Tag: inspiration

Planning and Goal Setting for Writers: A Review of HB90 Bootcamp

Jaclyn16 Comments
Planning and Goal Setting for Writers: A Review of Sarra Cannon’s HB90 A Review of HB90 Bootcamp: A Planner for Writers A Planner for Depression and Anxiety: A Review of HB90 Bootcamp The Lightning Droplets review of HB90 Bootcamp, created by Sarra Cannon of Heart Breathings. Learn to create writing goals you can stick to using this planner for writers. This is a review of HB90 Bootcamp, a system for planning your writing goals, finding motivation, and creating a writing routine that lasts. This is a planner for writers but is also a planner that helps with depression and anxiety. #writinggoals #goalsetting #planners #mentalhealth #indieauthors

Writing can be lonely, y’all. It can be a very long slog with not a lot of recognition and no small wins along the way. I can be awash in a sea of ideas one day and swamped in petty author “to-dos” the next. Need to make an author website. What about that sequel to my memoir rattling around in my brain? Often, when I sit down I feel so overwhelmed by the amount of things I could be doing that I freeze up and do nothing at all. 

But I’ve found something that’s helping. It’s not a magic pill, but it feels like I am training myself to be more purposeful in how I spend my days, and making it just a little bit easier to sit down and get started. And I feel these little nudges making a difference.

What is HB90?

HB90 stands for Heart Breathings 90. It’s a 90-day planning system designed for writers and creative entrepreneurs. It uses a lot of psychological principles to help you keep motivated and take actionable steps toward your dreams. 

It includes a planner and a whole support and motivation system, with kanban boards, rewards, community for accountability, and a whole process to bang out your hopes and tasks for each quarter.

For me, this system works on two different levels. It’s nice to have a planner that is geared for writers, but the reason this works is that the process is based on proven principles from psychology. It actually looks a lot like cognitive behavioral therapy, but in the form of a planner (hello, markers and washi tape!).

Sarra Cannon, the creator of this system, is an indie writer who has published more than 25 novels. She’s also very open about the fact that she has dealt with depression and anxiety; this planning system was born out of that struggle. So HB90 is geared toward writers and creative entrepreneurs, but I personally have noticed that it is especially helpful in dealing with depression and anxiety. The system that Sarra has developed to help her through mental health issues is also helping me!

A Planner for Writers

HB90 is first and foremost a planner system that’s designed with writers in mind. There are pages to plan your work in progress and keep track of your word count, etc. A lot of Sarra’s videos explain things from the point of view of a writer, using writer’s goals and tasks as examples. But, I do think this would work for any kind of creative or entrepreneurial endeavor.

If you are trying to create a writing life, you know it can be hard to find the time, pick the projects, think about publication or marketing. This is a system that takes the lonely, scattered bits of being a writer and helps you shape them into a puzzle that can reveal your ideal life. 

It’s a planner that takes into consideration both the artistic side of writing and the goal-oriented business side, and creates a balance between the two. There is a part of me that feels like my writing is somehow sacred and should not be measured. However, I’ve found that, for me, the advantage of using this kind of goal-oriented approach is that it gives me milestones along the way down the long, lonely road of writing a novel so that I can see the progress I’m making and celebrate my wins. This has been keeping me motivated and more consistent in my writing routine, which is a boon for my creativity and the muse.

A Planner to Help with Depression and Anxiety

Sarra Cannon is graciously candid about her struggles with mental health issues on her youtube channel and also on her instagram account. Though the HB90 system is not specifically billed as a system that helps with depression and anxiety, I have found that it helps with mine, and I suspect that Sarra has developed this system as a way to deal with her own struggles. 

I have been working through the Cognitive Behavioral Theory Workbook (which I also high recommend to help with anxiety and depression) and some of the most practical and useful aspects of HB90–thinking of how to refill your well, identifying low-energy tasks, and taking time to really identify what you value, overlap with CBT. Of course, I’m no mental health expert and this isn’t medical advice. This link is pure conjecture on my part, but it’s helped me enough with my own mental health issues that I think it’s important to mention. 

What is HB90 Bootcamp?

HB90 Bootcamp is a seven-day course that walks you through a detailed process of envisioning your long term goals, prioritizing the things you need to do, looking realistically at your time, and creating a system that will support you in actually following through. It’s a course that teaches you step by step how to take on the HB90 method.

