Just Right? Or Just Write! By Patti Jo Moore

Are you a perfectionist? When you’re getting ready to write, does everything need to be organized and completely tidy? I’m sure there is a writer—somewhere—who has a special writing desk that is perfectly neat. No messy papers or post-it notes scattered, no books spread on the desk (or floor!), no coffee stains on anything, research materials, character information, and any other needed materials all arranged in perfect order, ready to be used by the writer to compose a wonderful (maybe even best-selling) story. If this describes you, I’d love to meet you—maybe even get your autograph! 😉

But for the rest of us, we seldom (if ever) have circumstances that perfectly align with our “ideal” writing time or space. Even those of us who are blessed to have a designated room in our home to call our writing office, there will still be obstacles when we want to produce those needed words. If you have children at home, then it’s likely you write when they’re busy with their own activities. For those of you who work at a job besides writing, it can be very challenging finding that “right” time to write. When I taught kindergarten, I still had children living at home and cannot imagine trying to write a complete manuscript in those days! Whew! Even if you have plenty of time to write with no interruptions, there might be health-related issues that interfere with your writing. It can be a challenge to be productive if you have a throbbing headache or any physical illness/discomfort.

The more you get, the more you want by Sally Shupe

You know the feeling you get when you lose weight and then you want to lose more weight? Or, the more money you get, or the more bills you pay off, the more money you want, or the more bills you want to get paid? Or, the more miles you run, the more you want to run? (Oh, wait, is that one just me?) I’ve found the more you get, the more you want.

I’ve been trying to lose weight, like for a while now. I can’t find time to consistently run, what with cold weather, rain, snow, you name it. I don’t like running on a tread mill. I want to be outside, but there’s nowhere to run in my town. There are no sidewalks, school track, paved path, etc. However, I’ve been working consistently on watching what I eat. And you know what? I’ve lost a few pounds! Now, I want to lose more.

Consistency is key. No matter what you’re doing! If you run every day, it won’t be hard to get out there and run. Save money every day, it won’t be hard to save money. You’re working at it every day. Want to lose weight? Watch what you eat every day. Except those days you just have to have that tater skin and sour cream. (Oh, is that just me again?)

This is what I’ve discovered. A few add up. A few pounds add up to 10 pounds or more of weight loss. A few cents over time add up to dollars saved. A few miles add up to a 5K. A few words add up to paragraphs. See the connection? Lol. Most people can’t write a book in a day, just like you can’t jump off the couch and run a marathon. It takes dedication, consistency, building muscle.

You must dedicate time to write. If you don’t, anything and everything that comes around, will distract you and take you away from writing. If that load of laundry won’t stop calling your name, find a place outside of the home to write. (After you’ve made sure no one is held captive in the laundry. We want everyone to be safe!) Busy taking kids to practices? Use that time to write. Make meals ahead of time and use that cooking time to write. Get up a little early or stay up late and use that time to write.

You must be consistent in your writing. If you write on a schedule, whether that’s every day or a couple times a week or on weekends, you’ll find your writing time is more productive. You’ll remember where you left off in your story and won’t be spending a big junk of your time trying to figure out where you were, or rather where your characters were. Consistency will make writing become a habit. Every week plan ahead when you will write, and then stick to it. But give yourself grace when life happens and writing does get put on the back burner. Sometimes there are things that we must take care of.

Consistency and writing on a schedule build muscle. Just like running consistently builds muscle, so does writing. Writing consistently builds muscle to protect your writing time and increases your word output, so you have more to measure. When you lose weight, you add up how many pounds you’ve lost. When you save money, you count how much money you have. When you run miles, you add up how many you’ve run. When you write consistently and on a schedule, you will have a book to show for it! I dare you to try. Keep me posted on how you do. I’ll be cheering for you!

Sally Shupe lives in southwest Virginia with her husband, two grown kids, and a whole bunch of pets: five dogs, three cats, a rabbit, and birds at the birdfeeder (and the mandatory snowman when the snow cooperates). She writes contemporary Christian romance, with two completed manuscripts and others in progress. They are part of a series located in small town Virginia.

When Sally’s not writing or working full-time, she is a freelance editor for several authors who write fiction and nonfiction; students working on dissertation papers; a copy editor for Desert Breeze (now closed); a content editor for Prism (became part of Pelican); performs beta reading for various authors; publishes book reviews on her blog and with Valley Business FRONT’s monthly magazine; is a member of ACFW and ACFW Virginia; and loves genealogy, running, and crocheting.

