I’m pleased to announce my interview with Julie Noonan of Roaming with Restless Women is now live! We covered a lot of ground in half an hour. From Bike MS to what it means to be restless, it was a lively discussion. (Listen to the podcast here.)
We began by talking about Debra Lee Won’t Break (affiliate link) and my experience training for Bike MS as part of the writing process. I think of Debra Lee, my main character, as a fellow “restless woman,” someone who doesn’t like to sit still for too long. Taking part in the bike ride helped me to add depth to the novel that would otherwise be missing.
When the conversation turned to my writing coaching services, Julie asked me what I would say to someone who had an idea for a nonfiction book but didn’t know where to start.
Coincidentally, I had just had such a conversation with my sister, who has been considering writing a health and wellness book for at least 10 years. She sees the potential for it to help her business as a Pilates instructor, and she might finally have the time to execute the idea.
I told Julie the same thing I told my sister: Start with a mind map. Write down on paper your ideas and start to organize them. Make decisions about what you would include and what you would leave out. Consider whether you have enough information for a book vs. an article or blog post.
Once you have your ideas sketched out, you can start to put together a working table of contents, and once you have that, you can think about preparing a proposal (traditional publishing) or drafting the book (self-publishing — although even self-publishers will benefit from preparing a proposal!).
Julie and I also discussed what it means to be a wise woman, and what it means to be restless.
Restlessness can have the connotation of being unsettled, immature, or not dependable. But it doesn’t have to mean those things.
I agree with Julie: Being restless is not always a bad thing. It is what led me to write both of my books, start a business, undertake multiple athletic challenges, and more. I wouldn’t give up any one of those experiences.
What does being restless mean to you?
Listen to the full interview on Roaming with Restless Women with Julie Noonan.
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Katherine Pickett 