The year of balance

Ray Bradbury once said you only fail when you stop writing.

He's right, you know.

Sometimes we indie authors get caught up in designing sites, marketing, and networking. Sometimes we take to heart mean spirited words in a review, or we sulk about slumping sales. I've only been in the industry a few years, and already I've seen talented authors who have simply given up and pulled their books from the virtual shelf.


It's easy to get caught up in the everyday grind of marketing and promotions. I'll take a little break, you say. Days become weeks, and before you know it months have passed by without writing so much as a page. WIP's go untended, new ideas slip into oblivion, creativity wanes, and you find yourself discouraged. 

Why is it that most writers are such extremist? It seems we are either furiously writing like someone's going to shoot us at dawn, or we're not writing so much as a post-it note.

I like the Chinese tradition of naming a year, but instead of characterizing years with animals I allow my years to name themselves. Call it the crazy creative side of me, but every year around this time I find a word floating  through my mind. That word becomes a mantra of sorts, creating common theme that runs throughout the 12 months and defines my personal history.

This year, as I struggle with two jobs, two kiddo's, two books, and two dogs, I'm constantly out of whack. Either I've paid ahead on a bill or something's about to get shut off. I'm a month ahead on lesson plans, or I'm scrambling for ideas on my way to school. I'm up on posts for blog tours, or I'm staying up till the wee hours of the morn trying to write a character interview. My pendulum is practically swinging out of control, and so I have to stop the extremes. I need balance.

It is getting better. I've started autopay on all the bills. I open mail before I step foot in the house, and I've started back on a strict writing schedule.  Like any good story, I'm not sure how this one will turn out, but I'll be sure to let you know how it goes. :-)


So here's to the year of balance ... let's hope it's a creative one!

Running with My Hair on Fire

As you know, I've been writing like a mad woman for the past three years. Between the two kids, two jobs, two dogs, and now two books, I've averaged 4-5 hours of sleep a night. Every spare moment I've had has been dedicated to either writing or promoting. Over Christmas, my friends and family started voicing concerns that I was pushing myself too hard. After all, I'm not getting any younger. And so, begrudgingly, I agreed to slow down.

I've tried to take some time, to do something to "relax". I've slept until I woke naturally, suffered through mindless TV shows, and forced myself to go to social functions. I've window shopped until I'm blue in the face, and I've even lingered after meetings when I normally would be the first out the door. In short, this past month I've tried to live like a normal person.

I hate it.

Here's the thing: I'm an all-or-nothing kind of gal. I'm not productive when I move at a normal pace. I find that either I'm running with my hair on fire, or I'm a lethargic ball of humanity. Given the two options, I'd rather be running.

And so, I'm starting tonight. I'm turning off the blasted idiot box, I'm putting away the books I've read countless times, and I'm going back to Kailmeyra. I'll work well into the night and get up before the crack of dawn. I'll have leftovers for dinner, drink iced tea until I'm drowning in it, and get behind on the wash. I'll sit in silence, allowing the quiet to seep into my bones. I'll type until my back aches, and I am mentally exhausted ...  

And I'll love every minute of it.

KIVA--The Real Gift of Giving

The holidays are upon us. This is the time of year we reach out to others, we want to be a part of another person's joy. But in our haste to help the less fortunate, we often come off as being sanctimonious, offering a heaping spoonful of pity with our gift.

My best friend and I were talking about this very thing over the Thanksgiving holiday. I confided that this year I want to do something different, something that would go far beyond December 25th ... something that would increase the quality of  another person's life.

It was then that she introduced me to the site Kiva.org. This is a non-profit organization where everyday people can loan money, as little as twenty-five dollars, to others across the globe. When the loan is repayed, the investor then has the opportunity to help another, pull their money, or donate it to the organization to keep it running. Each person needing a loan has a profile that details their story and why they need extra financial help. 

The simple concept of allowing people to lend money without going through a banking system is nothing short of genius.

