Would You Write Through the Pain?

Would you find the time to write if you were a single parent and the sole caregiver for a disabled daughter and an elderly father?   What if you also experienced constant pain from fibromyalgia? Deborah Malone, author of Death in Dahlonega did.  Monday evening I attended the Christian Author's Guild meeting and heard her story.  It's a pretty amazing one.  It's also a pretty inspiring one. She lives in Rome Georgia and like many writers, part of her story involves writing through the pain.  She even has a formula for writing success: Inspiration + Persistence = Success.  She describes her writing as not only a passion but also an escape from her many responsibilities.  She remembers in those early days that her writing would often  be interrupted by  her daughter calling her from one end of the house and her father calling from the other end at the same moment. It took her four years to write her first novel and then numerous rejections before she found a publisher.  Some people would have given up.  Some people would have figured it wasn't meant to be.  Some people would have said I'll do it later when I have the time.  Not Deborah.  She said, "I heard if you write a page a day, you'd have a book in a year, so I figured I could do that."  Inspiration + Persistence = Success.

I can't tell you how many people I talk to who tell me that they always wanted to write a book.  They have a great story, a great idea, an unusual experience to share.  But they just don't have the time.  They just don't have the know how.  They just don't have ... whatever.  Next time someone tells me that, I"m going to tell them to talk to Deborah.  She didn't have any of those things either.  She had a lot of responsibilities.  She had a lot of pain.  She didn't know how to do it.  But she did it anyway.  She took a few classes in creative writing.  She read some inspirational books on writing.  She joined some organizations on writing.   She wrote a page a day and today she is a published author who is, "Having the time of my life!" and telling other wannabe authors her story.  How did she do it?  Inspiration + Persistence = Success.

If she can do it, what about you?  Are you willing to forget the excuses?  Are you willing to persist despite the obstacles?  Are you willing to write through the pain?

It's HERE!! The Call: Perfect Dream, Imperfect Life Is Published!

December 25th I posted the beginning of writing my newest book, The Call:  Perfect Dream, Imperfect Life.  I got off to a bit of a rocky start but still managed to get a considerable amount of words down on the page in the first week.  By the end of January, I had finished or so I thought.  I began working on getting the cover designed, the layout and proofreading done and getting reviews and a forward written by author and mentor friends.  It was a huge undertaking, bigger than any book I've published before and my goal for completion was March 24th.  I was a week later than I had hoped but yesterday, March 30th, I picked up my first printing of the book.  What a thrill to be done!  What excitement to have the finished product in hand!

Just as I learned a lot from putting on the Called Woman Conference, I've learned a lot from publishing a book.  Here's a few things and yes, some of them are repeats from the conference:

1. It always takes twice as long and costs three times as much as you anticipated.  Is this a life lesson or what?  While I tried hard to meet my original schedule, some things are hard to anticipate like how long it will take someone else to write a review.
2. Use all the resources you can find! One of my greatest resources is www.48days.net   This is a network of thousands of people all interested in learning and growing.  Through the Write It Forward group at 48days.net,  I got great insight, recommendations for proofreaders, strategies for every aspect of the process and best of all, great support and encouragement.  
3. Dream BIG--- Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway:  I was nervous about asking Dan Miller author of the book, 48 Days To The Work You Love to write a forward to my book even though I have been an active member of his community for several years now.  BUT, I asked and he DID!  And what a beautiful job he did too.  I am so grateful.
4.  Share your insights with others!  The joy of creating is really complete when you can share with others.  Through the process of creating this book, I've been able to share my knowledge and experience with others who have the same dream.  This is as rewarding as publishing the book!
5. The end is never really the end--it's all a journey.  Although the book is complete, I've now moved on to the next phase which is marketing the book.  After all, it was created to share a message.  The book is all about how to discover your passion and make it a reality as told through my story.  I so want others to experience the great joy of realizing a dream.

There it is.  From the first post, December 25th to March 30th, the story of a dream come true.  Want to purchase the book?  You will find it for sale HERE listed among my children's books.  Of course if you see me around, I always have a few in tow that you can purchase directly.

What about you?  Have you accomplished a lifelong dream?  What did you learn in the process?

Finishing Up My Book... I Have A Deadline!

I haven't written anything of late about my upcoming book but it doesn't mean that I'm not still stirring the pot.  While I have finished the actual writing, I have been reviewing the recommendations of the proofreader, having the book formatted, finalizing the cover design and, here's one of the most time-consuming parts, getting someone to write a recommendation and a forward for the book.  Everyone is of course very busy and these things need to fit into their schedule as well as mine.  The push is on however to have the book completed for The Called Woman Conference which I am speaking at in March.  At the conference, I and other speakers will be presenting on topics such as:

• What is your passion and how do you make it reality?
• How does your personality style impact making your dream lifestyle come true?
• How do you become the leader you were called to be? 

