EPISODE 19: HOW TO KICKSTART YOUR WRITING WITH ALLY FALLON
Live Date: October 4, 2021
Show Description: In today’s episode, Heather sits down with bestselling author and writing coach Allison Fallon. Ally navigated her process as an novice author on her own before setting out to lead those just starting out. Now she is ready to help guide and refine those ready to take the next step in their writing journey. Sound like you? This episode will leave you inspired and excited to find your voice.
This Episode Will Teach You:
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How to use prompts to kickstart your writing process
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How writing leads to deeper self-awareness
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How to refine your goals to make more progress in your writing
Biggest Takeaways:
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Heather and Ally walk through the writing process, how to get started, and how to find your voice. Whether you’re hitting a wall with ideas or your can’t get your book in front of the right people, Ally and Heather share the ins and outs of getting started and using your connections and momentum to get your book in the right hands.
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Ally knows that getting started is the hardest part. If you feel a nagging sense that you have a story to tell but don’t know where to start, Heather and Ally discuss the value of prompts and the healing powers of writing everything down.
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Ally talks through her transformative “infinity prompt” and the three steps we can take to write about any situation that feels “charged.”
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Step One: Write down the facts of what happened. Approach the situation like a journalist. Try to remember what happened and when, who said what.
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Step Two: Write how the situation made you feel. Write down how your body reacted to the situation, did your head begin to ache, was your stomach in knots, were your shoulders tense?
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Step Three: Address the story you are telling yourself. Here is where your real thoughts about the situation reveal themselves.
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About the Guest: Allison Fallon is a bestselling author and founder of Find Your Voice—a community that offers workshops, coaching, editing and support for anyone who wants to write a book. She has written and published 13 books and counting, coached hundreds of writers from total beginners to New York Times Bestselling authors, hosted workshops all over the country and world, and helped hundreds of thousands of people use writing as a tool for their own personal growth.
Quotables:
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“I had this nagging sense that would sort of eat away at me during the day when I was doing my other job or at night when I was hanging with friends or going to church events or whatever, just the sense that I really, really, really had a story.” – Ally Fallon, 4:49
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“I told myself if I ever make it through this, if this book ever gets published, I’m going to help other people like me.” – Ally Fallon, 6:37
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“I think a lot of people had dreams that were lying dormant. One of those dreams being that they wanted to write a book. And so you saw people kind of come out of the woodwork and say, I’m going to finally do this. I’m going to write a book.” – Ally Fallon, 8:43
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“But at the same time, the journey that I went on to write my book transformed me from the inside out. And regardless of how many people ever read the book or didn’t read the book that doesn’t change, no one can ever take that from me.” – Ally Fallon, 11:21
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“They know that they have this burning desire within them. They have a story that’s important. People keep telling them, you’ve gotta write that down. You’ve gotta write a book. And then either they don’t know the steps to take or when they try, they keep hearing no from somebody. And so they’re afraid to continue. And I think that is what paralyzes so many people is that lack of knowledge.” – Heather Adams, 15:20
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“I think these are cultural norms that have been passed down over decades and centuries generations. We have a very narrow idea of what it means to be a writer. And if you ask different people, you’ll get different answers. But a lot of the answers are things like a degree from some prestigious university or someone who’s published a book before.” – Ally Fallon, 16:16
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“There’s a sense of purging for sure. That’s part of the catharsis of the writing process. There’s all kinds of therapeutic research that shows disclosure is one of the most powerful tools that we can have for our own healing,” – Ally Fallon, 27:15
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“I think there are a lot of compelling reasons to actually write a book. For some people it might be, this is going to enhance my reputation because it’s a feather in my cap and it lends credibility to my expertise for somebody else. It might be to help raise their profile for somebody else. It might be to drive awareness of their product or service that they offer in their business.” – Heather Adams, 46:37
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“My piece of advice for anyone listening is to create a daily habit of writing. That’s whether you want to write a book or whether writing a book sounds miserable to you, either way that five minutes to 20 minutes a day.” – Ally Fallon, 51:19
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