Just What Makes STORY for You?

What makes a good story?

Is it the plot?

But a plot without characters is floppy at worst and a really great word-painted scenery at best.

Is it the characters?

But characters without plot is a monologue dragging without purpose or end.

Is it the dialogue?

But dialogue without characters to speak it and a plot to give it purpose is just dialogue for the sake of meaningless dialogue.

What truly makes a good story?

What makes it for you?

I’ve been mulling this fact over the last couple of weeks as I’ve read books I’ve enjoyed…and some I haven’t. Or watched a movie I really loved. Even as I talk with friends about classic stories I could consume over and over again, I’ve paused to consider the talking points that keep bringing me back.

It’s about ordinary characters that are thrust into extraordinary circumstances that demand they rise to the occasion.

That’s really all it’s about, isn’t it?

We see that in ourselves. We project our lives onto these ordinary characters and hope that if we were in their shoes, that we would rise to the occasion. That we would be rescue the damsel in distress. 

That we would speak those words of truth or anger or love. That we would get the prince. That we would stand up for truth and fight for what is right.

Think of your favorite movie.

Got a title? (Share it in the comments so others can explore what you’ve discovered.)

What is the quality in that movie that keeps you watching it over and over again?

For me, it’s Last of the Mohicans. A fairly violent movie that I only watch about once a year, but a

film that keeps me coming back—and for many reasons.

But the main one?

I admire Cora.

An ordinary woman, who within the first twenty minutes of the movie, receives a marriage proposal that she doesn’t accept.

She’s normal. She’s average. The daughter of a British colonel.

And yet, in the face of extreme danger, the loss of a perfect and safe world, she stares danger straight in the face, raises her one shot pistol, and defends her ground. Her safety. Her sister. She’s strong. She’s gentle. She’s just seeking the right place to land. And yet, there are moments of open vulnerability where the viewer sees she is absolutely frightened and at a lost. But she is not overcome.  

I can relate to her. And I want to aspire to her strength and courage. Because I don’t know if I could do what she did in the face of such vicious brutality. But I hope that I would. That I would rise to the occasion like she did.

What makes story for you?

Take that. Weave it into the dialogue. The plot. The characters. Focus on that. Let it become what drives your passion and your story. And it will drive the readers’ as well.

Leave a comment…let me know your favorite movie and why. Besides, my Netflix queue is looking kinda sad right now. ;-) 

CLICK TO TWEET:

Story is nothing without plot & characters & that secret element that makes it all work. http://bit.ly/2po1Csg #amwriting @C_Herringshaw 

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Casey Herringshaw is a homeschool graduate and has been writing since high school. She lives in colorful Colorado where she gets to live her dream stalking--er--visiting with her favorite CO authors. 

   

   

How to Survive the Contest Season/Writing Deadlines Casey Style

**I hereby apologize to everyone having to read this blog today. Blame it on it’s-two-weeks-from-the-end-of-the-Carol-Awards-and-Casey-is-sleep-deprived, ok? If you do, you’ll be my new best friend.**

In case you’re new around here, or just didn’t realize, I’m the ACFW Carol Awards coordinator.

The job is not as glamorous as the title may appear.

It really just involves a lot of begging. And sleep deprivation. And books.

Lots.

And.

Lots.

Of.

Books.

Which is part of the reason I like the job. Because who can have too many books?

Well, this girl actually, during the Carol Awards contest season. ;-)

So what does the Carol Award Coordinator do when she’s the one in charge of the weekly Friday post and forgot until it was too late to interview someone, but remembered in enough time to not be a total slacker?

She comes up with a great and oh-so-witty end of the week post filled with 5 tips for how to keep going during the haze of surviving the end of a contest.

And if you’re not the one in a million people coordinating a contest, I have a feeling these tips are still good for your deadline haze. Because really, what ill is there that can’t be solved with peanut M&M’s?

1: Buy stock in Peanut M&M’s. Keep a bag at your desk. Close at hand for when you need to make a quick last minute grab. Stash them throughout your house so you never have to go far to get a bit of an energy and chocolate jolt. Because, people, chocolate never lies. And it truly, truly makes all things better.

2: Don’t underestimate the power of a good snarky comment. Because, really, who can blame you when you’ve been awake all hours pounding out email after email after email after email after email after email after email after email after email after email after email…

3: Invest in a good therapist. Because truly, the couch time will be the only time you’ll be laying down and away from the computer screen. This might even be the only opportunity you have to close your eyes, because really, who wants to stare at a watch on a chain dangling in front of your face??

