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(repost from 6/2006)

If you could see my desk you would chuckle. Okay, maybe not. Perhaps you would have pity on me, volunteer your time and set to work on my massive to-do list. (Any takers, huh, huh?)

Seriously, I have stacks of bills to pay, letters to answer, books to mail out, and a checkbook to balance. That’s not including the research books for my work-in-progress, my grandma’s medical bills I have to figure out, and my non-fiction manuscript galley that I need to read through.

Usually, I can keep the balls up in the air. The bills are rarely late. The checkbook evidentially gets balanced. I get my kids to the right camp, on the right day. (If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you HAVE TO read Susie Warren’s story on http://www.faithchicks.com/)

And somehow, with God’s grace, my writing assignments are turned in on time. But it’s the things like mailing books out that end up taking longer than they should.

This is NOT a good thing. Not only do I want my readers to like me, but sometimes they might not live long enough to seen the autographed front cover. Let me explain . . .

Two years ago I received the first copies of Night Song in the mail. One thing I do is send free books to everyone who helped on the project–especially to the veterans I interview.

Well, one of the men I interviewed was a medic. He gave me some great information for my character, Nick. (Would you believe I had to go look his name up! I have too many hunky heroes in my head!)

Anyway, I emailed Earl to let him know the book would be in the mail. He said he was down with a broken hip, but he was looking forward to getting the book. A few days passed (I was under deadline for another project). Then a week. Then two. Finally, I got the book in the mail. THAT THE SAME DAY I got a note from Earl’s son telling me he’d passed away. I felt HORRIBLE! I mean, I was literally sick to my stomach. Earl had helped me so much. He had been SO excited to have an autographed copy from me. And I couldn’t get my act together enough to mail a silly book.

I sent a sympathy card to Earl’s family and a letter. I apologized to them for not sending the book sooner. A week later I received an email from his daughter.

“Oh honey,” she said. “Don’t worry about not sending the book. My dad got tired of waiting and had me buy a copy for him. He read it right before he passed away and loved it. He was so excited. He showed everyone.”

Thank you, GOD!

I was SO thankful. Even though I didn’t have my act together, Someone did!

As an added bonus, through the communication with Earl’s kids I discovered he never shared much about his experiences during WWII. (This is common with many veterans.)

After his death, I was able to forward the emails and stories he’d sent me, and because of that they were able to discover part of their father’s past they’d never known.

Isn’t God good? In spite of my procrastination.

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing The Big Picture (NavPress Publishing Group April 15, 2008) by Jenny B. Jones

About the Book:Sometimes there’s a fine line between comedy and tragedy—and Katie Parker is walking it.

School is winding down for the summer but Katie Parker is having a bad day. After leaving the drive-in, where her imploding love life was the main attraction, Katie arrives home to a big surprise on the Scott’s front porch. Her mother, Bobbie Ann Parker, a former convict and recovering addict, wants to take Katie away from her family, friends, and church. Now Katie’s life will be changed by a series of dramatic choices as she struggles to understand what family and home really means.

Katie is forced to walk away from In Between, leaving behind a family who loves her, a town drive-in to save, and a boyfriend who suddenly can’t take his eyes off his ex. When the life her mother promised begins to sink faster than one of Maxine’s stuffed bras, Katie knows she needs to rely on God to keep it together. But where is he in all this? Can Katie survive a chaotic life with her mother—and one without the Scotts? And if God is there, will he come through before it’s too late?A Katie Parker Production series offers teen girls real-world fiction balanced by hope and humor. The The Big Picture helps us realize that the difficult chapters in our journey are only part of God’s big story for our lives.You can read the first chapter HERE

About the Author: Jenny B. Jones is the author of A Katie Parker Production series. The other books in the series are In Between and On The Loose. Though now an adult, she still relates to the trauma and drama of teen life. She is thrilled to see her writing dreams come true, as her previous claim to fame was singing the Star Spangled Banner at a mule-jumping championship. (The mules were greatly inspired.)

Jenny resides in Arkansas, where, as a teacher, she hangs out with teens on a regular basis.

Find out more about Jenny at her website: http://jennybjones.com/

Stop Lurking! Every week I will draw names for a free Tricia Goyer book from those who comment on my blogs. Winner’s choice! Tell your friends.

Meet Tamara!

After Tamara Leigh earned a Master’s Degree in Speech and Language Pathology, she and her husband decided to start a family, with plans for Tamara to continue in her career once she became a mother.

