That’s the slogan for the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers most excellent summer NovelRama , a writing event sponsored by RMFW’s IPAL (independently published member writers) and open to writers everywhere who need encouragement, inspiration, camaraderie, a challenge, and a chance at prizes…and all from the comfort of your own home where you can work in your sloppy sweatpants and slippers (or any other venue and attire of your choice). Need a boost (aka a kick in the pants) to produce a lot of words in a small amount of time? Think about that novel that just needs a few more chapters but has been neglected while you toddle off to lunch with friends, binge watch a new series on Netflix, or procrastinate by cleaning house (yes, I’ve been doing all three). Doesn’t have to be a novel though. Maybe you want to write three or four short stories. Churn out the first draft of a novella. Whatever works for you works for NovelRama. Even if you can only participate one day or a few hours,...

One of the biggest struggles that we have as authors is keeping focused on doing our job in a world that is full of distraction. And I’m talking about distractions like family, the day job, sleep, and the need to occasionally eat. Not having time to write (or procrastinating away that time) is one of the top problems that we writers have. I know that the busier I get, the harder it is for me to stick to my writing schedule. I’m sure the same goes for all of us. What’s a poor, busy writer to do? I’ve recently discovered a fabulous way to stay on task and to receive encouragement from other writers who are in the same boat as I am. You’ve heard of critique groups and writing partners, well, I recently joined an accountability group. We're all in this together photo by Liam Quinn via Flickr Commons So what’s an accountability group and how does that help the writing process? The accountability group that I belong to was organized as an off-shoot of another, much larger w...