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Need ideas on how to write better and produce more? Here are great tips from Lisa Tuttle. You can find out more about Lisa here: http://www.lisatuttle.com

Here’s a few tips that have helped me along the way:

Have a writing space. Doesn’t matter if it’s a a 20 x 30 fully furnished luxury office or a chair in the corner of the living room. Find a place where you are comfortable and can unleash your creativity. I have an office, but I prefer to write in a small recliner in the corner of our bedroom.

Know your creative time. Each person’s body works on a little different schedule. Some people are early birds (not me!) and some people are night owls. Pay attention to your personal body clock and find when you are at your best for writing. Try to arrange your schedule so that you can write during the best hour or two of your day. You’ll likely be more productive.

Set goals, make sacrifices, and earn rewards. Even if the goal is small, like 200 words a day, set some kind of goal. You can find time to work toward your goal by giving up time you currently spend doing something else, like watching tv, obsessive e-mailing , or cruising the net. To make the sacrifice a little more palatable, designate a reward for making the effort and reaching your goal. Meeting your word count six days in a row earns you an afternoon with the g-friends at a local coffee shop, or meeting your daily goal gets you a 1/2 hour in the bubble bath (brainstorming the next scene of course! 🙂 Make it fun to be productive.

Cultivate a sense of urgency. There’s nothing like the prospect of a vacation to Hawaii and being forced to get reacquainted with your swim suit to get you dieting and exercising in a hurry. LOL. Same theory transfers into your writing life. Give yourself a deadline if you don’t have a publisher or agent holding one over your head. And make it a priority. It’s okay for your writing to be important to you. Too often we feel guilty putting anything else ahead of an activity that most of us consider “fun”! 🙂

Have an accountability partner. A crit partner and I used to exchange weekly goals lists, for writing and other aspects of our lives too. Then at the end of the week we had to answer to one another for how we spent our time. Not wanting to confess my failures was motivation to get my wheels in motion and get it done. We held each other to task and helped one another stay on track.

Bribe your kids to do the housework. 🙂 This is a personal favorite, and since they are the biggest distraction to my writing, I think it’s poetic justice. My house gets cleaned and the kids are occupied for an hour or two. I spend a little money on the deal, but the price is small compared to the satisfaction I get from writing (and not having to do the housework. Okay, so I’m not Martha Stewart. LOL)

Cook smart. I save time on cooking duty by making extra and freezing for a later day. If I make chili or beef stew or some pasta dishes, I know that the extra will freeze well and make a great microwave quick dinner on the day that I get carried away on the wings of a plot and completely space dinner. 🙂 Or I divvy the leftovers up into serving-size Ziploc containers and freeze. They make great, quick lunches for me when the kids are in school and I don’t want to take time to cook a gourmet meal for one. The crock pot is a life saver too. Just turn it on in the morning, dump in ingredients and dinner is served at 6.

Develop routines. I have learned a lot from the flylady. 🙂 http://www.flylady.net Getting my house organized, routines in place, and family trained has cut back on the amount of work that has to be done in a day. It’s worth the effort and she is really motivational.

Daring to go where no blog has gone before . . . it’s a bird, it’s a plane, no it’s a BLOG tour!

Yes, I know, I just got back it town, but I’m leaving again tomorrow for a mini writer’s retreat. (The time is short, not necessarily the people.) I’m so looking forward to helping plot books, talking writing, girl time, prayer, oh yes, and I have a novel I need to work on!

My blog is traveling too. Check out where we’ve visted lately! And be sure to bookmark these blogs. As Tony the Tiger would say . . . they’re great!