When the blessing of children proved elusive, Tamara became convicted to find a way to work out of her home in order to raise the children she and her husband longed to have. She turned to writing, at which she had only ever dreamed of being successful, and began attending church. Shortly thereafter, her agent called with news of Bantam Books’ offer of a four-book contract. That same day, Tamara’s pregnancy was confirmed. Within the next year, she gave up her speech pathology career, committed her life to Christ, her first child was born, and her first historical romance novel was released.

As Tamara continued to write for the secular market, publishing three more novels with HarperCollins and Dorchester, she infused her growing Christian beliefs into her writing. But it was not enough, and though her novels earned awards and were national bestsellers, she knew her stories were lacking. After struggling with the certainty that her writing was not honoring God as it should, she made the decision to write books that not only reveal Christianity to non-believers, but serve as an inspiration for those who have accepted Christ as their Savior. Her inspirational romances are peopled with characters in varying stages of Christian faith, from mature believers to new believers to non-believers on the threshold of awakening.

Tamara Leigh enjoys time with her family, volunteer work, faux painting, and reading. She lives near Nashville, Tennessee with her husband, David, and two sons, Skyler and Maxen.

Tell us about your first Christmas memory?

Goodness, this is going to sound like a sob story, but it isn’t. It’s just…different. When I was growing up, our family attended a church that didn’t allow for the celebration of Christmas, Easter, or birthdays–due, in part, to the commercialization. Thus, my earliest Christmas memories are of peering through a window as the other kids on our block burst from their homes with new bikes, rollerskates, balls, etc. Though my father said we were Christians, Christmas day was hardly different from the next. When I was a teenager, my mother rebelled a bit and made a beautiful white macrame tree that she hung from the ceiling. She wove lights through it and that was the first Christmas we celebrated in our home, complete with a few gifts. Unfortunately, I don’t think it had much to do with Jesus.

Growing up, did your family have Christmas traditions? Tell us how you incorporated them into your family life. Or, how you created new ones.

Obviously no Christmas traditions to carry on, but we have created our own. On Christmas Day, we go easy, especially now that are boys are older (no more wild, pajama-flying sprints to the gifts beneath the tree). Before we open our gifts, we each write down what we are giving to Jesus for Christmas (i.e. reading the Bible more, practicing patience, NOT bugging our little brother). We share these with each other, then place them in little boxes that we keep on our mantle as a reminder throughout the upcoming year.

Then there are the gifts that we give to one another… We do this one at a time and each gift is passed around so that everyone can see and enjoy it. After we have opened a couple of presents each, we break so that the presents can be enjoyed rather than balanced on a teetering pile.

When we come back together to open more presents, there are fingerfoods and hot drinks. This can last for hours and it’s more enjoyable than plowing through presents, at the end of which time no one knows what gifts the others received.

When do you put up your tree? At my house, it goes up when my kids’ begging is louder than my procrastination (around December 1). My husband works assembles my prelighted tree. I do the rest. Describe the decorating at your house.
The later the better. Otherwise, the newness and beauty seem to wear off and it ceases to dazzle 🙂 Usually the tree is up one to two weeks after Thanksgiving. A real one–wahoo! Well, not quite real. But once the tree is unboxed and each limb affixed, it does look like a real evergreen. While we put up the tree, we watch a Christmas movie, one of my favorites being “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Fingerfoods abound, as do hundreds of tiny tissues as the ornaments are unwrapped.

What is your favorite Christmas song or album? I recently bough Unexpected Gifts and I love it! They are old favorites sung in a new way. Includes “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” (Bethany Dillon); “Do You Hear What I Hear” (Nichole Nordeman); “O Little Town of Bethlehem” (Steven Curtis Chapman); and “Silent Night” (Sanctus Real).

The Christmas collections of Mannheim Steamroller are always uplifting.

Seems to me snow and Christmas go together, and in Montana that’s almost a given! Tell us about your Christmas setting?

When we lived in the foothills of Lake Tahoe, we often had snow, even if only a little. Now that we live in Tennessee, snow is a rarity and when it does fall, it’s usually light. And very icy! Some Christmases are briskly cold with frost on the sleeping grass. Others are warm enough to go outside to throw a ball around.

It’s Christmas Eve… Describe your day and evening.