4: Set aside all unrealistic expectations you may have for a clean house and empty sink free of dishes. Because really people, dust bunnies canNOT judge you. Your mother in law might, but the bunnies won’t. They would actually like to continue procreating, so why stop their progress? You have my permission.

5: In the midst of the stress, don’t forget to set it all aside. Take a deep breath, close down the laptop and spend some time with a good book. Good family. And your good, good Father. Oh, and how about a little bit of laughter? Because, well, it just wouldn’t do to cry off all your makeup (if you wear makeup).

So there you have it. Casey’s Top 5 Must Do tips for surviving life as a contest coordinator in the final throes of being on deadline. Which also translate well to be on an actual writing deadline.

So share something happy with me! What is one good thing that happened this week for you?? Share in the comments below!

CLICK TO TWEET: 

Trying to survive a #deadline? Then you need this #funny and "helpful" tips from @AlleyCatsTweet today! http://bit.ly/2lndmow

Criticism? Who Likes Criticism??

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Criticism is, unfortunately, part of the game when you put your words on a page and then submit them to a critique partner or a contest or a first reader or your mother (well, maybe not your mother… ;-)). It seems to be a dangerous business, writing. I don’t know why it has to be such a land-mine pursuit, but it seems the more we put ourselves out there and write more from our heart and fall harder for our stories, the more criticism we can get. And the harder it gets.

Being told you stink at something is never easy, don’t get me wrong. I’m not a huge fan of it myself. ;-) When you look at how hard you work and how many hours you spend alone pounding the keyboard, only to be told by a judge that your POV is a mess and your characters are flat and unlikeable, it’s enough to plant one’s head squarely in the middle of the keyboard/screen/desk/wall, etc, etc.

But criticism does not have to be all bad. Yes, I know. You’re scowling at me fiercely right now because I’m telling you to actually like being corrected. Well…maybe not like, because who likes that?? But there is much more to be learned from criticism than there is to be learned from praise. While all correction should be taken with a grain of salt, it might be an opportunity to see the big picture flaws we miss when we’re zoomed in too close in our stories.

What is the universal appeal of your hero and heroine? Did the judges or first readers find them fun and entertaining or flat and apathetic?

Look at what you’re aiming for and then see if what and where the criticism is coming from matches up or is moving in the same direction. If you’re aiming for a funny and light-hearted heroine, but you’re being told she’s moody and discouraging, maybe it’s time for an edit—or maybe a change of genre. ;-)

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Is the topic of your “voice” coming up in more discussions or disturbingly absent? Read the comments as one would who has no emotional attachment to your story. If this was your friend’s story or a random book off the shelf would you agree or disagree with the comments?

It’s easy to immediately disagree with everything the critique had to say, but stop for just a minute. Separate yourself from the heart-wounded part and pull up those muck boots to go in for another stomp around and discovery. (Yes, I just went all farm girl on you.)

While it’s never easy to volunteer for criticism or correction for anyone even when the criticisms are so far out in left field that’s it’s not even worth putting the time into reading! Novel crafting is one of the most subjective businesses out there—it’s not even funny how subjective it is. And yes, it’s a near constant lesson in the art of accepting criticism gracefully.

But it gets a little bit easier if you think in these terms: we’re in the place we love. God put us here. This is part of His hands forming our clay. Put’s a little bit different perspective on it, doesn’t it? J

CLICK TO TWEET:

Why you should be ok accepting criticism as a #writer in the 21st century. http://bit.ly/2gA7TMY @C_Herringshaw #amwriting

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Casey Herringshaw is a homeschool graduate and has been writing since high school. She lives in colorful Colorado where she gets to live her dream stalking--er--visiting with her favorite CO authors. 

   

Friday Fun and Author Spotlight: Mary Weber!

You. Guys!

I have been so excited to share this Friday Fun post with you today. I personally think it's going to make your Friday all the better for spending a few minutes with us. 

FIRST. 

We have news. 

CONTRACT NEWS. 

Can you guess which one of our Alley Cat number just signed with a big name house? Read to the end of the post and find out!!

Second, I am so excited to share my friend Mary Weber with you today. A beautiful person inside and out, she graciously gave of her time while on her book deadline to spend a few minutes with us! Take it away, Mary!

TWA:  What's the most random thing in your bag right now? 

