Being Out of Balance Stifles Creativity
January 12, 2022 by Denise M. Colby in category The Writing Journey by Denise Colby tagged as Denise M. Colby, Word of the year, writers goals, writerslifeDo you ever feel out of balance in your life? Where you find your days lopsided in your to-do’s, and you aren’t able to dig into your well to do what you really want to do? Have you found yourself with the desire to create stuffed inside but no way to come out? Am I the only one who needed a mental and creative break at the end of last year?
When I say creative break, what I really mean is giving my brain a chance to catch up with itself. Taking the time to organize thoughts, goals, wins, and losses, and get out of the funk I found myself in.
Time to conduct a Sacred Rest Assessment
Susan May Warren added the Sacred Rest assessment in her 2022 Brilliant Writer Planner (that I love!). It’s a way to determine the rest you are lacking (and what you are not). It’s all about balance. And she organizes our needs into these buckets:
- Physical
- Emotional
- Creative
- Spirutal
- Social
- Sensory
- Mental.
When you find your life is out of harmony
For me, my mental and creative areas are sorely lacking. And taking time over the last two weeks to purge through some to-do piles, evaulate my year, and write out thoughts, made me realize I don’t schedule this type of downtime for my brain enough.
And that’s exactly what the assesment is supposed to do.
Help you figure out areas you should focus on this year.
For me, I like time to let my mind catch up with my inputs. Let my mind wander. With my scheduled life, I don’t get a lot of time to do that. Yet when I did recently, I found the creative juice I’ve been missing.
Ideas began to pop into my thoughts. Energy to dive in and get to work.
Finding Symmetry
And that what was so exciting, because WORK is my word for 2022. Something I chose because God isn’t finished with me yet. And I am not finished with this writing journey.
He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it. Philippians 1:6.
Noun: exertion or effort directed to produce or accomplish something
Dreams don’t work, unless you do.
My manuscript is a work in progress
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart….Colossions 3:24-25
Which is exactly what I plan to do for 2022.
I process my thoughts by writing. I explore what’s in my brain by writing. And what I found myself not doing at the end of 2021 was writing.
It takes work to write. And I’m now ready to get to work.
Figuring Out Balance
In her Sacred Rest Assessment, Susie May asks three questions at the end
1. What areas do you need to focus more on this year?
2. Why do you feel you are depleted in those particular areas?
3. What activities can you pursue to refresh your life with Sacred Rest?
And just like that I figured out how and what to schedule (what I need to bring balance back to my life) into my week.
How about you? Are you in balance with your Sacred Rest?
You may want to schedule some time to assess to help you bring yourself back into balance this year and together, maybe we can help each other do just that!
Denise M. Colby loves to write words that encourage, enrich, & engage. Every year, she chooses a word to focus on. Her word in 2021 was Wisdom. If you’d like to see more of Denise’s posts on this blog, you can check out her archives.
The Secret Babies of Dachau by Jina Bacarr
January 11, 2022 by Jina Bacarr in category Holocaust, Jina’s Book Chat, Paris, Paris novels, perfume, Reading, Writing tagged as historical fiction, Holocaust, Paris, WomensFiction, World War 2(The video above takes place on a train in 1944 Germany — my heroine, Angeline, is very pregnant and on her way back to Auschwitz with two SS guards…)
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Nothing is more heartbreaking than holding a newborn baby in your arms and it doesn’t cry.
The anguish, holding your breath while you wait for that first sign of life, the tears that fall upon your cheeks as you pray for that lovely, beautiful cry.
Then… a burst from the baby’s lungs and a heart-swelling joy overcomes you when the infant’s wail fills the air like an angels’ choir.
But what if you’re pregnant and imprisoned in a concentration camp in Southern Germany? A place where American soldiers were so devastated by the horror they found when they neared the camp, they wept when they liberated Dachau on April 29, 1945.
They discovered more than thirty railroad cars filled with dead bodies.
What if you were imprisoned there? Would you have lived? The odds were against you if you were a soon-to-be-mother.
It’s well documented the chances for survival for pregnant women and their babies in the camps was practically zero. They were immediately singled out for execution when they arrived.
It pains me to write this, but Heinrich Himmler, head of the SS, was determined to exterminate all Jewish children (he proclaimed his policy in a secret speech in Poland on October 6, 1943).
As many as 1.5 million Jewish children died in the Holocaust.
