Do you know the write you?

And yes I misused "write" on purpose to get my message across. This past month I've been talking about dog training on my Special Needs Dog Care Examiner column as a part of National Dog Training month. And now today I've been prepping my lesson plans for my upcoming Writing Moms Workshop and it occurred to me that writing, dogs and parenting has one major thing in common- do you know yourself?

This is an area that every professional no matter what you do can grow in. I'm currently rereading "Emotional Intelligence" while reading "The Brain and Emotional Intelligence: New Insights" both by author Daniel Goleman. i normally wait to talk about books, if I'm going to, after reading them but both of these books really take the concept of knowing yourself to a common sense level. I really believe in understanding your emotions, environment and desires and incorporating all of them into discovering the best routine for you.

Such understanding can be applied to all area of your life. Yes, even dog training because if you don't know yourself how can you control a dog?

For writers though, knowing yourself can really help you develop a pattern of when to do various tasks. For example, I know that I write better in the morning so that is when I work on my WIP's. The rest of my day is divided among various tasks along with chasing my very active toddler. I use the evening hours to work of revisions, social media and prep for the next day.

What have you done or read lately that has helped you better know yourself? How did you apply this to make you a better writer, parent, or person?

Announcements:

My Writing Moms Workshop starts this Monday, March 5. Registration is still open.

I had some great opportunities to guest blog for some great author’s and friends last month.

The ever-changing writing process at author Colin Falconer’s blog

Finding Inspiration from Unlikely Sources at author Kristen Lamb’s blog

Being a flexibly, trained writer at author Rachel Harris’ blog

Woof Wednesday: Doggy assistant, excuse or both? At author Amy Shojai’s blog.

Who Dares Wins Publishing offers fantastic writing craft and industry Write it Forward Workshops. Be sure and check them all out here.

Writing while chasing a toddler

It takes a special kind of person to be a writer. A writers life is a difficult life filled with challenges, disappointments and lots of waiting. Now, add an active toddler in that mix. Being a writing mom (or Dad) takes even more discipline, planning, patience and the "want" than a typical writer.

All writers are busy but writers with children have to be a little more creative. I'm not talking being more creative on plots and characters, writing parents must be more creative with their time.

As a writing mom of a toddler and multiple deadlines I know that I get the most work done by waking up early. That may not be the advice that you wanted to hear but it is the most beneficial, at least for me. I've also learned ways to create more time. I'm a huge fan of my new slow cooker! And working out may seem to take time away from your writing but in reality it helps me stay well and clear my head so that I'm more productive.

Modern day technology also is a friend to writing parents. I have revised and plotted chapters while chasing my toddler. My iPad helps me with this task but you could use anything. A simple old-fashioned pad of paper and pen will do the trick.

The main thing to remember is to plan and make the most of the writing time that you do get. Being a writing parent is a challenge but you are not alone.

I will be teaching another class of my Writing Moms: How to do it all without losing your mind Write It Forward Workshop this March. It is a month long workshop focused on busy writing moms, something I know a lot about. Click here for more information.

Announcements:

February is National Dog Training Month. For helpful tips on training the furry friends in your life follow my Examiner column, Special Needs Dog Care.

Who Dares Wins Publishing offers fantastic writing craft and industry Write it Forward Workshops. Be sure and check them all out here.

My book, Caring for Your Special Needs Dog is out and a percentage of the profits go to The Texas A&M Foundation to the benefit of the Neurology Section, Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinarian Medicine.

Do you work with time or against it?

Author Joy E. Held always brings excellent advice in her guest posts and today is no different. All writers, whether we are juggling another job or working as a writing mommy or both can benefit from time management advice.

Someday's do you just feel like pulling out your hair, or lose your stripes? The always-evolving need to manage my day efficiently reached a new level this week as my daughter is now walking! But maybe we are looking at this all from the wrong perspective? So without further adieu, I give you Joy Held.