MCW: Lol, Cookie Butter. Don't judge. :)

TWA: Are you kidding?! Pass that stuff this way. I’ll bring the spoons. You’re not germophobic are you? 

TWA:  What are you currently reading? 

MCW: This!! (my edits are due today)

TWA: Oh my gosh! I know so many readers who are dancing on the edge of their seats for this book to release.

TWA: Your movie snack of choice?

MCW: CEREAL!!!!! Always! ♥

TWA: Now I want to know what kind. Cap’n Crunch all the way for this girl. Bring on the diabetes diagnosis.

 TWA: What's your favorite recent discovery?

MCW: Oh man y'all can laugh at me because (a) I'm a dork & (b) I'm clearly behind on what's cool. But this stuff is EVERYTHING. How did I not know it existed??!!

TWA: Mary. My dear. We don’t call anyone on this blog a dork. Ever. You’re simply brilliant.

TWA:  What advice would you give yourself if you could go back to the beginning of your publishing journey? 

MCW: Ooh amazing question! I think I'd simply say that the story you're living is FAR more important than any you write about. So let go of the worry and embrace the journey. Make relationships, not platforms. Make family & soul time your priority no matter what career offers or opportunities come along. Learn the market and HOW to market - but for the purpose of influencing it rather than selling to it. Relax. Breathe. You'll do just fine. 

TWA: This. Perfection. I could not agree with you more. So Alley Pals, I hope you’ll pull up a chair, pour a cup of your favorite drink and chat with us today. Because what would this publishing journey be without the relationships of you as our friends?

Mary Weber is the bestselling HarperCollins author of the Scholastic Pick, Christy and Carol Award winning young adult novel, Storm Siren, the Storm Siren Trilogy, and the upcoming Sofi Snow Duology (HarperCollins). In her spare time she sings 80's hairband songs to her three muggle children and ogles her husband who looks strikingly like Wolverine. They live in California which is perfect for stalking tacos, Joss Whedon, and the ocean. You can visit with her on Facebook (Mary Weber, Author), Instagram (MaryWeberAuthor), & Twitter (@MChristineWeber)

TWA: PS: Is anyone else jealous of Mary's beautiful long hair that she simply rocks and her ageless beauty?!

Are you ready for the big Alley Cat news?!

Our own Angie Dicken has just signed a contract with Barbour Books to release her first full length

historical novel in late 2017!!!! A story after Angie's heart, we're so excited for her and turning cartwheels of glee! (well, some of us are. The rest of us try and end up hurting something...)


What else is new you ask? 

Mary is off gallivanting around the world--can you guess where she's visiting? The country starts with I and ends in Y...leave a comment below if you think you know it!

Pepper Basham also has contract news! BLING! publishing has snagged this lovely lady's next contemporary romance in the Mitchell's Crossroads series. (Smart publisher!)

Have you entered the giveaway yet? What are you waiting for! Winner is announced next Friday, so get thee over there! Enter here. 

That's it for this Friday! Do you have fun news to share with us?! We'd love to hear all about it and start a party in the comments!

Writers: Are You Asking for Help?

We’ve talked a lot about writing with community. Surrounding yourself with a group of people that you can trust your heart and writing with. People that become your friends beyond this writing journey and support you in nearly every aspect of your life.

They are your warriors. Your champions. The people that hold you up in prayer when the going is rough and the people you in turn laugh and cry with when they are joyful or struggling.

This is your tribe. These are your people.

But I was challenged recently for how often I actually come to my tribe—my people—and ask for help with my writing.

Allen Arnold has talked and ministered to many, many writers about not writing in a vacuum. About not being the “orphan” that writes alone, creates alone, processes alone and instead invites the Creator into the creative. Instead, invites in the people that the Creator has given the creative to form this story that He has laid on their heart.

It’s shockingly few and far between that I ask for help.

I don’t want to inconvenience someone. Take away time from their projects they need to be doing. Make them obligated to say “yes”, when they just really need to say “no.”

But I’ve been stuck on my story now for about a month and a half. Only written about a thousand words between family being in town, ACFW national conference and then more family being in town. It’s been a great month of fellowship and reconnection, but also a month filled with the trepidation of the next thing I have to do: which is dust off that story and start writing the next scene.

Only problem is: I have no idea what that next scene is.

Minor detail is all.

So the other night, at my writer’s mentoring meeting, I decided to pipe up. Gulp back any feelings of worry that I would put something beyond their time in helping me, and asked for help in outlining my story.

