You Might Need to Wake Up

by James L. Rubart, @jameslrubart

After I won the Christy Award Book of the Year, a Carol Award for speculative fiction, and the ACFW Mentor of the Year last year, my son Taylor came to me and said, “Uh, Dad, do you think maybe it’s time you do more than teach workshops at conferences?”

“What do you mean?”

“You got published, hit the bestseller list, and started winning awards in four years. It takes most novelists ten on average, right?”

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A New Perspective on Goal Setting

 by Susan May Warren

I woke up this morning to a layer of fresh grace on the evergreens, sparkling in the rising sun, Lamentations 2:23 in my mind. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.

Phew. Because with the relatives gone, the Christmas tree down, the ornaments packed away for next season, I’m sitting on my sofa looking out at the snow-laden trees and beyond, into the new year, realizing that 2016 passed with blink.

And with it, my goals. Every year I spend a few days putting together the action plans of My Book Therapy and Susan May Warren Fiction – what do I want to accomplish, how do I hope to touch lives?

Did you spend your weekend looking at last year, and figuring out what you want to do differently in 2017? Did you look at your strengths, areas of growth, of where you are in your dreams?

Maybe you picked one word for the New Year, or a verse for the year. Did you set up goals, projects and plans?

I can admit that sometimes my New Year planning feels a little I’m loading up my year with a pile of to-dos akin to Robert DeNiro’s character hauling around his load of penance weapons in The Mission. (Do you remember that 1986 movie? If not, it’s worth seeing again!)

I’ve been in the publishing industry for over a decade now, and I’ve discovered something that helps me put my sales and projects into perspective…none of it matters unless I am a better person because of my writing journey. If I turn into a frenetic, stressed-out, amazon-obsessed author, always comparing myself to others, I’ve missed out on the point. God doesn’t really care if I’m published, but he does use the journeys of our life to change us, draw us closer to Him.

And maybe that should be the point of goal-making.

So, instead of setting up objective goals about sales and NYT lists (although, yes, we all want that), I could plan from the inside out, with a different perspective:

1. What unexpected thing did I do this year that I loved? Often, our hidden strengths are found in doing something unexpected. For me, this year, it was my swimming and yoga classes. Although I wasn’t a regular, sneaking away for an hour to exercise recharged me. This year, I’ll make a better effort to invest in my “escape” time and let my mind recharge.

2. Where did I find deep contentment? Life seems to blow by faster every year, and I find I don’t have time to invest in things that leave me empty. But I’m often surprised at the things that “fill me up.” This year, my daughter had a baby, our first grandchild. I am CRAZY about being a grandmother. Sadly, two of my four amazing children live far away, so it makes me ever more committed to working hard so I can sneak away and get that quality time. It makes me determined to utilize my time well.

3. How did I expand my reach/skills this year, and what did I learn? For me, this was all about taking a look at my gifting – teaching and writing – and seeing if I could fine-tune this. I love helping people tell their story, and make an impact in their world, so I dove into teaching a series about Impactivity and designing a life that isn’t just productive but impactful. This next year I’ll be honing my skills at helping writers up their game through powerful storytelling.

I also took a look at my writing – and this year I went hybrid. I published a short ebook series (Montana Fire) designed to prep readers for my bigger series (Montana Rescue). My readers responded so well, this year I’m going to respond to a few reader requests and go back to Deep Haven and connect the Montana Fire and Deep Haven series with a few crossover book. What this taught me—listen to your reader base!!

4. Did I fall deeper in love with Jesus this year? I know that feels like a personal question, but it’s something, as a Christian, that matters to me. If not, I need to take a look at why – and is there a way I can pursue God more? This year, I picked a number of books to add to my quiet time reading. (Have you found, Jesus is Better than You Imagined yet?)

5. How did I measure success last year? This question has been the most important I consider as I look back onto 2016…and into 2017. Is success making more money? Upping my sales? Or maybe, success is something more intangible, but produced by asking the questions: Am I a better wife, friend, novelists, teacher…and most importantly lover of Jesus because of my choices this year? And, will I be with the plans and goals I’ve put together for 2017?

Not your typical planning list, I know, but perhaps, if you’re like me and a little tired of the SMART goals, and the Action Plan lists and feeling like you’ve just given yourself a load of luggage to haul around in 2017, try planning from the inside out, with the bigger picture in mind.

It just might set you free.

Have a blessed 2017!