Thanks to survivors’ stories and seven Jewish mothers from Hungary, we have the miracle of the Dachau babies. How for reasons never made clear, these mothers were allowed to live and brought to a sub-camp of Dachau in the waning days of the war known as Kaufering I.
And how under horrific conditions (no hot water, no instruments for the prisoner/doctor), they delivered seven healthy babies from December 1944 to April 1945 when fate stepped in and dealt them a cruel blow… I shan’t spoil it for you, but I promise you, I followed these events as they happened in ‘The Lost Girl in Paris’.
My heroine, Angéline de Cadieux, was there and very pregnant.
How did this Frenchwoman born Roma find herself in a concentration camp with Hungarian mothers-to-be? It was a challenge to orchestrate the series of events that bring her there… counting the days of her pregnancy in Paris, being honest to the unsanitary, degrading conditions found in the camps, the treatment of Roma by the Third Reich. Few have written about the Roma Holocaust and how anywhere from 220,000 to half a million Romani people died at the hands of the Nazis.
I admit it was a tremendous undertaking bringing all this to my story. I spent many sleepless nights trying to bring justice to these unbelievable women who not only survived the camps, but had the courage to tell their stories.
I have tried to tell one woman’s story albeit fiction, but everything Angéline de Cadieux experiences in the camps is based on truth.
So, my friends, cry as I did, become angry these events ever happened, but most of all, never forget.
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THE LOST GIRL IN PARIS is now available across all platforms.
Available in e-book, print and audio
The Lost Girl in Paris universal link: https://books2read.com/u/3LyrdN
It’s the story of woman who survived both Auschwitz and Dachau, but never spoke about it until she meets a young reporter named Emma Keane who touches a nerve in her that now is the time to speak about those times. Her memories are as vivid to this eighty-year-old as if she were the seventeen-year-old girl who ran away to Paris to become a parfumier after losing her mother to the Nazi war machine.
I wrote THE LOST GIRL IN PARIS to pay tribute to the strong women who survived the Holocaust and willingly shared their stories with us. The horror of Nazi brutality, the loss of family, their dignity… but also about their strength just to ‘survive another day’.
And the strong bonds with their sisters-in-arms they formed with fellow prisoners. How they learned to trust each other and stood up against the enemy to save each other.
We must never forget.
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Here is a second short excerpt from THE LOST GIRL IN PARIS:
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The LOST GIRL IN PARIS is part of the ‘Get Inspired’ promotion in UK, AU, and NZ
New Zealand: https://www.kobo.com/nz/en/ebook/the-lost-girl-in-paris-1
UK: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/the-lost-girl-in-paris-1
AU: https://www.kobo.com/au/en/ebook/the-lost-girl-in-paris-1
Featured Author: Bethlehem Writers Group, LLC
January 7, 2022 by Bethlehem Writers Group in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Contests, Featured Author of the Month tagged as #TheBWG, Bethlehem Writers Group, Bethlehem Writers Roundtable Short Story Award, Fur Feathers and Scales, new release, Short Story Award, Th 2022 Short Story Award
About Bethlehem Writers Group, LLC
The Bethlehem Writers Group, LLC (BWG), is a community of mutually supportive fiction and nonfiction authors based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The members are as different from each other as their stories. BWG also publishes quality fiction through their online literary journal, Bethlehem Writers Roundtable, and their award-winning A Sweet, Funny, and Strange Anthology series.
Each anthology has an overall theme—broadly interpreted—but includes a variety of genres. All but the first anthology include stories from the winner(s) of The Bethlehem Writers Short Story Award.
Their first anthology, A Christmas Sampler: Sweet, Funny, and Strange Holiday Tales (2009), won two Next Generation Indie Book Awards: Best Anthology and Best Short Fiction.
Fur, Feathers, and Scales: Sweet, Funny, and Strange Animal Tales is the latest in A Sweet, Funny, and Strange Anthology. BWG is proud to report this title also won two Next Generation Indie Book Awards: Best e-Book and Best Cover Design (Fiction).
About Fur, Feathers and Scales
The award-winning “Sweet, Funny, and Strange” series of anthologies from the Bethlehem Writers Group, continues with this collection of twenty-five tales about real, legendary, or imaginary animals. From snakes to ducks to unicorns, there are tales here to match any mood, provide a chuckle, or warm a heart.
Among our tales, Peter Barbour recounts a legend in “Why Bats Live in Caves,” Jerome W. McFadden asks the question of what animal to choose to be in “Recycled,” A. E. Decker shares an appreciation of cephalopods in “Tipping Point,” Ralph Hieb imagines an unconventional pet in “Buttons,” and Diane Sismour, in “Critter,” reveals that mules are not the only equines that can have a stubborn streak.
