Balance
Taking Care of Family While You’re at Conference
So you have your One Sheets, perfected your pitch, you know who you’re pitching to, and you even splurged for a mani/pedi, but what about those you will be leaving behind? As I get ready to drive to the ACFW conference, I’m trying to make sure my family is taken care of. Here’s a checklist…
“Whatever” Teen Devotional for Girls Giveaway
Allia Zobel Nolan is an internationally-published, award-winning author of over 170 children’s and adult trade titles with close to three million books in print. Her books reflect her two main passions, God and cats, and include such varied titles as Cat Confessions: A Kitty-Come-Clean Tell-All Book, The Ten Commandments for Little Ones, and The Worrywart’s…
The Hazards of Computer Work: Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
As a board-certified musculoskeletal specialist physician, one of the more common conditions that I diagnose through nerve-testing, especially in patients who keyboard extensively, is carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). This condition is due to a pinching of the median nerve as it courses through a bony tunnel in the wrist. The symptoms of CTS are fairly…
Little Fixes to Prevent Big Problems
I’m blessed to have a husband who is very good with schedules. I like to think I manage our daily routine well enough, but I tend to concern myself with whatever’s right in front of my face. Meanwhile, minute by minute or month by month, my husband excels at keeping up with meetings and appointments…
3 Ways to Support Your Fiction Habit
While Working Towards That Big Contract
Many of us are committed fiction writers, yet haven’t been paid for our efforts in years. Sometimes it’s hard to convince family and friends and we’re working when we don’t bring home a paycheck. Sometimes it’s even hard to convince ourselves. So what’s a devoted novelist to do while waiting to land a big contract?…
Plan a Great Yard Sale
Yard sale season is in full swing! Here are a few tips to make yours a success. -Set a goal. Planning and executing a successful yard sale is a lot of work, and as with any big job, setting a goal at the outset is key. Are you primarily interested in reducing clutter? Augmenting your…
3 Ways to Overcome Writing Obstacles: YOU Can Do It!
My writing pal Mick Silva, founder of Your Writer’s Group, has been a much needed encourager as I work (or think about working) on my current WIP. His tagline for his awesome community is “Writing for a Higher Purpose.” And through our email communication and his Monday Morning Motivations, he challenges me to do just…
4 Ways to Enjoy Summer While Writing
With the changing of seasons comes the changing of schedules and many writing interruptions. You think you’ll have more time to write in the summer, but every year it seems like you have less. Can you relate? If you’re like me, summer activities will take on a life of their own if I don’t grab…
Making the Most of the Minutes
My greatest challenge in balancing writing time with household responsibilities is avoiding my own tendency toward the all-or-nothing approach. I’ll happily use every available hour to write – except those times when I studiously ignore my manuscript in favor of chores and errands. The problem is that total lack of progress in one priority…
Top Ten List for Writers
Patience. In abundance. Pressed down and overflowing. Everything takes time. And lots more time than you could imagine. So if you write, you’ll shake the doors of heaven begging for patience. What ifs. A writer takes a “what if” and crafts a story around it. Without a “what if” question, there would be no books,…