Christmas Eve consists of last minute present wrapping and pre-baking of our Christmas day meal. Later, we attend a Christmas mass at our church. When we return home, we usually stay up late playing Christmas music and watching a movie like “Polar Express.”

Confession time. Shop on line or at the mall?

More and more ON LINE! I do not like crowded malls.

Christmas grows more and more commercial every year. Setting the hustle and bustle aside, what does Christmas really mean to you?

The older I get, the more Christmas means “Jesus”–as it should, though at times I get so busy with something approaching a production (to make up for those lost Christmases, I suppose), that the decorations and food and presents are uppermost in my mind. And for this reason, our family strives to “simplify” with less emphasis on the presents and more emphasis on our blessings and the One who makes them possible.

It’s Christmas day… what’s for dinner? Do you make cookies or other traditional foods?

Ham! I simply cannot make a turkey without drying the poor thing out (honestly, with as much jaw action that goes on, one would think we had peanut butter in our mouths). Then there’s sweet potatoes, green apple and cranberry stuffing, yeast rolls, pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce… Pretty much a repeat of Thanksgiving, but it’s what we like.

Tell us about your favorite Christmas memory.

Though chaos reigned, one of my favorite Christmas memories is of the last time I was with my entire family for Christmas. My oldest son was 5 and his brother was toddling. It was a mess flying from the east to the west coast with two young children, but once we were all squished into my sister’s house–relatives abounding–it was wonderful. Yes, the wrapping paper went flying. Yes, it was noisy. Yes, it was exhausting. But it was blessed to be in the midst of so much love.

What are your plans for this season?

Unless my husband has something in the works that he hasn’t let me in on, we’ll be staying put and enjoying being home with each other–well, that’s the idea 🙂 As for shopping that can’t be done online, that gets done during the off hours when the boys are in school.

Any final thoughts on Christmas?

I am so grateful that I finally know and can celebrate the true meaning of Christmas. As commercial as we’ve allowed it to become, the easiest way to enjoy it is to simply close your eyes and thank God for sending his son to die for us.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Merry Christmas to you too, Tamara!

Today Rene Gutteridge here to share her thoughts on managing your time!

The Hard Work of Rest

I wouldn’t call myself a work-aholic. Maybe I am and don’t know it. Denial is the first sign of, well, everything bad. But I don’t work 24/7 and I don’t constantly think about work. So….why does it feel like I do?

I began examining these things recently. It seemed there were never enough hours in the day. Even while sacrificing sleep and Oprah, I couldn’t find enough time to do everything. Even while multi-tasking myself to death, I never felt anything was ever completed. By the time I finished the week’s laundry, a new week started and I was back to doing laundry again. It baffled me because I can be very plan-oriented when I want to be. For instance, when I know I’m about to enter into a long conversation with someone by phone, I think, “This’ll be the perfect time to sort laundry.”

But I realized not too long ago that I was getting to an almost frenzied state of multi-tasking. This occurred to me one day during a live radio interview. I was discussing my book and the interviewer was talking about how much she liked it. We were having a very pleasant conversation when suddenly I reached for my mouse to check my e-mail. As I scanned the messages, my mind came to a screeching halt. What am I doing?? Checking my e-mail during a live radio interview? Was I nuts?

Yes, I concluded. I am nuts. And that’s what started me down the path back to sanity. With God’s help, I began unlocking some interesting perspective. Why, for instance, no matter how hard I work, nothing ever gets done?

The Lord revealed to me that I have no beginning and end because I have no rest. Rest, with a capital R, started me on a journey. Before then, I would’ve said that yes, I get plenty of rest. I sit down and watch t.v. I read at night. I’ll drink Dr. Pepper at 3 p.m.

But what I realized is that my life was one, constant motion. Work began to be play and play became work. I enjoy writing a lot, so working on a Saturday or Sunday didn’t seem like work. But writing is my job and no matter how much I like it, I need to take a step away from it.
I also began to redefine rest. For some people, like my husband for instance, rest is sitting on a couch all day long and watching sporting event after sporting event. He can also sit on a couch and stare at a wall, perfectly content.

I can’t sit on the couch at all. Drives me nuts. I have to be doing something, like filing or sorting school work or paying bills or doing my stretches.

But what I realized is that rest is different for everyone. This weekend I spent two days cleaning out my garage and completely reorganizing it. This is rest to me. Why? Because it’s not mentally taxing. I spend all week working my brain to death, so when I can pour myself into something physical, that’s a nice break for me. For someone who works in a physically demanding job, spending the weekend working on a book is a nice break.

