July has been an interesting and busy month. Here's a recap of my month of July, which has been jam packed with craziness and a multitude of events. For example: A forced break from my consulting job. We had expected the final request for proposal due from the Air Force during the first week in July. Instead we got notice that it would appear no later than July 31. That meant we had to stop work until the RFP really did arrive. As a result I got three weeks of very welcomed freedom from proposal work. However, the RFP arrived on June 28 telling us that the proposal is due on September 11. That means I'm back to work until we deliver with my first assignment to cull twenty pages from the draft. I will also be responsible for getting the revised and shortened document ready for two more reviews and subsequent delivery. I've done it before and I'm confident I can do it again. I'll let you know how it all turns out. A physical therapy adventure. As a result of a fall in late May … [Read more...]
My July was busy; how was yours?
Comparing writing a proposal to writing a book
I finally have a break from work. Yes, it's Sunday and I have the day off. For the last five weeks I've been knee-deep in working with a team of engineers writing a proposal to the U. S. Air Force. And, I'd like to share some of the steps they have gone through some very similar to those we take as fiction and nonfiction authors and some not. Plan. Start with an outline or a plan the engineers produced annotated outlines and planning documents called story maps that showed where on each page of their sections their graphics and text will layout on the page. I started both my memoir and novel with outlines. I know some of you are panzers, but I like to have a plan before I write. Review. We spent a lot of time reviewing these plans for compliance with the proposal instructions and technical soundness. I was very fortunate to have a friend review my original memoir outline and another person review my revision plan when I was getting it ready for publication. Having fresh eyes … [Read more...]