The course takes place over seven days, and each day contains a couple of hours of video and homework. The homework is all encapsulated in the planner that comes with the course, so it is very much like a workbook that you can look back on throughout the quarter. Each step of the way, the videos and workbook show you the reasoning behind the process and alternative ways to think about each step, which helps make the system very customizable. 

Things I Love about It

It actually comes with a lot. 

I have seen other five-day or weeklong courses that only come with a bit of instruction or work each day. This course comes with more than an hour of video every day, the planner, the facebook accountability group, a workbook to envision your ideal life, and a live kickoff call. 

The value in this really comes with the fact that you are then welcome to join every quarter. So every quarter, you can go through the process again, re-examine your goals and your vision for your life, and plan out the next 90 days so you can take the steps you need to to get there! 

The system is flexible. 

I have been doing the HB90 system for over a year now and every quarter I have been able to tailor it to my specific needs that quarter. I have done digital kanban boards, in-planner kanbans for when I travel, checklists, different kinds of reward systems. Each quarter I can see better which parts of it motivate me and which parts I can leave by the wayside. 

One thing that I really love about Sarra Cannon is that there are tons of levels at which you can engage, like just buying the planner, or following some of the planning advice on her youtube channel, all the way to going through the bootcamp.

It really does get better each time.

This is something I’ve heard Sarra say a few times, and I have to admit I rolled my eyes the first time I heard it. This month, I will be doing the course for my fifth time, and it really has gotten better each time. Each quarter I can say that my vision for my life becomes more clear, what I am trying to do and why becomes more clear, and the things that will help bring me toward those goals become more clear. 

What’s Difficult about It 

It asks hard questions.

Honestly, I struggled with whether to list this as a thing I love or a difficulty. The hard questions are good. Taking a big, eagle-eyed view of where you are and where you want to be is an important step in creating the life you want, but it is difficult. If I’m being honest, this has been the most difficult part of the HB90 course for me every time I do it. It really asks you to dig deep and think about why and how you are heading in the direction you are heading. And sometimes, the answers to those questions are uncomfortable.

It takes time.

The course is structured so that it takes about a week to complete, and I would say you do need that whole week. You could watch the videos all at once, but there’s a lot of thinking and processing between videos which I think is really important. 

You don’t necessarily need to do it at the same time as everyone else. In the Facebook alumni group there are often people going through the course the first week of the next quarter or several weeks after the quarter begins, and they still get the support of the group. However, you definitely need to set aside about a week’s worth of time to do it.

The Verdict: Is It Worth It? 

Sarra Cannon has a suite of courses for writers. In addition to HB90 Bootcamp, she also has a course called Publish and Thrive; you can read my review of that course here. The thing I find interesting about Sarra’s courses is that they are packed full of information, but what is really valuable about them is the way they empower you to envision and create a writing life that sticks with you long after the information is forgotten. 

So, for me, it’s been totally worth it. I was at a point in my life where I knew something had to change. Actually, I knew everything had to change, but I had no idea where to even begin making the changes. After a year of working with this planning method, I can definitely say that I am working toward the life I want on a daily basis and thinking often about the direction I’m heading and what I want my life to look like. That has definitely been worth it. 

Planning and Goal Setting for Writers: A Review of Sarra Cannon’s HB90 A Review of HB90 Bootcamp: A Planner for Writers A Planner for Depression and Anxiety: A Review of HB90 Bootcamp The Lightning Droplets review of HB90 Bootcamp, created by Sarra Cannon of Heart Breathings. Learn to create writing goals you can stick to using this planner for writers. This is a review of HB90 Bootcamp, a system for planning your writing goals, finding motivation, and creating a writing routine that lasts. This is a planner for writers but is also a planner that helps with depression and anxiety. #writinggoals #goalsetting #planners #mentalhealth #indieauthors
Planning and Goal Setting for Writers: A Review of Sarra Cannon’s HB90 A Review of HB90 Bootcamp: A Planner for Writers A Planner for Depression and Anxiety: A Review of HB90 Bootcamp The Lightning Droplets review of HB90 Bootcamp, created by Sarra Cannon of Heart Breathings. Learn to create writing goals you can stick to using this planner for writers. This is a review of HB90 Bootcamp, a system for planning your writing goals, finding motivation, and creating a writing routine that lasts. This is a planner for writers but is also a planner that helps with depression and anxiety. #writinggoals #goalsetting #planners #mentalhealth #indieauthors

Note: This post contains affiliate links to Sarra’s courses, which means if you choose to enroll after clicking my link, I will receive a small commission at no extra charge to you. That being said, I am recommending this course because it really has changed my thinking on my writing career and helped me manage my mental health issues, so I want to spread the word!

