait just a little bit longer. Getting over you just a little bit longer. Saying no to you is saying yes to me. Getting over you will set my soul free.”

Walls: “And I don’t want things as they are but sometimes I long for how you were. That’s what walls are for…”

Donate any amount to Patreon and get access to these songs for a limited time.

Something essential to moving forward is to trust yourself. It doesn’t mean surrendering to every impulse. Some are misguided. But it means that no matter what happens, you will handle it. No matter what life brings you, you’ll find a way.

Maybe you will ask for help, or do research, or start doing karate, or begin a whole new path or just learn to be content…you don’t need to know now. You just have to trust.

You’ll handle it. You can do it. Maybe you will fail this particular thing right now, but overall, you will be all right. It’s fine.

You can trust yourself. Make that step number one. From this place you can navigate much better.

Don’t let incompleteness steal your victory.

I know you want more and I know you want to do it better. But when you take a step, when you try, when you do something scary or hard or nerve-racking or that took more energy than turning the tv on and being mindless—CONGRATULATE YOURSELF.

LET YOURSELF HAVE YOUR VICTORY.

So many times I see people go perform at an open mic and do a nice job, only to feel anxious about it afterward. I do it, too. The message we must tell ourselves is—that was good! Good job! The point was to get up there and I did it.

Give yourself a break.

If you have a todo list you may feel like you have to complete everything on it in order to feel satisfied. That’s a lie! You are totally worth celebrating even without doing anything! That’s unconditional love.

When you deny yourself the opportunity to celebrate doing a thing, then you actually reaffirm dangerous messages that YOU are not enough because you haven’t done enough. I’m telling you that never ends well. You are enough and you are doing enough—fill your head with that and you’ll be more inspired to do exactly what you need to do on the things that matter. You’ll be less scared or anxious. You will feel less confused. You’ll be able to address your failures and weak points with more compassion because it won’t be a horrible insecurity to mean that you suck. It’ll just be something to work on. You’ll be happy when you have cool things going on but you’ll be more fulfilled overall even when you do nothing.

Let yourself be victorious, don’t let anyone steal it from you, and don’t steal it from yourself.

Have constant inspiration to make better and faster progress by getting free notes like this every month in your inbox. Go here for faster progress.

I heart stationary in Japanese. Nothing I like more than a new pen.Recently I realized how important it was to spend time BEING my goals. I don’t always have time or energy to do what I want to do on certain projects. BEING a writer is more important than doing the writing.

If I only sit for a few minutes at my computer, I thought what is the point. But it makes me feel like a writer. So does thinking about why a book I read is good or bad. Or I write notes from a writing class in my notebook like I am all studious and stuff.

Perfectionism likes to refuse to give us credit for spending small amounts of time or not making “enough” progress. But it’s really not about progress. It’s more about being who you really are.

I really like progress but if that is not possible, keeping a tiny finger on the pulse of what you want to grow is essential to becoming who you were born to be.

I love the song “Old Man” by Neil Young. The writer is saying he and the man he speaks to are not so different, despite their age. He is just like he was at this age, and they both need love. Something I have been working on!

You can download here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/xivfyudeed2pbtu/OldManCoverSofiaWren.m4a?dl=0

Lyrics:

Old man look at my life, I’m a lot like you were.
Old man look at my life, I’m a lot like you were.

Old man look at my life,
Twenty four and there’s so much more
Live alone in a paradise
That makes me think of two.

Love lost, such a cost,
Give me things that don’t get lost.
Like a coin that won’t get tossed
Rolling home to you.

Old man take a look at my life
I’m a lot like you
I need someone to love me the whole day through
Ah, one look in my eyes and you can tell that’s true.

Lullabies, look in your eyes,
Run around the same old town.
Doesn’t mean that much to me
To mean that much to you.

I’ve been first and last
Look at how the time goes past.
But I’m all alone at last.
Rolling home to you.

Old man take a look at my life I’m a lot like you
I need someone to love me the whole day through
Ah, one look in my eyes and you can tell that’s true.
Old man look at my life, I’m a lot like you were.

Old man look at my life, I’m a lot like you were.

Do You Want to:

–Be remembered for who you really are, not who you feel you are “supposed” to be, because you feel stronger and more grounded, releasing fear and tension.

–Let go of what other people think, and old energetic contracts you’ve had with people that make or have made you scared, confused, angry, or small.

–Love yourself, the real you, more deeply, and clear out the negative messages from the past that have made you doubt yourself.

–Be a better, more real, and (dare I say?) BADASS version of yourself.

In doing all this on the inside, you’ll be set up to:

–End the stop-start cycle so you can make progress on the goals that really matter like writing or creating more consistently.

–Get your work out there in the world in a bigger way than ever.

–Help people more deeply, more often, using your gifts.

–Let yourself shine and feel good more often.

I’m now opening special spots for transformational “Free to Be You” sessions

In these healing sessions I am offering through February 19th, we will tap into the wisdom of your soul, and reconnect you to your power and strength. 

You will be able to address the energy, situations, people, messages, problems, or anything else making you feel bad or stuck.

I do these sessions connected to the Akashic Records. This is a spiritual technique to connect to a matrix of energy and information that runs through the universe. The Akashic Records is a fast track to healing and connecting you to your higher self.

Your higher self is the part of you that can find the path forward in your life. You have so many answers inside of yourself, within your soul. The Records are connected by higher energies that make the illusions clear, and help illuminate the truth of who you are, and what really matters for you to be at your best state sooner rather than later.

As I work with the Akashic Records, I can also perform deep energy clearing and healings of energy that is holding you back. All of these negative influences in your life have a heavy energy anchoring patterns and blocks so that you cannot think clearly, feel good, or make decisions to get your best life.

Many parts of the world are healing from the past. We have patterns of self sacrifice: patterns that tell you that to be a good person then you need to be feeling worn out and tired from giving. We have patterns that make people feel hopeless, that they can’t get out of cycles with money, with love, with friends, with being rejected or without the proper resources to do what they love. What I love about the Records is that it provides another (better) source of energy to override these really powerful global influences that disconnect you from your soul and higher self.

When you tap into your soul and your higher self, and work to release patterns in your Akashic Record, you can erase this funky energy. You can overcome the past that taught you to sacrifice the most meaningful aspects of your life: being free, being a fucking badass, and feeling happy.

This work gets you out of the box that is oppressing you over and over again. It’s keeping you up at night, making you think way too much about money, what people think, are you doing enough, are you enough or too much… Basically postponing your happiness.

When you truly step out of the frame of these negative feelings, you can become radically powerful, a game-changer in this world. And I really want to see that.

This isn’t the same as going to a counselor, this is energy work. You could say it’s like Reiki, but I’m drawing it from a different tradition from a host of teachers. If you want more information feel free to ask for a conversation! Unlike going to a therapist, won’t be going too deep into your life story, or talking about everything that’s happened, because the biggest thing is to change the energy and emotions held in your body, themselves. I know a lot about soothing the body as a Licensed Massage Therapist, even at a distance. I’m also a Reiki Master, Certified Akashic Records Practitioner, etc. Shifting energy is my wheel house.

I know how to turn these inner shifts into outer results, as I have been coaching writers and creators, as well as entrepreneurs, to kick ass and make progress on projects over the last eight years. I also have a Masters in Spiritual Care from Loyola in Maryland.

If you are ready to be free to be you, head over here to book your session!