What became important to me is for things to start and end. I now take a lunch break, where I sit down for fifteen minutes away from my computer. Before I would eat lunch while checking my e-mail or doing some editing.
At 3:30 p.m, when I pick my kids up from school, work ends and doesn’t begin until the next morning.

I’ve committed myself to not work on the weekend. I don’t do any writing or editing, and do very limited e-mailing. Friday work ends. Monday work begins. A beginning and an end.
I don’t check my e-mail before bed time. Bed time is the beginning of nightly rest. In the morning, nightly rest ends and work begins.

For some people, this may seem very obvious, but for me, it comes about only by discipline. For years and years I have poured myself into writing, with great pleasure. But it took its toll, and now I must re-learn the basics of living a healthy, balanced life. And it’s no easy task for me. It’s the hard work of learning to rest again!

Rene Gutteridge

http://www.faithchicks.com/

Too Much Stuff…Amen! Kathyrn Porter’s book was written with me in mind… I’m sure of it! 🙂

In Too Much Stuff, Kathryn Porter challenges us to dig into the clutter of our homes and attack the attitudes and behaviors that allow this chaos to immobilize us. While giving practical steps on how to declutter our houses, she shows us how to declutter our hearts by realizing that God loves us through the messes we make and has a plan for us that doesn’t involve being confined to clutter.

Too Much Stuff includes:
Reflection questions within each chapter to help you assess the extent of your clutter .

Room-by-room de-cluttering techniques and practical advice on how to keep a clutter free, beautiful home.

Homebuilding sections to remind you to seek God and His word as your foundation
Prayer points in each chapter to help you focus on God throughout your de-cluttering journey

Meet the author:
Kathryn is a fourth generation clutterbug. As a full-time home manager, her passion is in creating a beautiful home for her family.

A recovering “stuffaholic,” Kathryn is a popular speaker who shares faith-based messages on how to keep a clean house. She earned her Master’s degree in Special Education at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. She now uses her teaching skills in community workshops to help the “chronically disorganized” transform their homes.

Kathryn is a founding member of Pike’s Peak Professional Organizers (PPPO). She is also a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) and the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization (NSGCD).

I recently got to interview Kathryn and here is what she had to say:

What prompted you to write this book?

The book came about because I had a message that I didn’t find in any of the other organizing books on the market. I also wanted to be a stay-at-home mom and was looking for a way to produce income while working from home.

Here’s the background: I was raised in a messy home and learned how to keep a messy home. When my husband and I learned we would become parents, I became determined to stop the cycle. In the past, I made excuses for my poor housekeeping, such as “I just need more storage space.” But when we moved into a bigger apartment and then a bigger home, I still didn’t have enough storage space. Now, we had to make room for baby.

I continued to read every organizing and housekeeping book I could get my hands on, but nothing worked long term. Finally, one of my friends gave me some sage advice: “You can’t keep everything and keep a clean house.” That statement changed my life. No one had told me that before, nor was it in any of the books I read. I figured others needed to hear this too. I pursued publication and within less than two years my book was on the market. It even went into a second printing only four months after its release.

Do you follow your own advice? Is your home de-cluttered?

I do my best to create a presentable home following the same advice I offer others. My husband and child enjoy our home because they don’t have to worry about meeting standards of perfection, but we still have specific expectations of clean.

Guests tell me they feel comfortable because they feel a sense of peace when they walk through the entryway. They know that people live here and that it isn’t a showcase home. There may be a stack of mail on the counter that needs sorting or toys on the floor in the TV room, but it’s not an issue. My friends appreciate that I’m realistic when it comes to housekeeping.

What role does faith play in keeping house?

I used to think that faith had nothing to do with keeping house, but now I know that’s wrong. Faith helps me find confidence with every new challenge and contentment when things don’t go as planned.

Our latest challenge is having a new puppy in the house. She’s not housetrained yet and it’s driving me crazy. She will get into anything and everything if she’s not constantly watched. My son also likes to take her dog food and leave little trails around the house like in Hanzel and Gretel. I am confident that “this too will pass” and we will get through this just as we did with previous challenges.