Rena and her children decided to invest in a woman in South America. She wanted to start a street vending business selling food to the local college students. She has been cooking for others for over twenty five years but never had the means to branch out and become her own boss.  With the combined efforts of small investors, she was able to borrow $450.00. Her business is thriving, and in a little over six months she has already payed half the money back.

I love that by investing, we are not only giving the gift of opportunity, but we are saying to someone who needs a hand that we believe in their gifts and abilities, We are investing in their dreams. We are investing in them.

And so this year I think I'm going to give KIVA gift cards to my children, and my nieces and nephews as part of their Christmas. I look forward to not only helping those in need, but watching my kiddo's as they experience the world beyond our own selfish borders.

To me, the opportunity to give someone a hand up, not a hand out, is the real gift of giving. 

Ten ways to manage time

Woah, Nellie! Can you believe it's already August? Everytime I see the countdown widget, anxiety squeezes my heart just a little. Where did the time go?


The age old adage "there's only 24 hours in a day" applies to writers more so than any other profession. Every writer I know has at least one other job, a family, other responsibilities, and yet they find time to write.  For me, this next year is chalked full of events. With the second book out at the end of October, marketing is going to take up a huge chunk of time and I have yet to outline the third.

Writing is one of the most creatively rewarding yet time consuming endeavors I've ever pursued. And so I've devised ten strategies to help save time.

10. Pay the bills as they come in or have them automatically taken out of your account. Bills are a pain. But electricity and internet are a must for a writer, so try and take this one off your to-do plate if possible.

9. Make your calendar of events online, and somewhere that you can access it easily. Many of us start out the school year with great calendar aspirations, but it doesn't do much good to start a calendar if it's stuck at home on the desktop. It takes being mindful to check the calendar before committing to an event or a function, but if you're not careful, you'll run yourself ragged.

8. Learn to say no. I have a hard time with this one because I love to help others, but this past year I've limited myself to only a few projects other than my own.

7. Do housework a little everyday. I've never met a writer whose house is immaculate. I do have a few friends who have a service come in on Friday, and if you can afford it, I'd definitely say it is worth the money. But for the rest of us schmoes making sure the sink is cleared and doing a few loads everyday helps in keeping the boat in smooth waters.

6. Cook meals that can be frozen The simple act of putting food on the table for the family can be time consuming. The past few years I've learned to make a huge pan of lasagna on Sunday, eat it again on Monday, put the leftovers in those containers you can stick in the freezer. When I'm in the throws of writing,  we'll often have homemade frozen dinners for a few days and make room in the freezer for more.

5. Try multi-tasking when you can. I find that there are countless little snippets of time in the day that can be used. Sitting in traffic, waiting for your kiddo to get out of dance, etc, is an excellent time to catch up on those missed phone calls.

4. Keep it simple. I used to be one of those people that went overboard on everything. An event calls for me to bring a dessert and I'm whipping up a concoction in the kitchen that takes hours to make. Not so much anymore. If you need to bring something to a function, go to the market and pick it up on your way there. Seriously, that banana cream pie that grandma used to make is wonderful on special occasions, but when it's the t-ball picnic no one's going to mention that you brought a store bought pie instead.

3. Ask for help. I suck at this one. It goes against every fiber in my being, but I've learned to know where my limits are. If you've never so much as posted a comment on a blog, why on earth would you try to design a website? Most of us waste countless hours muddling through something we have no clue about only to become frustrated and ask for help anyway.

2. Turn the net off when writing.  Make the hours in front of the screen count. Facebook, twitter, LinkedIn, etc. is not writing ... it's playing on the internet. Allot a time during your day for social sites, blogging, and email, but if you've set a writing time aside in the morning, stay devoted it to it. You'll be surprised how much you actually accomplish.

1. Make time to play. Life is not meant to be spent alone and in front of an LED screen. While you lose yourself in creativity, time marches on around you. Your children grow, your friends get together, your family spends time in church or at the park. Writing is a passion that lasts a lifetime, but that life should also be full of other experiences.  Make sure you don't miss them!

