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...

It is said that April showers bring May flowers. For us writers, sometimes our inevitable writing droughts seek those showers so that we can bring forth the blooms of new writing. Back in March, I wrote a BRP post titled " 3 Ways to Reclaim Your Passion for Writing ." This month, I want to add three more suggestions on how you can grow your writing. Find Time Stealers in Your Daily Life We all have them--those activities that steal time from our daily lives but that offer no real rewards. Examples? Almost EVERYTHING that has to do with electronics, especially when we don't take time to break away from those activities. Spending too much time on Facebook or any form of social media, whether on the computer or on our smartphones and tablets. Checking email every five minutes. Keeping notifications for all apps on so that we're distracted by every ding, chirp, and bell. Take an honest look at a 24-hour chunk of your life and write down how much time you spend doi...

The end is here. Another year has come and gone. Like me, do you feel you could use another month to catch up with everything undone from 2014? That’s one reason Gurutej Khalsa’s book, The 13th Month: How To Get An Extra 29 Days Each Year , caught my attention. I first learned of this author through my yoga practice – I’ve enjoyed her video, Chakra Yoga , for many years.  So I knew the foundation of the book would be rooted in yoga practice.  However, it’s written in a decidedly accessible and conversational voice, and nothing in the suggestions would keep the average person from applying the techniques.  As I read each chapter, a handful of ideas resonated with me, and these are the ones I’ll apply or ramp up in the new year. Let’s begin with the areas of food and exercise. I've long had a healthy diet, eating mostly organic (and often homegrown or locally acquired) foods. I exercise daily, in some combination of walking (3-5 miles), weight lifting, ...

During the twelve years I’ve been preparing to publish my fiction, I have not spent every waking hour mooning over what publication may hold in my future. Instead, around the theme of writing, I created a rich, fulfilling life that has fed me in so many ways. Too many ways, it would seem, to fit my current circumstance. I have arrived at the threshold of my dream; all is about to unfold. photo credit:  DavidTurnbull  via  photopin   cc And I can’t find the time to write. Oops. Now that I finally have a book deal, I haven’t been able to maintain focus on my work-in-progress for more than a day or two at a time for months now. Editing jobs I've promised in two weeks are stretching to three+. I’m not keeping up. I live in fear of letting someone—especially myself—down. Here were the components of my life pre-book deal. All are still in full swing, in demand, and not ready to release their grip on my life: writing developmental editing for c...