Both work and family keep me busy. Sometimes I have to sacrifice housekeeping for that family time and be content with the way the house looks. For instance, my son discovered his “inner artist.” When I bought him markers, the plan was for him to draw in a notebook, but he has taken to drawing on walls and doors. We currently have Mr. Potato Head on our back door, the itsy bitsy spider on our front door, and Larry Boy from Veggie Tales in our entryway. I haven’t cleaned them off yet because they are kind of cute and I’d like to take a picture of them before I erase them. I’m content to live with our own little version of Rembrandt and enjoy this season in life.

If you could give me just one piece of advice in regards to taking back control of my house, what would it be?

Give yourself permission to let go of some of the things you think you need. It comes down to a choice—we can keep everything we own or we can keep a clean house.

When we get too busy to clean or something happens in life which forces housekeeping to take a back seat to the priority at hand, having less stuff will make it easier to take back control. The less you have, the less you have to clean.

In terms of clutter, it seems that I’m always faced with new challenges, but the underlying mantra that helps me keep things under control is “You can’t keep everything and keep a clean house.”

How do you balance writing with your home and family life?

I do more speaking than writing these days, but balance is an important issue no matter the line of work.

Two things help me stay focused; a mission statement and calendar boundaries. If I have opportunities that don’t align with my mission, then it’s easy to say no. One of the keys to staying balanced is not saying yes to everything. When I’m faced with a lot of opportunities that align with my mission, I’ll then evaluate how they fit with my vision and other elements of my business plan. This helps me to choose between good and best.

My calendar boundaries are my guidelines for accepting work. Notice I said guidelines, not a rigid set of rules. For instance, Sunday is our family day so I mark off every Sunday on our calendar. This is our day of worship as a family and the one day that we don’t make individual plans. Monday is my day of margin. This is my day that when I wake up in the morning, I know I don’t have any commitments on the calendar. I still work, but I don’t schedule meetings, not even lunch dates. Sure, there are times I need to be flexible, but this gives me a structure with which to work.

What are the last five books you read?

I’m a non-fiction kind of girl and especially enjoy books on business and marketing. I read a lot of family and parenting books too. I’m not sure if I can remember exactly what my last five reads were, but here’s a list to the best of my recollection:

Nuts: The Southwest Airlines’ Crazy Recipe for Business and Personal Success
Sam Walton: Made in America
The Big Sister’s Guide to the World of Work: The Inside Rules Every Working Girl Must Know
Mom’s Needs, Dad’s Needs
Love and Respect

What has been the neatest part about being a published author?

The best part about being published is the people I get to meet. I’m not talking about the rich and famous—although I’ve met a few, but everyday Americans. I may meet them in person at a signing or through email after they visit my Web site. Sales figures tell me people are reading my book, but it’s those personal contacts that tell me my book touches people’s lives on a deep level and is making a difference. I love hearing from readers and learning their stories.

Kathryn’s website: http://www.clutterwise.com/
Buy the book

Today, I’m excited to have an interview with my friend, Tamera Alexander. Tamera’s first book just hit the store shelves and it’s a must read. I know you’ll enjoy getting to know her better!

First, Tammy, I want to start by saying, “Congratulations!” for making the CBA Bestseller’s List. How did you do it?

Honestly? My gut response is that I have absolutely no clue. I never set out to write a bestseller. I simply set out to write the best book I could.

That said, I’ve been completely blown away by the response to Rekindled. The emails I’m getting from readers (both men and women) have both humbled and encouraged me, big time.

So while I can’t answer your question directly, I’d like to share (for what it’s worth) some of what I’ve learned along the way. How’s that for a compromise? 😉

1) Write the book that God puts on your heart, while still listening to sage advice. Don’t worry about what’s selling and what’s not. By the time your book is done and ready to be subbed to a publisher/agent, chances are great that the trends will have already changed anyway.

When I first set out to write Rekindled, I was told repeatedly that historicals weren’t selling. That the historical market was “soft.” That I should write a women’s contemporary fiction first, and then pursue historical fiction should that venue become more open down the line.

I took that advice to heart and started writing a women’s contemporary fiction but … I kept getting pulled back to this historical story idea. So I turned back to the historical and wrote more on it until I had a first draft completed. Then I stopped and waited quietly (okay, well not so quietly…I was chatting with Him constantly about it!) before the Lord for an answer. And what He did was so surprising.

In 2004, Colleen Coble and Kris Billerbeck (American Christian Fiction Writers members) sponsored a contest through ACFW where they paid the way (out of their own pockets, mind you) for an unpublished writer to go to the Mount Hermon Christian Writer’s Conference in California.

