My 60-day Breakthrough Challenge!

It's all Jurgen Wolff's fault.

Jurgen is a well-known motivational coach and writer and author of several books, including 'My Writing Coach.' I recently received an email from Jurgen telling me about his latest project. He was looking for 30 people to take part in his 60-Day Breakthrough Challenge, with Jurgen providing all the motivational tools (free of charge) to enable his students to achieve their own pre-set goal over the two-month period.

Frankly, who wouldn't want in? Jurgen informed me this morning, that unfortunately he received my application too late for it to be considered. But he did suggest I go ahead with my goal anyway and he gave me some key tips to get me up and running, which I will share with you. Over to Jurgen:

THREE KEYS TO SUCCESS IN ACHIEVING YOUR GOAL

1: Have confidence that you can do it.

The best attitude to have regarding your goal is “I know I’m going to reach my goal. Now my job is to find out the easiest, fastest way to do it.”

I’m not saying that in some Pollyanna-ish way. Presumably you have chosen a goal that is reasonable and achievable. I’m guessing that many people have done it before, in a similar time frame if not faster. Why shouldn’t you? The only thing that may be missing is knowing how to do it, and then committing the time and energy to complete those tasks.

In my case, millions of people have dropped 3% body fat, organized their offices and kept them organized, and probably hundreds of thousands have created useful information products. I can’t think of any reason why I can’t do it, too.

With more lofty goals you may be challenging yourself against the very best and an element of realism can be useful. Lots of people have run the four-minute mile, but I can think of several good reasons why that wouldn’t be a realistic goal for me (age, genetics, not enjoying running…). Similarly, while I’d love to win the Pulitzer Prize for Literature, that wouldn’t be a good goal to set—aside from any modesty about my writing prowess, it’s a goal that is entirely in the hands of a small number of other people, the committee that chooses the winners. But getting my novel published? How many hundreds of thousands achieve that in even one year? Enough to make me confident that I can do it, too (especially if I have a Plan B of self-publishing…).

So if you have chosen a goal that is reasonable, now is the time to stop devoting any energy to concerns over whether you can do it and put that power into finding the best way to do it.

2: Be flexible.

When people try something and fail, they remember what they were taught as children, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.”

So they try the same thing again.

And again.

It still doesn’t work and they give up.

I wish we could teach children, “If it first you don’t succeed, do something different!” That should be your mantra throughout these sixty days (and beyond). When you encounter a wall you can’t get over, figure out how to go under it, through it, or around it. There is always a way.

3: Take advice from people who have done it

I’m not suggesting that only a coach who has won a gold medal can help someone else win a gold medal but for sure the best coaches have a solid knowledge of the event, probably have participated, and add to their experience a way of giving valuable feedback. Yet often we ask our friends or relatives what they think of our goal and get discouraged if they react negatively—which they will do much of the time. If you want to prove this to yourself, try this experiment: mention your goal to a random selection of ten people over the course of the week. I’m willing to bet that you will get mostly one of these responses:

“Really? Isn’t that awfully difficult in today’s climate?” (or “if you’ve never done it before,” or “unless you know the right people,” or…)

“Oh, interesting, that’s great.” (In a tone that might as well be accompanied by a pat on the head, followed quickly by their latest bit of news.)

“Good luck—I tried that (or something similar) and it just didn’t work out.” Or “I’d love to do that, too, if I had the time…” The implication being that either you’re doomed to failure or that you’re undertaking something anybody could do if they could spare an hour or two. Both are de-motivating.

It seems easy to laugh off or ignore this kind of negativity but actually it’s insidious. It plants seeds of doubt that in time can undermine you. The moral is to keep your own counsel and discuss your goals only with people who you know will be supportive and those who actually have (successful) experience of what you are trying to do.

If you follow these three guidelines, you hugely increase your chances of success.

Well, I don't know about you, but I'm feeling energised and up for this challenge. It’s a well-known fact that we are more likely to achieve our goals when we write them down. Not committing our plans and ideas to paper is a form of judging them not to be good enough. And when we tell others what they are, apparently we have an even greater chance of turning our goals into reality. So here goes.

My 60-day challenge is going to be . . . (drum-roll please) . . .

Write and sell a TV screenplay.

It's something I’ve never attempted before. I’m pretty sure I can get the thing written, but selling it as well, that’s a whole different ball game. Maybe I’m aiming too high – who knows?

So far I’ve come up with a premise and a working title, and that’s about it.

And I’ll be recording my progress right here every couple of days or so. So why not join me? If there’s something you’ve been wanting to do for a while now, don’t put it off any longer. Stop thinking about it and start doing. Commit some time and energy to your project today. And we’ll kick the whole thing off officially on Saturday August 1st.

And please do write to me here at the Treehouse. Or you can email me: kazjordyn@yahoo.co.uk and let me know what your Breakthrough Challenge is going to be for the next 60 days, because I’d love to feature your stories on this blog. Come on guys, we’ll crack this thing together.