TWEETABLES

A New Perspective on Goal Setting by Susan May Warren (Click to Tweet)

None of it matters unless I am a better person because of my writing journey~ Susan May Warren (Click to Tweet)

Not your typical planning list~ Susan May Warren (Click to Tweet)

Susan May Warren is owner of Novel Rocket and the founder of Novel.Academy. A Christy and RITA award-winning author of over fifty novels with Tyndale,Barbour, Steeple Hill, Summerside Press and Revell publishers, she's an eight-time Christy award finalist, a three-time RITA Finalist, and a multi-winner of theInspirational Readers Choice award and the ACFW Carol. A popular writing teacher at conferences around the nation, she's also the author of the popular writing method, The Story Equation. A full listing of her titles, reviews and awards can be found at: www.susanmaywarren.com. Contact her at:susan@mybooktherapy.com.

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Write a Book in 3 months in just 3 Hours a Day

by Susan May Warren

Looking back at 2016, did you finish that you'd planned to write? It may be too late to finish this year, but 2017 is full of possibilities. 2017 is the year you can get your book written, or maybe two, dare I say three? Because you can write a book in just three months!

Write a book in 3 months? In three hours a day? And have a family life, too? Bah!

You laugh, but seriously, it can be done. Now, I’m not saying it’s easy. But the fact is, with a little “nose to the grindstone” as my father used to say, it’s possible.

Here’s how:

First, we talked yesterday about the four keys to a successful writer’s life. If you’ve committed to the task, found your writing space, wheedled out time from your schedule and determined to keep a running game plan, then it’s time to talk strategy.

Let’s assume you have 12 weeks to write a 30 chapter book, with approximately 3000 words per chapter. That’s 1500 words per scene. That’s 6 pages per writing session, 180 minutes per scene. That’s thirty minutes a page.

Calm down. Breathe. Think about it. Can you sit down and write a blog in 30 minutes? If you already had the idea, already had the words brewing inside you? Probably most of you can. Maybe you can even do it faster than that, but we want to leave room for editing, and revisions, and notes.

And I know at least some of you do that NaNoMoWrite (I feel like I’m talking Morkish when I say that and I probably didn’t even get it right!) – that write a book in a month thing. So I think I’m being rather generous at 3 months.

Now, you’re going to pad in on either side with 2 weeks of character development, and 2 weeks for rewriting and editing, synopsis and query letter. So, yes, we’re talking 4 months, but really, the concentrated, “under the thought blanket” time (as my kids call it) is three months.

Pre Week 1: Research of idea and premise, preliminary characterization and rough brainstorming of plot.

Pre Week 2: Further Research, the cementing of characterization and synopsis writing. Sometimes, a chapter by chapter summary of the book helps at this time.

We’re going to spend the month of January talking a lot about what goes into prewriting. There are people who take months in prewriting, so I don’t count that as actual novel writing time. They live with their characters in their minds for a while, having conversations, trying on names and attire until they have them just so…and then they embark. During this time, do enough research to get your story plausible, and outline the major plot twists in the story. I always write a synopsis at this point, also, as a sort of guideline.

Then I write my first chapter. Here’s a hint: Often your first chapter isn’t one you’ll really use. It’s the “finding your character’s voice” chapter and really, it contains WAY too much backstory to use in the book. But it’s helpful as a warm up to the big event.

Week 1: Starting day. First, gather your research material around you (use lots of those big brightly colored paper clips so you can bookmark pages), and a notebook. Open up a new file and call it something terrific like Susie’s Super Suspense Book 1. (Okay, not using my name, of course, or, I suppose if you want to….) Then, open up a new doc and title it: Chapter 1.

At this point, you’re going to turn off your internal nasty editor, the one that tells you things are not grammatically correct, or perhaps you’re using a word no one has heard of before, and you’re just going to write. Splash the words onto the page. Ignore the red and green squigglies – just write. A cup of hot cocoa helps, and I’m a big fan of mood music. If you get to a point where you’ll need to do more research, put in something plausible, and denote it with an * — saying you’ll GET BACK TO IT. Don’t disrupt your writing flow. If you have a word you hate, yet can’t find the right one – Asterik it! If you can’t remember a character’s name, or eye color – Asterik it! When you’re done with your ms, you’ll read through each chapter, do a search for the Asterik’s and change it when you’re mind isn’t cluttered with story.

But what if I come up with a great story thread half way through the scene? Should I stop and go back and fix it?

NO! did you hear me? NO! Make an…what? ASTERIK! Start writing the story from this point on with your new story thread. THEN, make a note in your notebook to go back and add in or tweak that story thread AFTER you’ve finished the book. Seriously. It’s your story. No one will read it until it’s done. It’s in YOUR brain. So you don’t have to have to add everything in until you’re ready.

