Because my toddler granddaughter is with me this week, I’ve been reviewing some “time management” ideas. Usually, with grandkids, I let everything go while they’re here. But this week I have deadlines and need to work. So it’s time to re-learn some lessons! I started with my own blog to see what has worked for […]
Kristi Holl
Are You a "How-To" Junkie…Like Me?
One of my daughters once said that I single-handedly kept the how-to genre alive. It could be true. Writing how-to books alone fill six book cases in my office. There are how-to’s of every writerly variety. How to plot. How to write dialogue. How to survive rejection. How to find your muse. How to write […]
To Change or Not to Change: That is the Question
During the conference I attended last week, I must have asked thirty people how their editor and agent “pitching” appointments went. Many of the writers were told to go ahead and submit their full manuscripts. Joy! Even more, though, had flaws and mistakes pointed out in their summaries and synopses…things that needed to change before […]
Boundaries Are My Friends!
I returned last night from an exhausting and EXHILARATING writer’s conference in Dallas. One session I attended was called “Live Free. Write Free.” I came away from that session knowing what I had to do. Respecting Property Lines You can read books about setting boundaries. You can preach boundary setting to others. (I do that […]
Weakened Mind Anxiety: the Cure (Part 3)
First we talked about the anxiety stirred up when it’s time to start a writing project. Then we talked about four causes of this “weakened mind anxiety,” a term coined by Eric Maisel in Fearless Creating. The next obvious question is: what do we do about it? As it turns out, we do many things […]
Weakened Mind Anxiety (Part 2)
Last week we talked about “weakened mind anxiety” and what that feels like. Symptoms that rear their ugly heads just before you try to write include fatigue, foggy brain, depression and an urge to cry/sleep/watch TV/surf the ‘Net. (from Fearless Creating by Eric Maisel) What’s the Problem? Before we talk about solutions, I think it […]
Weakened Mind Anxiety (Part 1)
For the past week, I’ve been suffering from “weakened mind anxiety,” according to Eric Miasel’s Fearless Creating. It’s the anxiety that comes when you begin a piece of work. It’s not the anxiety that comes from choosing an idea. It’s not anxiety from developing characters and plot. It’s not anxiety produced by setting some deadlines. […]
Staying Afloat in ToughTimes
Recent events–the economic recession plus all the changes in publishing–have left many writers in a quandary. Is being a writer still a viable option to earn a living? To quell the rising panic, it helps me to remember that things have always gone in cycles. This isn’t the first time of upheaval, and it’s likely […]
Fiction: Truth vs. Facts
About ten years ago, someone said to me, “You write fiction because you can’t handle the real world.” I was stunned by the accusation. For one thing, my fictional characters were very real to me! And I tackled real situations in my books–often based on actual events. From my childhood on, I’d learned a lot […]
50 Free E-Books for Your Reading Pleasure
Boy, are you going to have fun this weekend! I’m only providing one resource this time. You’ll soon see why. This free gift will keep all of us happily reading for many weeks! Read below: What’s your favorite kind of book? We’ve created a giant flowchart to help you browse the top 50 free eBooks […]