See, outlining your story might not be a big deal to you. You might love it. Get inspired from it. See new plot twists and scene ideas.

I hate it.

I’d so much rather sit down with my laptop and just write. Except then, I write myself into a corner and oops, I don’t know what happens next.

It’s not a complicated project, this request that I’m making. A lot of the work has already been done

in a previous brainstorming session. This is just me, needing a friend to join in writing these scene ideas out on 3x5 cards and inspiring my love for this novel all over again—and putting me back on track to do the work.

Once the words are said, it’s not hard asking for help.

It’s hard getting to that place where you have to ask for it. Invite someone else into your story world; let them take your hand and journey with you in this process.

Don’t get stuck in your cave. The answers don’t all lie in what only you are capable of doing.

So invite someone in. Let them take partnership with you. Don’t be ashamed, but let yourself be motivated and encouraged.

Because remember that tribe of friends you’ve formed? Yeah, they are here for you in this too. And you’re not alone. By a long shot.

What are you needing to ask help for in your writing today? Have you done it? 

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Casey Herringshaw is a homeschool graduate and has been writing since high school. She lives in colorful Colorado where she gets to live her dream stalking--er--visiting with her favorite CO authors. 

Racing for the Finish Line

Several years ago I competed in the hardest race I've ever done. Six miles. Uphill. Starting at an elevation of 7200 feet and ending at over 9700 feet. This last Saturday my family and I hiked the Manitou Springs Incline--a shorter, but near replica of this 6 mile 10k. And I was once again reminded of the this metaphor we're about to "embark" on below.

But back to the Steens Rim Run.

The air is thin. My legs were cramping and contracting the first three miles. And I was pretty sure I should have hopped on the ambulance as it came down the mountain.

Racers only continued to pass me and I didn't look up near often enough to enjoy the gasp-worthy views.

Most of the race my mind was empty of all thought and processes, except getting. up. the. mountain.

The writing process is like our beautiful Steens Mountains.

It's a looooong hike.

And often times your legs are more sore than you think is possible to push them forward one more step. But the pain is greater in stopping than to just keep going.

Those first few miles of learning how to race, of pushing through the pain, seem like forever. Is it really worth the pain just to cross the finish line?

All your companions that started with you at the gun's bang are already yards ahead of you, climbing the hills as though they were mole hills. Some you've left behind, but it feels too much like you're the last one to cross the finish line as it only gets further and further away.

But then the three mile mark hits and your legs are used to the fast forward motion.

Your arms start swinging harder and your pace picks up speed. You're learning how to do this. You've got this and you can see the next mile marker around the next bend. The challenge of it all isn't quite so daunting.

Four miles. You're actually picking up speed, but still focused on putting just one foot in front of the other. That's all that matters. Not who is passing you. Not who you are passing. It's just one foot in front of the other.

Mile five hits and only 1.2 miles are left. Wow. This is the peak. You really can do this. There is a certain euphoric high that hits right about here and nothing much seems to matter but continuing toward the finish line.

Then you round the corner and see...see the finish line way, way, way up at the top of the final .2 miles. The hardest climb yet. The kind that pulls at your calves and tightens your muscles. You're nearly bent over and no hard swing of your arms is going to bring you up that much faster. But the spectators are cheering you on. Yelling to push forward. To make it. To finish STRONG.

And nothing else matters but crossing that finish line with everything you've got. You made a goal. You finished it. You made it.

With the writing life, the end result isn't often crossing that finish line. The finish line just moves toward a new goal, but don't we all have those mile three moments when we don't feel we can make it anymore and have to break through the pain and just keep going? We all have those moments when we crest that final long rise and see the big hill up ahead of us.

Maybe it's learning POV. Or character arc. Or marketing.

Or saving money for that big writing conference.

Or pushing send on a proposal.

My mom, finishing the race strong!

Or getting a book into publication.

It's a big hill.

People are passing us by, taking that big hill as though it were nothing, finishing before us. It's hard to watch everyone else getting to our goal before we do. But the time we are taking to climb those preceding hills are making us stronger. Preparing us for that final hill that could take all energy out of our legs and drain the air from our lungs.

Some walk (or run) at a faster pace than us. We can't sit and compare--as easy as that is-- to what others are doing better. It's an individual journey. An individual race. And our greatest competitor is ourselves. Embrace the battle from within and defeat the lies threatening to muddy your journey.

