Writers: How do you view Labor Day? Work or Play?

I typically blog on Wednesdays and Fridays, but I feel strongly on this topic so this is a special blog post. I hope that you will share your opinions in comment.

Writing is not a job it’s a vocation. It’s a passion. It’s a way of life and who someone is. That is why writers don’t take off holidays like Labor Day. I see and recognize the value. I’ve even worked ahead on my work so that I can devote some extra time to my family today, but I can assure you that today, I will still write. Even if it’s not the normal daily word count, I keep moving forwards.

Bob Mayer says in his book ‘Write It Forward: From Writer to Successful Author’ (formally titled ‘Warrior Writer.’) that writing is a marathon, not a sprint and he couldn’t be closer to the truth. I have to constantly keep reminding myself of this. In fact, I keep this quote in bold type taped to my white erase board in my office. I’m not a patient person but I love to write—it’s part of who I am and I will stick with it. I’ve already beaten the odds. I’ve finished two fiction manuscripts and published one non-fiction book with another in the works.

So, to me Labor Day doesn’t mean to take a day off and recognize the hard work that I’ve done, it means to take a little time off and recharge before diving into more hard word on the very holiday.

Today, my husband and I are taking our daughter to an indoor water activity park in the morning. She loves the water and it’s just too hot to play outside. This will be fun and successfully tire her out for a great afternoon of naptime. Then my husband can do yard work while I work. See what a planner I am? J

What are you doing on this Labor Day? Are you writing today?

Announcements:

My new website is up and running www.NatalieCMarkey.com I recently added some new speaking engagements and courses. I invite you to take a look around.

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. Click here for more information.

I’m teaching a Write It Forward Workshop titled, ‘Writing Moms: How to do it all without losing your mind’ online in October. Click here for more information and to sign-up.

If you are a writing mom I encourage you to visit the #WriteMom community of Twitter. Share your joys, successes and stress with others writing moms. Learn more here.

Making good use of great distractions

I’m use to distractions. Being a writing mom, it comes with the territory. Normally my distractions come in the form of my adorable daughter, handsome husband, troublesome dog and nagging housework. This week something glorious has happened. I’ve been dreaming in book scenes. Perfect, beautiful book scenes. So, why is this a distraction? These scenes have nothing to do with my current WIP.

Ugh!! I know, right—HUGE DISTRACTION.

So, like a good author, after each dream I wake to say the following phrase, “I will not write this amazing new story….yet.” Then I proceed to grab the trustee pen and paper on my nightstand and jot down as many notes and things I can remember. Throughout the day I keep that pad with me and continue to keep notes on this new developing project but I will not start writing it until my current fiction project is complete.

I have a rule that I stand by. I will not write more than one fiction and one non-fiction project at a time. Working on those two simultaneously is fine but I will not take on more. For me, I like being able to switch back and forth between a fiction and a non-fiction project. As I’ve said before, it is the cure to all writer’s block.

So, this is how I’m handling my big writing distraction at the moment. And it is serving as a great sense of motivation for me to move along on my current project. I do love my current project but these dreams really make me excited to finish and dive into some new work. I was discussing this very topic over on the #WeWrite community this week with author Anna DeStefano and I love something that she said. I often agree with what she says, but in this case she said that dreaming about a new story is THE BEST place in a story’s journey. This is so true. So, until I’m able to get to work on this new and exciting project I’m going to enjoy this part of the journey. I’m going to enjoy and record the dreams.

Have any of you experienced this? How have you handled it? Please share in a comment.

Announcements:

My new website is up and running www.NatalieCMarkey.com I recently added some new speaking engagements and courses. I invite you to take a look around.

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. Click here for more information.

I’m teaching a Write It Forward Workshop titled, ‘Writing Moms: How to do it all without losing your mind’ online in October. Click here for more information and to sign-up.

If you are a writing mom I encourage you to visit the #WriteMom community of Twitter. Share your joys, successes and stress with others writing moms. Learn more here.

