Image by Andre Chinn We tend to make yearly resolutions or goals, setting our desires down in a tidy list that acts like a straight jacket, holding us to the promises of January 1st no matter what happens in February or July or November. Failure to meet one or more of those goals in a timely manner leads to discouragement and perhaps giving up on the resolution for the rest of the year. That’s the part that doesn’t make sense: for the rest of the year . If we break our lists down into monthly achievable segments which can be revisited and revised as we go, we have a better chance of success. It often takes only a month to feel overwhelmed by the number of tasks we’ve put on our To Do lists, the word count goals we didn’t achieve even in month one, or the weight we swore we’d lose but did not even come close. That’s when it’s time to begin again. If we mess up in January, we can do better in February. Rewrite the goals or resolutions. Aim for achievable and specific. Learn h...

Writers Anonymous : There are not enough cemeteries to hold all the dead characters I left behind by not finishing stories. "Old Graveyard" by Evgeni Dinev from FreeDigitalPhotos.net Every writer I know has a folder. What's IN this folder? Every note, every picture, every first line, every character sketch, every idea for a story you've ever had. I have one. It's quite large. It's called WRITING. Inside the folder, you will find other folders that represent various "states" of projects. I have a NOVELS folder that contains novels that are completed, novels with outlines, novels with ideas. I have a SHORT STORIES folder that contains the same elements as my NOVELS folder. I have a STORY IDEAS folder that is full to the brim of ideas. I even have a NEW STORY IDEAS folder because of course those ideas are different from the those in the STORY IDEAS folder. I have a SNIPPETS folder that contains hundreds of notes, each note has a line that I h...

2013 was a pretty good year. I learned quite a lot. I'm looking forward to 2014. Here are five of the things I've learned. # 1: I can't go to a shoe store and buy shoes for my son. Long ago, I gave up on finding shoes for my son in a shoe store. About a month ago, I ordered two pairs of shoes for him online. And ended up sending both back. Today I made him sit down at my computer and decide which shoe on the list he wanted. You might be wondering why I didn't just take him to a shoe store and let him try on shoes. Having him try on shoes is pert near impossible. He wears a size 15, narrow. Ever come across a selection of size 15s in your local shoe store? I haven't. #2: If you're tall, people assume you're big. Yeah, I'm talking about my son again. He's tall, but not big. He is, in fact, quite slim. If I find jeans that fit his height, they're too big in the waist. Most of his jeans are 32X38. That doesn't sound too big. Exce...

Like many writers, I juggle a lot of commitments: writing organization leadership, team blogging, speaking engagements, writing deadlines, conferences and networking events. I have to pay quarterly taxes and monthly bills and juggle editing clients. Remember birthdays. And, every now and then, I squeeze in routine health appointments. It’s a lot to keep track of, and it’s getting worse now with the increased workload demanded in advance of and surrounding my book release. In years past, Staples has met my organizing needs. I adore office supply stores and the entire notion of getting organized—Sharpies in one of each color, please, and same with those Post-Its! I’ve looked forward with glee to purchasing and setting up my planner each year. This year, I always pledge, I’ll stay on top of things! My chiropractor will testify that I've struggled with my system. How many times has a call from his office had to pull me from my fictive dream, twenty minutes past ...