A successful writer once said something like, “Everyone has a book inside them.”
I’m not going to look up the name of the writer or the precise quote, because worrying about those details at the outset of the endeavor is what keeps books buried inside their writers’ minds.
I’m here to help you pry your story out onto the page by sharing the techniques I’ve used to coax books out of several first-time writers as well as in editing titles by prolific professionals. The trick is to bypass the many pitfalls that trap even the most experienced writers—like stopping the flow to look up a quote, identify its source, and go down a dozen rabbit holes as a result—and to keep marching toward the goal:
A BOOK
by
YOU
Join me for a pay-what-you-can workshop at 6 PM Pacific Time on Thursday, 31 August 2023, and I’ll share the strategies that have worked for writers on page one as well as those on page 400 of their 100th book.
You have a story to tell. I have the tools to help you tell it. Let’s get together.
Maybe your family or friends are forever requesting a favorite anecdote?
Perhaps you feel pressure to put down the origins of your enterprise, how you’ve achieved its present state, and where you’d like to see it grow in the future.
Possibly you’ve always wanted to tell your tale, but have allowed life’s obstacles to defer that dream.
There is no better way to connect with others than telling your story.
There is no better way to understand yourself than committing your story to paper.
There is no better way to reward yourself than finally doing what you’ve always dreamed of doing.
By writing your story, you bring your present-day experience to bear on your past, allowing you a new perspective on who you were and how you came to be the person you are.
If you are an entrepreneur or a coach, telling your story is vital to making your clients understand why you do what you do. Your experience shows them you get where they are coming from, and then you share how you have found a solution to their problem, thus building trust that you are the right person to help them.
Writing your story will provide a sense of accomplishment unlike any other. Having written it, there is also the potential for publishing it as a book. Printing and distribution are more accessible than ever before. There are no guarantees in publishing, but many of my clients have been successful with their books.
We all seek to be understood by others. Writing a book is as close to telepathy as we can come, transmitting our perspective to another.
We all seek to understand ourselves. Writing a book is as close to time travel as we can come, revising our personal pasts through our present-day eyes.
Time travel goes both ways, and your story is something you can leave to your descendants. Tell them who you were, how you lived, and what you accomplished. Tell your story to your children’s children’s children.
If not now, when?
Lives and stories have one thing in common: they end. With a book, you can see how many pages are left; with a life, not so much.
We are unique equations, the products of our experiences and how we’ve processed them. If we don’t preserve the computations that factored into our lives, the richness of the human equation is diminished.
If you would like to e-mail a 200-word synopsis of the story you’d like to tell to jason@thejasondavis.com 48 hours prior to the event on August 31st, I may select your story for discussion, analyzing it as part of the presentation.
You could have a $50 editorial consultation for free!
I have the experience to help you craft your story for maximum impact.
I don’t know you, and I can approach your story objectively, as your prospective readers would.
I can teach you how to circumvent writer’s block, kill your darlings, and prevent procrastination.
For the purposes of this event, we will focus ONLY on biographical stories, ensuring everyone has a well to draw from. With everyone working toward the same goal—but with wildly differing starting points—I can illustrate how the same practices can be implemented by different writers.
I’ve worked with professional writers who’ve published a quarter-million words and first timers just settling their fingers on the keyboard, and I want to share that experience with you. Let’s put your story on paper.
1) Ideas for what you might want to write about.
2) A notepad or notebook, ideally of a size that it can be with you at all times, waking or sleeping.
3) A writing implement that offers the least resistance when you wake up in the middle of the night to jot down an idea. Pencils or retractable ballpoints/biros save you fumbling with caps.
If you invest something—even a $1—you’re telling yourself this has value, and—by extension—the journey you’re embarking upon is worth something, to you and everyone alongside you in the workshop.
It’s also important to make this accessible for everyone who wants to tell their story. It’s easy. It’s effective. It’s fun.
Jason Davis is a writer, editor, and producer. He has written articles, columns, and reviews for publications as diverse as Cinescape, The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and Match.com. He was a contributing editor at Creative Screenwriting magazine, where he wrote cover stories for the print publication and edited DVD reviews for its online companion.
REFUND POLICY
A full refund will be issued if the workshop is cancelled. Refunds are available on request if the workshop is rescheduled to a time you cannot attend. There will be a 10% administrative fee for all refunds processed prior to the event. No refunds will be issued after event has passed.
