Beauty and the Birdseed By Patti Jo Moore

Our Georgia spring seasons are lovely, and this spring has been no exception. The azaleas in various colors, the lavender Redbud trees, and our Bradford Pear trees are only a few of the beautiful sights to enjoy in the springtime. Even from inside my home, I have a nice view of the nearby blooms, thanks to lots of windows.

My cats also enjoy the windows, but not for the same reason I do. They are entertained by watching the numerous birds and squirrels that visit my deck for their daily feast of sunflower seed. I toss generous amounts of the seed onto the wooden rail on one side of the deck, and my cats sit by the windows to enjoy the view, with twitching tails and the occasional meow. I’m likely in the minority on this, but I love squirrels. Their antics delight not only my cats, but they make me laugh, too.

However, squirrels are messy eaters. A couple of months ago, I glanced out a window and noticed large amounts of chewed sunflower seed the squirrels had knocked off the rail and onto a patch of ground below. It was not a pretty sight. Ugh—I’d probably need to go out and scoop up the remnants before my husband cut the grass again. But since it didn’t seem urgent, I didn’t do it then. In fact, I forgot about it. 😉

In mid-May, I glanced out a window with a view of the ground below my deck, and couldn’t believe it. Two beautiful sunflowers had grown in the middle of the messy area. As I stood looking out at the sunflowers (which happens to be a favorite of mine!), I was struck with the thought of how a few weeks earlier, that patch of ground had been an eyesore, but now was a spot of beauty.

As I continued gazing at the sunflowers, I couldn’t help comparing this to writing. Sometimes we might begin writing a story, but we reach a certain point and stop. We feel our words have reached a dead-end, or what we’d thought was a great story idea just isn’t getting off the ground. We feel that what we’ve written is a mess, and we delete it, or just tuck it away, assuming it will never see the light of day again.

But if we’ll take a break and return to that project later, we’re able to see it with fresh eyes. We might be able to veer in a different direction with the plot, or maybe the main characters need some changes. The setting could even need to be moved, and that could get our ideas flowing. Sometimes, what we’d considered a hopeless mess can end up being a beautiful story. After all, looking out my window at the unsightly mounds of chewed-up seeds, I wouldn’t have thought it possible that beautiful sunflowers would actually grow in that spot. So take heart if you’ve got a story tucked away that you’ve given up on, because you might be able to re-work it and produce a story that you—and your readers—will love. 😊

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Meg Mills is thankful she relocated to Coastal Breeze after becoming widowed two years earlier. As she makes plans to achieve her dream of owning a small bookstore, she begins doubting herself after being harassed by her late husband’s stepmother. She’s also confused at her strong attraction to the shy, lanky piano tuner who arrives for an appointment one day. Todd Davis is grateful for his aunt’s encouragement to move to Coastal Breeze after a painful divorce, and is soon captivated by an outgoing piano tuning client. But he’s an introvert, and feels certain the pretty widow wouldn’t be interested in him. When Todd is hired as the local church’s choir director, he hopes this will help him get to know the attractive widow better—if he can come out of his shell. When the cousin who bullied Todd as a youth unexpectedly arrives in Coastal Breeze, Todd must confront his greatest fear, while getting past the pain of his memories. Meg worries that her exuberant personality has driven Todd away—until she learns the truth about his past. Can two people who are polar opposites help each other and find romance in the process?

Patti Jo Moore writes “Sweet, Southern Stories” and has lived in Georgia all her life. Her very first series, Emerald Coast Romances, is published by Forget-Me-Not Romances and is set on the Florida panhandle. Each book is a stand-alone, and Patti Jo hopes her readers enjoy “visiting” her fictional town of Coastal Breeze. The third book is In Tune With Romance and features Meg, an outgoing widow who wants to start her own business, and Todd, an introverted piano-tuner who must confront his greatest fear. Can two people who are polar opposites help each other and find romance in the process?

Patti Jo loves Jesus, her family, cats, and coffee. She loves connecting with other readers and authors. You can visit her on Facebook at Author Patti Jo Moore, or her personal blog at http://catmomscorner.blogspot.com

The Power of the Right Word by Laurel Blount

Sometimes changing one word makes a big difference.

Writers understand the power of words, and we try to choose them carefully. Maybe sometimes—even a little too carefully. Am I right? Anybody else struggle with a smidgen of perfectionism when it comes to your writing?

Yeah, I didn’t think I was the only one!

It’s tough to be creative while your inner critic perches in the back of your mind, keeping up a running monologue about everything that’s wrong with your writing. But what can you do about it? Selling my first book sure didn’t turn out to be the magic bullet I’d hoped it would be. If anything, my critic got louder—and harsher. She was draining the joy out of my writing process. Not good.