Dangerous Plants: A Writing Prompt for Character Development

Jaclyn5 Comments

Find out how to create a dangerous character on the Lightning Droplets blog. Learn how to create a character-driven plot. This post includes the three most important questions to ask your character and how to turn those answers into a full plot. You can use this writing prompt about deadly and dangerous plants to learn how to craft a character that will drive a meaningful plot for your story and help your fiction resonate with readers. #fiction #writingtips #character #amwriting #writingprompt

There’s something about the lure of dangerous plants. The call of the Angel’s trumpet. The come-hither tendrils of poison ivy. The flashy blooms of oleander. Deadly plants have rich stories and lurid histories, and this makes them ripe for character development. This prompt walks you through creating a character based on a poisonous plant, and offers questions to ask your character that will get your plot racing.

Step 1: Start with a little bit of research. 

Choose a dangerous plant. You can pick one of the most deadly, or one of the most poisonous, or the most dangerous. The descriptions in the links here might be enough to get the inspiration flowing, or you might want to use Wikipedia to do more research on a particular plant that speaks to you. Take notes about what strikes your interest. You might even let yourself go down the rabbit hole of research a little bit. Look into legends, history, and the biology of the plant. Often, poisonous plants have very interesting ways of interacting with humans, and of reproducing. 

Step 2: Anthropomorphize! 

Create a character based on the plant. Perhaps it is something about the way the plant kills. A lot of these plants have interesting historical tales surrounding them. Abraham Lincoln’s mother died from drinking milk tinged with white snakeroot. A Bulgarian dissident was killed with the chemical from castor seeds. What would this story look like from the plant’s point of view? Did Socrates deserve what the hemlock did to him? 

What would this plant look like as a person? Would she be pale and unassuming, but deadly when you get close? Or would she be flamboyant and loud, luring everyone to her side? Is he spindly or robust? You could approach this question two ways: how would the physical characteristics of this plant translate into the look of a person? For example, does the character have eyes the color of wolfsbane? Or a rosary of rosary peas around their neck? Or you could think more about the personality of the plant. Are they sneaky? How would that look in a person? (But make sure to stay away from stereotypes!)

Once you are starting to  envision your plant as a character, you’re ready to interrogate them!

Step 3: The 3 Most Important Questions to Ask Your Character

Think of this plant as a character. All characters have desires, needs, and a drive to be happy. But the trick is tying the desires and needs of the character directly to the plot. The way to do this is to ask the right questions. You don’t necessarily need to know all of the character’s favorite foods, bands and holiday spots, but you do need to know what makes them tick, how they are going to act, and, ultimately, how they are going to change.

These are the three most important questions to ask any character you create because these are the questions that are going to drive your character’s actions, and therefore also drive your plot. So let’s get digging!

  1. What lie does your character believe? 

The best stories have dynamic characters, which means your character needs to change. Maybe this is a small change, like realizing that they actually do like oranges, or maybe it’s a big change, like realizing maybe they don’t feel very fulfilled by poisoning people. Either way, we need to see some transformation, which means they need to change their mind about something. So, what are they going to change their mind about? What lie do they believe?

Another way to think about this is to think about it as a character flaw. What’s wrong with this character that needs to change? How are they acting/thinking/living in a way that does not actually make them happy? How does that relate to the lie they believe?

This is really the root of the matter.

  1. What do they think will make them happy?

Give your plant-character a goal, a terribly misguided goal. This is especially powerful if their goal is based on the lie they believe. What are they pursuing because of this misbelief? What’s wrong with their life as it is, and what do they think they need to get/do/say/love/change in order to be happy? 

Something to note about this question: it’s important that this is what they want which is wholly separate from what they need. This goal should be driven by the misguided belief that they hold. This is a goal that should change by the end of the story (even if it is the very last sentence!).

Then focus on what they are going to do to try to pursue this goal: What are they willing to do? What actual steps can they take to try to get there? But don’t forget, you, dear dangerous writer, are not going to let them achieve this goal.

  1. What is going to change their mind?

Finally, what does your character come up against that makes them see the error of their ways? What is the tipping point, the pivotal moment that makes your character rethink their motives and their goals? What’s the event that makes them see the truth? 

