Writing can be a challenge from the start, so if you've decided to write a book, pausing to celebrate the choice is warranted. Once you sit down to begin the process and you realize you have a million thoughts you want to put on paper, it can become overwhelming. Here is where many aspiring authors call it quits. It does not have to be that way. It doesn't have to be overwhelming. Read on to learn about my strategic 5-Point Focus Method™ strategy for organizing your next bestseller.
Note, this method is specifically for nonfiction stories that fall in the genre of devotionals, memoirs, mini-biographies, or how-to/self-help.
First, understand that writing can be organized in a myriad of ways. Generally, books like memoirs are written chronologically, using a timeline to tell a story of one's life, while your self-help or how-to reads normally follow some logical sequence of events or steps that will help relate to the reader's problem and gradually lead them to a final, most desired outcome.
The 5-Point Focus Method™ is an organization strategy for honing in on the most important parts of your story that will draw in your readers and effectively communicate the transformational message you wish to share with them. This method encourages you to (1) identify the top five challenges your readers are currently facing within your given topic if you are penning a self-help book or (2) share the five most impactful moments in your life that have helped you reach the transformation that your readers desire to also achieve.
In my latest book, Hannah's Prayer, the five challenges I personally faced and knew that my readers faced were:
Effectively communicating with God
Being in alignment with God's timing
Being selfish and not considering your partner in your desires
Surrounding oneself with like-minded people
Struggling to find purpose in the waiting period
Once identifying these five issues, it becomes more attainable to focus your writing on these micro topics without becoming sidetracked. Identifying your five points of focus also allows you to pinpoint the steps to transformation. Each of the problems has a solution, which ultimately become your five resolutions or lessons learned for your readers to digest.
Next, for every point you developed, offer details to support it. These details may include a personal anecdote or backstory that you share vulnerability to relate to your audience. It may also include the specifics of the challenges. What does the challenge look like, feel like, sound like...? What do readers typically experience when presented with these challenges, how do they often attempt to respond to them, and how might such be perceived in the world around them? If you're writing a devotional or faith-based story, the inclusion of scriptural references is always welcomed to recenter your readers on the faith-founded solution versus the doubt-inducing problem. Steps to reaching the resolution for each specific challenge should be included. Lastly, a call to action to the reader pushes them to reflect and enact that steps you have included in your writing.
Your outline may look something like this:
I. CHALLENGE - Being selfish and not considering your partner in your desires
A. SYMPTOMS OF THE PROBLEM - Lowered intimacy drive due to not conceiving
B. ANECDOTE - Personal story on deliberately denying intimacy because having a child was not possible
C. SOLUTION - Understanding God designed intimacy for the woman and the man, and acknowledge that children are for the couple, not just for one partner over another.
D. STEPS TO REACHING RESOLUTION - Trust God partnered you with the right person, practice effective communication, include your partner in your prayers
E. CTA OR JOURNALING PROMPT -
“Spend some time with your husband, reflecting on what you desire for your conception, pregnancy, birth and eventual raising of your children. Jot those notes below and find scriptures that would remind you of God’s promises or show your alignment with God’s desire for your children as well. For example, “We desire our children to be fearless and mentally strong” (2 Timothy 1:7).”
Excerpt From
Hannah’s Prayer
Brittney Holmes Jackson
Copyright © 2021
Once you have done this for each of the five (or more) points you've developed for your book, you can begin drafting your manuscript. Fill in the gaps with explicit, sensory details, personal narratives and experiences, expert insight, and even testimonials. See the video below for additional details.
Don't allow overwhelm and confusion to keep you from writing the story you're destined to tell. I challenge you to schedule time to sit and outline your book and share it with a friend, family member, or an accountability partner.
Consider booking a VIP day to gain hands-on coaching and accountability while crafting your next bestselling book.
Happy writing!