By Pat Bradley If you are a writer, published or unpublished, you have deadlines. True, they might be self-imposed, but they are still deadlines you take seriously. And since you can’t schedule emergencies, what do you do with those deadlines when you have to deal with a serious illness or something unexpected that can’t be put off? I found myself …
Writing in the Valley of Discouragement
By Connilyn Cossette Writing a second book, under contract, and after you’ve actually written most of the third is a daunting prospect. But that is what I was faced with when delving into Shadow of the Storm, the second book of the Out from Egypt series. I spent weeks writing things and deleting them. I spent weeks asking myself if …
Keeping the Writing Going When Your Life is in Chaos
By Allie Pleiter As I’ve been finishing my 2017 non-fiction How to WRITE When Everything Goes WRONG, I’ve been talking with a lot of authors about how they tackle the challenge of meeting a deadline under far less than ideal circumstances. The answer, as you might think, is as individual as every writer, but there have been some universal tactics …
Procrastination Explanation
By Patti Shene Gonzales I’m a procrastinator. The one thing in my life I procrastinate most? My writing. When I was pursuing my Bachelor of Science degree in nursing at what was then University of Southern Colorado in Pueblo, we were assigned a “term paper.” I assume a student was expected to work on the project for the majority of …
Meet Deadlines with Simple Math
by Tamela Hancock Murray During your publishing journey you may have the delightful problem of too many deadlines. You may have to ask yourself if you can accept another contract because you’re so busy. I’ve advised many clients about this over the years, taking them from panic to peace. Simple math can help. Determine time Look at all your contracts …
The Value of Your Day Job (Other Than the Obvious)
By Ramona Richards A day job gives you money, a connection to the world, and a routine. Freedom from financial stress also means freedom in your art. —Austin Kleon, Steal Like An Artist Along with “Write what you know,” “Don’t quit your day job” is the most overused–and misused–piece of advice new writers receive. And yet…quitting our day jobs to …
Murphy Lives Here
By Linda Robinson Lately, my writing journey has been derailed by Murphy. It’s bad enough when my muse takes a vacation. Eventually she returns, and it’s usually when I become self-disciplined and sit down in my computer chair to write-about ten o’clock at night. But I don’t always do that. For good reason. In August, we decided to update the …
The Creative Person’s Guide to Time Management
By Judy Christie As a writer, I am drawn to creative people-smart, funny, interesting, innovative, imaginative. I am blessed to interact with fiction writers who explore and imagine and adapt to a dizzying rate of change, a combination that clogs schedules faster than a plateful of spaghetti can clog a drain (don’t ask how I know this). Sometimes we writers …