Best, Kaz

Pity The Woman Who Bags Herself A Mummy's Boy

A study carried out on behalf of a pasta company has revealed that one in three men aged between 20 and 40 still live with their parents, compared with one in five women of the same age. To be fair, Yours Truly didn't flee the nest until the age of 25. But, 40? Hey, come on!

Still I suppose in these cash-strapped times, money (or lack of it) is bound to be a contributory factor and 59 per cent of the 3,000 men and women surveyed, cited 'cost' as their main reason for lodging Chez Mummy & Daddy. Apparently 16 per cent of male respondents admitted they enjoyed being looked after by mum (brave souls) and 11 per cent saying they'd miss their parents too much if they left home. Sniff, sniff.

With 56 per cent of adults having their meals cooked for them and 55 per cent getting their smalls washed for nothing, it's a wonder anyone ever budges at all. And get this - almost one fifth of respondents had a packed lunch made up for them every morning. I'm beginning to see the attraction. I suppose there's something to be said for squatters' rights.

And although I mock, I do know something of the mindset of a Mummy's Boy. You see, my dad (who died eleven years ago) was a late leaver of home. He was in his forties when he married my mum - and up until that point he'd shared a house with his mum and his elder brother - who never did leave home at all. And although my parents enjoyed a happy and enduring marriage, I can't help but think that Dad, constantly doted on by his mother, (unconsciously, perhaps,)transferred his pampered/ lazy ways into his relationship with Mum.

At times, bizarrely, (or maybe it wasn't at all,) it was as if he became the third child, along with me and my sister.

I don't intend to spill the finer details of our domestic arrangements here, save to say, that my gran used to prepare salads in a certain way - finely chopping the ingredients and adding a half-teaspoon of sugar - as if to cajole a child into eating. Guess who carried on the tradition so that my dad was eating shredded, sugared salad like a little boy, when us girls were eating whole foods like grown ups? Mum, of course. Quite weird, that, thinking back.

Or maybe it wasn't at all . . .

Any thoughts?

As a new Friday feature of this blog, I've decided to introduce the following awards:

KJ's Hero (or heroes) of the Week

Panto Villain of the Week


I'm delighted to announce this week's winners are:

KJ's Heroes:

The England women's cricket team, who, following their World Cup and World Twenty20 successes, this week retained the Ashes. Congratulations to Charlotte Edwards and her team who were welcomed to 10 Downing Street by Gordon Brown, along with their trophies. Maybe our men could get some tips.

Panto Villain of the Week: (boo . . . hiss . . .)

Dr Denis Walsh, Professor and midwife (scary, that,) who said that women giving birth are too reliant on epidurals, depriving themselves of the 'character-building' effects of agony. Given that some women I know have described the birthing process as akin to passing a melon . . . I think we might have some clue as to where we'd like to stick it, don't we girls?

A case of mistaken identity . . . but oh what a great day out

Yesterday I attended the Lit Up! event for writers at Upton Country Park, Poole. It took place in the splendid walled garden and not even the rain lashing down on our marquee roof could dampen the spirits of the participants.

As I approached the garden, I was warmly greeted by one of the organisers, which kind of surprised me because I hadn't expected to get recognised.

"Carole?" she said.

"Sorry?"

"Are you Carole?"

"Carole Blake?"

"Yes."

"No."

"Oh. I thought -"

"Kaz Jordyn."

"Ah yes you're on my list," she said, ticking me off (said list, not personally) and showing me the way to the refreshments tent. For a second I contemplated Being Carole Blake (there must be a film in there somewhere) and the fact that I'd be giving a talk to sixty people in under ten minutes' time with no notes and no prep. And that - I can assure you, was enough to jolt me back to reality.

As it was, Carole's talk went down a storm. As well as relaying some amusing anecdotes to her appreciative audience, we learned that her agency, Blake Friedmann, receives 30-50 fresh manuscripts a day, although Carole was quick to point out, that's not nearly as many as the BIG agencies like Curtis Brown. One woman asked how much of BF's slushpile consisted of "crap." Carole replied candidly: "98 per cent." Ouch.

Things that impress Carole (and her agency):

i) Be thoroughly professional in your approach

ii) You've had your work professionally critiqued and taken on board the feedback

iii) You've had short stories/ articles published in a national publication/ newspaper

iv) You've attended the Arvon writing course (or similar)

Don't forget to include these things in your letter of introduction where appropriate. And a tip from Carole about the novel itself: write from your passion. Don’t try to write what you think the market wants because nobody knows what that is. You can create your very own new genre if you really believe in your story. Most important of all - your main character comes first. Keep her in your head as you write. Live and breathe her story. Don't come up with a storyline and try to find characters to fit into it. Carole says she wants to read something that "makes her fingertips tingle."

Just so you get the picture fully, Carole hasn't taken on any new novelists in two years. By following these tips, maybe you can persuade her your blockbuster has potential. On the plus side, Carole's agency is one of a handful who doesn't mind email submissions - so get brainstorming! (I said that, not CB.)

