Monday, October 28, 2013

In the Trenches with Rebecca Carey Lyles

Recently, I was asked the question most published writers are eventually asked: What is your writing schedule? The person who asked understood that in order to finish a book and render it publishable, authors must structure their days and discipline themselves to stick with a project to the end.

My response was something like, “I normally get up around seven or eight and eat breakfast while I do my Bible study lesson. Then I go to my computer to check email and Facebook messages, update bookkeeping, etc. If all goes well, I’ll be done with correspondence by eleven or twelve ­– just in time for lunch. So, of course, I take a break.

In the afternoon, I respond to interview questions and write posts for bloggers who've offered to promote my latest book. I might even write something for one of my own blogs. Because I edit for other writers, I’ll likely work on someone else’s material for several hours. Eventually, the desk is cleared, and I can work on my own book in progress. Sounds great, but by then, it’s probably time to take my afternoon walk and start dinner. Following dinner, who knows whether or not I can talk my sore fingers into returning to the keyboard.

That’s my “no big rush” schedule; however, when I’m in a crunch to get an article out or have several projects going at once, I tend to sit down at the computer a little earlier and stay a bit longer, occasionally into the early morning hours. To be honest, I’d like to be more structured, but I also appreciate the freedom to volunteer for a variety of entities, to attend a daytime women’s Bible study group, and to meet with my crit group or join friends for lunch.

A helpful habit I've developed over the years is to edit the previous day’s chapter or section, not only to clean it up (fixes are always needed!) but to remind myself where I’m at in the story and to “prime the pump” before I tackle the next scene.

One more thought –I never respond to requests on Facebook to play games, even with my bestest friends. I hear online games can really drain the hourglass…

How about you? Do you have daily writing routine? Or do you tackle projects as inspiration hits, or maybe as deadlines demand?


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Drawing continues until Sunday, November 3.

Bio

Rebecca Carey Lyles grew up in Wyoming, the setting for her Kate Neilson novels. She currently lives with her husband in Idaho, where she serves as an editor and a mentor for aspiring authors and as a coach for women transitioning from prison to life on “the outside.”

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Twitter: @BeckyLyles
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Latest Book


Winds of Freedom (Kate Neilson Novel #2), sequel to award-winning Winds of Wyoming

Winter storms blast across the Whispering Pines Guest Ranch, and a cold wind blows through Kate Neilson’s soul. Despite her pain, Kate’s well-being takes a backseat to the needs of loved ones: her best friend, who’s been ensnared by evil; her failing great-aunt, whose dementia care keeps Kate guessing; and Laura and Mike Duncan, whose ranch and livelihood are threatened by a land-grabbing neighbor.

Order on Amazon -- Winds of Freedom (A Kate Neilson Novel)


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Tuesday, October 8, 2013

What Isn't Quantifiable

Reposted from www.authorlisaphillips.blogspot.com

Recently I read an agency blog where one of the agents put out a call for submissions of a particular genre. What caught my eye was the need to include your number of Twitter followers, Facebook friends and blog page views.

Now I understand the need for social media influence and for agents to know you're active and you have the potential to grow your contacts into a tribe of influencers. That's not where I'm going.

I want to talk about that point we all reach (hello, brand new blog readers) where we realize no one is listening to us. We have to prove ourselves in this new world of branding and platforms and no one except those people with a million followers seem to know what that is, or how on earth to go about it.

We get mired in the NUMBERS. As though our worth is something that can be quantified. As though this:

or this:


or this:


will tell you anything about my worth as a human being.

So if that's you today, I'd like to share these verses with you:
For You did form my inward parts; You did knit me together in my mother’s womb. I will confess and praise You for You are fearful and wonderful and for the awful wonder of my birth! Wonderful are Your works, and that my inner self knows right well. My frame was not hidden from You when I was being formed in secret [and] intricately and curiously wrought [as if embroidered with various colors] in the depths of the earth [a region of darkness and mystery]. Your eyes saw my unformed substance, and in Your book all the days [of my life] were written before ever they took shape, when as yet there was none of them.How precious and weighty also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I could count them, they would be more in number than the sand. When I awoke, [could I count to the end] I would still be with You.
(From Psalm 139)

I chose the amplified version, because I love how it likens the way we are made in our mother's womb to embroidery. On the back side the threads will look like a mass of tangles, cut-off ends and mis-matched threads, but on the front side the Maker is creating something beautiful. 

