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Written by Shari Mitchell
Are you a budding author, with dreams of seeing your book on bookshelves around the world, receiving testimonials of lives you’ve impacted, or engaging with readers who love your work?
Then, you know all too well how challenging it can be to make the leap from dreaming of your success as an author, to actively doing all that is required to live your dreams.
This is where the “Sips and Scribbles Author Vision Board Workshop” came in for five eager authors who were ready to quit dreaming and start doing.
To set the scene, on Saturday 28th February, just before 4:30pm, one by one, each author entered the Scribbles and Quills Bookstore, unsure of what to expect. To calm those pesky nerves, they were each greeted with a glass of non-alcoholic wine; a small but meaningful touch which seemed to say, “cheers, congratulations on starting this new journey to your success”.
Once welcomed by motivational coach and author, Sharlene Gittens-Francis, our instructor for the evening, each participant was directed to a table, prepared with magazines, scissors, glue sticks, bristol board, markers, stickers, and lots of excitement.
You could feel the buzz of nervous anticipation in the air, and for three and a half hours, the bookstore transformed into an oasis for clarity, goal-setting, and problem-solving.
Knowing Your Identity
Now, if you think that as soon as everyone got settled in, the arts and crafts immediately began, you are sadly mistaken.
Coach Sharlene did not begin with the fancy artwork or aesthetics.
Instead, she began with a topic no one saw coming.
Identity.
The questions sounded simple and straightforward to the ear – but by the look on their faces, you could immediately predict that minds were turning and hearts were beating faster than when they came in.
The bookstore, usually alive with chatter and browsing customers, fell completely still.
So, as our authors began to answer each question one by one, it became clear that they all carried experience, ambition and doubt in equal measure.
None of our attendees were actually strangers to writing. Two attendees were previously published authors, whilst the other three had been quietly blogging, drafting chapters, building storylines, or sitting on manuscripts in progress.
The common thread was not inexperience at all.
Rather, it was hesitation, indecision, confusion, and the overall weight of unfinished work.
Undoubtedly, each person in the room was skilled and talented at their craft, however, the greatest struggle was choosing one thing and seeing it through from beginning to end.
How would a first-time author even begin?
Seeing The End Result
Well, according to Coach Sharlene, before we even begin the author journey, it is important to know our destination – and she did not take it easy on our attendees!
The evening quickly progressed into group visualizations and probing questions which forced the writers to abandon superficial appearances and dive deeper into the open, vulnerable truth of what they want as their end goal.
Eyes closed. Feet grounded. Shoulders relaxed. “See yourself as that successful, published author”, she said.
“What are you doing?”
“What has changed?”
“What are people saying about you and your work?”
“How are you celebrating?”
“Where do you live?”
“Who is in your circle?”
“Who is being inspired by you?”
“How does this success affect your life and career?”
In the silence of the bookstore, her deliberate and layered prompts caused shoulders to straighten, and gentle smiles to flicker across still faces.
In this moment you could just tell, all question marks had evaporated. Interviews, book signings, speaking engagements, and readers whispering, “your story made me feel seen” were the only visuals in our authors’ minds.
One participant did say their deepest desire was for their reader to feel “seen and understood” through their writing, and this statement certainly stayed with us all.
Asking The Hard Questions
Once awakened from their visualizations, Coach Sharlene moved us into thought-provoking questions which demanded deep introspection and total honesty:
Truly, this workshop was anything but fluffy motivation.
One after the next, in quick succession, these questions were thrown to our authors, and they were immediately compelled to put pen to paper; writing down their specific, honest answers.
To think about their target audience, intentions, legacy and the impact they wish to have were new experiences for some – those thoughts were never triggered until this moment.
This alone proved Coach Sharlene’s mindset exercises, which allowed the authors to not only consider, but to visualize the ripple effects of their success as published authors, were true gems of the evening.
At the end, the answers, strategies, solutions, epiphanies, and realizations which kept our participants stuck in their creativity, finally came to awareness.
Perfect time to get creative!
Vision Boards With Intention
To soften and soothe the mind from all of those introductory mindset practices, the stillness of the room quickly transitioned into one of bustle and noise as the tactile part of the evening everyone was waiting for finally began.
Magazines were brought out and flipped open. The smell of glue and coloured markers filled the air. Scissors were heard slicing through glossy, rustling pages.
Now, our authors were more excited, driven, and energized than ever before. They knew exactly what they wanted to portray on their vision boards, as the confusion which started the evening was no longer there.
During this time of crafting, Coach Sharlene shared powerful, practical vision board tips we can all benefit from as well. She said:
She also explained that vision boards can be layered. You can create a vision board for any part of your author journey, such as:
Lastly, she reminded us to anticipate disruption. Life will intervene, and things will go wrong, she said. However, we must plan anyway.
As her workshop experience came to a close, she left us with these powerful words of wisdom:
The Parting Question
“What is the one SMART goal you will commit to immediately after this workshop?”
As 8pm approached, this was the final question Coach Sharlene asked the authors as they placed the final touches on their boards.
One by one, the answers came. Each response was different, but all came with a clear deadline attached.
It was such a special moment to hear once confused and doubtful voices suddenly speak with clarity, conviction, intention and faith.
As the evening climaxed, reflections were shared about how unexpectedly clarifying and energizing the experience had been for everyone, especially for those who walked in doubting the impact creating a vision board could have on them.
No one left with simple, generic cut-out words and images glued to bristol board.
Instead, five writers walked in with scattered ideas and nagging doubts, but left with direction, focused deadlines, commitment, clarity, and a renewed belief in themselves and their ability to follow through till the end.
Safe to say, Sips and Scribbles was so much more than just an “arts and crafts” night.
Written by Shari Mitchell There is no better way to begin one’s weekend, than with a Scribbles and Quills event!
Written by Radeyah H. Ali At Scribbles and Quills Limited, stories are at the heart of everything we do. That