Then a friend suggested a one-word change—and it made all the difference. 

I was wrapping up line edits for my fourth book while simultaneously preparing to celebrate the release of my third. I’d never had two books overlap so much before, and I worried that I wasn’t giving enough attention and time to either of them. I’d also started a monthly author newsletter, and I was trying to finish our homeschooling year while embarking on a (yet another—don’t get me started!) new diet.

I had a lot going on, and my inner critic was freaking out.

“I just don’t feel like I’m doing the best job with any of these things,” I fretted to my friend during our morning phone call.

She thought a minute. “But should you even be trying for the best, though? Or should you be trying for your best? Because those are two different things.”

Wow. I’d been folding towels as we chatted, and I had a mini-epiphany right there in the middle of my clean laundry.

Not the best. My best.

I’d been focused on the wrong target. What I’d been shooting for was “the best.” I wanted every word, lesson and meal absolutely perfect and everybody involved over-the-moon delighted. My concern that I wasn’t measuring up to that standard was right on target. I wasn’t. 

My best? That was a different story. I knew I was bringing everything I had to the table. Maybe it wasn’t the ultimate best. But it was, at least at this busy season in my life, the very best I was capable of doing.

Such a simple change—one little word—but I felt an immediate sense of relief. All I needed to do was my best. That was attainable. That was realistic. That might even be fun!

So, were you nodding when I talked about perfectionism? Do you also have an inner critic waving a list of impossible standards under your nose? Try changing just one word. Don’t try to be the best, just your best at this time and in this season of your life.

I know. It seems almost absurdly simple.

Almost. Because we’re writers, after all. We understand the power of choosing the right word.

