Welcome back to B is for Book Coach. Today, we’re making space for a guided 5 Minute Outline.
When you are writing for something more than the transaction of it all, the bigness of the work is twofold.
There’s the complexity of constructing a book, and then there’s the complexity of leading change in your corner of the world.
So when I say “start with the small,” I don’t mean that we’re going to shrink that bigness down at all.
The complexity stays. It has to.
This is a structure that can hold it.
You might want to check out this introductory post if this is the first 5 Minute Outline you’ve worked with.
Otherwise, grab a pencil and paper, write the numbers 1 through 5, and start with your pencil at number 3. Because beginnings are hard, so we’re not going to start there.
By the end, you should have something written at each of those 5 points that resonated most, and it can be mad-libbed in to look something like this:
* There is [a problem, difficulty, or complicated situation] that [the thing I want to say] can address.
* It’s complex because [reasons].
* If I weren’t worried about those reasons or how I’d say it, I would say [the thing].
* Still, despite all of that complexity, [the thing] is important to say because [big reason].
* When I say the thing to the person who’s waiting to hear it, [things will change].
This is complex work you’re doing.
It’s good work that you’re doing.
And it doesn’t have to be done in isolation or simplified into oblivion.
Hey, thanks for creating this space with me today. The B is for Book Coach space is one way I create direct support for authors as they bring their books to life.
If you’d like to expand that space for yourself and someone else, contributing to the Mutual Momentum fund brings those services to authors who need more than just space to get started.
Whether or not you’re ready to dive into writing just yet, remember that the best authors show up fully, just as they are. That’s all it takes—and you’re already doing it.
Be sure to subscribe on Substack or wherever you listen to podcasts to catch every coaching moment to come. And when more of your book is ready to emerge, the space we made today will be here waiting for you.