Blog Spotlights:

By author Keli Gwyn ‘How to Get Your Blog Post on Google’s First Page’

By author Susan Bischoff ‘Respect for the Gifts’

By author and publisher Bob Mayer ‘The Changing Landscape of Publishing for Writers’

By author Joy E. Held ‘Getting Lost in Your Own Mind’

The power of #WriteMom

If you haven’t read Kristen Lamb’s book, ‘We Are Not Alone: The Writer’s Guide to Social Media’ then please stop reading this and go read it now. The writing industry in particular is very overwhelming. As Kristen points out in her book, the writing community is alive and well online so use it. Learn from others, network and ask your questions. A fast, easy way to connect is on Twitter through the #MyWANA hashtag. That stands for “My We Are Not Alone” based off Kristen’s book. Here writers meet up and spread the love. Learn more here.

But you have a bubbly toddler and can barely make time for plotting your book during her nap times. How can you make time to chat with some people online? The question is; how can you afford not too?

I’ve been a freelance journalist for ten years. When I decided to add author to my writing credentials I knew that I was going to have to learn a lot. The most important thing I’ve learned in a little over a year is the value of discussion. Of course you must make time to write in order to be an author but you have to also understand what you are doing. Connections are important and it’s those connections that sometimes pull you through that troublesome scene.

You—with the bubbly toddler are not alone. I’m right there by you. I hold multiple National and local freelance contracts, promote my published book, research and write my next non-fiction, submit my young adult, write my middle grade, manage my speaking engagements and online course teaching schedule plus all the other things that come with the job title of “writer” all while caring for my thirteen-month-old daughter. I apologize for the insanely long run-on sentence and that didn’t even include Oscar, my special needs dog that is very high maintenance. The point is we all are busy and juggle a million things regardless what your day is like. As Kristen’s book stresses, you are not alone. This goes for writing moms as well as writers. This is why I’m launching #writemom on Twitter.

When you Tweet, add #writemom to your message. Make sure you do this when you are tweeting about writing progress good and bad. Soon we will have a community of writing moms. We can share the joys of publishing milestones, the stresses of deadlines and the frustrations that being a mom can add to all of this. After having a career in public relations and television prior to writing full-time, I’m convinced that this is the most difficult job. And when you add the pressure and duties of motherhood to your writing role—it can get very overwhelming.

When times are stressful remember that you are not alone. So many writing moms are making it work and look easy everyday. Share your success, advice and stories at #writemom. There is power and strength in community. Use #writemom to celebrate, vent, cry, laugh, rant, etc. Let #writemom refuel you for your next writing sprint and help you reach your goal. I’ll look forward to seeing you in the community. Happy Friday and to the power of #WriteMom!

I’m teaching a Write It Forward Workshop titled, ‘Writing Moms: How to do it all without losing your mind’ online in October. Click here for more information and to sign-up.

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. Click here for more information.

I’ve been out of the loop this week. Please share some great blog posts that you’ve seen for this week’s blog mash-up.

Give me a break! And it’s good for my writing!

As a writer I can relate to that constant nagging pull to keep writing and meet that writing goal. However, sometimes the best thing for your writing is to just take a break. As I’ve said before, there is no such thing as writer’s block. When a scene proves to be a challenge, just walk away from it. Even if it is just a little while. Any break, no matter how short it may be can help the quality of your writing and manuscript.

For writing moms, this advice is very easy to follow. When I feel like I’ve hit a dead end or I’m struggling with a scene, I take a break and play with my daughter. This accomplishes two important things. First, I get to play with the most beautiful little girl in the world. Secondly, it gets my mind off that troublesome scene. There is such a thing as working too hard. It’s easy to get so focused in work but really a break can do wonders for your work and for your life.

Rewards are also a great way to celebrate reaching a goal. I love rewards! I rarely go over my writing goal because I don’t want to overwork myself. Instead, I treat myself to an hour of reading a book of my choice.

What do you do for a writing break? Do you give yourself a reward when you’ve reached a goal?

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. Click here for more information.

This October I’ll be teaching ‘Writing Moms: How to do it all without losing your mind’ with Who Dares Wins Publishing’s Write It Forward Workshops. Click here to sign up or for more information.

Blog Mash-ups:

Author and social media expert Kristen Lamb’s “The WANA Theory of Book Economics: Why Traditional Marketing Doesn’t Sell Books.”

Pitch University’s Diane Holmes’ “Using Major Turning Points: Pacing Advice By Christopher Vogler” And FYI I’m currently reading his book, “The Writer’s Journey” and loving it!