Because we’re writers, after all. We understand the power of choosing the right word. #SeriouslyWrite #amwriting

~~~~~~ 

Laurel Blount lives on a small farm in middle Georgia with her husband, their four children,
and an assortment of very spoiled animals. She divides her time between farm chores, homeschooling, and writing. She's busy, but at least she's never bored!

Laurel writes inspirational contemporary romance, and Hometown Hope is her third title for Harlequin’s Love Inspired. A fourth book is scheduled for publication in January 2020. She’s received a Georgia Romance Writers Maggie Award for Excellence and has also finaled in the American Christian Fiction Writer’s Carol Awards. She’s represented by Jessica Alvarez of Bookends Literary Agency.

Whenever she's not working, you can find Laurel with a cup of tea at her elbow, a cat in her lap, and a good book in her hand. Stay in touch by signing up for Laurel’s monthly newsletter at www.laurelblountbooks.com.

Love the Scene You’re With By Marie Wells Coutu

You have your story outline--if you’re a plotter--and your plan today is to write scene 23.

Or if you’re a pantser, you intend to pick up where you left off yesterday.

But. Life.

Your kids are home for the summer and need some attention. Or you got a phone call from a friend with bad news and you can’t stop thinking about her. Maybe those nagging chronic conditions have kicked in. Or you’re struggling with regret over some bad choices in your past.

Any one of these—or a myriad of other—situations could keep you from meeting your writing goal for the day, or the week. The scene you planned to work on won’t come to life because your mind and emotions are wrapped up in your current world instead of your story world.

When this happens, don’t let the struggle keep you from writing.

Instead, take a cue from the old song that advises, “Love the one you’re with.” If writer’s block and life are keeping you from writing the scene or the story you want to write, write about what you’re going through.

In other words, embrace your current life, create a fictional version, and “love” this scene.

Use the frustration you feel about your lack of time to write a new scene where your character feels frustrated. Take your worry for your friend or your sorrow and guilt over your past, and pour it onto the page in a short story. Write about your pain from the viewpoint of a character.

These characters and scenes need not be related to your work-in-progress, although they can be. The point is to capture the struggles and conflicts in your own life so you can draw on them to deepen the emotional impact of your fiction.

The actual words you write during these times may never make it into a completed manuscript. But the exercise can help in several ways:

1. You keep writing something, even if it’s not part of your work-in-progress. (Of course, if you’re staring down a deadline, you may want to find a way to incorporate it into that story.)

2. You can build a “library” of your own emotional responses. You might create a file of these ad lib scenes according to the primary emotion. The next time you need to write a scene dealing with anger or guilt or frustration, you can go back and read what you’ve written in that category to help re-create that emotion as you write the new scene.

3. You could wind up with a publishable short story to use as a lead magnet.

4. You might discover something new about your current characters or create a new character whose story needs to be told.

The important thing for a serious writer is to not let Life cause writer’s block. Use the events of the day, and the resulting emotions, to provide depth to your writing. If you can’t work on the scene you want, learn to “love the scene you’re with.”

If Life is keeping you from writing what you want to write, write about what you’re going through & “love the scene you’re with.” @mwcoutu @MaryAFelkins #SeriouslyWrite

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Marie Wells Coutu finds beauty in surprising places, like old houses, gnarly trees, and forgotten treasures. When she’s not writing about finding restoration and healing through God-designed journeys, she enjoys taking broken things and making them useful.

The Secret Heart, her newest release, was named a finalist in both the 2018 National Excellence in Romantic Fiction Awards and the 2018 Royal Palm Literary Awards sponsored by Florida Writers Association. Her debut novel, For Such a Moment, won the Books of Hope Contest. Thirsting for More, the second book in the series was a finalist in the Selah Awards Contest and a semi-finalist in the Royal Palm Literary Awards. An unpublished historical novel set near Golden Pond has been a finalist in five contests.

She grew up in Kentucky, has lived in Kansas, Connecticut, Minnesota, Iowa and South Carolina. With her handyman husband of four decades, she now divides her time between Florida and the Midwest.
You can find more about Marie and her novels on her Facebook author page, her website, MarieWellsCoutu.com or follow her on Twitter @mwcoutu or on Amazon.com

Marketing Burnout: The Freeway, Your Way by Peter Leavell

Marketing is a three-lane, high octane, fear-inducing freeway built of unforgiving concrete that has positioned many an author to crash and burn. Why does this happen and how can you keep from an unhappy accident and damaging your career, all the while maintaining a nuanced and original edge that brings attention to your work?

The Right Lane:

The far right is safe. The speed is sane and faster drivers pass on the left. When moving slowly, mistakes and choices are forgiving. The shoulder is wide in case of an emergency and exiting is freed from the need to change lanes at the last minute.

A right lane marketer is consistent and takes fewer chances, reposting material from other writers with proven ideas. Blogs are experiential—tangible issues from a known past. Signing books usually take place behind a table, and conferences are because they are asked to attend.

The Middle Lane:

The middle lane offers choice at a higher speed. Choices, however, might lead to an accident, and reaching the shoulder or exiting is more difficult than the right lane and far more noticeable.

The middle lane marketer takes chances. Some material is brought in from other authors while original material balances out the body of posts and blogs. A portion of marketing is experiential, while some posts are chancy and experimental. Sometimes it suits the middle laner to drift into one lane or the other, changing tactics as deemed necessary with an eye and energy to success and self-care.

Sitting in the middle lane sees other marketers drifting in and out of the lane as well, all jockeying for space, most working together while others competing for attention. Preemptive phone calls to book signings, applications to speak at conferences, and connecting with writers and readers are the constant priority.

The Left Lane:

Left lane drivers are a wild bunch who don’t care for speed limits, whipping around curves and feeling the thrill of the centrifugal pull. At these speeds, bumps send the vehicle into the air, landing with an agreeable bounce and testing the limits of physics. If someone doesn’t keep up with the pack, everyone is frustrated with the single driver who slows the rest down. Everyone notices when someone from the left lane exits, disrupting the other lanes.

96 MPH in a 55 MPH is the heartbeat of these drivers. One sneeze can result in a mighty crash.

The left lane marketer creates a platform around original ideas, pushing hard agendas and schemes and selling them anyway that comes to mind, at both conferences and online. This daily focus is never-ending, an obsession that pulls them forward day and night. From unplanned Facebook live moments to selling general fiction at a Christian Homeschool Conference, these high energy folks take chances.

Marketing Burnout:

What’s the best lane? The one you’re driving in. The one you’re comfortable with. The one that is manageable. Switching lanes trying to be something you are not leads to marketing burnout. You must market, you cannot exit. But all lanes work. Stay in your lane, change lanes when you must, and you will arrive at your destination.

Driving the marketing freeway in the fastest lane? Yes Please! @peterleavell #seriouslywrite

How do I avoid marketing burnout? @peterleavell #seriouslywrite

Peter Leavell, a 2007 graduate of Boise State University with a degree in history and currently enrolled in the University's English Lit Graduate program, was the 2011 winner of Christian Writers Guild's Operation First Novel contest, and 2013 Christian Retailing's Best award for First-Time Author. A novelist, blogger, teacher, ghostwriter, jogger, biker, husband and father, Peter and his family live in Boise, Idaho. Learn more about Peter's books, research, and family adventures at www.peterleavell.com.