Your core message is the main theme, the golden thread, that dominates most of your content. Some examples:

Adventure author Jon Krakauer writes about human drama in life-or-death outdoor situations such as hiking or mountain climbing.

Novelist J. K. Rowling writes about what it means to be a hero in the context of a fantasy world.

Novelist Stephen King writes about the dark side of humanity in the context of horror stories.

Personal development guru John Maxwell writes about leadership.

Historian David McCullough wrote about the humanity behind American historical figures.

For most authors, it’s many books, but one core message. You might say, “What about the books that aren’t tied to an author’s core message?” Most of the time, those books are tied into their core message in one way or another.

What about you? What’s your core message?

If you can’t articulate it yet, that’s okay. It takes time and writing a lot of words before you figure it out. Your core message gets clearer and more authentic the more you write.

Today’s Challenge: As best as you can articulate it, write down your core message as an author. Then ask three people who know you well to see if they agree.

The post What is Your Core Message? appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.

No matter why you write, there is a common element that ties all writers together. We are all on a journey of discovery. We don’t just write to express what we think. We write in order to discover what we think.

For many writers, it goes even deeper than that. It’s an itch they keep on scratching, but it never seems to quite go away. This itch is what we call a life theme. It’s a theme, a statement, or an idea that ties your body of work together.

This isn’t true for all writers. But for most, it is. They write because there is a singular theme that resonates from their soul. It’s a golden thread that ties it all together.

This was true of Maya Angelou. She said, “In all my work what I try to say is that as human beings we are more alike than we are unalike.” That was her golden thread.

Is there a theme or idea that you keep coming back to? Something you’re trying to say, but you never quite feel you get it right? That feeling of not getting it quite right is not an indication that you’re inadequate. It’s a sign that you still have more to say.

Don’t be afraid of your golden thread. In fact, lean into it. The more you do, the more your writing will resonate with people because it represents the truth of who you are and how you see the world.

And if you have been true to your golden thread, someday you’ll be able to look back on your body and work and see how that golden thread has been woven into a stunning tapestry.

The post The Golden Thread appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.

When there are a dozen potential messages you could focus on, how do you move forward without feeling like you’re making the wrong choice?

That said, there are times when it’s OK to have several different messages. That’s when you’re writing a lot of books and want to build a few different brands.

Some authors do this by having different pen names. For instance, one of my favorite writers, Joanna Penn, creates resources for authors. But she also writes thrillers under the author pen name J. F. Penn. It’s a way to separate her nonfiction for writers from her fiction, which is mostly a different audience.

My friend and writing mentor, Honorée Corder, does this very, very well. She has a series of books for single mothers, she has books for business leaders, and she has books for writers, among other topics. But she has done this over the long term.

That’s important to keep in mind… you’re doing this over the long term. It’s hard enough for most writers to consistently write on one topic, much less two or more.

So don’t get distracted and feel you have to write about everything. Focus on one main thing. That being said, if you’re highly motivated and want to put the work in to write multiple books a year and build multiple “brands” with your books, then go for it! The more great books you can write, the better.

Question: On a scale of 1-10, how motivated are you to have more than one core message by writing a lot of books?

The post The Exception to the “Core Message” Rule appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.