This may sound crazy, but it took me 20 years to write my first children’s book. Okay, maybe not 20 years of actually writing but two decades from when I first had the idea to actually getting around to putting that idea into words. I published “The Adventures of Little Marco and His Soccer Ball Buddy” in December of 2019. Along the way, I found many little gems that can help you in the writing process or at the very least get you started. 

One thing is for sure, it’s a long, hard road, but also fun. It’s tough work, but also a great experience. Nothing feels better than turning an idea into a reality. It’s pure joy.  

So are you ready? Let’s go. First and foremost, get out of your own way. What I’m saying here, is don’t complicate things. Don’t overthink. Next, write what you know. Write what you’re passionate about. Go to places that inspire you. 

Most importantly, be mindful and be open—that’s when the magic happens. I’ve learned that ideas and inspiration come to those who are ready to hear them.  When they come, be ready to write them down or they will evaporate as quickly as they appeared. Or in my case, dry off.

You see, I was in the shower, getting ready to play in a professional soccer game, when the idea for “Little Marco” came to me.  This was a great time in my life. I was living out my childhood dream of turning pro and was excited to see my friends start to settle down and have kids. In fact, getting to know these little tykes was my proverbial spark of inspiration. There was Chase and Hannah, Alex and Shayla, and one other boy named Harry…Harry Potter. You see, I couldn’t put the JK Rowling series down. I was reading, playing and observing. Put all those ingredients together, and poof, an idea (no wand needed).

Now an idea for a book is a great start, but it’s only that. The next step is the big one. Are you ready for it? You need to take action. Talking about an idea isn’t the same as executing one. Anyone can have ideas. The trick is to make them real. Writing it down makes your idea a reality and just as important, if not more so, gives you confidence to continue. 

If you feel overwhelmed, start with small steps. That’s what I did.  I wrote the name of the characters and the general premise of the story—here was a little boy named Marco who loved to play soccer. He had a magical soccer ball named Buddy that helped him learn to play. It was that simple.  Writing down a working title or naming the school where Little Marco played also helped. Yes, my mind and thoughts were scattered and fragmented, but I put everything that came to me down on paper. I eventually got a flow of inspiration and worked on developing the character and the story.

Okay, so you have the idea, you wrote it down, and can feel the excitement rising. Now’s the time to really dig in and write the story. You make some coffee, sit down and—nothing. A big fat nothing burger. No ideas, no thoughts, just darkness.  Does this sound familiar? For many, this is the hard part. This is the time you either keep writing or stop and end your writing career before it ever even started.

Flushing out a story can be difficult for some and painfully difficult for others. I fell in the latter: writing was excruciating for me. It still is. I can remember many times sitting, staring at a blank piece of paper or a flashing computer screen.  So many thoughts and ideas swimming around in my head or none at all. It was madness. Lost, I sought out some guidance. I spoke with many people over the years but there was one friend, in particular, who gave me two gems of wisdom.

First thing he told me: narrow my focus.  I simply had too many ideas and too many maybe-kind-of-sort-of-possible projects. If you’re anything like me, you have a wonderfully creative mind, which is a terrific thing; it’s also a terrible thing. Swimming in a sea of your ideas may feel great but having too many ideas is ultimately a big distraction. So, what did I do? I pulled myself out of the deep end, dried off and committed to one thing: writing a children’s book. I vowed not to swim around in any other ideas—not even dip my toe in one—until I got the book done. I decided to commit to create.

The second thing my friend gave me was a warm-up for just that—creating. Just like in sport, you need something to get you limber, to stretch your mind. That came in the form of a bag of rocks. Yep you heard me, a bag of rocks, but these were no ordinary rocks—they were spiritual stones. They had words on them like “integrity,” “truth,” “prosperity,” and “focus.” Each morning I would wake up, put on my thinking cap, literally and figuratively (I had a great knit beanie that I still use to this day), make myself a cup of Joe and pick three rocks out of the bag. For each rock, I wrote a small paragraph about the word found on it. Some of what I wrote was garbage and some was, well, not that bad. The important thing was, I was writing.

Sitting down and writing is hard work—plain and simple. By narrowing my focus and having a fun routine to warm up my mind, I was able to create an environment to do what all aspiring writers need to do: write. Once my mind was in the zone, I focused back on my story and put down whatever came to me. When I ran out of thoughts, I simply put everything away and moved on with my day. So tell me, actually, better, show me—what thoughts will you put down today? 

Here’s a checklist to get the ball rolling.

Doers Checklist

·       Narrow your focus and commit to create.

·       Write what you know. Write what you’re passionate about.

·       Keep it simple and be open minded.

·       Take action to gain confidence in doing the work.

·       Write your ideas down, make them real.

·       Set aside time and create a work routine.

·       Warm up to get your mind active and flowing.