I love summers in the southeastern United States. Picnics, baseball, sliding down slick rocks in the river. And there are always the parades. Kicking off with Memorial Day, it seems summer is packed with an endless supply of them. Summer in the south also brings storms. Most any afternoon, you can look to the horizon and see some sort of storm brewing. And, most likely, it’s right in the middle of your parade route. Just like parades and storms sort of go hand in hand, so do summers and your manuscript. Your best laid plans for hammering out word count can easily wind up a soggy mess. So what is a diligent author to do? Here are just a few things you could do: 1) Buy an umbrella. Ok, maybe […]
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Sizzling Summer Success, Part 3: Keep Your Story Hydrated
I’m sure you would never think of walking across the desert in June without taking water, right? Of course not. You know that water is critical to your survival. And, you have to put it back into your body at the same rate that you lose it or you’ll quickly find yourself in trouble. It’s the same with your story. You must infuse it with whatever keeps it alive and healthy. Just like running a marathon, there is a key to proper hydration of your story. Here are some things you need to remember: Write your story on a regular schedule. When I run, I drink every ten minutes. That way I don’t get dehydrated. Just as it is impossible to recover from dehydration while on the run, your story […]
Read the RestSizzling Summer Success, Part 2: Fan the Flame
Last week we talked about lighting the fire under your dream of becoming or remaining to be a published author. Hopefully, you’ve done that because you have to do the first step in order to make today’s post work for you. You have to fan the flame and you can’t do that if you haven’t lit a fire. So how can you do that? Here are a few things you can do in order to make your writing dream sizzle. Write, plan, outline, or think about your story every day. Yes, I do mean each and every day, including Sunday’s, holidays, vacation days and birthdays. That blows the breath of life across the embers of your soul and keeps the flame burning hot. Plan your entire week at the same […]
Read the RestMemorialize Your Accomplishments, Part 4: Celebrate Your Dreams
I know, that sounds almost counterintuitive but that’s not the case at all. Every person reading this has a dream. Congratulations. It is rare that anyone ever stumbles into success without having a dream. In fact, I’ve never heard of it. Sadly, there is an overwhelming number of people in the world who exist through each day without any sort of direction, goals or dreams. They wake up one day—usually when it’s too late—and discover they forgot to live life. They have nothing to show for it. But that’s not you. You have a dream and one of the greatest ways to memorialize your accomplishments is by celebrating them. It’s the achievement yet to come, something to look forward to and to strive for. Each step you take toward the […]
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