That's your worth. And mine.



Lisa Phillips is a wife, mom and author. She writes inspirational romantic suspense. Her first book, Double Agent will be released from Harlequin's Love Inspired Suspense in 2014. Find out more at www.authorlisaphillips.com

Monday, October 7, 2013

Interview with Julie Gorman

1.      Julie as a writing and speaking coach what tips would you offer to a frustrated writer?

KEEP ON PRESSING ON! God has a plan for you and will make room for the gift He has entrusted you. Don’t despise small beginnings. Don’t weigh your success by another’s. Be authentic. Be diligent to do the next right thing. The most important thing you can do is to be present and embrace the process. Don’t hold on to selfish agendas…instead…develop meaningful relationships. Learn as much as you can from others and look for every way possible to promote others instead of yourself!

2.      Julie, as a writer you've chosen to expose some pretty real and raw details from your life? What causes you to write so transparently?

MMMM. That’s a great question. I write transparently and encourage my writing clients to do the same because I’m convinced people need to hear about our failures and mistakes and how God rescued us. Because when people read how far God went to rescue us, they will find hope that He will do the same for them.

3.      What compelled you to write What I Wish My Mother Had Told Me about Men?

I wrote What I Wish… to expose and shatter the misconceptions and lies that women inscribe on their heart about men that sabotage their relationship. It’s written to inspire hope, healing, and wholeness to our life!

4.      What are some of the unrealistic expectations women sometimes entertain?

Here are ten lies the book exposes:
1  “A Man Will Validate My Worth”
2  “A Man Will Rescue Me”
3  “A Man Will Never Let Me Down”
4  “Men Only Want One Thing”
5  “I Can Change Him”
6  “I Can Control Him”
7  “It’s All His Fault”
8  “All Men Are Perverts”
9  “Men Are the Enemy”
10  “A Man Will Satisfy the Longings of My Soul”

5.      Of those common lies is there a central struggle women identify with most frequently?

MMMM. Another great question. What I’ve discovered we all have what I call a GOD-VACUUM within us. We crave to fill the place of emptiness. Like men, women search for significance, they long for a place of belonging…and in our quest we sometimes try to get a man to meet that need. We long for companionship, connection. We long for security. We want to love and to be loved. And sometimes in our desperation we make compromises or concessions. Sometimes we settle for what’s in front of us afraid a better option may not come along…
Psalm 62:9—“Lowborn men are but a breath, the highborn are but a lie; if weighed on a balance, they are nothing; together they are only a breath.”

Take the lowest to the highest, the least to the greatest, the poorest to the richest, and what do you get? Only a breath. To appreciate God’s creation is life-giving; to worship God’s creation destroys.
Though I doubt any woman cognitively expects a man to be like Jesus Christ—perfect in every way—I’m equally convinced that many of us carry a few unrealistic expectations. The breakdown in our relationships occurs when our joy hinges on expectations exceeding a man’s ability to be perfect

6.      Julie, your book is packed with practical and spiritual how-to's but one of my favorite parts is your inclusion entitled – A Letter From the Father. Why did you include this section?

Oh, I am so glad you asked that. Transformation in the hands of God connects, liberates, and empowers us to love and to be loved as God intended. Our process of transformation begins with the knowledge that God has forgiven us. It develops as we embrace the truth that God loves us unconditionally.

So, as I wrote the book, I wanted to draw out God’s love from scripture to bring out truths that God had already promised and spoken to us in His Word—the Bible…But I wanted to write it personally as if God were whispering it to us individually.

“I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness. I will build you up again and you will be rebuilt.” Jeremiah 31:3-4


Julie Gorman is the founder of For Your Inspiration (FYI). She is certified by Dr. John C. Maxwell as an executive coach, trainer, and speaker, and graduated Summa Cum Laude from Central Bible College in Springfield, MO. Julie a prolific speaker, blogger and writer, makes her home in southern Florida with her husband, Greg, and their three children.

Visit Julie’s website and hear her radio program at juliegorman.com.