inspiration

, ,

Are You ThisClose and Scared to Keep Going?

Are you letting your fears keep you from taking the next step?

Seriously…

Are you one of the people who is [ThisClose] to the next step in your book but you’re stalled out?

  • You’re [ThisClose] to completing your first draft… and needing an editor.
  • You’re [ThisClose] to having those edits finalized… and needing to think about book layout.
  • You’re book layout is done… and you’re [ThisClose] to needing that cover design.

Or maybe you’re earlier in the process – and you know that your book is underway, but you really need some coaching. And without that outside help, you’ll stay [ThisClose] to taking the next step.

To me, this is an uncomfortable place. It feels like I’m descending a staircase and one foot is forever dangling in the air. But my supporting leg isn’t locked at the knee. Oh no, I’ve already started to bend that leg, shifting my weight from the top leg to the bottom and I’m frozen, muscles cramping, knee aching, teetering and reaching for the handrail – that’s always a little out of reach.

Keep Reading!

, ,

Daily Disciplines Add Up (Or How Kim Waddles to Her Folks’)

I’m sure you’ve heard of the Pareto Principle or the 80/20 rule. It boils down to 80% of the [fill in the blank] comes in 20% of the time/effort.

And let me tell you… pregnancy is feeling like it’s fitting that perfectly!

At 40 weeks, 6 days, I’m still walking 4-5 days a week. Just a mile from my house to my folks. Where I have breakfast and then dad drives me home. Wow do I love that drive! I love zipping past all the homes in his neighborhood, tucked safely into the front seat of his car, thinking about the laborious effort and time it took to WALK by them.

But there’s something I’ve realized…

No matter how slowly I’m walking (waddling!) these days… I still get to my folks.

When I started walking about 3 weeks ago, after the swimming pool closed for the season, it took me 17 minutes do walk the mile.

Yesterday… it was 38 minutes.

Same walk. Same me.

What would happen if you wrote every day for 15 minutes? #amwriting Click To Tweet

Very different speed.

But the results are really the same:

I feel better on the days I exercise than on the days I don’t.

And that 20% of my day makes me feel better!

The same is true for your writing. You feel better on the days you write – even for 15 minutes. Even for half a page. Walking this mile every day is my exercise mini-goal: just make it happen. Yes, I’m walking slower and slower. Yes, lately I’ve had to stop for a micro rest break at the top of my hill (and again in the shade before the last descend to my folks’ house) but I keep going.

Keep Reading!

, ,

Who’s Judging You?

It’s a human, Universal truth: we want to be liked. We want to be respected. We want to be appreciated.

We don’t want to be judged.

When you’re writing, when you’re putting your precious message on to paper, it’s natural to think about the person at the other end of the message. The one who will be receiving it. The one who’ll be reading it.

And you’ll wonder…

What does that person think?

  • What does she think of the message?
  • What does she think of the writing?
  • What does she *gasp* think of me?

At some point, your brain will start to think of all the ways that mythical, future reader will be judging you. Comparing you to… somebody. Dissecting your message. Evaluating your grammar. Eviscerating your typos or sloppy prose.

It’s a terrifying thought. To know that somebody is reading your words.

It’s often enough to keep fledgling writers from writing at all. Never mind that it’s impossible for somebody to peer over your shoulder and see your words as they’re appearing on your screen or in your notebook.

Projects stall out. Stories stay unwritten and messages unshared.

Or at the very least, you’ll write – but you won’t publish. In any way, shape, or form.

Who is judging your writing? Are you letting it stop you from writing? Click To Tweet

All to keep from being judged. To prevent anyone from forming an opinion about you.

Being judged is scary and unpleasant.

I’ve been judged. I’ve had bad Amazon reviews, mean emails, and negative comments left on my blogs.

Keep Reading!

, ,

Why I’m Getting Tired of Carrying Your Dream

I have a confession to make:

I feel like hiding today.

I don’t really want to show up in an article, in today’s newsletter.

It’s been a rough couple of… days? Weeks? I’m not even sure anymore. But it’s been rough.

And I’m tired of thinking of creative ways to send you inspiration for your writing when my own inspiration and creativity well is empty.

Actually… I take that back.

I am inspired, personally. I’ve got a couple of things that are lighting me up:

  • Final preparations for our son, arriving end of August.
  • Thinking about Scary & Silly Campfire Stories, Volume 4.
  • Planning the 2017 “Brew Your Book Telesummit”.
  • Getting ready to host one of my besties, Martha, this weekend.

But the idea, today, of facing the empty page and the blinking cursor bummed me out in a way that rarely happens. I’m not sure I wanted to talk to you today. It’s been feeling like my messages have been falling on deaf ears.

It’s been a little too much of feeling like I’m the one carrying your dream.

Keep Reading!

,

Are you living under a rock?

Are you living under a rock? Feeling out of touch with the world and with your writing?

Friend, me too!

Life lately has been happening Really Fast. (Yep, with capital letters and everything!)

During May, I’ve had NINE speaking engagements, TWELVE phone meetings with prospects, TWO launches, and…

Ben is leaving on Memorial Day for his summer job in Nebraska. We thought it was a July 1 start date but they need him early. (He’ll be spraying crops as a helicopter pilot. Super cool but he’ll be gone for two and a half months. *sniff*)

Oh… And we ordered new carpet so I’ve been busy moving, purging, and painting.

So yes, I feel like I’ve been living under a rock. The type of rock that comes crashing out of the sky to flatten me.

And in chatting with lots of friends, clients, prospects, and business owners, I know I’m not alone. Maybe it’s something in the air, maybe it’s the moon, or just too many dog farts in my office… So here are my top 5 tips to help you crawl out from under that rock – and get back to writing!

1. Acknowledge the rock
For weeks, I tried to ignore the fact that I was feeling stressed and overwhelmed. I thought if I just changed my attitude – focused on the positive – I’d feel better and be more in control. It took naming what I was feeling – and acknowledging why I was feeling that way – to turn the tide.

Take some time, maybe with a trusted friend, to acknowledge the rock and give it a name. It doesn’t solve the feelings but at least you’re not running away from them!

Keep Reading!

, , ,

Are You Focusing on the Right Things to Get Your Writing Done?

Years ago, when I was first starting my writing journey but long before I’d committed to it wholeheartedly, I read a quote that was something along the lines of:

022117-DeadPlantLet the houseplants die. The kids and husband make their own meals. The laundry can pile up. All you must concentrate on is your writing. Everything else is superfluous.

(Of course, I can’t remember the exact quote or who said it!)

But the message was clear:

Nothing is more important than writing.

And it always sat… poorly with me. Because, well, living is important. Meals to be made and eaten. Bills to be paid. Laundry to be washed and dried (even if folding and hanging can be optional).

Even the poor houseplants deserve a quick watering now and then.

After all, how long does all that take?

Keep Reading!

, ,

Has Your Idea Fountain Run Dry?

121316-ideafaucetIt happens to the best of us… You go to get a drink at the Idea Fountain only to find somebody didn’t pay the water bill!

Craptastic!

Or the fountain is running, but instead of clean, crisp water brimming with wonderful ideas, it’s a stagnant trickle filled with bug legs and slime… and only provides mediocre ideas.

Double Craptastic!

So what do you do?

(And it’s especially painful when you’re looking at a looming deadline, dying of thirst, and that fountain is so dry even the DUST has blown away!)

Try sipping from the idea fountain from a different direction!
Keep Reading!

«< 3 4 5 6 7 >»