For My Paid Subscribers: Excerpt From My Book: "A Friendly Guide to Writing and Ghostwriting"

Lifting the Sheet

Writing in a voice that is not your own is like trying on a coat that’s the wrong size. Maybe the sleeves are too long or the material is bursting at the seams. I know how that feels. I ghostwrote for so many years and I got so good at writing in someone else’s voice, I lost my own in the process. This is tragic for a writer. I’d spent so much time pretending I wasn’t me, racing toward short, unreasonable deadlines and trying to please so many people along the way, I’d gotten in the habit of writing too fast, chasing the clock and counting pages instead of listening to my instincts. I felt like a writing drone, using words and phrases that pleased other people but they were oversimplified or too fancy for my taste. I wasn’t taking the time (I didn't have the time) to contemplate, rewrite, and go deeper into the heart of the descriptions and emotions. I didn't have the luxury of letting the material sit for a week or two and get back to it with fresh eyes. I was rushing, I was lost and I wasn't sure how to find myself again.