In addition, we are happy to present the winning stories from the 20 I 9 and 2020 Bethlehem Writers Roundtable Short Story Awards. Angela Albertson, our 20I9 winner, shares her heartfelt “Oranges and Roses,” and our 2020 winner, Brett Wolff, gives us a good laugh in “Hubbard Has a Fancy Bra.”
This eclectic assemblage of stories includes terrific tales from beloved BWG authors including Courtney Annicchiarico, Jeff Baird, Jodi Bogert, Marianne H. Donley, DT Krippene, Emily P. W. Murphy, Christopher D. Ochs, Dianna Sinovic, Kidd Wadsworth, Paul Weidknecht, Carol L. Wright, and Will Wright.
So cuddle up with your favorite pet-real or imaginary. No matter. You’ll find just the right story to share.
Next up for BWG
BWG is working on their Seventh anthology, An Element of Mystery: Sweet, Funny, and Strange Tales of Intrigue.
In connection with this anthology, they are hosting The Bethlehem Writers 2022 Short Story Award.
The 2022 Short Story Award will open on January 1, 2022. The theme will be An Element of Mystery (broadly interpreted).
BWG is seeking never-published short stories of 2,000 words or fewer. First Place will receive $250 and publication in their upcoming anthology: An Element of Mystery: Sweet, Funny, and Strange Tales of Intrigue or in Bethlehem Writers Roundtable.
The final judge of the 2022 Short Story Award is New York Times best-selling author Kate Carlisle
Books from Bethlehem Writers Group, LLC
The Bethlehem Writers Group, LLC (BWG), founded in 2006, is a community of mutually supportive, fiction and nonfiction authors based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The members are as different from each other as their stories, spanning a range of genres including: children’s, fantasy, humor, inspiration, literary, memoir, mystery, paranormal, romance, science fiction, women’s fiction, and young adult.
See the schedule of meetings and events here.
New Year…New Goals
January 5, 2022 by Tracy Reed in category WritingHappy New Year! I hope you had a wonderful holiday season.
I have a very important question for you. Are you ready to make this year your best writing year? I hope you answered, yes. If so, then I challenge you to take this year long journey with me.
I spent a good portion of last year getting schooled in self-publishing. I have been a self-published author since December 2014, but there are some things I didn’t know. Like some authors, I have yet to reach all of my writing goals. Today, I’m going out on a limb announcing this is the year I work on making some those goals a reality. I know it sounds like a resolution, but it isn’t. It’s a statement of faith and a declaration that I’m ready to take my writing to the next level.
So what are the self-publishing goals I’m going to attack this year?
Get my letters (make a list)…I know it really doesn’t matter to readers if their favorite author is a bestseller, but it means a lot to the author. At least it does to me. In the past, I didn’t care if I ever made a list or had the title of Best Selling Author. Over the course of time I realized, I did. It’s not an ego thing, it’s a validation thing. I know I’m not Nora Roberts, Terry McMillian, E L James or Sylvia Day, but it sure would be nice to be known as a best seller like them.
Triple my income…This is a big one. I’m not sharing numbers yet. We’ll see how this year long challenge ends before discussing numbers. All I’ll say on the matter is if I fulfill this goal, it will be the first time I’ve earned that much money. Last year I did two major conferences, gained a lot of knowledge and some tools on how to push my sales and exposure up a few levels. This is the year I put all of those tools to work.
Triple my mailing list…This is almost as daunting as tripling my income. I have a decent mailing list of 3200+. However, I want to push that number up. A larger list will allow me or make me more attractive for swaps with other writers. I was surprised how many authors are open to swaps, but size matters and I can understand. You don’t want your swaps to be one sided. Swaps will allow me to increase my list. It will also allow give me some clout when seeking out anthologies to join. Bringing more readers to the table makes me an asset and not a liability.
Master Facebook ads…I did Skye Warren’s Facebook ads class last year and saw significant growth in my sales. I’m doing it again this year and expect the results to be even better. Here’s what I learned about Facebook ads…the system is constantly changing so you always need a refresher. I did Mark Dawson’s class, which was good. However, Skye’s class was a lot easier to understand. Within the first month I saw results. I was surprised how much could be achieved with five dollars a day. This year, I’m going to kick it up a few dollars and see what happens. FYI, this will also help with me tripling my income goal.
