How to Write a Good Bad Review

“If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.” Mama’s advice serves well to keep us kind, but people don’t always need kind. We don’t even need polite all the time. Sometimes we need truth. Gina birthed the question on facebook: “Why do people post negative reviews?” Ron responded with a post about [...]

Putting the WORK back into Work-at-Home Mom

Once upon a lifetime I worked as a Financial Analyst at an worldwide HR firm. It sounds far more prestigious than it actually was. Sure, I had specific degrees of stress, but I managed it all with elaborate spreadsheets, lists and calendars. I was good at my job. That was nearly ten years ago before [...]

How to Create a Habit in One Day

So, how are those New Year’s Resolutions going? It’s not yet been three days. Are you still holding strong? According to the University of Scranton*, 25% of resolutions never survive the first week. By the end of the second week, another 4% have dropped off the bandwagon. Only 46% of resolutions ever see the six-month [...]

Hurricanes of Excuse

I said I would do it. I said I would deliver the project on time. I said I would be faithful. I said I would be there. And then Sandy hit. The funny thing is that Sandy didn’t derail my life. Sure, we lost power and the kids missed two weeks of school, but in [...]

I Do My Best Writing in the Shower

The key to a more productive writing life, for me, may be an increase of distractions. I’m not kidding. I can sit down in a quiet house, long hours stretched before me, all allocated beautifully (according to my DayTimer) for writing. Nothing happens. My fingers idly tap the desk. I take another sip of coffee [...]

THINK Before You Publish

Every January I evaluate my blog and the direction of my writing. Am I where I want to be? Headed where I want to go? This year I discovered a distinct lack of courage. I play it safe too often. Since then I’ve discovered something I should have known all along: hot topics sell. (Brilliant [...]

My 10 Commandments of Blogging

Writers have it tough. We try to make a living by putting our heart into words, but if people don’t like our words (or our hearts) then they won’t read it. If they don’t read it, we don’t get paid. If we don’t get paid, it’s hardly a living. This catapults us into a maze [...]

The Evolution of Distractions (and Wasted Time)

My distractions have evolved many times over the course of my writing journey. At first they were obvious: toddlers. I had two kids under the age of two and clearly could not write while either were awake. This offered a crisply defined line between writing and everything else. Naptimes provided neatly packaged blocks of time [...]

How to Be Outstanding

“Dear brothers and sisters, be firm. Do not be moved! Always be outstanding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. … to the extent that God has blessed you. … because a door of great opportunity stands wide open for me, but there are many opponents. [...]

To Sleep or Not to Sleep?

The kids are finally asleep. I just kicked off a second load of laundry, straightened the living room (for the fourteenth time today) and cleaned the bathroom. Exhausted, I ignored the dirty dishes in the sink. It’s 9:27 PM, but it feels like 11. I should write. I should work on that project that has [...]

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