Do you remember back to when you were a kid and your first friend? I don't know if the person I'm thinking of was actually my first friend. I just know that I knew her clear back to when I was in Kindergarten. Her name was Julie Buffington. She was the main friend I had when I was little. She was a couple of years older than me if I'm remembering her correctly. Here's a picture from many, many moons ago. It's not the greatest quality but you can see me on the right, I'm about 6 or 7 years old. … [Read more...]
Day 169: Just Do It
When I think of "Just Do It" Nike always comes to mind. I love their shoes and have worn them for years. But think about those three little words for a moment. They're simple. We can apply this to almost anything we do in life. It like procrastination is a balloon and a needle is the words "Just Do It." We can use that needle to pop our procrastination bubble to get us moving. What's one of the easiest way to do this you might ask. Personally, for me anyway, is to set a deadline. Whether it be … [Read more...]
Quitting A Bad Habit
If I could quit one bad habit I have it would be to quit being a procrastinator and just get things done. Why do I wait until the last-minute where I'm running around frantically trying to get done whatever it is I'm doing? I have no idea. I think part of my problem is time management and how I can easily eat away at my time when I should be doing something else. When you work outside the home for someone else you are forced to be accountable with your time because if you don't the chances of … [Read more...]
Day 168: Hero (or Heroine) Story
To try to put into words what today's post is about, I don't know if I could give it the justice it deserves. Here is what I read for today: When he was fifty-one years old, Reynolds Price learned he had a ten-inch malignant tumor in his spine, and he believed that his happy life of writing and teaching was over. Surgery and radiation left him a paraplegic, in unspeakable pain, and not sure that he would survive. But he did survive and was able to manage his pain through hypnosis. He then … [Read more...]
The Journey with Susan J. Reinhardt
Please welcome this weeks guest Susan J. Reinhardt for The Journey. She answers the question: How have you seen God work in your writing journey? Man's Ideas vs. God's Plan "Your writing is good, but this book will never be published." These were not words I wanted to hear. After eight long years working on The Moses Conspiracy and honing my skills, they represented the ultimate rejection. I seriously considered going the self-publishing route, but there was no peace in my heart. One … [Read more...]
Morning Person or Night Owl
I have been for as long as I can remember a night owl. When I hear about those people who can get up every morning at four or five on their own without an alarm clock I'm dumbfounded because if I allowed my body to sleep as long as it wanted it'd sleep until 10, 11, 12, even 1pm. Yeah, I know, that is really late. But then I can also stay up until 3, 4, 5am … [Read more...]
Day 167: Writing Space as a Metaphor
It's interesting that in life how different we all really are. No two people will do something the same way. Even as writers, we must remember to be true to ourselves instead of trying to copy another writer as it will come off fake. In the end, we must keep our own voices when we write. Reader can tell when we don't. Well, my writing space, typically, is in my living room in my big comfy cozy rocker/recliner with my feet up, my lapdesk on my lap with my laptop on top of that, my mousepad and … [Read more...]
To Change Something About Yourself
If I were given the opportunity to change one thing about myself it would be to have much better patience. I didn't want to just say patience, because no matter who you are you have some. It might seem microscopic, but it's still there. God may have bestowed many gifts upon me, some still unknown, but the one He didn't give was the gift of patience. This is a weak area for me. I can easily get frustrated and don't dare try to talk to me in those moments of deep frustration because I have a … [Read more...]
Day 166: Blocks
In life we can take those things we need or want to do and put them into blocks, like blocks of time. Depending on the block is whether we get right to it or we end up procrastinating about it all. I tend to be a procrastinator, even though I don't want to be. When it comes to writing, I can put my fiction into one big block and nonfiction into another big one. Then those big ones break down into smaller ones where Mari's book is one and then the fiction book I'm writing now is another. At the … [Read more...]
The Journey with Jamie Adams
Please welcome this weeks guest Jamie Adams for The Journey. She answers the question: How have you seen God work in your writing journey? As far back as I can remember I’ve had a fondness for lined paper. Add a sharpened pencil into the mix and my fingers start to twitch. It’s always been easier for me to express myself in writing rather than speaking aloud. I was the quiet kid in school whose favorite part of the test was the essay section. My mother took us to church every Sunday and I … [Read more...]