There are five primary areas of practice to the Writer Wellness plan. Every other week I will post an idea at my blog http://www.writerwellness.wordpress.com for relaxation (Monday Meditation,) creative play (Tuesday Tickle,) fitness and exercise (Wednesday Workout,) journaling and misc. (Thursday Thought,) and nutrition (Friday Feast.)

“Time management” is an oxymoron. We can’t possibly manage time. It does what it wants regardless of our efforts to wrangle it into submission. It marches on no matter what. Trying to manage time is frustrating because it’s a little like herding cats or nailing Jello (trademark) to a tree. Time has a mind and a mission of its own. Time cannot be told what to do and it cannot be beat into submission. But time rules the world and we will continue to know frustration until we develop a different relationship with time.

We can either work with time or we can compete against it. The competition idea is largely responsible for our feelings of frustration. “There is never enough time to get everything done,” we say out of habit. “I make lists, but there isn’t enough time to get it all done in a day.” While lists are a proactive method for dealing with our frustrations about not enough time, they too can cause us to “grrrrrr” at the end of the day’s allotted time when we realize how much of the list did not get accomplished.

Try feeling time instead. It’s a practice born of meditation’s ultimate lesson in patience. Begin by, and I hesitate to say it, setting a stopwatch or timer when you practice meditation. Do not set the timer for ten minutes, close your eyes, and breathe until the timer goes off. With the timer at zero, first close your eyes, push the button, and breathe. Meditate until the feeling arises that the session has come to an end. Open your eyes and see how long you have practiced. Regardless of how many minutes have passed, end the session. Do this daily and the time you meditate will gradually increase on its own in a natural way. Putting a time limit on your daily meditation practice is contradictory to the purpose. The purpose is to love your time here, not manage your time here.

Meanwhile, remember to look for a digital or print copy of Writer Wellness, A Writer’s Path to Health and Creativity at Who Dares Wins Publishing, http://whodareswinspublishing.com.

Announcements:

I will be hosting a live webinar on September 26 6:30-8 PDT with Farm Dogs USA titled ‘Caring for Special Needs Dogs.’ My lecture will be based off my book, ‘Caring for Your Special Needs Dog’ along with new research I have found. Click here for more information.

Some great writing time management advice that I read this week came from author Kait Nolan. Check out her post, ‘It’s Easier to Maintain Than Rebuild/Redue.’

Don’t miss Bob Mayer’s insightful post, ‘Thriving in the Chaos of Publishing.’

I also loved Kristen Lamb's post (though I normally love her stuff!) , ‘The Devil in the Details- 3 Ways to Make Your Writing Shine.’

Using Twitter for networking and education with hastags

First of all, I'm sorry to the late post. If you follow me, then you know that I always post on Wednesdays and Fridays. I was out of town with no Internet access and had scheduled this post to come out on Friday. However, Blogger apparently didn't like me last week so with out further delay....

As a mom, author and CEO of my household, I’m always looking for ways to maximize and safe time. For me, a groundbreaking discover was Twitter. Of all the professions, I believe that writers have managed to really tap into the power of this networking tool. Writing community hastags are plenty and if you can take a few times a days to follow the Tweet Deck streams of these groups, then you can learn a lot while networking in an easy, fun environment. The wealth of knowledge on Twitter is vast so it is a useful place for continued education and industry discussion.

I love to follow #MyWANA, #WeWrite and #ScriptChat. #MyWANA came about from Kristen Lamb’s ‘We Are Not Alone: The Writers Guide to Social Media’ Her groundbreaking social media book has connected writers through Twitter at the frequently visited hashtag, #MyWANA. This is a group for writers that help writers promote. Whether it is to connect with writers or to look for an article to read and retweet, #MyWANA may be the place for you.

#WeWrite is a great place to learn about the writing process and how writers approach their work. #WeWrite was created by authors Anna DeStefano and Jennifer Talty. Sometimes specific topics are discussed and sometimes people just love to throw questions out there.

