For some time, I worked as a strategic manager in the education sector (or as it’s now known, ‘Children and Young People’s Services’). My role involved developing solutions for young people who, for various reasons, were not in school. This could have been due to anything from young motherhood to terminal illness and from behavioural issues to severe learning difficulties. The solutions I developed included 24/7 online educational and welfare communities, tailored learning and ethical plans, multi-disciplinary approaches, alternative timetabling, and adaptive technologies. These plans involved parents and families and employing experienced teachers who were open to learning new ways of engaging with students.
Problem-solving is something I’m passionate about, and I firmly believe that, even in tough times, there’s usually a solution to almost every challenge. As most of you know, problem-solving is a process, and a ‘one step at a time’ approach usually works well if you have a clear goal.
Last week, I was fortunate enough to spend some time in Cornwall with my friend John Hudson, the British Military’s chief SERE (Survival, Evasion, Resistance & Extraction) instructor. John has also been a resident survival expert on two series of Discovery’s prime-time show ‘Survive That’. However, despite his impressive credentials, you might be surprised to learn that he is an incredibly humble man with a light attitude and a great sense of humour. Lee and I interviewed him, and there’s a link to it below. I’m sure you’ll agree he’s a very engaging person.
John is an awe-inspiring character, and his anecdotes leave you feeling like children sitting around a campfire, wide-eyed and eager for more. For those unfamiliar with his TV programme, his colleagues drop him in remote places like Alaska with minimal supplies. His task is to survive and reach the nearest civilised point. It’s worth mentioning that his wife is a renowned fine artist with a kind, humble nature, and a finely tuned intellect. Together, they are incredibly inspiring.
You might expect John to talk primarily about military survival, but as an expert in surviving almost anything, his expertise applies to all that life throws at us and I didn’t miss the opportunity to ask for some advice while I was there! His books reflect this expertise and remind me that when we’re challenged with our writing, taking a break and resetting, can often put things into perspective and help us set new goals.
If you’re part of the ASPA community, one of the great strategies you can adopt is to tap into the skills and experience of other members. There’s an incredible range of talent among us, and since we set up the community, we’ve learned many tips and shared some of our own.
One of the most challenging aspects of writing is the isolation. We often write hoping that people will read our work and provide feedback, but that expectation can sometimes be unrealistic. I’m frequently asked to read books, but I just can’t get around to reading them all (and that is not a reflection of the content or the writer). Unlike playing a song or painting a picture (where you may get an instant reaction) writing is a prolonged and isolated process with less initial feedback.
For those with agents, managers, and a traditional publishing contract, the challenges are different. The editing process can sometimes leave you feeling as though your voice has been lost, and I know many published authors who have been disappointed with their publisher’s efforts in promoting their work.
When you hit a rough patch, take advantage of the community and tools available to you and plan out new steps to reach your goals.
The most asked-about challenges are:
• Dealing with writer’s block.
• Understanding your audience, genre etc.
• Getting others to talk about or read your work.
• The writing process.
• The self-publishing process.
• Remaining focussed and enthusiastic when you receive a bad review.
• Fitting your writing schedule around your other obligations and the people in
your life, without losing track of progress.
• Struggling with marketing and sales.
Please access our ‘46 step guide to becoming a self-published author,’ (which is free to download) as you will find many of the answers there. But rather than giving specific advice on these issues (or any others) in this article, I encourage you to contact us if you feel we can help you through a difficult time in your writing journey.
I won’t say any more and will instead leave you in the capable hands of the expert. The title of John Hudson’s book says it all.
Rob
Books
Our Interview with JH
JH YouTube Channel
I echo Rob’s blog post and must say that I have been fascinated by survival programs all of my life and was a huge fan of the ‘survive that’ TV series, so when Rob asked if I would be interested in interviewing John Hudson I jumped at the chance. He is a really nice guy and an incredible storyteller with real life stories that just keep you gripped to every word.
I think, as you say Rob we can take a lot of the mental survival skills about dealing with stress, mental block, scheduling our time as well as setting goals and prioritisation etc into our daily lives as a writer.