In this lesson, we will discuss why do you need to give the book to settle in your mind and why do you need to know of different work modes as a writer. I have decided to add this important piece to the course for you to know how to deal with blocks and procrastination when you encounter difficulties.

To move forward with the book we want to reflect on the content, think where it can be helpful to us, as we are writing it firstly to ourselves. Once the book and its initial content will settle you will switch from creator mode to curator mode. What does it mean?

v Work modes awareness: Creator mode vs Curator mode

We have different brain modes that we operate on. Each mode includes different activity. To be more productive we need to divide the work according to these modes. This will allow us to get the best out of each stage of work.

A creator mode is where you are free in your fantasies and have no limitations. Your critic is turned off. You usually like everything. There is curiosity, excitement and enthusiasm. Just like a painting you are working on from the close up, looks fine till you get further from it. In 4 meters distance from your paining, you might notice that the head in your portrait is out of proportion. Huge head… To avoid this creativity blindness, we make a pause and step back from our work. That represents switching from the creative mode to some kind of more critical and analytical.

Not understanding the work modes will lead you to writers’ blocks, procrastination or sporadic switching between them, which makes you exhausted.

Today we will have a look at 3 modes although there are more, and you will be able to read about them in my book on Why you haven’t published yet.

v 3 Operation Modes of a Writer

Every profession assumes different operation modes that you need to know to switch between them. We will review the modes that you will most likely work in during book writing.

• Creator Mode → invent, synthesize, voice, search, understand
• Curator Mode → select, evaluate, organize, structure ideas
• Connector Mode → bridge parts, connect ideas

Let’s see each of these modes in more details.

§  Creator Mode – “I build from nothing”

The most intuitive mode people think of when they hear “write.” You’re generating new ideas, phrases, or insights from scratch.

How it feels:

• Flowing with fresh thoughts
• Energy is high when it’s working
• Blocks happen fast if fear or judgment sneaks in

When to use it:

• When you’re starting something new: a hook, story, concept
• When you’re feeling inspired or emotionally charged
• When you search for the answers and ideas

Don’t use when:

• You’re tired, overthinking, or in deadline panic
• You need to organize or structure things
• You need to get things done

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§  Curator Mode – “I gather what I already have”

You’re collecting, reviewing, or selecting existing materials — voice notes, articles, ideas, past posts.

How it feels:

• Like making a moodboard or puzzle box
• Slightly detached from the emotion
• Often calmer than creating from scratch

When to use it:

• When you feel blocked — this mode gets the energy moving again
• As a warm-up before Creator Mode
• To “drop” materials into a chapter

My Example: I use Curator mode often as a warm-up before writing creatively. How does it look?

• I turn on audio of what was written before,
• analyze the current structure,
• reflect on what’s ready.

It creates curiosity and makes me want to bring in changes and innovation. Gives energy.

You can use this mode to work on your chat transfer to the word document, create a visual structure of the book from outline and so on.

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§  Connector Mode – “I link things together”

What it is:

You’re adding transitions, captions, framing sentences. You’re not creating or collecting — you’re bridging.

How it feels:

• Like narrating or making things “make sense”
• You think in logic or flow
• Less emotionally risky — often good when Creator Mode feels overwhelming

When to use it:

• When you have lots of pieces but no flow
• After a Curator session
• To finish a draft that’s 70–80% done

If you analyze previous work you have done you will see that you have been switching from creative mode (Chatting with AI) to Curator mode (Organizing materials). In this module we will enter the Connector Mode (linking things together, bridging, making sense).

v Reasons to consciously switch between modes

Switching consciously between modes means you understand the mode you are working on.

§  Avoid emotional blocks

When you were working with ChatGPT on your problem and searching for answers your were in emotionally risky situation. It could blur your thinking. If you will find yourself procrastinating, it is most probably because you have tapped into an emotional part. This disrupts your work and flow. That is why you need to give your book some time to sink. But not passively withdrawing from writing. You will reflect on the book written by ChatGPT.

Switching between modes help to reset the process when you are stuck, to overcome writers block or focus issues.

Now when you understand this your task will be to Read and Listen to your book – to fully switch from the creator mode to curator mode.

§  Memorize the book structure and content

Apart from the reason to step away from the emotional creator mode there is one more important goal. It is to memorize and assimilate the book structure and content for the next stage.

Since in the next steps you will need to gather additional information and integrate it into the book having the book saved in your memory helps a lot. Integration is going to be challenging if you will not remember the content in which you want to integrate your materials.

Your task is to build the structure of the book in your mind. Memorize it. You have to be able to tell the structure by heart. Why? Let’s say you will find the research that you would like to integrate into your book. If you don’t remember the structure you will have to open documents and look at the book structure. It creates obstacles. Your mind is perfectly capable of memorizing the structure. Which chapter stands for what, which subchapters is has.

Another important reason for memorizing it, is that the ideas, stories and memories will start popping up in your brain in unexpected places. It is much easier to open your noting app and save the idea attributing it to the chapter you associate it with. Thus, the noting does not get messy and overwhelming.

v How to practically assimilate the content

Use your sight and hearing to learn. Switching between the sensory experiences helps seeing your content under different angles.

Have the book structure in front of you: opened on the screen or printed and have the book content opened. Play the audio (read aloud) function on your Word or device. I have shown you how to do it in Word document. There are options to do it on your mobile phone.

For Android:

You can read documents aloud on your Android phone using either the built-in “Select to Speak” accessibility feature or by utilizing Google Assistant’s “Read this page” command for web content. 

For iOs:

You can enable your iPhone to read documents aloud by accessing the Spoken Content settings under Accessibility and then choosing to Speak Selection or Speak Screen.

Sometimes you can’t have both structure and the content in front of you, and it is ok. You can do other non-intellectual work and listen to the book.

§  What to do with ideas or things you want to change

In the process of reading/listening to your book you might have ideas popping up. Memories coming up, associations with some stories you heard of. What to do with these ideas? This is a good question.

Save the ideas to the noting app. I am using Google Keep and noting down both ideas for books I am writing and the new book ideas. It is available in both Mobile app and Web version, synchronized and easy to note, save, organize and make it visual.

: Demonstration of the screen

Here is my Google Keep. I make all book related ideas recognizable by the red background and have a specific format for the title.

• Google Keep Interface
• Formatting and Styling

You can work with any other noting app that you like.

Ignore the things you want to change. You don’t need to note them because you will do customization later and you are not going to forget things that you don’t like. Anything that irritates you in the text will not be forgotten. Note it down only if it distracts you and you can’t move on with the task because of this.

For example: I had the content in my book naming Women as People with Menstruation. That was really irritating because people with menstruation are women and I do not support the Woke philosophy trying to reframe genders.

Take your time and see you in the next lesson on..