Next up to the mic (which wasn't switched on as everyone could hear perfectly well at the back), was crime writer, Peter Lovesey, author of over 30 published novels. He brought the house down with some very funny tales about his writing experiences. Honestly, you couldn't make it up. He also got several among us to read an extract from six very different novelists including Agatha Christie, Patricia Highsmith and Ian Rankin. He then asked us to determine how gripping the opening lines were and how successfully (or otherwise) they engage the reader, making them want to read on.

This might surprise you. Peter writes most days from 8am-6pm. How many words do you think he achieves on an average day? The answer, is between 130-200. Gasp! . . . yes, we all did. However, Peter doesn't do re-drafts. Those 130-200 words are the actual words that will appear in the text of his current novel. Each book takes around one and a half years to complete and Peter plans the whole thing out chapter by chapter before he starts writing a single word. It certainly works for him! The title of Peter's talk was "Murder Must Entertain" - we all agreed, he did that all right.

Finally, we were given the opportunity to quiz a distinguished panel of writing experts from a range of genres, consisting of Della Galton, Janine Pulford, Janie Jackson, Barbara Dynes, Peter Lovesey and Keith Bennett.

If you don't want the bad news about your chances of being the next Dan Brown or JKR, look away now.

What emerged was: in today's vastly overcrowded marketplace, it is extremely difficult to make a living from writing fiction by itself. Only a small percentage of people make enough money to live on, compared with non-fiction writers. Janie and Barbara suggested gaining credits from a number of publications by writing non-fiction, as a possible way in to the fiction market.

The prolific short story writer, Della Galton, revealed she wrote four unpublished novels, before she had her first one accepted. And even now, she gets plenty of rejections amongst the successes. With two published novels, Della still supplements her income by producing 'how-to' articles on writing fiction. She currently has a book out on writing and selling short stories.

When someone asked how to make themselves "more marketable," Janie instantly dismissed the term. “It's simple,” she said, "be a brilliant writer." The marquee almost took flight from its moorings when she added: "Editors won't care if you're a black lesbian with ten children as long as you can write well. It’s all that matters." However, Della added that authors these says are expected to do a lot of their own marketing as regards giving talks, interviews, and the like.

So there you have it. The secrets to your success. I'm not exactly dashing off to reinvent myself (not even as Carole Blake II), but if I take away one thing from yesterday afternoon's adventures, it's that I will work harder at trying to sell more non-fiction pieces in future, alongside working on my novel. In fact, I've got this great idea for a book . . .

PS. Little tip for those of you attending similar events in marquees in future - remember to pack a fleece, or similar - unless, of course, we're having a heatwave - in which case feel free to ignore this advice. I was sat there in jeans and a T-shirt all afternoon and by 5pm, I was freezing my tits off.

Fuming over lunchtime nudity

It seems a few people are up in arms cos some fit bird got her tits (and a whole lot more, apparently) out at lunchtime yesterday - all on the pretext of teaching people to draw.

Model, Kirsten Varley, whipped up something of a frenzy, by adopting a variety of nude poses on Channel 4's 12.30 offering, Life Class. Some viewers were quick to dub it pornography (I ask you!) Apparently (according to The Sun) writer, Punteha Yazdanian, 23, who watched the programme from her sick bed fumed, "It nearly gave me a relapse."

Little tip here, love, in future, keep the remote closer to you.

Two observations: (and I'm not meaning to be smutty, honest.)

1) I'm bloody furious, because, while the posse of po-faced miseries were enjoying a rant over a naked woman intruding on their cheese and pickle toasties, I was distracted by several Loose Women on the other channel and missed the event completely.

2) All we got to draw in art class at senior school was bowls of fruit and copper kettles, not fit-looking women like Ms Varley. Boo-hoo. Maybe if we had I'd have achieved an 'A' grade instead of a 'B+', eh, Mr Hind?

'Must pay more attention in future, Jordyn!' - (to the TV listings.) Now, where have I heard those words before . . .?

Recipe for the perfect sexy read

Get this. Latest research from skin moisturiser brand Astral, reveals that women aged 45 to 60 are looking for for lots of titillating sex . . . when choosing what novels to take home with them. Almost two thirds of the 2,000 interviewees said they were keen on raunchy scenes in novels - you horny devils you - proving you've still got it . . . and at your age too. Phew!

Romantic fiction came out on top in the ratings (35 per cent) followed by blockbuster crime/ mystery novels (33 per cent) and general fiction (31 per cent).

Reference books proved least popular (can't understand why, personally, I love a peek at a good old leather-bound tome) although a fair few did admit to snuggling up with a cookbook. Understandable really. There's a definite connection between eroticism and cooking, especially if it's one of Nigella's.

But what really made me smile was the bit that said researchers had discovered women feel sexier when they have more confidence in their skin quality. Hardly any surprise that. I mean, do you think they'd have published a survey that suggested otherwise?

I'm afraid I don't place too much store of these survey things. After all, statistics can be manipulated to prove or disprove any theory more or less, can't they? Good. I'm glad we agree.

I mean the thought that better skin quality leads to more sexual confidence and therefore equals more sex . . . well, it's downright . . . gosh is that the time? Got to dash, guys, . . . I'm late for my facial.

Hard at work . . . honest . . .