And right now you want to…just keep writing, just keep writing…

Once you’ve finished your scene, SAVE. And then open a new doc, label it CHAPTER 2 (or maybe Chapter 1, scene 2), and make a few notes about what you’d like to open with next scene, or things you want to accomplish. OR, you can do this in the notebook I talked about yesterday. The strategy is to jump start your mind the next time you sit down.

Now:

Close the computer.
Stand up.
Stretch.
Dance through the house shouting, “I finished Chapter 1! I finished Chapter 1!

Go to bed, and pray for words for Chapter 2.

If you want, you can spend the weekends doing more research, or going back and rereading any points you wanted to refine.

Keep doing this for the next 12 weeks. You’ll be surprised at how disciplined you get, and how fast the words flow out. And how refreshing it feels to say, I’ll get back to all those asterisk later!

When you write the final chapter, take a weekend break. (Take your poor family out for dinner, for Pete’s sake!)

You’ll spend the NEXT two weeks adding in those threads, re-writing, fixing all the green and red squigglies and doing a rough edit, then a thorough edit, and then a polish. Okay, it might take you longer than 2 weeks. But the key is…the story is DONE. It’s out of your brain.

And you can say…hey, I wrote a book in 3 months!

Don't let another year slip through your fingers! Let 2017 be the year you finished that book - maybe even two!

TWEETABLES

Write a Book in 3 months in just 3 Hours a Day by Susan May Warren (Click to Tweet)

Did you get that book written that you'd planned to write?~ Susan May Warren (Click to Tweet)

Just keep writing, just keep writing…Susan May Warren (Click to Tweet)


Susan May Warren is owner of Novel Rocket and the founder of Novel.Academy. A Christy and RITA award-winning author of over fifty novels with Tyndale,Barbour, Steeple Hill, Summerside Press and Revell publishers, she's an eight-time Christy award finalist, a three-time RITA Finalist, and a multi-winner of theInspirational Readers Choice award and the ACFW Carol. A popular writing teacher at conferences around the nation, she's also the author of the popular writing method, The Story Equation. A full listing of her titles, reviews and awards can be found at: www.susanmaywarren.com. Contact her at:susan@mybooktherapy.com.

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Setting S.M.A.R.T. Goals

by Lisa Jordan

I don’t make resolutions. Since 2009, I’ve chosen one word as a way of focusing on my prayers, lists, calendar, and commitments. I’ve found making resolutions causes too much pressure and guilt when I’m unable to achieve them. However, I do set goals that help me to plan ahead.

Fitzhugh Dodson said, “Without goals, and plans to read them, you are like a ship that has set sail with no destination.”

With that in mind, I’ve learned about setting S.M.A.R.T. goals—Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely.

Specific—your goal needs to be specific. Think about what you want to accomplish. Why does your goal matter? What’s at stake? Who is involved in helping you achieve this goal? Where do you need to be for the goal to be achieved? What’s holding you back?

In 2017, I’d like to write a novella collection in addition to my Love Inspired novels. It matters because the additional income helps to meet our household and my writing budgets. If I don’t write, then I have less income for writers conferences, etc. My writing team is involved in the process. And in order to meet this goal, my fingers need to be on the keyboard. So to make my goal more specific, I could say my goal is to write 1500 words a day, six days a week.

So how will I measure my goal?

Measurable—your specific goal needs to be measurable, meaning you need a way to track your progress. If you’re setting a writing goal, you can track word count progress on a spreadsheet, even going as far as showing the number of words written against the number of words still needed for the rough draft. If you achieve your daily word count, you know you’re on track to meeting your goal.

Attainable—your goal needs to be attainable, meaning it needs to fit within your abilities and lifestyle. When setting goals, it’s great to stretch yourself, but know your limits. With my demanding day job and other obligations, I couldn’t commit to writing more than 2 Love Inspired novels a year if I want to write novellas as well. If your overall goal feels intimidating, set mini goals for yourself. If having a completed manuscript by the end of 2017 feels overwhelming, consider something more attainable like two chapters a month.

Realistic—your goal needs to be realistic. Writing a book a month isn’t realistic to me, even though I can dream about having the skills to make it happen. Writing one book in three months is more realistic and manageable for me. As I continue to hone my craft and improve as a writer, I’ll be able to produce stronger fast drafts, which will enable me to complete novels sooner rather than later. Writing 1500 words a day is a realistic goal and doesn’t feel overwhelming for me to achieve. Keep your expectations in check so you’re not setting yourself up for failure.