Because the finish line is just up ahead. And you're getting closer with every step you take.

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Casey Herringshaw is a homeschool graduate and has been writing since high school. She lives in colorful Colorado where she gets to live her dream stalking--er--visiting with her favorite CO authors. 

Inviting God Into Your Writing

I can’t take any credit for anything in this post. First, for well, the obvious reasons…like the title of this post. ;-) And second because I wouldn’t have been led into this truly glorious fellowship without a little bit of help from Allen Arnold.

I’ve sat through two of Allen Arnold’s classes now about the creativity—the freedom—of writing with God.

It’s a freedom that isn’t confined by how many words you have written in a day or pages edited.

It’s a freedom that isn’t barricaded by demands and restrictions that whisper insecurities that tell you, you’re best effort isn’t good enough.

It’s a freedom that gives you permission to walk away and walk with God when the prompting tells you to get up and take a stroll.

It’s a freedom that has set my writing on fire.

I’m amazed what consciously choosing to give my writing time to the Lord has given back to me. In word count, in enthusiasm, in maximized time for the most impact. Instead of a process that drains my creativity energy at the end, I’m feeling energized and alive with this creativity that is driven solely on the wings of the Lord’s mighty and sustaining breath.  

How does this look for my writing life? (Hint: this won’t be the same for you. Just a warning. It might look a bit like mine, but it won’t completely. Because you are your own unique creation in Christ.)

It looks like taking the time to pray through my writing before I start. It looks like forgiveness—aimed at myself. When I don’t measure up to what I think should be my earthly standards. It looks like taking pleasure with whatever I can write today—one hundred or one thousand words.

That last part was the hardest mindest to change—and continues to be so. Because it’s a mindset that is so deeply engrained in us goal-driven, type-A obsessed individuals.

Are you going to be ok if you write less than a thousand words when you sit down to story-craft? 

Writing with God tells you that you will be ok with any and all results.

Because it’s no longer about you trying to produce words out of thin air, it’s a linked arm partnership with the Creator of the universe to knit this story together.

When you can step out of the realm of your goals and step into the hand in hand partnership of writing with God, you’ll have a release of freedom to put words on the page that will fuel excitement for the this writing world that you thought you had lost.

Friend, it’s well, well worth the effort and time spent to dedicate each and every writing moment to God. And asking Him to partner with you in the creative process. After all, He’s the author of creativity.

Oh, and by the way? If you can ever sit under one of Allen’s classes, I heartily, 100% recommend it!

CLICK TO TWEET:

Are you inviting God into your #writing creative process? via @C_Herringshaw http://bit.ly/28Kb1Ef #TheWritersAlley #writewithGod

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Casey Herringshaw is a homeschool graduate and has been writing since high school. She lives in colorful Colorado where she gets to live her dream stalking--er--visiting with her favorite CO authors. 

SHOW Me, Don’t TELL Me

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Don’t you just hate that phrase? There is something so abstract about the entire statement that it’s hard to wrap your brain around it. But it’s also one of those phrases that the less you think about it and try so hard to make it fit, it will actually start to make sense. One of the greatest compliments I NEVER expected to receive was from a published author who read my work on critique (and they weren’t be paid to be nice, if you know what I mean. ;-) and told me I was actually quite good at showing instead of telling.

Could have knocked me over with a feather!

So how do you know from a first or second glance that you are telling when you should be showing? (btw, this is also a great way to really dig into deep POV)

Are you addressing the emotion (ie: she was sad) or are you taking a walk in the character’s shoes? Ask yourself a question: how would your character respond to being sad? What physical action would she go and do? Stop and think in those terms for a minute. Not only will you dig deeper into your character and mine her for a stronger reader experience, you’ll also be showing instead of telling.

When you describe a scene in front of your character, especially a landscape scene, dig into the five senses. What metaphors can you use to describe the scent of freshly fallen leaves or the crunch of gravel under the tires? Take a moment to close your eyes and embrace all your senses. As you stand on the balcony of your hotel room, what are you hearing? What are you smelling? What are you seeing? Don’t just list these things, put them on a first name basis with the reader.

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When she stands on the railing is she remembering her wedding night gone wrong? Does the honk and bustle of traffic below remind her of the cheap hotel they stayed in and were kept awake all night because of the noise? Maybe this shows a layer of her discontent—maybe with life? Maybe with her marriage? That’s up to you to decide.