Taking Time to Slow Down

I am the absolute worst person to be blogging about this subject. I average 4-6 of sleep a night, my brain never shuts off, and I'm the multi-tasking queen. Lucille Ball once said "if you need something done ask a busy person to do it", and she couldn't have spoken truer words!

But in the wee, small hours of the morning, when I just can't seem to find some sleep, the thought that keeps running through my head is a vision of what life will be like on the other side of the craziness. A life where I can get up and enjoy a cup of coffee instead of putting too much milk in it so I can guzzle it down. A time where I don't have to fast forward to the end because I have to go, or where I can solely concentrate on music, not just have it in the background while I do something else.

When did the power of a minute take over my life?

I hadn't really thought about it until my friend Winslow Eliot wrote a post on slowing down. As I read it, I realized that I didn't even know what that meant. If you'd like to read the article, click here, but it basically gives examples of what slowing actually looks like.

It isn't about how much you do in one day, it's about relishing the experience.  Tasting each morsel, appreciating the cool breeze, feeling the soft grass between your toes.

It's a novel concept, and so tonight, while I fixed dinner, I listened to the sizzle of the pan, I actually made a plate and sat at the table. I thought about the texture, the taste of the food, and other than a strong desire to start humming the chorus to "the Age of Aquarius", I enjoyed it immensely.

I think Winslow might just be on to something here.

Stop the madness, I need to write!

Those who know me know I have a social marketing target on my forehead. I look at sites with an exuberance that (let's be honest) sometimes is a little unsettling, and, when I find a product or site that I like, I'm extremely loyal. I'm more than happy to post, forward, or retweet any material, and I often go out of my way to help anyone who asks. My grandmother always said I had the heart the size of Texas, other relatives (who shall remain nameless) called me a cause-collector, which is a nice way for saying sucker. Yep, I'm a marketer's dream. The problem is being someone else's dream can easily become my nightmare.

I love to read and I read all the time, but it wasn't until I found out that people were following my reviews that I actually started posting them. Seasoned writers can whip something out in the blink of an eye.  I agonize over every word, every comma, writing and rewriting even the simplest of thoughts. One time I found myself running to the Chicago Manual of Style to look up a question about the use of brackets. I have no idea if anyone else is this high-strung when it comes throwing posts into cyberspace, but the bottom line is that it eats away time.

Years ago I made it a policy to reply to messages within a twenty-four hour period. I'm proud to say that, with quite a bit of effort, I've been successful at maintaining the status quo. I'm just as cautious about my replies yet again eating up more time.

I'm now following numerous blogs and am a member on Goodreads, Shelfari, Twitter, Facebook, Authorsden, Book Marketing Network, Coffee's Hot, and about a dozen other sites. I love each and every one of them, but reading, commenting, tweeting, blogging, and replying all take time.

Jay Baer posted a piece today called "Is Your Twitter Addiction Paying Off". The piece is geared toward professional marketers, but the article struck a chord with me. The first line reads, "Twitter can suck you in to a vortex of counter-productivity like one bite of that KFC Double Down sandwich."  I've never had a Double Down sandwich (looks more like a heart attack on a plate to me), but I have chunked away countless hours 140 characters at a time.

The upside to time invested on the web is that I have met some fascinating people, and I know more now than ever thanks to technology. The downside ... I have a half-written manuscript demanding attention with dwindling time to answer its call.

Last week, I actually had eleven sites open on the bottom bar with the manuscript splayed on the screen. I'd write a paragraph, check my email, write a paragraph, reply back on facebook, etc. After hours of this practice, I discovered that, despite my best effort, the writing was crap. I deleted the scene. Again, more time spent.

My days start at five in the morning and end around midnight, but it seems as if lately I'm just spinning my wheels. I took an honest look at my schedule and came up with a game plan (teacher's always have to have a game plan).I now turn the internet off when I'm working on the book. I'm allowing myself thirty minutes in the morning and an hour at night to keep up with the extras. If I write less than four hours in a day, the time is made up that night from the allotted internet time. It's a start, but I still struggle.

How do you manage keeping up with the demands of social networking/marketing and still find time to write?