Update Covers…This is one of those areas I think is constantly changing. I am about to embark on the third iteration of covers for my series A Southern Gentleman. Why you ask? Because I didn’t know manchest equaled or implied sex. I thought you used a shirtless guy to sell a book. I didn’t realize it implied a certain heat level. Book one in the series is sex free. Book two is a completely different story.
I learned a little about covers which has caused me to review all of my books and see if the covers match the heat content. Unfortunately there are a few that need to be changed. The other reason for the cover change is, Facebook. They don’t like manchest…it’s too hot. I hear you saying, “how is that possible when manchest covers are constantly popping up in my Facebook feed.” Simple answer…the bot. The Facebook bot randomly picks and chooses covers it likes. Unfortunately for me, the bot doesn’t like my manchest cover making it impossible to use in ads. I found a work around, but I don’t want to have to use it constantly. The real solution is new covers. To prove their dislike for my cover, they shut my account down for a moment. Lesson learned. So now I’m working on new covers with a clothed man. The other thing I learned about covers in my genres (African American Contemporary and Billionaire Romance) is a woman only cover doesn’t sell as well as a man only or a couple cover.
Learn how to write a sellable blurb…What is it about authors and blurbs? We can write a hundred thousand word book, but can’t sum it up in three short lines. I’m not going to stress about this. I was introduced to a service that could help me. But first I really need to figure this out.
Use Ingram Spark…I did a little experiment last year. I ordered a set of proofs from Ingram Spark and a set from KDP. I loved the proofs from Ingram. Everything I heard about Ingram was true, the quality was far superior. I loved the books. As much as I want to use Ingram exclusively, I can’t. KDP doesn’t really like to share, so here’s my work around. Set up ebook, print, large print and hardcover at KDP and likewise at Ingram. This move with will allow expanded distribution. More outlets…more money. Another step towards that increased income goal. Another added pro to use Ingram, the proofs don’t have that ugly proof strip on the cover like KDP.
Direct Distribution…I’m a wide author, but I use a third party for Nook and some international outlets. I just found out doing this, has kept me from participating in Nook promotions. Going direct will allow me to participate in some NOOK promos. More promotions equals more exposure…more sales…increased income.
Increase my prices…I was at a conference a few months ago and this came up. I was a little hesitant about doing this, because some of my books are less than ten thousand words. So in a bold move…except for a couple of preorders, I made all of my books the same price $4.99. Amazon still hasn’t updated all of the prices, but I’ve seen sales at the other outlets with the new prices. This move taught me to get out of my way.
I have a few more goals, but these are the ones I’m going to focus on this year. What about you? What are your author goals for the year?
Editing Your Novel Together
January 3, 2022 by Janet Elizabeth Lynn and Will Zeilinger in category Partners in Crime by Janet Elizabeth Lynn & Will Zeilinger tagged as editing, Outlines, Plotting, writing partners
The Post Outline
by E.J. Williams
(Janet Elizabeth Lynn and Will Zeilinger)
Writing together as E. J. Williams, husband and wife, Will Zeilinger and Janet Elizabeth Lynn author the INTERNATIONAL CRIME FILES, a hardboiled/thriller detective series that takes the reader to 1960s southern California, then on to international locales.
Even after you’ve written the best book in the world, the pesky task of editing rears its ugly head! To those of you who love editing…our hats are off to you. We have come up with several suggestions that may help ease the editing process, whether you are editing your book for your editor, publisher, agent, or yourself.
The post outline is the first thing we do once we feel the book is complete. By going back through the manuscript (ignoring the pre outline if you do one) helps to see where some of the holes or gaps in the sub and main plot line are. After a week break, we sit down and take portions to re-outline, i.e. one of us works the even chapters the other the odd chapters. Issues with the manuscript seem to jump out at you with this. We then meet and figure out how to work out each problem. With both of us working on it, it goes real fast.
Though this mind-numbing task is necessary, it can bring about a great deal of pride when the process is complete. As a couple who write together, we have found these tips work well whether you are working alone or with someone.
And yes…we are still married!
Website: Janet Elizabeth Lynn
Website: Will Zeilinger
Some of Janet’s and Will’s Novels
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SHOULD HAVE PLAYED POKER
Truth and integrity aren’t always what we’ve been taught to believe, and one could die making that discovery.
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THE TOWNSBRIDGE’S SERIES
If you love Regency romance, you’ll simply adore the Townsbridges…
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