Tie the scene into your character’s emotions and their past. Where they are right now.

When you purposefully try to weave all these layers together it can seem so daunting and insurmountable. But it’s possible. Don’t think long and hard about it. Stick yourself in the character’s shoes. Make their emotions and their thoughts your own. Now superimpose those things onto the character’s surroundings.

The secret to showing instead of telling is…well, at least from where I’m sitting, there is no secret. It’s a matter of storytelling. Something that you learn only by doing and once you start doing it, you realize just how easy it can be.

My best advice? Stop trying. But not if you’re always searching for that “golden nugget” that will give you the promised solution. :- ) Live and breathe through your characters. Everything will fall into place and one day you’ll have a friend read your work and tell how awesome you did in showing. 

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Casey Herringshaw is a homeschool graduate and has been writing since high school. She lives in colorful Colorado where she gets to live her dream stalking--er--visiting with her favorite CO authors. 

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How to Put White Space Back in Your Life Part 2

Previously I had talked about putting white space back in your life. What writer doesn’t need just a few more hours every day to get everything done that they need to do to promote their platform, write their next book and not neglect the family?

It is possible to get all of the important things done in your 24 hours a day and by employing a few simple techniques you are able to organize and schedule many of your deadlines and requirements into time frames you can meet without resorting to procrastination and late night computer snuggles.

But what about social media? How do you harness that beast to work for you and not suck all of your precious writing time?

SPEND A LIMITED AMOUNT OF TIME PER DAY ON SOCIAL MEDIA. Once that time is up, turn it off. Be it 15 minutes or 30 minutes, make sure you maximize the time that you have and when you’re done, you’re done. Period. Be jealous of that writing time and don’t let social media suck it away.

DON’T JOIN EVERY MEDIA. Get good at one or two medias and spend your time studying up and building your audience on those sites. Once you’ve got those medias down or at least confident on them, add in a third and so on. This will keep your efforts concentrated without splintering your time and diluting your work.  Also: consider time you spend researching a social media part of this allotted time. You’ll be using this research to grow your platform, so don’t consider it wasted time.

USE A SCHEDULING APP. Schedule your social media updates through either a site like Buffer, Hootsuite, Tweetdeck or on Facebook, its own scheduling program for fan pages. If you take an hour or so every week to upload and schedule great content, leaving room for spontaneity, you get to just visit later and interact with your readers, friends and fans. And each of these platforms has an app for your smart phone as well.

On Twitter, find a handful or so blogs that you like to follow or have worthy content and schedule tweets for their posts. You can do this easily using Buffer or Hootsuite. Be sure to tag these people as it not only grows your audience with great content, but also promotes them which they in turn see. 

For less than 10 minutes a day you can load your queue to keep great content rolling out all day long.

The big thing with social media is not to get sucked into it. Consider your research and actual social time on social media all part of your allotted time and work hard not to go over that. Platform building takes time and doesn’t just happen overnight, so limiting your time won’t hinder you—in fact it will do quite the opposite as you work to write a really great book which will someday help you continue to grow and build that platform.

So put some white space back into your life with these simple and easy to follow tips with your social media time. Give it a try and let me know how it goes in the comments! 

CLICK TO TWEET:

#Socialmedia wants to kick your #amwriting time to the curb! Kick back w/ these time saving tips: http://bit.ly/1OSlEki @C_Herringshaw

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Casey Herringshaw is a homeschool graduate and has been writing since high school. She lives in colorful Colorado where she gets to live her dream stalking--er--visiting with her favorite CO authors. 

Putting White Space Back In Your Life Part 1

Over the next couple of weeks I’m going to be sharing tips for how you can put white space back in your writing life. When you give yourself margin you find time you didn’t realize you had to do the things you really want to do.

These are only suggestions and might not work for your personality. These aren’t do or die rules, but merely ideas to get you started. And hopefully, as you move forward, you’ll refine these ideas to make them work best for you and your schedule.

Now, let’s put some white space back in your life, shall we?

Get yourself on a schedule.

This will be the greatest thing you can do to put white space back into your life. Schedules and calendars don’t have to have every single minute of your life broken down into neat little boxes. A schedule can be a big picture look at what your week or month coming up is like.

Scheduling gives you the bird’s eye view of what is upcoming so you don’t miss any deadlines or find yourself up until midnight the night before, pounding out a blogging obligation.

