Limitless possibilities for lawyers. What are you capable of? - Part 3.

Phase 3 of letting go as a lawyer and uncovering what you might be capable of, is to remember relevant components of your training. In other words, don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Having said in my first 2 posts* on this topic that it is best to completely let go, it is worth noting that your conservative professional training can play a continuing role in this transformative process. Case in point (yet again) - me!

One of the more difficult challenges for me in book 1 in my legal thriller series, the story and characters for which I literally developed on the run, was to keep track of who was who in the zoo. I dealt with this in book 1 by laboriously checking and rechecking the earlier parts of the novel to ensure consistency of characters, plots and subplots. I perfected this (at least for me) in writing book 2, by drawing on my organisational skills and knowledge as a lawyer and completing a comprehensive character matrix as I progressed the story. Each time I wrote about a character (whether existing or newly introduced) I added the page reference and details of key descriptions and roles to the character matrix. This was a game changer in the process, and it added a little order (albeit retrospectively) to an otherwise ad hoc process.

The other key attribute I had developed as a lawyer that I found to be invaluable in the creative process was discipline. This manifested itself in a multitude of ways, including importantly in the commitment I made to myself to write every day while developing the novels. I am aware of other authors who exhort this approach. This made it so much easier to continue the journey alongside the characters. Instead of having to catch up on the latest in the story every time I recommenced writing, which for me would have been akin to homework, I was able to get straight into it as soon as I opened my laptop. Here again, I found the comprehensive character matrix invaluable.

My suggestion then is not to completely abandon your skills as a lawyer when you embark on the kinds of journeys I have been discussing, but rather immerse yourself completely in the process and allow the instinctive redeployment of your innate skills as a lawyer to assist with the process.

*Here are links to my 2 earlier posts on this topic

Part 1 - https://lnkd.in/gSnZrDhN

Part 2 - https://lnkd.in/gJGgei58

Website - https://www.rodbesley.com/