Of course, these are questions you can ask any character you make, whether they are based on a plant or not. These questions about your character’s personality are questions that specifically drive the plot of your story. You’ve got rich soil to work with. 

Step 4: Plants into Plots

Now the plot thickens. (And yes, gardening puns totally intended.)

The real twist in this plot is that this dangerous plant is your protagonist. We know their flaws. We know what they are willing to do because of the lies they believe. So how does it all pan out? This is where the real world action meets the emotions within your herbaceous character. What steps are they taking in their life to try to pursue the lie that they think will make them happy? How does this plan fail? What stands in their way? And what eventually shows them (and your reader) the error of their ways?

Don’t forget, even as this plant is dangerous and believes this terrible lie, we still need to feel something for the character. Why are we rooting for this plant? We don’t have to like the plant, but we need to be interested. How does this dangerous, poisonous plant become a character that we can relate to and whose story we want to read?

Why this works

It might feel ridiculous to start a character with a plant. I mean, for a lot of people they are basically inanimate objects. But beginning the story by trying to find parallels between a human and a plant can help you see human stories from a different perspective. It frees you to think about different motivations and desires.

In terms of the questions to ask your characters, the power is in connecting the changes in your character and the events of the plot. If you allow your plot to be driven by the false belief of the character, the change that they undergo because of the incidents that happen in the story will have much more meaning. The character’s inner journey and outer journey will resonate, which means your story will resonate with readers also.

Finally, I want to give a very big shout out to Abbie Emmons on Youtube. The character questions here are loosely based on her very useful worksheets and videos about character-driven plotting. Definitely check out her channel for more in-depth info on these questions and more ways to think about characters and what drives them. She has short, punchy, informative videos on how to make your writing meaningful and I highly recommend checking them out! They are very good fodder for when you get stuck!

Have you tried this prompt? I would love to see how it comes out! Post a link or paste your results below.

Are you interested in trying more prompts? You might like this prompt using plot generators, this prompt setting myths in new places, or 30 days of writing prompts designed to get you through quarantine.

Enjoy!

Find out how to create a dangerous character on the Lightning Droplets blog. Learn how to create a character-driven plot. This post includes the three most important questions to ask your character and how to turn those answers into a full plot. You can use this writing prompt about deadly and dangerous plants to learn how to craft a character that will drive a meaningful plot for your story and help your fiction resonate with readers. #fiction #writingtips #character #amwriting #writingprompt
Find out how to create a dangerous character on the Lightning Droplets blog. Learn how to create a character-driven plot. This post includes the three most important questions to ask your character and how to turn those answers into a full plot. You can use this writing prompt about deadly and dangerous plants to learn how to craft a character that will drive a meaningful plot for your story and help your fiction resonate with readers. #fiction #writingtips #character #amwriting #writingprompt

Shelter and Write Prompt 30: New Connections

Jaclyn2 Comments

Write about a new connection being made because of COVID-19. This might be an essay or poem about your real life experience, or you can create a story of a fictional connection.

What new connections have been made because of COVID-19? This could be connections with others, connections with yourself, connections with a place, etc. Write the story of this connection. How did it come to be? Why is it important? What are the possibilities of where this connection will go?

This post is part of a series I am doing that includes 30 prompts for 30 days of sheltering at home. You can read more about my reasoning and also find other prompts here. I would love to see what you come up with. Feel free to share here or to tag your work #shelterandwrite.

Shelter and Write Prompt 29: Ekphrasis

Jaclyn1 Comment

Find a work of visual art about COVID-19 that moves you. You could consider these works of street art. It could be a photograph from the news. It could even be a meme, a cartoon, or anything visual that you might tie to the pandemic. 

Write a piece in which this work of art comes to life. Describe the art for us in detail. What is the context of the visual moment that you see? Who are the people depicted? Who is behind the art? Why did you choose this piece, and why is it evocative to you? What does this image not show?

This post is part of a series I am doing that includes 30 prompts for 30 days of sheltering at home. You can read more about my reasoning and also find other prompts here. I would love to see what you come up with. Feel free to share here or to tag your work #shelterandwrite.

Shelter and Write Prompt 28: Thinking of Others

Jaclyn3 Comments

Write about someone who is affected by COVID-19 in a very different way than you are. You could imagine someone fictional or write about someone you know. You could even imagine what it is like to be someone whose story you have heard but you do not know personally.

Who is this person? What was life like for them before? How has the epidemic changed their life? What happens to them? What conflict and crisis comes up for them because of the pandemic? How do they respond to it? What is the resolution? How does the experience change them as a person?