Some things to schedule:

YOUR BLOG POSTS. If you contribute to several blogs, try to write a post a day. This will be 5 posts a week. Alternate whether you write a craft or devotional post (or whatever your theme might be). Soon you’ll be looking ahead quite a ways and if you miss a day or so of writing, you won’t fall too far behind. Keep a journal at hand to jot down blog ideas throughout your day and week. This will give you a running start each time you need new content.

Ask guest posters to fill a few intentional holes that you plan out. This way your reserve posts stretch farther. There will be incredible freedom for you to get to Thursday night (or Friday morning) and realize you don’t have to worry about your post, because it’s done. As of six weeks ago.

GIVE YOURSELF DEADLINES. Take the day that your guest blog post is due and then give yourself a firm deadline to hit two weeks before it’s needed.

Lack of procrastination will be the save grace for your precious writing time, all the time.

SCHEDULE YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA UPDATES. Apps such as Buffer, Tweetdeck and Hootsuite are all free programs that you can use to schedule your tweets, Facebook and even Pinterest (check to make sure this isn’t a paid function on the platform you’re using).

Spend an hour or so a week just scheduling your social updates, leaving room for a few spontaneous additions, and let it post away for you.

The greatest area you can put margin back in your life is harnessing your social media. We’ll talk next time about how you can limit this time, but still be effective.

Until then, share your best scheduling tips in the comments, I’d love to hear what they are!

Are you inspired with the options offered here to put white space back in your life? Share your thoughts!

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Casey Herringshaw is a homeschool graduate and has been writing since high school. She lives in colorful Colorado where she gets to live her dream stalking--er--visiting with her favorite CO authors. 

Criticism. Why you should embrace it.

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Criticism is, unfortunately, part of the game when you put your words on a page and then submit them to a critique partner or a contest or a first reader or your mother (well, maybe not your mother… ;-)). It seems to be a dangerous business, writing. I don’t know why it has to be such a land-mine pursuit, but it seems the more we put ourselves out there and write more from our heart and fall harder for our stories, the more criticism we can get. And the harder it gets.

Being told you stink at something is never easy, don’t get me wrong. I’m not a huge fan of it myself. ;-) When you look at how hard you work and how many hours you spend alone pounding the keyboard, only to be told by a judge that your POV is a mess and your characters are flat and unlikeable, it’s enough to plant one’s head squarely in the middle of the keyboard/screen/desk/wall, etc, etc.

But criticism does not have to be all bad. Yes, I know. You’re scowling at me fiercely right now because I’m telling you to actually like being corrected. Well…maybe not like, because who likes that?? But there is much more to be learned from criticism than there is to be learned from praise. While all correction should be taken with a grain of salt, it might be an opportunity to see the big picture flaws we miss when we’re zoomed in too close in our stories.

What is the universal appeal of your hero and heroine? Did the judges or first readers find them fun and entertaining or flat and apathetic?

Look at what you’re aiming for and then see if what and where the criticism is coming from matches up or is moving in the same direction. If you’re aiming for a funny and light-hearted heroine, but you’re being told she’s moody and discouraging, maybe it’s time for an edit—or maybe a change of genre. ;-)

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Is the topic of your “voice” coming up in more discussions or disturbingly absent? Read the comments as one would who has no emotional attachment to your story. If this was your friend’s story or a random book off the shelf would you agree or disagree with the comments?

It’s easy to immediately disagree with everything the critique had to say, but stop for just a minute. Separate yourself from the heart-wounded part and pull up those muck boots to go in for another stomp around and discovery. (Yes, I just went all farm girl on you.)

While it’s never easy to volunteer for criticism or correction for anyone even when the criticisms are so far out in left field that’s it’s not even worth putting the time into reading! Novel crafting is one of the most subjective businesses out there—it’s not even funny how subjective it is. And yes, it’s a near constant lesson in the art of accepting criticism gracefully.

But it gets a little bit easier if you think in these terms: we’re in the place we love. God put us here. This is part of His hands forming our clay. Put’s a little bit different perspective on it, doesn’t it? J  

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Casey Herringshaw is a homeschool graduate and has been writing since high school. She lives in colorful Colorado where she gets to live her dream stalking--er--visiting with her favorite CO authors. 

   

Growing Patience & Self-Imposed Deadlines

I have written about self-imposed deadlines at the Alley before...I am pretty sure it's a struggle for many aspiring authors. We aren't held to a contract or have an editor pushing us along. But we are anxious to get this writing career going and want to get the submission-ball rolling. At least, that's how I feel most of the time.

