A Time for Thanksgiving

So many days pass where I forget how truly blessed I am. That's why it's important to take a step back this week and consider the daily blessings that can easily be taken for granted.

1. My faith grounds me during those days of struggle. I can't say I smile through the storm, but knowing God's grace and love carry me through even the worst of days comforts me.
2. My family offers me love, acceptance, and strength when I have convinced myself I can't continue on the path I've chosen.
3. My career as a real estate professional allows me to help dozens of people. Most have become great friends.
4. My career as a writer creates the opportunity to reach young people across the globe. 
5. The support of friends and colleagues helps to quell doubt. 

No matter where tomorrow finds you, I hope Thanksgiving is filled with a multitude of blessings. Please share something you are grateful for this year. We would love to hear about it.

Tips to Bust through Holiday Stress and Keep Writing

Look around you. The holiday season is already in full swing. There are gifts to buy, a house to decorate, guests to entertain, and a family to make memories with. Oh, and you still have to find time to dedicate to your writing career. Impossible? Not if you plan it right. Here are tips from time management experts.

Plan Ahead

Dr. Donald Wetmore, President of the Productivity Institute, says we know the holidays add more to our plate than just the regular routines. Plan ahead and schedule tasks and events with greater care. Then things get accomplished sooner, rather than later, and at a pace you can handle.

Delegate

With the holidays, it’s easy to try and do too much yourself. Wetmore suggests you decide which is more important to you, “do it” or “it gets done.” Even without a writing career to nurture, there isn’t enough time do everything. Admit you need help and seek out a few of Santa’s elves — also known as your spouse and/or children — to help with the cleaning, shopping, and decorating.

Get Enough Sleep

It’s tempting to wake up before the kids each morning and then put in a few hours after they’ve gone to bed each night, but when you burn the candles at both ends you are less productive and become more irritable. It's important to get the sleep you need. Just think of how much more creative you’ll be with a full night’s rest.

Keep it Simple

This isn’t the last holiday season you and your family will experience, so don’t feel like you have to do it all. Here are a few tips that Susie Michelle Cortright, Founder and Publisher of Momscape, and freelance writer Marlene Biondo had to offer their readers:

• Narrow down your Christmas card list
• Take advantage of free gift wrapping services
• Choose one gift theme for everyone on your list
• Limit parties or consider having a pre-holiday or post-holiday get together

What is one of my favorite tips? Make suppertime less complicated around the holidays by preparing casseroles or slow cooker meals. Leftovers help to make the next day's lunch easier, too. Less time in the kitchen can also mean more writing time.

The holidays should be a joyful and fun-filled time spent with family and friends. With careful planning, you can experience all the peace of the season and keep writing, too.

Cheryl C. Malandrinos is a freelance writer and editor. She is the author of four children’s books including, A Christmas Kindness, released by 4RV Publishing. A blogger and book reviewer, she lives in Massachusetts with her husband and two daughters. She also has a son who is married. Visit Cheryl online at http://ccmalandrinos.com and her children’s book blog at https://childrensandteensbookconnection.wordpress.com

Preparing to Write

Preparing to Write

       

         Both Jodi Thomas and Jerry Jenkins, best selling authors in different genres, say the first step in writing is to have a special place to write. Jodi called it a writing nest. Jerry stated, "establish your writing space." We may use a couch and coffee table in one corner of our living room or a small building in the back yard. We use what we have at the time, but we need to have a spot where we can write.

         Of course, the more comfortable and private the nest or space, the better. But, real writers can write almost anywhere, especially once they have trained themselves to write.

         As with any career or hobby, a writer needs writing tools. So, we need to collect our tools. Some of us handwrite our first draft and need piles of tablets and multiple pens and/or pencils. Not having supplies where we can find them is a disaster. Everyone then types the manuscript on a computer. For some of us, we use the computer from the first draft onward. A few pay someone else to do the typing.

         Jerry Jenkins states the publishing world runs on Microsoft Word, and it does. Therefore, writers need to have a MS Word program on their computers, whether a Mac or a PC. Some other processing programs claim to have interchangeable ability between its program and MS Word, which isn't always true. I know I have run into difficulties editing documents created in a different program, strange formatting and symbols rather than letters appear when changed to Word.

          One point to remember, even if someone else does the typing after the manuscript is handwritten, an author still needs a computer for research and for communicating with potential agents, editors, and publishers. A writer needs the best computer he/she can afford, with the most capacity and speed.

         Writers need to have everything that might be needed in addition to a desk or table: a stapler, paper clips, a ruler, a pencil holder, a sharpener, notepads, printing paper, paperweights, a tape dispenser, cork or bulletin board, clock, bookends, reference works, a space heater, a fan, a lamp, a beverage mug, napkins, tissues -- anything and everything that might interrupt working on the manuscript.

         One piece of advice Jerry gives and with which I totally agree is not to try to finish a whole book in one sitting. He says, "Break the project into small pieces." Although we know our project will be at least 80,000 words, for example, we shouldn't think we must write all 80,000 words in one day.

         Jodi advises setting a time limit each day for writing. She suggests beginning with twenty minutes, using a timer, each day, even if most writers will probably pass that time limit often. However, setting that limit gives writers an opportunity to take a small bite out of the large project every day.

         Prepare and organize the main points and ideas for your book. I could write a whole book about this part of writing, but authors need to research, organize, and use some form of compiling information.

         Finally, authors should set a goal, perhaps a deadline or number of words per day or number of pages in a week. I am using NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) as my goal to finish at least 50,000 words on my current book. I will write at least 2,000 - 5,,000 words each day to meet my goal. I used that to motivate myself to finish Burnt Offering, and the idea worked.


Sources:
         Jerry B. Jenkins https://blog.bookbaby.com/2017/12/20-step-plan-to-writing-a-book-part-1/
          Jodi Thomas, keynote speech, Ozark Creative Writers Conference, (October 12, 2019) 

Dust of Lies by G.K. Davenport Weaves Together Family Secrets and Lost Treasure

From the moment I first read this manuscript, I fell in love. While the lost Confederate gold has played a role in several novels, Dust of Lies by G.K. Davenport weaves this myth into a family story that will captivate the reader from the first page to the last.

On a hot, sultry day in the little town of Barber, Kay witnesses the demolition of the old jail. A reporter for the local newspaper, even the blistering heat of an Arkansas day won’t stop her from grabbing a story for the Gazette.

In the rubble, Kay discovers a haunting poem etched into a block of plaster. Written by a young man who died in his cell, his cry from the grave leads her on a quest that will take her from Arkansas to Texas and back through history to uncover the truth about his family and rumored Confederate treasure. With the truth covered by a dust of lies, Kay must determine who is friend and foe to survive.

The manuscript for Dust of Lies won second place in a fiction category at the OWFI (Oklahoma Writer’s Federation, Inc.) Conference. It has been my sincere pleasure to help G.K. fine-tune a fascinating story that lovers of southern fiction, family secrets, and history will enjoy. I won’t be surprised if many more awards follow the first.

Dust of Lies by G.K. Davenport is available for pre-order if you click here.

Debut author G.K Davenport is a member of the Oklahoma Writer’s Federation, Inc. (OWFI). Her manuscript won second place in her category at the OWFI Conference. She holds a degree in Chemistry from Oklahoma State University as well as a degree in Accounting from Northwestern Oklahoma State University. She is currently employed as a Chief Financial Officer of an automotive dealership and resides with her family in northwest Oklahoma.

You can visit G.K. online at www.gkdavenport.net and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/gkdavenportauthor

Cheryl C. Malandrinos is an author and editor for 4RV Publishing. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband and two daughters. She also has a son who is married.