Timely—your goals need to be timely. Without a commitment to meet your goal, then you could lose focus and motivation. Plus, learning to write with deadlines prepares you for the publishing world. Set a timetable with a start date and an ending date. You can even break your timetable into smaller increments to help you succeed rather than stress.

Life happens. Be flexible. Take stock of your goals periodically throughout the year and see if you need to adjust your goals...and your attitude. Keep expectations in check. Be willing to ask for help and to accept help from others. Delegate tasks in order to give yourself more time to work toward meeting your goals. By maintaining S.M.A.R.T. goals, you can reward yourself when you reach them by your deadline.  

TWEETABLES

Setting S.M.A.R.T. Goals by Lisa Jordan (Click to Tweet)

S.M.A.R.T. goals—Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely~ Lisa Jordan (Click to Tweet)

You can reward yourself when you reach them by your deadline~ Lisa Jordan (Click to Tweet)

Heart, home and faith have always been important to Lisa Jordan, so writing stories with those elements come naturally. She is an award-winning author for Love Inspired, writing contemporary Christian romances that promise hope and happily ever after. Represented by Rachelle Gardner of Books & Such Literary Management, Lisa also serves on the My Book Therapy leadership team. Happily married to her own real-life hero for almost thirty years, Lisa and her husband have two grown sons. When she isn't writing, Lisa enjoys family time, kayaking, good books, crafting with friends and binging on Netflix. Learn more about her at lisajordanbooks.com.

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8 Things That Will Derail Your Writing Goals the Fastest

Edie Melson is the author of numerous books, as well as a freelance writer and editor. Her blog, The Write Conversation, reaches thousands each month. She’s the co-director of the Blue Ridge Mountains ChristianWriters Conference and the Social Media Mentor at My Book Therapy. She’s also the Military Family Blogger at Guideposts. Com, Social Media Director for SouthernWriters Magazine and the Senior Editor for NovelRocket.com. Connect with her on Twitter and Facebook.

8 Things That Will Derail Your Writing Goals the Fastest

Through the years I’ve discovered something about writing that I never expected. I always believed that to be a successful writer you had to  learn to write better, be diligent about networking and keep submitting. Those are all important, but it turns out the biggest things that affect my writing happen in my head.

By allowing all sorts of negative thoughts, emotions and habits creep into my mind I was defeating myself before I put the first word on the page. I’d like to share 8 things that will derail your writing goals the fastest, and invite you to learn from my mistakes.

1. Looking Back, instead of ahead. It’s easy to get lost in the past, rehearsing old mistakes instead of looking ahead. You can’t make much forward progress if you spend all your time looking in the rearview mirror.

2. Believing You’re not Good Enough. I have trouble looking at what I do and being satisfied. This is a business where you need to have confidence in yourself and in your calling to be a writer.

3. Comparing Yourself to Others. There are always going to be people out there who are more talented, who got the break you hoped for, who are further ahead on the writing journey. Learn right now that THEY are none of your concern. You need to focus on you, not others.

4. Spending Time Talking about Writing Instead of Writing. This is a tough one. It’s so much easier to spend time with writers, to read writing books and blogs, even attend writing events than it is to put your butt in the chair and pound out words.

5. Setting Goals with Strings Attached. Set your goals and go for them all out. Don’t set limits or conditions.

6. Negative Self Talk. I am way harder on myself than others are. I can rattle off about a million reasons that I’m not good enough, won’t be able to succeed, shouldn’t have the chances that come my way. I have to work hard not to defeat myself before I get started.

7. Not Returning to Writing after a Break. There are times when we have to step away from writing. The reasons can range from illness, to family commitments, to all sorts of things. And truthfully the longer I’m away from regular writing time, the harder it is to come back. But even that’s no excuse for putting in the time I need to move forward with my writing goals.

8. Expecting Talent to Get You Where You Want to Be. Raw talent is a good thing. BUT it’s not the best thing. The best things are discipline and an unwillingness to give up. Trust me, with writing, good things come to those who persevere.

These are some of the things that have kept me from moving forward with my writing career. I’ve learned—often the hard way—to avoid them at all cost. How about you? What has kept you from writing success? Be sure to leave your thoughts in the section below.

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Arriving at the Destination

By Marcia Lee Laycock

"You have arrived at your destination." The woman's voice, with a slight British inflection, sounded confident and convincing. But I looked around and sighed. I was on a bridge over the Bow River in Calgary, Alberta. There was no church in sight. A lot of water but no church. I reached the other side and the lovely voice told me she was "recalculating." Then she told me to make a U-turn and go back to the spot where she thought I should be. I pulled over to re-enter the address into the GPS. Again.

