Part 2 - Patterns.

Looking at the ideas from Part 1;

What connects the ideas?

Do you see any patterns to your words that enable you to group ideas together?

How many groups do you end up with?

For instance, in my own book, I started with 15 chapters and one of the chapters I had to fight for inclusion! And I'm pleased that I did because it is one that so many readers have said is a massive impactor on their success. However, I did overall trust my publisher (well they are the biggest non-fiction publisher in the UK!) and so when they wanted two chapters dropped we were able to see that most of the content could be utilised in other chapters because we had grouped the ideas together in the first phrase.

Right now you've got a piece of paper in front of you (hopefully you are taking action on every lesson straight away otherwise you risk not going back to do a stage of this course, which could dilute your success.) That piece of paper should look a bit overwhelming.

With so many ideas all in one place, let's get them in some kind of order. Looking at the ideas from the previous lesson;

• What connects the ideas?
• Do you see any patterns to your words that enable you to group ideas together?
• What keywords link up?
• Are there emotions, tasks, thoughts, sentences that link together?
• Are there some that are clearly polar opposites?
• What key subjects link up?
• How many groups do you end up with?

Take a second piece of paper and start to group your ideas. This is where sticky notes or the Bravestorm system comes in handy because you can easily move ideas around as you change your mind.

Don't panic that you've not got this perfect. Rarely is your first draft of your book the finished book. Expect to change ideas and don't be over zealous on keeping a structure that doesn't work because this will damage the end result. If you really struggle to alter your ideas or can't work out any patterns go back to the first 2 lessons to remind yourself of why you want to write this book and what the goals are for this book. That should help you overcome any obstacles to this lesson.

If you are still struggling take a picture and share to our confidential mastermind group the Insiders. Not joined yet? There's no hard sell here, it works and people love and it's only £5 a month (so we can prove it's not about the money, it's about your success. I'd love to see you there too.)

Here is an example for you from one of my books, I started with 15 chapters with 3 being dropped. One of the chapters I wanted to fight for inclusion but my publishers couldn't see it's relevance. They hadn't spent many many years coaching people and didn't know how this fear impacted on people's successes. I did and I knew how critical it was to success and achieving goals. Being able to explain succincly why I felt strongly about the chapter, what it brought to the book, and how it gelled to the other chapters meant the publishers went with my idea. (That was nerve racking but worth it!) I’m pleased that I did because it is one that so many readers have said is a massive impactor on improving their success.

However, overall I did trust my publisher (well they are the biggest non-fiction publisher in the UK!) and so when they wanted two chapters dropped we were able to see that most of the content could be utilised in other chapters because we had grouped the ideas together in the first phrase.

So don't panic if you have too many groups. It could mean you've got more than 1 book in front of you!