I GET IT. There is never time for anything. Basic existence uses all 24 hours a day and forever leaves me needing more hours. Most days, I don’t sleep enough. I don’t eat on a schedule. I’m just hanging on for the ride and putting out the fire that seems the most insistent.
Category: Writing Inspiration
Living a creative writing career as a mom
Creative writing careers are not for the faint of heart. Writers of all sorts understand that creativity is not always consistent or stable or fun. Sometimes it makes us manic, catatonic. It encourages us to question our life and purpose daily, even before the critics reach our ears.
Favorite writing quotes for 2022
To writers, words are everything. We live them, we breathe them. We try to change the world and inspire emotional revelations with every flip of the pen and tap of the keys. Writers are suckers for words. So naturally, writers are also suckers for a good old-fashioned inspirational writing quote.
I don’t set goals anymore
I fail to meet goals. A lot. When I set “goals” they tend to be things that are easily quantifiable. Things I can measure. Word counts, project deadlines, sales numbers. Some of this I can control. A lot of it I can’t. Deadlines get moved and algorithms change. In short, things happen because life happens…
Why writing shorter pieces brings big success
As a writer, publishing a finished piece of work is the ultimate goal. A feeling of ecstasy and accomplishment. It’s an intrinsic sensation of achievement unlike any other emotion you’ll experience in your writing journey. But when you don’t finish something– when none of your projects are near publication quality and you’re constantly stuck in…
When it feels like failure
I’m really good at telling other people to give themselves grace. I’ve done so many things that mean so much more than a clean kitchen does. I know that. I understand that. There is a moment, though, where I’ve done a thousand things, but the one thing I ignored just stares me in the face and reminds me that I do not, in fact, have it together.
For the Writer Who Isn’t Writing
I took more than two years off writing around the time I met my husband. As writers, we have busy seasons. Sometimes, we have to shuffle priorities. It doesn’t mean our writing is any less important than it’s always been—but sometimes, something else is just more time-sensitive. Like planning a wedding. Like setting up a…
I have five minutes to write this…
As a new author who is trying to write a novel, work a regular job, and be a loving wife and mom, I have a lot of balls in the air. Trying to keep it all together can feel overwhelming and–please don’t eat your sister’s socks. The best advice I can give is to fit…
Get Your NaNoWriMo Project Back on Track
For the sake of this article, I’ll assume you’ve heard of NaNoWriMo, the mad dash to write a 50,000-word novel in November. If you haven’t, click here to check it out. If you have, and you’re participating this year, how are you doing? Are you on track? Have you fallen behind and lost hope of…
The Done List: Recording your wins
Honestly, a lot of times, the Done List looks different than my mental To Do list that I had in the morning, but that’s okay. As a result, I put words on paper, stop the self flagellation (okay, at least mitigate it a bit), and appreciate the addition to my day.