Glimpses
http://staciwilder.typepad.com/glimpses/2006/07/meet_tricia_goy.html

I Was Just Thinking
http://robinlee.typepad.com/i_was_just_thinking_/2006/07/blog_tour_trici.html

The Christian Writer’s Notebook
http://frankcreed.com/blog/2006/06/29/franks-interview-with-author-tricia-goyer/

Light for the Writer’s Soul
http://victoriagaines.com/2006/07/07/blog-tour-meet-tricia-goyer/

It’s Always Something
http://survivingthechaos.blogspot.com/2006/07/guest-blogger-tricia-goyer.html

Edgy Inspirational Author
http://edgyinspirationalauthor.blogspot.com/2006/06/im-huge-fan-of-tricia-goyer.html

Camy’s Loft
http://camys-loft.blogspot.com/2006/05/interview-with-tricia-goyer-and-book.html

Cara’s Musings
http://carasmusings.blogspot.com/

Sky-High View
http://sky-highview.blogspot.com/

Portrait of a Writer
http://portraitofawriter.blogspot.com/2006/07/blog-tour-tidbits-with-tricia-goyer.html
http://portraitofawriter.blogspot.com/2006/07/tricia-goyer-my-homeschool-life.html
http://portraitofawriter.blogspot.com/2006/07/tricia-goyer-my-writing-life.html

A Home with Christian Fiction
http://catswebdesigns.com/At_Home_with_Christian_Fiction/Blogs.html

Gen X Parents:
http://genxparents.blogspot.com
(Okay, this really isn’t part of the tour, but since you’re at it . . . be sure to check out my blog for parents who are Gen Xers!)

Today’s guest blogger is Cynthia Ruchti. I loved her “dialogue with God” so much I asked if I could post it. Cynthia’s web address is www.heartbeatofthehome.org and my blog is http://splashinginthedeepend.blogspot.com

God said, “Child, I’d like to hire you to work for Me. Writing.”

And I said, “Cool! That’s what I always wanted to do.”

“Like you have to tell Me.”

“Oh, sorry. Right. That whole omniscience thing.”

“Pay’s not swell.”

“Oh. Well, alright. I guess that’s okay.”

“Hours are lousy, too. You’ll probably have to work frequently at three in the morning if I send you an idea then. It’s kind of an on-call situation.”

“Sure. No prob. Can I . . . I mean, may I ask a question?”

God said, “Haven’t you always?”

I take comfort in the fact that He’s smiling when He says that.

“Lord, I’ll need a laptop.”

“Uh huh. Here’s a notepad and pen. There’s your lap.”

“And I don’t work well in unpleasant conditions.”

“Funny, I do My BEST work when conditions are lousy. Did I ever tell you the story of Gideon?”

This interview is not going exactly as I’d hoped.

“Oh, and child of mine?”

“Yes, Lord?”

“I expect your best effort. All the time. Got it?”

“Best effort. Most days. Got it.”

“Excuse Me?”

“Well, you know, sometimes I just need a break.”

“Ever heard of the Sabbath?”

“And sometimes I can’t settle into the ‘flow,’ if You know what I mean.”

“‘He who believes in Me [who cleaves to and trusts in and relies on Me] as the Scripture has said, From his innermost being shall flow [continuously] springs and rivers of living water.'”

“What?”

“John 7:38. Look it up. I like that Amplified version. More words. Good words.”

“So, the way I figure it, Lord, between all my other commitments plus my Scripture-Aerobics class plus my leisure reading plus that whole cooking/cleaning/laundry/ironing routine, I can give you seven and a half minutes every other week for the writing thing.”

“Child? Didn’t you read the sign? Slackers Need Not Apply.”

“I’m no slacker, Lord! Good grief, I’m busy all the time! A lot of it, for Your causes, You might note.”

“Look Me in the eye.”

“‘Okay.”

“I … want … you … to … write … for … Me. Do you want the job or not? Look at the other applicants standing in line waiting to see if you’ll accept the position. Any one of them would jump at the chance to have an offer like this. Are you the kind of person whom I can entrust with this responsibility?”

“You know I love You, Lord.”

“I know. Feed my lambs.”

Pressing on toward the goal of the high calling of Jesus,
Cynthia

Tricia, Boston 2006

Recently, I was asked on an on-line interview how my life has changed since having these books published. That really got me thinking.

