England, October 7: Today was a rainy day in the Dales, but lovely! I drank lots of tea today, I worked for hours close to the fireplace (cozy). Then I walked and managed to get lost (and Google maps on my phone wouldn’t work). But I made it to another village and got my […]
Kristi Holl
ENGLAND RESEARCH TRIP: October 6
England, Oct. 6: I had an easy day today: started with God and my tea in the window seat, cooked some farm fresh eggs, walked a couple of hours (BIG STEEP hills, and later rain and a rainbow), made friends with some sheep, wrote a new chapter, did some research, napped away the jet lag, […]
ENGLAND RESEARCH TRIP: October 5
England, Oct. 5: I’m tired, but happy! I only slept a couple hours on the overnight flight, but I’m “settled in Settle” now. I unpacked, then did some shopping for essentials, and had a cuppa tea in the window seat overlooking my tiny “secret garden.” Then I strolled around the village, and hiked to the […]
A Writer’s Perfect Week
It has been a writer’s perfect week. I wish I had a word for it! A perfect storm (of which I’ve experienced many over the years) is a “particularly bad state of affairs, arising from a number of negative factors,” according to the dictionary. But this week was the opposite: a writer’s perfect week. While […]
Attack of Writer’s Decidophopia
It’s not so easy to put first things first. It’s not even easy to decide what should be first! I want to write first in my day because so many writer bios of famous successful authors say that’s what they do. They stumble to their offices first thing, in their slippers and carrying coffee, to […]
Books for Discouraged or Overwhelmed Writers
During the summer, when trying to stay above the health issues and do things with my grandkids and keep up with a few strict publishing deadlines, I read two books that were especially helpful. I found I was fighting on a regular basis two discouraging ideas. One: what had happened to my “dream” novel, the […]
Health Update: All is Well!
I appreciate SO VERY MUCH all the emails over the past few months inquiring about my health. It was a long summer, but all is well now. In lieu of personal responses, I hope you’ll accept this post. Each question and concern and prayer meant the world to me. So, in summary: My eyes… […]
Warning: Two Toxic Areas in Your Writing Life
I am fascinated by brain books for the layman, and seeing how that information applies to writers. (See three book links at the end.) Information from the new brain research–if actually applied–could change your writing life. One book, Who Switched Off Your Brain?, deals with what the author calls “the Dirty Dozen” areas in our lives […]
Compartmentalize to End Procrastination . . . But How?
When re-reading Getting It Done by Andrew J. DuBrin, PH.D., I came to a section on dealing with procrastination. One piece of advice is something I’d like your feedback on. I have struggled to compartmentalize as he suggested. Except for occasional months here or there, I haven’t acquired that skill. The author said you can […]
Uncluttered Office Equals Focused Mind
Are you ever overwhelmed by clutter (even good clutter)? This will be primarily a photo sharing blog post—and you can skip to the last half of the post if you want to—but I want to share what prompted my office decluttering project. I have a small 10-foot X 10-foot office which holds a treadmill/desk, a […]