Introduction: Why we don't finish the projects we love
Part 1: The six emotional pitfalls
How we choose the six emotional pitfalls
Doubt: "I think I can't". Doubt masquerading as self-knowledge: "I'm a terrible writer" ; Doubt clothed in cynicism: "All my ideas are clichés, but clichés sell" ; Doubt parading as pessimism: "I'll never get published"
Shame: "I am ashamed of not finishing and too ashamed to finish". Are you lying to yourself? ; "Everyone knows I'm a failure": the monologue that stops you cold ; "I'm letting the world down by not being a total genius": the problem with early potential
Yearning: "Does my dream of being a writer get in the way of my writing?". The yearning for perfection: "I must write the perfect first sentence of else!" ; The trap of symbolic victories: resisting the clarion call of the office supply store ; The yearning for acclaim: the sore loser award
Fear: "What am I actually afraid of?". "Who the hell am I to think I can write?" ; "I'll never know enough, so why even start?" ; The bear and the magpie
Judgment: "Whose judgment do I fear, and how can I proceed in spite of it?". The special problem of telling the truth about your family ; The Winchester mystery novel: denying mortality by endlessly revising ; "It's all been said before, so why bother?"
Arrogance: "How does arrogance blind me to what must be done?". "Actually, it's a trilogy" ; "I'm willing to be judged, but only if I'm judged the victor" ; "I don't need help; I'd rather fail in secret" ; The surprising upside of healthy arrogance: as revealed by a teenage wrestler
Danelle's two months in finishing school
The problem with writers' groups and how finishing school is different
What can you accomplish in one month?
The four phases of creativity
On not reading each other's work
Part 3: Dealing with time itself
Picking up the rock of the paragraph
Setting achievable goals and meeting them
Part 4: How to create your own finishing school
The crisis that created finishing school
How to set up a full-scale finishing school of your own
Tips for a leader: how to listen
John Steinbeck's five months in finishing school
The completion high: what finishing feels like
Finishing well, no matter how it ends
The detailed scenario of doneness
Conclusion: The declaration of done.
