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Writing Your Book?

Probably not.

But soon, you will be.

SKIP TO THE DEETS

The #1 question I despise as an author

Authors love to talk about our stories, the worlds we’ve created, the characters who are so real we think of them as actual beings, the plots we’ve woven together… *sigh*
When people ask what we write, we can go on for hours about the intricacies of our plots, the inner workings of each character (even the ones that walk on for two seconds and leave again), and how Character A did Action Z and it threw everything out of whack–but it’s okay (we say with a semi-crazy glint in our eye), because it revealed so many different paths the story could go down!
It’s exciting to talk about our stories. We thrive on it.
But…
If someone asks, “How’s the book coming?”
We cringe.
We want to hide.
We want to run away.
We feel this well-meaning question is an attack against our ability to even string words into a meaningful sentence.
It makes impostor-syndrome and self-doubt creep in.
It’s as if the question-asker has seen into our soul and dissected our inner workings.
It’s like Stewie Griffin asking Brian about his novel:
Who can’t relate to that?
It doesn’t matter who asks this question. It could be a curious co-worker, a friend we haven’t seen in a while, our own family members.
People who couldn’t possibly understand what it’s like to write a whole freaking book.
Why does this question cause so much internal strife?
For me, on any given day, the answer could go one of two ways:
It’s going great! I wrote a ton of words today. I got into the flow and the words poured forth like a hemorrhaging flesh wound (I write horror, so… yeah).
Or, more likely, I would feel my face heat up (maybe even my armpits).
I’d pull my sleeves up, push them back down, avoid eye contact.
I might even open and close my mouth a few times trying to come up with something to say.
“Good,” I’d choke out and, before they could ask any follow up questions, scurry away muttering something about having to get back to it.
Because the truth was, I often squandered my writing time doing who knows what.
Because, sometimes I had no idea where the time went.
Okay, full disclosure and full confession: it probably went to scrolling to the bottom of social media and compulsively checking my email.

Does this sound like you?

If this question – How’s the book coming? – makes you cringe or want to hide under a rock (or in a basement of a cottage in the middle of a deep dark forest), if this question makes you feel hot and sweaty (not in a good way), if this question makes you feel personally attacked, or found out, or even EXPOSED, it is likely because you have been squandering your own writing time.
Or maybe your writing time was stolen by something else going on in your life.
Or maybe you passed on writing for the past three days (weeks, months, who’s counting?) because you’ve been too tired.
Or unmotivated.
Or distracted
Or brain dead.
Or maybe you’ve just felt a tad “procrastinatey” because of whatever the case may be.
Maybe life’s responsibilities have stolen your time from you.
Maybe those responsibilities are so overwhelming at times, you can’t even possibly find time in your day to even sit down to breathe, let alone type a few words.

You are not alone.

I’ve been there. A lot of authors have been there. We try to emulate our favorite authors and do things the way they do things, but it becomes overwhelming.
Ten pages per day, writing from the crack of dawn until lunchtime, massive daily word count goals.
Goals that don’t fit with our schedules and end up being unsustainable no matter how hard we try.
One failure leads to another until all hope is lost. We vow to make up what we missed yesterday, or the way before, or a week ago.
In the worst case scenarios, we give up. We vow to start again in the New Year, or maybe on Monday.
But we already have the bitter taste of defeat in our mouths and in our hearts.
It’s hard to succeed when we’re already so far behind in our minds we can hardly look at our manuscripts in progress.
sAY NO MORE

I'm with you, my friend.

I’m Claire L. Fishback, and I am a lot like you. Maybe so similar it’s uncanny.
I’m a writer with a full-time job, and I used to write on my 60-minute lunch break. Everyday I would eat lunch at my desk while working so I could have the FULL hour to write.
I’d go off to a little hidden conference room, turn on my computer, open up my favorite writing software, sit back, and do everything but write.
I was a social media junkie, and Facebook was my drug of choice.
Maybe your drug of choice is a game on your phone, or scrolling news headlines, or another social media channel.
Maybe it’s reading books about writing, doing endless amounts of research, or crafting beautiful and brilliant character dossiers or mapping out complex plots or mapping out actual maps.
Whatever it is, it has become your way of putting off the writing consciously or, more likely, subconsciously.
Back to the writing-on-my-lunch-break days: I would literally think to myself, “I wish I had more time to write,” WHILE SCROLLING TO THE BOTTOM OF FACEBOOK (or playing The Sims, because who doesn’t love lording over a collection of interesting characters of our own making?)
If you can relate to any of this, just know that it’s okay and you are not alone.
We are authors, and authors are persistent.
If writing a book is boiling in your blood, a calling you cannot ignore, you will always come back to it.
You will always try to start again.
You will always strive to finish.

I am here to help you.

I have created a course just for you to help you start again. To help you finish what you’ve already begun. To help you get going, keep going, and cross that finish line.
It doesn’t require getting up at the crack of dawn, or rearranging your schedule, or making unsustainable word count or page count goals.
Like training for a long distance race, it’s not about distance or speed. It’s about time on your feet.
Or in this case, time with your butt in the chair, hands on the keys.
This course will train your mind and body to write in sustainably small scraps of time that fit into your already busy schedule.
One of the first things you’ll learn is the method I utilized to go from 12 years to finish and publish a book to 9 months to finish and publish a book.
It’s the method I used to write all through the global pandemic while recovering from a concussion. My fourth concussion at that (What can I say? I live a wild life).
i'M IN. sIGN ME UP!

How are we gonna do that?

Using the CAN DO Formula, you will learn to:
ENROLL ME NOW!

Look at all this fun stuff!

Who this course is for

Writers who…
  • Can't find time to write on a regular basis
  • Tend to deprioritize writing for any reason, be it life's responsibilities or plain old procrastination
  • Have trouble focusing during their writing time
  • Are umotivated to start their writing sessions
  • Are too tired to write once they actually find time to do so
  • Are open to learn alongside other writers like them in a judgment free zone
  • Love adorable toucans

Who this course IS NOT for

Writers who…
  • Aren't serious about cultivating the writing life of their dreams
  • Judge others because of their struggles or for any other reason
  • Don't like adorable toucans
SIGN ME UP!

Frequently Asked Questions

The course lessons are short (the longest one is 22 minutes) and can be consumed in multiple ways (text, audio, or video). The audio can be downloaded so you can listen to the lessons while doing other things.

A Quick Start Workbook will guide you through the process rapidly so you can get started right away.

Yes, because in a recent survey, I found 51% of authors already have a writing habit. However, 67% of them don’t always show up to their writing time.

This course will still teach you some tips and tricks to make the most of your writing time, navigate the turbulence in the form of internal and external obstacles, and techniques that will help you show up time after time, no matter what.

This is a self-study course, so there is no start and end date. You get to go at your own pace!

You will have access to the content, including any updates to the modules and deliverables, for as long as the course is “alive” on the internet.

Because this is a digital product, we do not offer refunds at this time. Please refer to our terms and conditions for more information.

To get a sampling of my teaching style and personality, I invite you to listen to 1 or 2 episodes of the You Can, Toucan! Podcast.

Email me at hello@youcantoucan.com and let’s chat!

One more time for the people in the back

In this course, you will learn to...

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That little bit about me

I’m Claire L. Fishback. Author, writing coach, project manager, amazing wife, dog mom, and your guide to doing more in less time, project managing your book, being your own best cheerleader, and ultimately discovering the path to the writing career of your dreams.

Get your free guide today!

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