This post is part of a series I am doing that includes 30 prompts for 30 days of sheltering at home. You can read more about my reasoning and also find other prompts here. I would love to see what you come up with. Feel free to share here or to tag your work #shelterandwrite.

Shelter and Write Prompt 27: Good News

Jaclyn5 Comments

Find a headline or story that is good news. It might be the way that neighbors are helping each other. It might be the hope that our society comes out of the pandemic better in some ways. Maybe it’s a positive scientific discovery, or a very small silver lining in otherwise difficult times. 

Write a story, essay, or poem that is based on this good news. Maybe you dive deep into the possible implications, or imagine that all neighbors were helping. What happens when this headline explodes into goodness, and changes the course of everything?

This post is part of a series I am doing that includes 30 prompts for 30 days of sheltering at home. You can read more about my reasoning and also find other prompts here. I would love to see what you come up with. Feel free to share here or to tag your work #shelterandwrite.

Shelter and Write Prompt 26: Difficult Dialogue

Jaclyn1 Comment

Being in the midst of a global pandemic makes us think different about the ways we communicate. Some people are feeling that life is fleeting, so they feel the need to get things off their chest before it is too late. Others are working on keeping people better informed, while still others are trying to maintain relationships at a distance.

Think about something that needs to be said. Write out this difficult conversation. This could be a conversation you’ve actually had, or one that you have been wanting to have. It could also be a fictional conversation between characters. 

What needs to be said? How does the other person respond? Does this conversation resolve anything? Or exacerbate anything? What’s the context and the subtext of this conversation? What are the things that cannot be said? 

This post is part of a series I am doing that includes 30 prompts for 30 days of sheltering at home. You can read more about my reasoning and also find other prompts here. I would love to see what you come up with. Feel free to share here or to tag your work #shelterandwrite.

Shelter and Write Prompt 25: Found Phrases

Jaclyn1 Comment

Over the next few days, collect the words and phrases that stand out to you. There are a lot of phrases that have come into the recent zeitgeist: “new normal,” “flatten the curve,” and “social distance,” to name a few. You might also consider using quotes from news articles, survivors, politicians, or friends. What are people around you saying? What do you hear on the TV? What are the headlines, or the things you are reading on your feed? 

Take some time to make note of the ones that really strike a chord with you. Create a piece based on these phrases. For fiction, you could start with one of those as your first line. Or your last. You could try to use them all in a poem, or reflect on the underlying meaning of each one in an essay. One great example is Jessica Salfia’s The First Line of Emails I’ve Received While Quarantining. 

This post is part of a series I am doing that includes 30 prompts for 30 days of sheltering at home. You can read more about my reasoning and also find other prompts here. I would love to see what you come up with. Feel free to share here or to tag your work #shelterandwrite.

Shelter and Write Prompt 24: Forbidden Places

Jaclyn7 Comments

Think of a place you cannot be right now. Maybe it is with someone you love, or a vacation you were planning, or even just your local hang out. Or perhaps it’s a place you don’t want to be right now. Describe that place in as much detail as possible so that we can experience it along with you. 

What would it be like if you were currently there? Is it good or bad that you cannot be there? What does this place mean to you and what are the repercussions of not being able to be there? What would the repercussions be if you were there?

PS: Like always, you can fictionalize this prompt and use it to get started on a short story. 

This post is part of a series I am doing that includes 30 prompts for 30 days of sheltering at home. You can read more about my reasoning and also find other prompts here. I would love to see what you come up with. Feel free to share here or to tag your work #shelterandwrite.

Shelter and Write Prompt 23: The Structure of Days

Jaclyn3 Comments

Write a detailed description of current daily life. Perhaps you will use your own life as the basis for a poem or essay. Or you could imagine a fictional character trying to get through these uncertain times. 

Start with a schedule. Go into detail. How do days generally unfold now? Are they all similar, like Groundhog Day? Or are they completely unpredictable? What do you notice about the structure of the day?

How has daily life changed? How is it similar? Describe the movements and habits of this person. What do they do right when they wake up? Have eating habits changed? What they wear? Where they go? What is different in the way that the day flows? What do they notice, or not notice anymore? 

This post is part of a series I am doing that includes 30 prompts for 30 days of sheltering at home. You can read more about my reasoning and also find other prompts here. I would love to see what you come up with. Feel free to share here or to tag your work #shelterandwrite.