Sometimes the blank page is intimidating because we think we're supposed to sit down and magically produce a beautiful chapter. Let's make it smaller. This week, I want you to try part of the framework I use. 🙌 Pick one chapter or one part of your story. Don't write the chapter yet. Story First™ Exercise Start with: 1. Characters involved Who is actually part of this section? Write their names down. ✍️ Then: 2. Main events What actually happens? Don't make it pretty. Just list the important events. Usually, I keep it to three main events. It can always be less. After that: 3. Scenario Now tell yourself the mini-story. 🤔 What happens first? 🤔 What changes? 🤔 What happens next? 🤔 Where does this part end? ⭐️ That's it. ⭐️ You aren't trying to make it publishable. You're giving yourself something to write from. Now look at what you created. 👀 💭 Is there enough there to start writing? 💭 Did you notice something missing? 💭 Did a memory pop up that wasn't in your original plan? GOOD. 👍 Write yourself a note. 📝 A framework isn't supposed to shut down discovery. It's supposed to give your story somewhere to go. Share a snippet of what you did. Or just give us a summary of what worked. 👇

There are millions of self-help books, blueprints, and cookie-cutter success formulas in the world. They all try to sell us the exact same mold. But honestly? Trash that. Here is a truth that changes everything: God never repeats His stories. Every single plot twist in your life, every tear, every unexpected victory, and your exact perspective—none of it is a copy. Your story wasn't built on an assembly line. In my opinion, it´s a masterpiece, written with divine intention. When we try to force our lives into someone else’s formula, we are trying to rewrite God’s original design. Your story is uniquely yours. And that´s exactly where your power hides. Pause and think about this for a second. What´s one chapter in your life where you can look back and say, "Yes, that was entirely my God-given story"? Drop a comment below—let’s celebrate how beautifully unique every single one of us is! 👇 I had recent conversation with someone on the Zoom call- he told me "but Matea, you know..there are many self help books.." but no one told him this profound truth: God created my story unique and his story unique, and other people are NOT copy-but UNIQUE instead.

Here's something that took me a while to learn: Advice can be good and you can still decide not to use it. 🤯 🔥Someone can make a smart suggestion. 🔥An editor can identify something worth considering. 🔥A coach can show you another way. And after listening, thinking and looking at what you're trying to accomplish, you can still say: No. I'm keeping this. I did that with parts of my first book. 📕 There were changes my editor suggested that felt too wrong to make. So, I kept those pieces. Other times, I didn't trust myself enough and made changes I later felt disconnected from. 💔 That's why I want writers to know their intentions. If you know what you're trying to create, advice becomes something you can evaluate instead of something you automatically obey. The goal isn't: Never listen to anyone. 👂 It's: Know your story well enough to make the final decision. Anyone want to share thoughts on this? I’d love to hear them! 😁

If you came to me and said: “Dani, tell me what my book should be.” I would have questions. 😂 Before I start giving suggestions, I want to understand you. ❓ Why this story? ❓ What do you want it to do? ❓ What do you want the reader to understand? ❓ How do you want them to feel? ❓ What have you already written? ❓ What isn't working? ❓ What are you unsure about? Then I can listen. 👂 Then I can notice. Then I can guide. ❤️ If I skip all of that and immediately tell you what your book needs to become, whose book are we creating? 🤨 That's part of Story First™ for me. ❤️ The framework matters. The writing matters. The editing eventually matters. But before all of it: What story are YOU trying to tell? That's where I want to begin. So let me start with you. 💛 If we were sitting down together to talk about your book, what would you want me to understand about it before I said a word? Tell me below. 👇 And if you’re ready for more than a comment-section conversation, send me a DM. We can talk about your book and see what kind of support makes sense for where you are. ❤️

There was a time when I thought results would tell me whether I was doing something right. Then I had an experience in my business that changed that. I was under enormous pressure to hit a sales number. 😦 I had agreed to consequences if I didn't. As the deadline got closer, every sales conversation felt heavier. I felt like I was grasping at straws. I was stressed for weeks. 😱 During that period, I developed shingles. And then I hit the sales goal. 😮‍💨 Technically, I succeeded. But when that period was over, I knew I didn't want to keep working that way. Eventually, I left the coaching relationship on good terms. That experience taught me to pay attention to more than: Did it work? 🤔 I also care about: Does this feel aligned with who I am and how I want to work? I think about that with writing too. ✍️ A formula might work beautifully for somebody else. That doesn't automatically mean we force your story through it. 💥 We can learn from other people. 💥 We can use tools. 💥 We can follow structure. And we can still ask: Is this helping me create the story I actually want to tell? So I’m curious… Have you ever followed writing advice that technically “worked,” but somehow made your story feel less like yours? 👀 What happened?