28 You Have a Book in You writing? It’s amazing how simple this is. I’ve seen it work again and again with writers who seem to be hopelessly bogged down. Ask yourself—or imagine that a close friend is asking—“What are you trying to say?” 吀栀en immediately write down your answer, word for word. Don’t think about it. Just write it, and then use your momentum to continue writing. If you get stuck, ask the magic question again. If you’re not entirely happy with what’s on the page, you can go back over it later or—that’s what editors are for. But now you’re moving ahead. On the 昀椀rst pass you may not get everything exactly right, but you will get it written. You have unique knowledge to communicate. You have information that no one else has. So don’t feel you have to morph into someone else—not Mark Victor Han- sen, not even William Shakespeare—when you actually start typing. You can avoid that temptation by continu- ally asking, “What am I trying to say?” and simply writing your answer to that question on the page. It should be on the page exactly as you express it in your own mind, rather than the way you think anyone else would say it. Get Used to It! Writing is a challenging, complicated activity—and vir- tually all activities of this kind are hard the 昀椀rst time you try them. Writing can be painful—mentally, emotionally,