Visual thinking practice: Your life as a book

People like stories about things they find interesting; things they are passionate about; and things they enjoy. If your life were a book, would you read it?

A treatment is the document used to sell an idea to film, tv and broadway producers. It's short -- anywhere from one to twenty pages long. It's also one of the best ways to organize a bunch of ideas into a story form.

If your life were a book, would you read it?

If your answer is no:
1. Write a treatment that describes your other life -- the book you would want to read.
2. Visualize it: storyboard the main scenes with stick-figure drawings.
3. Now sit back and look at the story you've outlined and ask yourself: is this the life you want or is it time to make a chnge?

If your answer is yes:
1. Maybe you should consider sharing your story with the rest of us. You can start by writing a short treatment with storyboards to organize your thoughts.
2. Take a quick skim through the writer's toolbox to get aquainted with some good writing techniques.
3. Now get started. If you want to work at it you can have your novel ready in 100 days.

Make no mistake: the story is the thing. And it starts with a blank sheet of paper. Will you start today?