Finishing school: the happy ending to that writing project you can't seem to get done

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

Part 2: How it works

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

Time and its tricks

Picking up the rock of the paragraph

My fake schedule

Setting achievable goals and meeting them

Writing day by day

Part 4: How to create your own finishing school

The crisis that created finishing school

Finishing school for two

How to set up a full-scale finishing school of your own

Tips for a leader: how to listen

Part 5: Finishing

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.