Self-imposed deadlines are great goal-setting tools. I enjoy writing toward something; holding myself accountable to my writing time; keeping in mind that near future date so I stick to the story and don't allow non-writing things get in the way (well, the non-important non-writing things like Facebook and retail therapy).

There is another benefit to self-imposed deadlines, though. And that is the flexibility to change the

date if need be. Recently, I surprised myself after a decade of my publishing pursuit, when I met my self-imposed deadline with a complete manuscript...and then..I didn't hit send on that date. I wanted to be sure it was where it needed to be, not when I wanted it to go out.

You know your patience has grown when you pass up a self-imposed deadline to get it right.

It's a fine line to know when to hit send and when to pause for another read-thru. Sometimes, we peck our stories to death and tweak and tweak and suck the joy—and perhaps the voice—out of the story. There's a lot of fear and guts and vulnerability in hitting send. So those self-imposed deadlines can give us that courage.

But, sometimes, that self-imposed deadline should become more of a checkpoint than an end. I took another week after my last deadline and did a read-thru and more tweaking. I am so glad I did. That fear and vulnerability died with my cut lines and deleted commas.

How about you? Do you set deadlines and ever pass them up to get it right?

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Angie Dicken is a full-time mom and lives in the Midwest with her Texas Aggie sweetheart. An ACFW member since 2010, she has written six historical novels and is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of The Steve Laube Agency. Angie also spends her time designing one-sheets and drinking good coffee with great friends. Check out her author page at www.facebook.com/dicken.angie, her personal blog at angiedicken.blogspot.com and connect at:

Twitter: @angiedicken
Pinterest: pinterest.com/agdicken

Get It Done or Get It Right?

In college, I was one of those weird architecture students who would stay up til 4 in the morning at

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the studio, grab some breakfast at IHOP, take a quick two hour nap at my apartment, then get back up to the studio to present my baby--a project slaved over until the VERY. LAST. MINUTE.

Yep, I like to think that my architecture degree is good for something now--creating in me a work ethic of at least optimizing the wee morning hours for productivity. Eh.

Guess it helped when I was a new mother and those late night feedings.

Oh, and  it helps now, as I write this blog post at the VERY.LAST.MINUTE before it's to be published.

But in all seriousness, I have realized that my degree earned some decade and a half ago, might not be used as it was intended, but in hindsight, I've learned from it as I try and apply it now as a writer. It's not in a way that I would expect. Because I look back on those days and what I did WRONG is what I need to remember NOW to get my writing...RIGHT... 

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In that competitive studio atmosphere, it was always pretty exciting to come up with ideas and run with them. Yeah, think Cutthroat Kitchen with t-squares and vellum rolls. My classmates would still be brainstorming with chicken scratch and thoughtful conversation, while I'd whip up a first draft master plan within a day of the assignment. I'd get my final materials at Hobby Lobby, plop down at my desk, and start to work while my classmates were just nailing down their concepts.

You may wonder why I was working at the very last second before the project was due as I stated at first? 

It's the exact same reason I feel like many of my stories fall short. I crank out the story before I even let it mature. I pluck those first ideas from my brain and don't question the "insteads", "what ifs", "better thans", and "howevers".

Back then, I was so focused on getting the project complete, I didn't allow myself to grow the project along the way. So those last seconds of work were my frantic band-aiding the presentation to force maturation of a pre-mature idea. And many of my classmates had gone to that next level...even if it took them longer to get there. 

Finally, nine years later, my anxiety to crank the story out is shoved aside by GET IT RIGHT! And my definition of RIGHT in writing is: fully grown in style, depth, and especially intrigue where the only question asked is, "How can we even consider passing this up?"

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I never thought I would put the brakes on getting a project submitted before. But it doesn't seem so crazy now. Because, what's the point on whipping something up and getting it out there, when there are "insteads", "what ifs", and "better thans" begging to be asked?

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Angie Dicken is a full-time mom and lives in the Midwest with her Texas Aggie sweetheart. An ACFW member since 2010, she has written five Historical Romance novels, has a Historical underway, and is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of The Steve Laube Agency. Angie also spends her time designing one-sheets, selling Jamberry, and drinking good coffee with great friends. Check out her author page at www.facebook.com/dicken.angie and her personal blog at angiedicken.blogspot.com