I do spend a lot of time writing . . . but I did that as I was seeking publication. I also have publishers contacting me with book projects, which is nice. But when it comes to my personal, day-to-day life, not much has changed.

I thought about this last night when I went out for a birthday dinner with John and four close friends. Our Birthday-dinner tradition is something we’ve been doing for the last ten years. We all talked about life, kids, work . . . they oohed and ahhed over my new book, but we probably spent two minutes on the topic. They are my friends and that wouldn’t change if I drove a dump truck instead of penning prose.

Life with my kids is pretty much the same too. I’m mom and that’s that. Sometimes they tease me when we go out and someone recognizes my name–such as the checkout clerk at the grocery store. And every once in a while they appreciate my “connections,” such as the time we got backstage passes to see The Newsboys.

Another cool thing is my life-at-church isn’t very different either. My family still volunteers in our children’s church ministry as we have for the past eleven years. In fact, I guarantee not one of those 100+ kids realizes I write books. They’re more interested in my handywork with puppets. And for the most part, their parents don’t realize I write books too. In fact, I get more comments about my Family column in a local magazine than anything else.

“I saw your article published in that Flathead Living Magazine, you must be so excited.” Uh, yeah, okay. That works for me.

For the most part, I feel the same inside as I did before “writing all these books.” I think the #1 reason is my daily quiet time with God. As I sit in my window bench with my Bible, notebook, devotional/Bible Study book and coffee I’m reminded of who I am to God–just one part of the body of Christ.

In fact, here are two verses I wrote in my journal yesterday after reading 1 Corinthians 12 & 13:

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 1 Cor. 12:7 NASB

But now God had placed the members each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. 1 Cor. 13:18 NASB

What I’m doing home-wise, church-wise, writing-wise has nothing to do with me, but everything to do with God . . . for the common good of His body. In fact, that’s why I love connect with and promoting other authors. It’s not about me, it’s about US.

How cool is that?!

Behind the scenes:
Daily Bible Reading: 1 Corinthians 15-16 (NASB)–personal, Psalm 119 (NLT)–with John
Bible Study Book: Live a Praying Life, Jennifer Kennedy Dean

Me at ICRS standing in front of an advertisement of my next book due out in January . . . yes, the one I’m finishing up!

Alan Jackson sings Remember When . . . and it’s appropriate for today. After all, it’s not everyday one turns 35!

Birthdays have a way of making you remember. Such as when I was seven and got a new bike. Or when I turned twelve and spent the day at the lake with friends. Or when I turned fourteen and felt like the happiest girl in the world to be so “mature.”

Recently someone asked me how it felt to turn 35. The truth is, I feel better about it today than two weeks ago. After all, if 60 is the new 40, as the Baby Boomers claim, does that mean 35 is the new 21?

Looking back, I’m amazed with what God has done with my life. I was born to an unmarried mom, raised by my mom and grandparents, grew up on the “poor side of the tracks”, and becoming a teen mom myself at seventeen. I’m thankful for God’s hand in my life.

Looking ahead, I’m awed by how God continues to work, in my family, my church, with my friends, and with my writing.

Okay, enough with the mushy stuff. Back to work for me. No rest for the weary . . . I have a book to finish writing.

But also know, that throughout the day I’ll be thinking about YOU–my friends I know well and those who’ve I’ve yet to meet. And counting you as one of the greatest blessings in my life.

I’m under deadline. Enough said.

I’ve written about 2,000 words today AND edited my first Thirteen Chapters. (Thankfully, the story is better than I thought. I’m sure you know that stage where you QUESTION everything!)

One of my favorite groups is Third Day. And my favorite line in this song???

There is rest for the weary.

I’m heading to bed for the night after writing for 10+ hours today. But here is my gift to you:

A few of Tricia’s fiction writing friends. Check me out, bottom row, second from left.

