Inspired by Life ... and Fiction

Novelists bound by the pen, sisterhood, & more

A Few Goals for 2018

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The first month of the new year is awfully close to being over already. Amazing, isn't it? But it isn't too late for me to share a few of my goals for this year. So here goes: Read Through the New Testament Three Times In 1997, I began the practice of reading through the entire Bible in odd-numbered years and reading through the New Testament multiple times in even-numbered years. Last year I … [Read more...]

One Essential Way to Boost Productivity

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Last year I hit a new record. I wrote five full-length novels. Three of the five were YA (Young Adult) books which are slightly shorter in length (and require less research) than my adult historicals. However, five is quite the accomplishment for me considering my busy schedule with five children and homeschooling. I’m often asked, “How do you do it?” I never have a perfect answer. Mostly … [Read more...]

Deadlines are my life lines and other musings

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Hello! I'm a bit giddy since I just hit SEND on two big projects for two different publishers. For some strange reason that I have not figured out, I usually work on more than one manuscript at a time. This is fun and scary and somewhere mid-through I stop and have a mini-panic attack and think "I will never make these deadlines". But I always do, somehow. Chocolate helps. Caffeine definitely … [Read more...]

10 Writing Tips for Staying Focused

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Are you list lover? I am.  I recently made a list of 10 truths that I've revisited recently in my own writing career in regards to staying focused and to "finishing the book!" But these are truths that also apply to life in general. Which of these 10 tips resonate with you?   Disconnect…and be disciplined about it— So easy to say, so hard to do.In my early years of writing there … [Read more...]

How To Take Care of Yourself

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That fight or flight thing gets us in trouble. Stress leads to burn-out. When we crash and burn it is hard to get up and get going again. Writers share war stories. But writers also share something else—burn-out that is related to writing. This is a different kind of stress, because we think too much. We process, analyze, dissect, put back together, and come up with ten ways to worry over a … [Read more...]

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