Recently, I have found #ScriptChat. It all started when I spent the wise price of $10 to take a pre-conference class on screen writing at the RWA National Conference several weeks ago in NYC. I have studied many forms of writing from journalism to creative structure but I’ve never done anything with screen writing. This seemed like a fun challenge and a learning experience. Bill Pace taught the course and was great. After the class, #ScriptChat founders Jeanne V. Bowerman and Kim Garland ran a panel discussion on social media. I loved hearing their approaches to Twitter and Facebook. They spoke about #ScriptChat and since I loved the screen writing class I made a point to attend the next chat session, which occurs every Sunday evening. It was very informative. Most of the time, I’m guilty of lurking with this group but I highly recommend them.

By targeting specific hashtag groups on Twitter, you can easily accomplish some continuing education and valued networking. Twitter can become an addiction. I recommend scheduling times to check Twitter and use it for brief breaks. You are the only one who can discover what works for you.

Announcements:

If you know me, then you probably know that next to dogs my favorite animal is a shark. I love diving with them and studying them, therefore one of my favorite weeks of the year is Shark Week on Discovery Channel. It starts July 31 this year. As a lead up to the festivities, the largest shark tank in the world at the Atlanta, GA Aquarium has set up a live streaming video from inside the tank. They have Whale Sharks in there guys and this is my new addiction. Enjoy it on this Monday.

Thanks for all the well wishes for Oscar, my dog who has been in and out of the hospital. He is going to be fine. It turns out that Oscar is just stressed and may have to go on a tranquilizer. We are not surprised. He feels the need to run everything and puts so much responsibility on himself. He is the best dog and I am feeling so much better knowing that he is fine. You can read my book that he inspired, ‘CARING FOR YOUR SPECIAL NEEDS DOG.’

How a work-at-home mom learned structure from commercials

I thought I was busy writing, scheduling and directing commercials and promotions when I worked at a CBS television staying. I was wrong. I use to say, “if some asks what I do all day since filming a thirty second commercial only takes thirty seconds,” I would hit them. In case you are at risk of my wrath, filming a thirty second long commercial is a major business production. You have to:

1. Know your clients goals

2. Write a commercial that will use words and imagery to convey client’s objective.

3. Secure any props, actors, etc. Schedule the shoot.

4. Action: Shoot the commercial or promo

5. Review the footage

6. Edit

7. Show the client and hope that there are no changes.

The next time you are watching television, you may even be watching now, pay close attention to the commercials. I thought I was busy. I was so wrong. Being an author and professional writer, working from home with my daughter is the best job I have ever had. It is also the busiest and most challenging I have ever had. But this former PR/Communications specialist utilizing old checklists to sift through the day and be great in my current career.

1. Know your goals, both long-term and short-term. Prioritize them and keep them somewhere where you can frequently see them.

2. Write a list of tasks to do that will lead you to the goals.

3. Secure anything you need for the tasks. Prepare.

4. Action-work on daily goals and tasks.

5. Review completed goal

6. Edit- does completed goal need anything else?

7. Show the current status to the client (that’s YOU) Look at where you are and where you want to be. Make task changes accordingly.

But what when something doesn’t happen according to the schedule? Yep, this is the area in which I need the most work. Stuff happens, it apparently came with the title of mom. But how can you live without a to-do list? I’ll show you how even the most “must follow the list” person (moi) is making things work.

You may or may not have noticed a shift in my blogging style. I use to mostly write on writing because that’s what I thought writers did when I joined the blogging world. Now, I know better, thanks to having read Kristen Lamb’s latest book, “Are You There Blog? It’s Me, Writer.” The purpose of this blog is to SERVE YOU, not for me to bore you with whatever “writerly” issue is on my mind.

From now on, I’m blogging about what I know and what I’m best at—Time management related skills. Trust me, raising a baby and a high-maintenance dog has trained me to pull time out of thin air. That’s right ladies and gentlemen, I can create time; but it’s a talent I must train and practice with each day. If you stick with me, I’ll share with you my triumphs and my failures, hoping that together, we can navigate the toys and that flying hunk of sweet potatoes along the road from Pen to Publish.