Okay, I have to admit, I’m getting behind on my updates about ICRS. So much happened in so few Denver-days, I don’t know where to start! Of course, even more than that, I’m under deadline and I have to turn in my next manuscript in ten days. Yikes!

This year, my husband John went with me to the International Christian Retail Show. After seeing me in action with my booksignings, attending banquets and meetings, and touring the floor with THOUSANDS of Christian products, I asked John what impressed him most . . . He said it was how well-connected I was, and he pointed out that we couldn’t walk ten feet without me coming across someone I knew or had worked with. (Or someone who reads my blog!)

I had to laugh, well-connected? I love my husband, but that’s such a foreign word to me. A “corporate America” word. Instead, I like to think of myself as a good friend. I care about people. I strive to encourage them. I find people interesting and fun to get to know.

Personally, I think my love for people is a Gen X thing. As I learned while writing my soon-to-be-released book GENERATION NEXT PARENTING, the most important thing for Gen Xers is relationships . . . and believe it or not, corporate America is taking notice.

In fact, here’s a great article titled, GENERATION GAP SHAPES WORKPLACE CHOICES. You can read it here.

Of course, conventions like ICRS are simply a small aspect of my “workplace.” It’s with much joy I’m back in quiet Montana and at my desk that has fantastic views of the Rocky Mountains.

It’s hard being smart, pretty, and friendly in the midst of so many people!

Here is something really different. But really cool.

Author (and blogger) Brandilyn Collins has written a novel that comes out in August called Violet Dawn. It is part of a new series she has started called the Kanner Lake Series.

She sent out Advance Reader Copies to those who requested them and asked them to choose a character that they liked. Then she asked the readers to send her a make believe post from the character for a make believe blog by the ‘Kanner Lake’ make believe residents.

This is going to be an actual blog, called…Scenes and Beans, full of ficticious bloggers written by real bloggers who liked Violet Dawn. Confusing? Well, it began July 5th! Go check it out by pressing the button for Scenes and Beans!

As you know, I’m currently writing a novel about The Spanish Civil War. What you may not know is that this war took place in Spain from 1936-1939.

One cool thing I hadn’t expected when embarking on this project is to meet and interview veterans who were there. One of them, Alun, was especially helpful.

Sadly, I recently found out that Alun had passed away. You can find out more about him here: here

I’m thankful God has given me the opportunity to meet Alun and share his story in A Valley of Betrayal. I’m honored to have called him a friend.

Well, last Saturday night the 8th annual Christy Awards were announced. I was too cheap to pay $120 for John and I to attend, but I cheer for the winners all the same.

And if you’re not aware of the Christy Awards, these are how they work:
Every year publishers are invited to submit novels written from a Christian worldview and copyrighted in the year preceding the awards. Each novel is entered in one of several genre categories and/or the first novel category. Each category of novels is then read and evaluated against a ten-point criteria by a panel of seven judges composed of librarians, reviewers, academicians, literary critics, and other qualified readers.

Here are the winners:
Contemporary Stand Alone — Levi’s Will by W. Dale Cramer
Contemporary Series — The Road to Home by Vanessa Del Fabbro
Historical — Whence Came a Prince by Liz Higgs
Romance — A Bride Most Begrudging by Deeanne Gist
Suspense/Mystery — River Rising by Athol Dickson
Visionary — Shadow Over Kiriath by Karen Hancock
First Novel — This Heavy Silence by Nicole Mazzarella

To read more, go to:
http://www.christyawards.com/

Congrats to all the winners!

Greetings from Denver!

Today was a fun day. First, I attended a brunch put on by my agent, Janet Grant. Many of Janet’s clients were there, including my good friends Janet McHenry, Robin Gunn, Sandra Byrd, Cindy Martinusen, and Joanna Weaver. (Of course, there were MANY more friends I didn’t name.)

I have to admit that it’s weird seeing the crowd of FANTASTIC writers. You see, I love my agent, and so often I feel as if she only represents me. I’m sure I’m her favorite (wink, wink)