Here is a link to the conference website:  A Called Woman Conference  Watch the video and see what a fabulous conference it will be!

Accomplishing the goal of getting a book in print is certainly a joint venture which requires many hands.  I am so grateful for the team that is helping me make it a reality and for the many cheerleaders in my life who have encouraged and supported me along the way.  I couldn't do it without you!  

Countdown to The Called Woman Conference... 29 days!

Help Me Choose A Book Cover!

While I am still adding some content, editing and revising the book that I began in December, I have completed the major portion of it and I am moving into the really exciting part of choosing a cover for the book. The book is about finding your calling, discovering your passion and setting goals to achieve your dreams.  It includes some of my personal story of recovering my dream of being a writer and following through on accomplishing the publishing of two children's books, Wyatt The Wonder Dog

Here is an excerpt from the upcoming book:

From the back seat of the car, I heard our five year old friend, McKenzie, calling out repeatedly, "Helen! Helen!" We were on the way to the museum to see a frog exhibit and I was riding in the front seat with my oldest daughter who was driving. Since no one in the car was named Helen, I paid her little attention and assumed it must be part of a conversation she was involved in with my younger daughter who was in the back seat with her. When she simply became louder and more insistent, I finally turned and asked her, "Who are you talking to?" Imagine my surprise when she said, "I'm calling you!" Helen? What? After some detective work, we discovered that she had heard other people calling me "Hey, Lynne" and concluded my name must be… Helen.

Do you ever feel that you are being called by a different name? Do you ever feel that you are stuck in your current job, routine or lifestyle but that really something, someone, perhaps even your inner self is calling you to something new?  Maybe you are unsure of the direction, but you are aware of a certain discontent, uneasiness with your current life?  Or perhaps, you have a pretty clear idea of the direction, you just don’t know the path to follow to get there?  Could God be calling you in a new way with a new name? Maybe He is calling you by the name of teacher or comforter when you have been accustomed to a different role. Maybe you are being called to be a leader or peacemaker.

Never forget that you are truly a called woman!  We are all called to be a creator in some arena.  For some of us that is writing or painting or creating an environment through interior design.  For some of us, that is being a creative thinker and doer in the marketplace or business.  For some of us that is being a relationship builder in our families and communities.   There is no role or profession that we all fall into.  Yet we each possess God given gifts to make that call happen. When we don’t develop our gifts and talents, we not only cheat ourselves but we cheat the world and the community. To hear that call though, you will need to step outside the familiar and listen with new ears. You will need to seek new experiences and develop new perceptions of the old world.  Otherwise, you just might miss that call altogether. "Helen, Helen, I'm calling YOU!"

 Now it's your turn for some input!  Which book cover do you like the best for this book? Please vote using the poll on the right side of the blog.

Week Two: Writing A Book And Telling My Story

Cover of After Me, You Come FirstLast night I met with a friend to talk about our common what-do-I-do-now mid-life-reinventing ourselves in the midst of all sorts of different life changes, conflicts and turmoil.  Sara and I have had a connection from the first time we met a few years ago and it has slowly erratically with fits and starts developed into what is currently a one-on-one mutual support group for two middle-aged widowed writers who are trying to find their way through all kinds of challenges; family turmoil, joblessness, retirement, foreclosure, loss of loved ones,  faith and church issues.  Between the two of us we've got two life times of some pretty remarkable stories.

During the conversation, we began focusing on Sara's lack of direction in her writing.  She's started a few blogs but has not been inspired to keep them going.  She's published two books, The Shattered Pearl and After Me, You Come First.  She's written some faith based material for church groups but isn't really sure which direction to go with it. I started asking the usual questions: Who is your target audience?  What inspires you to write?  What is your niche?  When do you feel most in the flow? Before you think I'm such a brilliant coach, let me admit that these are all questions I've asked myself with varied success.  I know where the struggle is, but that doesn't mean that I've conquered it.  At some point in the conversation, she mentioned that she just has some great stories from pivotal points in her life.  I asked her to tell me a couple and without hesitation she was off and running.  She was right, they were amazing, interesting, unique stories. I finally said to her... "Just tell your story! Start with your story and the meaning, the purpose, the insight, the lesson will develop out of it." After all, what do audiences want to hear?  to read?  Do they want another self-help book on how to achieve goals?  How to resolve their faith issues?  How to live with a dysfunctional family?  In truth, what we all want is something personal that resonates with our own lives.  We want to know how someone else lived through their struggles and got to the other side.  We want to know that there is light and life at the other end of the tunnel.  We want to know your story because it just might also be our story.

Guess what I figured out after I got home?  I wasn't just figuring that out for Sara, I was figuring it out for me as well.  The question became, how can the book I am working on be more than helpful information.  How can I use it to tell my story?  It's a new challenge and I'm working on it... What about you?  How are you telling your story?  How are you sharing it with others?

