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 [...]

Time Management 101: How to Do it All!

“How do you do it all?” Is the #1 question I get. I have to start by saying that I’ve worked through many of these things with my life coach Judy Baer. She helps me “think through” trouble areas of my life and find a solution … what a concept! I realize the “life” doesn’t [...]

Organizing: Does Multitasking Make You Stupid?

Computers are faster and smarter and more efficient than ever. They run at gigahertz speeds, using gigabytes of memory, giving you giga power to get things done. Even so, once in a while, most machines seem to freeze for several seconds, stuck in some mysterious inner world that you know nothing about. If they’re so fast and so smart, why should [...]

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 [...]

Marketing: 10, 100, and 1000 Dollar Work

So you’ve got a book coming out and the marketing director at your publisher calls you up, very excited about your book. You’re excited too, until she tells you all the things she wants you to do to promote your book. Put up a web site. Create a blog. Make a Facebook fan page and [...]

The Pomodoro Technique®: Productivity for Writers, One Tomato at a Time

Like most writers, I’m constantly busy. If you’re serious about writing, there’s a never-ending to-do list: blog, read, review, draft, edit, absorb, learn, redraft. But there are times when ‘busy’ turns into ‘overwhelming.’ When I’m trying to complete a big freelance project and write a first draft at the same time, for example. The level [...]

Writing After a Medical Crisis Hits Your Loved One

Last month’s article, How Do You Write When a Medical Crisis Hits, discussed how to keep on writing in the midst of dealing with an elderly parent being hospitalized. Once your beloved senior has been released from the hospital though, your interrupted writing should be back on course, right? Not necessarily. Even though they are [...]

Balancing School with Writing

Writing fiction is, for most of us, rarely a full-time job; it’s a labor of love.  And for most of us, finding the time to devote to our craft is a struggle between family and other responsibilities both inside and outside the home. It’s hard to create a balance between the life we love and [...]

Top Ten Ways to Find Ten Minutes to Write

 No one should have to remind us that life is short. The Bible says it “fades quickly like grass.” In fact, the book of Proverbs is full of encouragement to make use of our time, to be wise with our gifts. If this is true, that we should, in fact, use every day wisely, then [...]

Managing What’s Left of Your Summer

Summer. Time to slow down, relax a little, and finish (or start) those neglected projects you started last year. Right? I had grand plans of doing all the above, and while I’ve dabbled in fun and accomplishments, it hasn’t been to the degree I had planned. How about you? So in an attempt to embrace [...]

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