I decided to sub my women’s contemporary first chapter (because everyone was saying that genre was selling). Long story short, Krista Stroever at Steeple Hill judged the final entries in the contest, and low and behold she chose my women’s contemporary fiction as the overall winner.

That MH conference turned out to be a pivotal point for me because that’s where I met my agent, Deidre Knight, who then sold Fountain Creek Chronicles (Rekindled, Revealed, Currently unnamed Book 3) historical series to Bethany House Publishers in the fall of 2004.

All that to say…I’ve learned to listen to “His voice” as well as to those wise people God has placed around me. If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have started on the women’s contemporary fiction when I did, and then I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to go to MH, and chances are I wouldn’t have met my agent. (At least not that weekend.)

I’m a firm believer in God’s perfect timing and how He orchestrates all the facets of our journey here. Every “No” that I’ve received along the way, and will undoubtedly still hear on occasion in the future, is really part of God’s final “Yes” once His perfect timing is reached. And this point leads us to #2. If you’re writing a story that’s really on your heart, with characters that you’re passionate about, it’s gonna show in the story itself.

2) Write a story that you’re passionate about. One that consumes your own thoughts and emotions, then do your best to get it down on paper. The story in Rekindled literally consumed me for about 3 or 4 months as I was writing it. I lived with those characters in ways that only other writers will understand. 😉 My husband still shakes his head when I try to explain that phenomenon.

3) Be willing to learn. From anyone. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. Realize that, and then open yourself up to be willing to look at what you can improve. Or maybe at what you’re just flat not getting right.

The first novel I wrote was a historical and I submitted it to Bethany House in mid-2000. After a couple of rewrites, they finally rejected it in 2002. One of their comments was that the story itself was good, but that the characterization and dialogue needed work, as well as the pacing. And they were right. So I made it my goal to study those three aspects of writing.

a) How to write real characters that live and breath and stay with you after a novel is done. (A book that I’ve read twice–some chapters more often–on characterization is Brandilyn Collins’ Getting Into Character. I highly recommend this book, and I tell ya…I’m not one much for studying books on characterization per se but this one is fantastic.)

b) I started listening to people talk around me. Not so much “what” they were chatting about, but “how” they spoke.

c) And then the pacing…I read book after book to help me learn about plot pacing. I read writer’s books certainly (a list of my favorites can be found on my website— http://www.tameraalexander.com/ —under FAQs), but I read a ton of books in general and if they didn’t grip me by chapter 1 — or chapter 2 most certainly (because that’s about all we get with a reader, and that’s if they’re patient) — I put them down and started another. Then the ones that did grip me, I dissected, and learned why they were gripping to me. Which leads me to point 4.

4) Dissect your favorite book. Read it at least twice more after you first read it and fell in love with it. Francine Rivers is a favorite of mine (along with the other 2,000,000 of us!) and I’ve done several of her books this way, read them numerous times. Study how the author swept you up in the action or emotion of the book. And for heaven’s sake, mark that novel up one page and down the other. 😉

Use sticky tabs to mark fantastic characterization, hooks, evocative sections that made you laugh or cry. Study the style of writing itself and explore why it made such a strong “connection” with you. Chances are you’ll discover “seeds” of your voice in there.

Those are excellent tips. Thanks so much! Now, I just have one more question: How do you balance the real life of family with the real life of writing?

Some days are better than others, for sure. Let’s take today, for example… I knew today would be a wild one (working on taxes, meeting with accountant, grocery shopping, Food Bank run for needy families, mailing out books for website contest, care package for daughter in college, getting ready for my son’s 17th bday tomorrow, emailing the evaluation forms for the annual women’s ministry conference I coordinated in Estes Park last weekend (such fun, btw!) , etc…), so therefore I gave myself “license” to not write one stinkin’ word today. LOL!

That may sound silly, but sometimes the guilt or pressure I feel “to get words on paper for that next deadline” can lead to a cycle of self-defeat. Especially if I’ve overcommitted which, admittedly, is something I have a tendency to do.

One thing I’ve learned about myself is that I’m “better” when I’m running. Meaning, I’m more productive when I have a busy schedule and keep a steady pace, both in family, writing and women’s ministry.