Progress report: 60 pages, 12,825 words
Insight from dinner with Sara:  priceless

Here are Sara's books.  Read the first one to hear her remarkable story...

Week One Of Writing My Book

Image via WikipediaI'm excited to report on the success of week one book writing.  This is of course the honeymoon period of it all and I am hopeful that I can keep the energy and the creativity flowing.  This has been quite a concern of mine bubbling just below my consciousness, primarily because I often feel stuck in my blog writing and am so afraid that block will surface in writing a book as well.  In fact, as I prepared to start the endeavor, I could feel myself stalling, creating more chores to complete before I started, just one more thing to do first and then I'll be diving in.  It is definitely an avoidance mentality that I face weekly in writing a blog but it is magnified at the thought of writing a lengthy book.

Here was the plan and how it played out:  I have a house in the Georgia mountains about an hour and a half away where I thought I would have fewer distractions.There I could focus myself on writing for 3 days this first week of my holiday break and potentially four or even more days next week.  My plan was to leave Sunday afternoon to drive there and begin fresh on Monday morning, writing all day Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. By Sunday afternoon, I was sabotaging my own plan.  I decided I had some last minute Christmas things I needed to get done and stores I needed to frequent were not open on Sunday afternoon... so I decided I would do it quickly Monday morning and leave before lunch.  Of course that didn't happen, one thing led to another and before I knew it, I made excuses that involved the compromise of writing at home on Sunday afternoon while multitasking and baking pumpkin bread!  I didn't leave until Monday afternoon around 3:00 and encountered a huge traffic accident which tied up the roadway a bit on the way.  I seriously considered turning around and heading home even though I was already 30+ minutes into the drive.  Luckily I didn't because once I arrived, I felt an immediate peace and focus of energy.  I prepared everything for an early morning beginning and then allowed myself the freedom of enjoying the evening at the mountain house to catch up on some recreational reading of blogs and watching of videos.

Tuesday  and Wednesday mornings, I was up extremely early and after my morning devotion and routine I was writing away.  I wrote steadily each morning, then spent the afternoons and evenings relaxing and refreshing some of my research through reading.  End result of two days of writing? Twenty-seven pages and 5500 words.  I'm pretty excited!

What was my lesson learned?  Make a plan that involves setting aside specific times to write.  Allow for some flexibility but don't let yourself get completely derailed.  It is so easy to get caught up in the urgent and neglect the important.  Once you've set your plan, don't allow yourself to compromise on the plan.  If you do get off track, don't give it up altogether but salvage what you can of the remaining time and continue moving forward.  Action trumps inaction every time!!!

What about you?  How do you accomplish your writing goals?  Do you set aside specific times to write?  Do you have a certain place to write?  What do you do when you get off track to get yourself refocused?

Help! I'm Writing A Book!

Image via WikipediaCharles Schultz was a genius at bringing philosophical concepts into everyday life. In one of my favorite comic strips, Lucy says to Charlie, "You know, Charlie, life is like a deck chair. Some people place their deck chair so they can see where they're going. Some turn it around to see where they've been. Others, Charlie, place their deck chair right in the middle of the action to see what's going on all around them. Charlie sighs and says, "I'm just trying to get mine unfolded." This just cracks me up!  What an astute observation and don't you just get a mental picture of all these chairs facing every which way and then there are all the folks trying to get theirs open. 


Well, I'm opening my deck chair in a new direction and it involves setting a goal for writing a book.  Yes, you read that right.  I am going to spend the next two months of this blog reporting first on setting a goal to have a book finished and in print before the  middle of March. Why did I pick that time frame?  I'm speaking at A Called Women conference March 24th and I would like to have a book ready to share at that conference.  What will be the topic of the book?  It will be about discovering your passion, setting goals, visioning the future and achieving the goals you set.  I expect writing and publishing the book will be a key example of what I'm writing about!


 In my weekly blog,  I will  keep you informed on the steps and progress that I have made.  I'm excited and a little nervous to be announcing this.   I've had it in mind for quite some time and being a school counselor, I'm about to have some significant time off for the holidays.  So far I've blocked off certain days to spend writing.  I've also reviewed all my past blogs and made a spread sheet of different examples and stories with themes.  I expect I will be able to use some of this material in the book and I wanted to have it categorized so I could find it easily.  Will I be able to stick to my plan and get the book started?  Will I be able to get it finished and in print before the conference?  Well, I'll be opening my deck chair and facing it in that direction! I'll be keeping you informed of the progress and planning involved.

The next question of course is where are you in the picture? Have you opened your deck chair? Where is it facing for the new year?

Here's a great book to get you thinking about writing and publishing the book you've always dreamed of...