Sally uses her love of words to write about God’s amazing love.

Juggling Life And The Pursuit Of Dreams by Candee Fick

I've always been fascinated by jugglers, especially those who can take a bite out of an apple while maintaining the blur of flying objects. But despite detailed instructions, I still can't juggle even two balls at the same time. Yet, I am expert at juggling life, including chronic fatigue and a special needs child, and the pursuit of my writing dream.

Here are a few tips for successful juggling.

1. Start small. Most instructions for juggling start with one ball and have you toss it back and forth for hours before ever adding a second ball or thinking about a third.

The same is true with life. I first learned this lesson over ten years ago after being diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome. I could realistically only handle small tasks in short increments, so I gave myself permission to only get a few things done each day until I could eventually add more responsibilities. As a writer trying to juggle creating, editing, critiquing, marketing, and social media, the same principle applies. Consistently write 100 or 200 words a day before trying for bigger goals. Master one social media account before adding another.

2. Expect to drop balls. Even the experts drop things, especially in private when they're rehearsing a new act. Does a juggler quit? No. They just pick it up and start again.

In life and writing, there will be days where supper didn't get thawed out in time or you get a call from the child's teacher or your proposal was rejected. Cry. Groan. Pray. Then pick up the pieces and keep on going. Tomorrow is a new day with fresh mercies from the hand of God.

3. Trust the rhythm. The best juggling acts are those where the performer also keeps up a steady banter with the audience. How? By trusting the rhythm. After hours of practice, their body simply knows where to be in order to handle the cascading balls.

There is power in familiar routines like putting your keys in the same place every day, so take those small steps from point #1 and create habits. For example, by tossing a load into the washer before packing lunches, it is ready for the dryer when I head out with the carpool ... and ready to fold when I return. I take a half hour on Saturday to schedule social media updates for the week and then spend just fifteen minutes a day adding a few new pins, a relevant retweet, and interacting on Facebook. By trusting the routines, I know certain things will get done consistently.

4. Keep your focus on one thing at a time. Watch a juggler's eyes and you'll discover that they focus on one spot directly in front of them as each airborne object flies by. There are balls in each hand, some leaving, and some arriving ... but the juggler focuses on only one ball at a time.

My to-do list gets overwhelming, but once my day gets into motion, I try to focus on one thing at a time. Word counts accumulate during the quiet morning hours while the kids are at school followed by day job tasks once the creative well dwindles. A quick nap, then home, family, and social media after school, and catch-ups once the younger kids are in bed. Like juggling, I focus on the highest priority at the moment.

5. Stay relaxed. A juggler in proper position keeps their arms relaxed, only makes small movements, and certainly does not chase frantically after out-of-control objects. If a routine is falling apart, they stop, take a deep breath, gather their stuff, and then start again.

When my life gets out of control—and with a special needs hormonal teenaged daughter with autistic characteristics, it happens often!—I too can stop, take a deep breath, pray for wisdom, accept God's peace, and then carry on.

What about you? How well do you juggle? What's your secret to keeping multiple projects and responsibilities going at once?

Click to Tweet

I gave myself permission to only get a few things done each day. Click to Tweet

Stop, take a breath, pray for wisdom, accept God's peace & carry on. Click to Tweet

What's your secret to keep all your projects  going at once? Click to Tweet 

Candee Fick is a busy football coach's wife and mother to three including one with a rare genetic syndrome. In addition to her day job summarizing asbestos depositions for an industrial hygiene company, she is pursuing her dream of someday writing full-time. While she has self-published a book for parents with special needs kids and several devotionals, she continues to hone her fiction craft. As a member of ACFW, she was the Genesis runner-up in women's fiction in 2009 and a Genesis semi-finalist in 2011.

You can find Candee's blog, Encouragement For The Journey, at www.CandeeFick.com. 

Facebook: www.facebook.com/Author.Candee.Fick 

Twitter: www.twitter.com/CandeeFick 

Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/CandeeFick 

Making Lemonade: Parents Transforming Special Needs

 When life gives you lemons, how you approach, process, and transform them makes all the difference. Especially for parents facing the sour experiences of raising a child with developmental, behavioral, and/or health needs. Mirroring the steps of a recipe for making lemonade, this book covers the pucker reaction, emotional juicing process, adding sugar, watering down with life, stirring in a pitcher of support, chilling, sipping, and sharing. It incorporates practical strategies from a Christian worldview and the emotional stories of parents, including the author, busy in the kitchen of life.