Words to live by or also known as anchor words. These are the words that act as your guide post, your pillars… I have several. The first was the phrase “do unto others as you would have them do to you.” I know that when I learned them in my youth, I didn’t know it was a scripture quote. Through the years, I’ve established different words, phrases or scriptures to help keep me from straying and chasing the shiny objects. This year, I’ve been busier with taking care of my parents. I’ll admit there are days the feeling of overwhelm raises within me. But, to keep myself from those feellings…

Your Children’s Book First Draft I know this topic won’t appeal to everyone who writes (or has an inner desire to write). But to those of you, including myself, in the Children’s book world I hope you can pick up on a few little lessons. Write Messy (the dirty draft) The first draft is messy and the first draft is not final. I get it…if you are writing a children’s book, you may be looking at only 500 words. That’s the industry standard for a Picture Book. 500 words. That’s all. That’s ALL? I can’t tell you how hard it is to get a story whittled down to 500 words.…

In my free group for writers, I post writing prompts. (Have you found us on Facebook yet?) A while back, some of the prompts centered on the topic of balance in your authoring life. I thought it was interesting to see the varied responses which proved the point that the definition of balance to one person, is different for everyone. There really is no “one size fits all” in the world of your authoring life.  Before reading the responses after each heading, I encourage you to answer the writing prompt for yourself first, then move on to read the responses Writing Prompt:  What does having a balanced authoring life mean…

The real truths of self-published authors. It sounds like a reality TV show, doesn’t it? I’ve only learned that real lesson during the past 12 months. It’s been 12 months of making a childhood and adulthood dream a reality. There was a season in my life that I dropped off the blogging train. In fact, I may have appeared to drop off the earth.  I’ve not been diligent to curate or write content here. But you know what? That’s okay! There’s one thing I’ve learned in my writing life – a writer must learn to go with the ebb and flow of life. In 2016 I decided it was time…

“Slow down.” “Just Breathe.” “It’s okay! There’s plenty of time.”  Those were some phrases moms and dads shouted to the kids on the field. It was during our grandson’s soccer game Sunday afternoon. It was a big game as it was the last of their season. His team had come a long way. From a young team of everyone for themselves and no teamwork to a group of kids on the field in a cohesive unit playing for the team. They didn’t have to win the game to qualify for the season playoffs. Unfortunately, they didn’t win. But, parents reminded their kids after the game to think about the overall…