I knew approximately where I was going, but this part of the city was new to me so I had decided to rely on the GPS to get me there. I had been going in circles for some time and now had less than thirty minutes to arrive at the venue for the writer's conference where I was scheduled to teach a workshop. Once again the voice coming out of the electronic device took me in a full circle and I once again despaired of finding the place in time. One more try, I thought, then I'll have to call someone for directions.

"Come on, Lucy" I whispered. (Yes, I'd given her a name). "Get it right this time."

As I started to type in the address again I realized I had been making a spelling error. When I corrected it the GPS gave me two options for the same street in different quadrants of the city. Fortunately I knew which one I wanted. I tapped the Go key and Lucy confidently guided me directly to the church. I arrived with about ten minutes to spare, glad I had given myself lots of time.

As I drove home later (with Lucy guiding me around the rush hour traffic), I thought about that small spelling mistake and how it had resulted in so much confusion. It reminded me of that old saying, "garbage in, garbage out." Then I smiled as I realized the irony. Part of my presentation that day had been about clarity, about avoiding rabbit trails and keeping our writing focused. Good things to remember as writers of faith.

If we are not careful about the writing we produce we cannot expect it to have the results we desire. If we are not communicating clearly, we cannot expect our readers to come away with new insight and find their way to our Lord.

Attention to detail is essential and valuing excellence will reap benefits. So how do we achieve these goals? By taking the time to get the training we need, diligently learning our craft, paying attention to the experts who have gone before us, and above all, seeking God’s wisdom as we go.

“For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He holds success in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones” (Proverbs 2:6-8). 
****

Marcia Lee Laycock writes from central Alberta Canada where she is a pastor's wife and mother of three adult daughters. She was the winner of The Best New Canadian Christian Author Award for her novel, One Smooth Stone. The sequel, A Tumbled Stone was short listed in The Word Awards. Marcia also has two devotional books in print and has contributed to several anthologies. Her work has been endorsed by Sigmund Brouwer, Janette Oke, Phil Callaway and Mark Buchanan.

Abundant Rain, an ebook devotional for writers can be downloaded on Smashwords or on Amazon. It is also now available in Journal format on Amazon. 

Marcia's most recent release is the first book in a fantasy series, The Ambassadors

Visit Marcia’s Website

Sign up to receive her devotional column, The Spur

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IS THIS HOME?

by Cynthia Ruchti

It's a question I often ask when sitting in a plane with someone who made it clear they wanted to be left alone during the flight. Headphones firmly planted. Nose just a little closer than necessary to the book they're reading. Eyes closed before the plane taxis away from the jetway.

I've been that person, when the reason for the trip exhausted me or thoughts swirling in my brain needed time to untangle themselves.

The trip passes to the roar of the engines and other conversations.

When the plane lands, the passenger beside me disengages from headphones or book or sleep and we prepare to collect our belongings and ourselves.

"Is this home for you? Or are you going on to someplace else?"

The last time I asked those questions, the answer opened wide the doors of conversation. A young woman. Home at last after a many-legged flight from the Philippines where she'd met her father's girlfriend. She'd stayed in a plush hotel in Manila for part of the trip, and journeyed into the mountains to the remote village where the girlfriend's multi-generational family lived in a simple hut.

Home. Home at last. My fellow traveler had ridden a truck, a bus, island hopped in a small plane for the next leg of her journey on an even smaller plane before her transcontinental flights that eventually led her to seat 26B.

"Is this home, or are you headed someplace else?" 

This project. Is it home, or layover in the journey? This place physically, emotionally, spiritually? Have I landed here or am I still moving, still looking ahead to a goal not yet realized?

Is this all the prayerful I'll ever be? All the loving, forgiving? Have I plateaued right here in the realm of maturity? Have I acted as if I'm already home, with no more miles to log? No more destinations in mind? No more assignments to fulfill?

I'm not home yet.

So, I "reach out for the things ahead of me. The goal I pursue is the prize of God's upward call in Christ Jesus," Philippians 3:14 CEB.

Is this--where you are right now--home for you? Or are you headed someplace else?



Cynthia Ruchti tells stories hemmed in hope. She's anticipating the May 2015 release of her fourth novel with Abingdon Press--As Waters Gone By. She serves as the professional relations liaison for American Christian Fiction Writers. You can learn more about others of her fourteen books or her speaking events for women at www.cynthiaruchti.com.

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