Writing FAST - Jeff Bollow 2012

The lightning rod
Attach your lightning rod
Focus

Here comes the raw power of the FAST System.

I hope you’re holding onto your seat, because this is where it gets interesting. This is where we ignite the engine, and launch your writing to a whole new level.

You’ve got a clear picture of your idea — and you’ve got your one single sentence to prove it.

You know the shape it’s going to take. You’ve got the Preview of your story, the basic mechanics of your metaphor, or your system, or your approach. You might even have a sketch, or a synopsis, or an outline sitting at the ready.

This chapter is where we convert those things into your own personal lightning rod. We’ll harness the power of your mind and the power of your ideas.

Now if you don’t have those things, it’s alright. You can still power forward and work through your idea.

But I hope you’re not just reading this book to get the “gist” of it. I hope you’re not thinking, Once I’ve got it figured out, I’ll come back and actually apply it.

Because I’ve got to warn you. You won’t get the full power out of this until you physically apply it. Here’s why.

You read something. Your brain engages intellectually with it. You think to yourself, Okay, yeah, I can see that.

But when you apply it, you feel it. You experience it. And an experience involves multiple senses at the same time. An experience involves your eyes, ears, brain, nerve endings, sense of touch — it even involves your emotional response to the whole experience. It’s three-dimensional.

It’ll stay with you longer. A lot longer. Because it’s not just your brain remembering it. Your nerves remember it, too. Your emotions remember it. Your fingertips remember it.

If all you do is read this stuff, you miss that whole layer of understanding. So I urge you to apply it.

See for yourself just how powerful it really is.

The lightning rod

A lightning rod is a large metal pole that’s attached to the top of a building to attract stray bolts of lightning, and protect the structure itself from damage.

The lightning rod harnesses the lightning.

Well, I want to you to imagine your project. Imagine it laying flat across the floor. And above you, your brain is storming. Your thoughts are lightning bolts, shooting out in every direction.

Now, imagine if you could attach a lightning rod to your work, and harness that power. Suppose you could control it. Steer it. Put that voltage exactly where you want it.

And every time a bolt of lightning shot out from your mind, your lightning rod would capture it, funnel it, and direct it to the exact spot and moment in your writing where you need it most.

Sound like something you could use?

Good. Because that’s precisely what we’re going to do.

We’re going to funnel the power of your mind directly into your work. We’ll attach this lightning rod to your idea, or, more specifically, to the shape of your idea. We’ll anchor it down in key positions, so that each idea, each bolt of lightning, will shoot you forward through your work.

It takes the effort, the pain, and the struggle, right out of the equation. Those troubles only arise when you don’t know where to go. With your lightning rod, you’ll know exactly.