Announcements:

My non-fiction, “Caring for Your Special Needs Dog” is available for $2.99. A percentage of the profits go to The Texas A&M Foundation to the benefit of the Neurology Section, Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinarian Medicine. Texas A&M CVM published a wonderful article regarding my book.

I really recommend buying "The Writer's Conference Guide" written by Bob Mayer and Jennifer Talty. This is perfect, especially if you are preparing to go to the RWA conference next week. I'll be there :-)

Blog Mash-up:

Rachelle Gardner- Commonly Confused Words

Lynette Labelle- Questions You Must Ask an Agent Before You Sign

The Writer's Alley- The Makings of a Character

Kristen Lamb- Give a Dry Blog New Life-The Power of Themes

Bob Mayer- If I Build It. They Will Come; If I Write It, They Will Read It

The writing mom: Becoming the efficient writer

I’ve worked in New York City public relations and CBS Television, both high-pressured jobs, but now I believe the job I’ve had this last year is the world’s most challenging. Being a writing from home mother has both challenged and improved my writing. For almost a year now I have been juggling freelance deadlines, a non-fiction book release and the completion of my YA Fantasy, all while caring for my baby. Caring for my daughter has taught me many things about writing with efficiency and time management.

Probably one thing that has helped me the most is making reasonable day-part goals. What I mean by this is that I divide up my to do list. I have a morning to do list and an afternoon/evening to do list. This prevents me from getting completely overwhelmed and gives me a better chance at accomplishing my goals.

You can create such a list because you know when you can get the most work done. I know that I get the most done between 5AM and 7AM. Because of this, my morning to do list is longer than my afternoon to do list. This really gets my day off to a great start, being able to cross several items off my list before my daughter ever wakes up.

As a writing mom it is smart to always work at least a day ahead, goal wise from where you want to be. Your writing is no longer just dependent on you, you must be prepared to have a poor writing day because you need to care for a sick child. Luckily, my daughter has yet to have a sick day but there are days that she requires more attention then others. I love being a writer and it gives me the flexibility so that I can still be a great mom. By working ahead, I’m able to take longer breaks to play with my daughter when she wants it.

Writing moms must be efficient. When I became a mom and also became more of a plotter. I must know where my story is going because I may have sporadic writing sessions. Being a better plotter has helped me to be more efficient in making my sometime short writing “sprints” worth it. I can’t just sit and wait for inspiration to strike. When my baby is napping I work quickly, making my way down my to do list. I require more focus, which means I have set times when I check in with social media. When I was new at being a writing mother, nap times were so tempting to take over any writing time I get. When you do sleep, get the most of the rest. To make my nights more productive I set an hour aside before going to bed just to read. This slows my brain for the night instead of diving into a restless slumber. A nice bubble bath can also serve as a relaxing evening activity. Let your mind be cleared before restarting the crazy, baby set routine the next day.

Being a writing mom has made me a much more efficient writer. We have to be in order to accomplish our goals. I’ve also hired a nanny to help me part-time. I love this arrangement because I know I’ll get some writing accomplished but I’m still there when a little girls want to give her “Mama” a hug. I am living both words, and for now it is worthy. Plus I never know when she will inspire me or make me laugh, like in this picture of her helping with some page proofs.

Writer mommies out there, what have you learned from being a mom that has helped/improved your writing time and skills? Share your story/advice in a comment below. But first for some announcements:

My book, “Caring for Your Special Needs Dog,” is out by Who Dares Wins Publishing. A percentage of the profits go to The Texas A&M Foundation to the benefit of the Neurology Section, Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinarian Medicine. To learn more about the book, which is currently selling for $2.99, click here.

Weekly Blog Mash ups: For my first blog mash up I'm sharing some of my favorite people to follow. They know writing, the craft and the industry, If you're a writer, you must follow these blogs.

Write It Forward- Who Dares Wins Publishing

Ending Unplanned- Rachel Harris

Warrior Writer- Kristen Lamb

PW Creighton- Phillip Creighton

Piper Bayard- Piper Bayard

Anna Writes- Anna DeStefano