My husband is a great partner in this and he helps me to be accountable, and I…him. He and I meet for dinner out every few weeks with the express purpose of bringing our PDA’s and comparing notes and helping each other get back to “the balanced center” again regarding what we need to be focusing on. We’re due for another one of those nights soon because we’re both running. Assortment of things that help me to keep things balanced:

1. When you’re writing, turn off email. Turn off the email notifier. This is simple but I’m amazed that when I do this I get SO MUCH MORE done.

You may think, “Oh great! Suzi just wrote, I’ll bop over there real quick and say hi.” Then before you know it you’ve been “out of the writing pocket” for 10 minutes, but then it takes you another 5 -10 minutes to get BACK into the story flow. At least it does for me. I was really frightened to do this the first time because I was certain the world as I know it would come to a screeching halt. 😉 Surprisingly? It ran fine without me and I average a much higher word count per day this way. Come lunch, reward yourself and check email again! 😉

2. Have set times to write. That said, you must remember I don’t have small children at home. And my hat and my heart goes out to those of you who do. I recently babysat a younger woman’s daughter (13 months and adorable!! Makes me look forward to the “grandma Tammy” days…down the road!), and I got so little done that entire day.

If you have children, realize that those precious children are also a ministry, and that they are “books” that no one else can write. Only you.

I started writing “seriously” (with the goal of publication) in the late 90’s so my kids were about 10 and 12 then. They needed me, sure, but not like a toddler.

When I started writing, I was working outside the home at the time…and my normal time to write was 10:30 p.m. – 2:00 a.m. Then I’d take a notebook with me everywhere (soccer games/basketball/drama rehearsals) and journal about characters or plot ideas.

In the back of Rekindled I wrote an acknowledgment to our kids that said I appreciated them giving me the time and space to find out what I wanted to be once I grew up. I meant that sincerely. They made sacrifices so I could write, so now I’m working hard to make sure to give them a share in this part of the journey with me too.

3. Realize a messy house isn’t a mortal sin. I used to be SOOOO obsessive about having everything straight and clean. And while any therapist on the street might still be tempted to slap me with the OCD label , I’ve gotten much better at letting things go. No one’s going to take a step closer to Christ because my baseboards and toilets are clean. However, maybe…just maybe they might if I can get a story out there that shows His love and grace. Amazing how that helps me to walk by those dust bunnies. 😉

4. On the flip side of that…when the house simply gets to be too much, have a twenty minute crash cleaning session on occasion. We started those years ago, and my kids still hate them! LOL.

Just kidding. This is where everyone (everyone…no matter how young, everybody can do something to help) drops everything and comes and signs up for jobs that are listed in the kitchen. I’m not the only one who gets this house messy, and I shouldn’t be the only one who cleans it. 😉

5. When you’re writing and come across a historical fact that needs to be checked, write it down for later and highlight that part. Don’t stop writing. Keep the flow going.

6. Crit groups are a great way to encourage accountability. Knowing that your group subs chapters every Friday (or whenever) and you need to have something ready is a great impetus to get that writing done. Also, never underestimate how much you learn by critiquing someone else’s work. You’re giving, for certain, but you’re also getting so much back as you’re learning what works and what doesn’t.

7. Keep a spreadsheet that records your progress. I just went back yesterday and checked where I was with Revealed (book 2 that I recently turned in) throughout the writing process and that’s helping me to set my schedule for Book 3.

8. Have an errand day (like mine today) where you pile all your “running” into one day. That makes your other days so much more productive. I think we can all do lots of things, we just can’t do them all at once.

There are seasons of life, and if life and family responsibilities are keeping you from writing regularly right now, then I’d encourage you to not add the self-imposed stressor of having to make a huge daily word count. Speaking from experience, that can be devastating to your psyche and motivation, and can set you up for failure, and even depression (been there, done that).

Pray about where you are right now with your family, with your job, your ministries outside of writing. Can you write 100 words a day? What about 250? That’s roughly a page, and in a year you will have written an 80K word book, and that’s even with taking about a month of days off. ; )

And lastly, a book is never written by one person and Rekindled is no exception. I owe so much to my critique partners who read this mss in its early stages and gave invaluable feedback about what was working and what wasn’t, and then to Bethany House for my FABULOUS editors (Karen Schurrer and Charlene Patterson) who worked their magic on Rekindled and made it so much better than it was on my lonesome.

Thank you, Tamera for sharing your heart and your TIPS! For more information about Tamera, go to her website.