Some motivation from author Candace Havens off author Anna DeStefano’s blog, How We Write Wednesdays.

The privileges of being a working-from-home-mom

I work from home as a full-time freelance writer, author and speaker. I am fortunate to have a skill in which I can have the luxury of working from home. This gives me the opportunity to also care for my daughter, who is a one-year-old today.

I’m convinced that this is one of the hardest jobs. I’ve worked in NYC PR and ran creative services for one of the fastest growing CBS affiliates. I was the youngest business development director for a national advertising firm. So, I’ve had high-stress, fast-paced jobs and being a work-from-home- mom takes the cake. If you also have the privilege that I do, then I’m sure that you will agree. I am using the word “privilege” because I’m ashamed to be guilty of complaining about the some day’s seemingly impossible task of juggling both being a mom and a professional.

Currently a friend of mine from college is losing her baby boy to brain cancer. Hearing their story has been a wake up for me. I know I mentioned this last week in a blog post and I don’t mean to be repetitious, but I feel that this point cannot be stressed enough to moms that work at home. Last time I spoke about this, there was hope for this precious little boy. Now, the family has been given the devastating news and is being forced to decide where they want to be when this battle reaches an end.

Working-from-home-moms have the privilege of being winners in both aspects of their lives. We can have our career and hang on to something of ourselves that doesn’t involve Gerber hanging from our shirts. But the most wonderful thing is that we can be there for every milestone, every smile and laugh and answer to the wonderful call of “Mama.”

When you are your own boss, you don’t have someone hovering over you and setting your schedule. You can set your schedule for what is best for you and your family. I typically get the most of my work done from 5-7 AM and then 8 PM on. This blog is a little late today because I had the wonderful opportunity to spend my morning with a smiling birthday girl when she chose to wake up earlier and start her special day.

As your own boss, you do not have paid vacation, personal or sick days. Therefore, it is easy to get caught up in the always-growing to-do-list and take every moment that you can to work. The publishing industry is not for the faint at heart. It takes more than great ideas to make it as an author. It takes dedication, sweat and sometimes—tears. The work will get done. It is important for anyone that works from home to sit back and recognize special days that deserve a lighter load.

Today, my priority is my daughter. I will get some work done. I even have a scheduled phone interview at 8 PM tonight, after my daughter is in bed. Today is our day to celebrate her. I’m currently reading ‘Eat That Frog!’ by Brian Tracey, which Kristen Lamb recommended in her recent book, ‘Are You There Blog? It’s Me, Writer’ (a must read if you haven’t.) Tracey’s book talks about doing the hardest and most important things on your to-do list first and focusing on them. This is the best way to get ahead of game and accomplish your goals. I also think that it is easy for professionals that work from home to either get overly focuses on the career or the home. For me it is the career. Really, you don’t want to see the neglected housework at times. But I urge professionals that work from home, especially moms, to make every moment and smile count with your child. To be able to work from home is a gift not just for your benefit, but for your child’s as well. Don’t lose sight of it. My friend would give anything to not be going through what her family is facing. I am lucky to have a healthy, beautiful daughter and I’m not going to lose sight of it for a moment, especially today on her birthday. So, I’ll be seeing y’all later tonight on Twitter but for now, I’m taking some personal time and being a mom.

Announcements:

My friend that I mentioned, Kara Sikes and her family need all the prayers and thoughts that they can get today. Her son, James’ story is heart-breaking but serves as a critical reminder for us all to make every moments count and to treasure our children and loved ones. Her blog has been getting page views from all over the world. If you can spare a moment, please think of this family in their time of need. I pray that I never have to know what they are going through.

Dog’s are not immune to unwanted medical conditions. My recent book, ‘Caring for Your Special Needs Dog’, helps owners learn common sense tips that can improve their dog’s quality of life and save some money. 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.

The Working Mommy: What to do with separation anxiety?

This week I’m in New York City, where I use to work in PR, for the Romance Writers of America National Conference. I love being back in the Big Apple, but this does create some challenges at home for my husband. Since my almost one-year-old has started saying “Mommy,” or as she says it, “Mamamama,” it has been hard to leave her. Her normally cheerful demeanor becomes fussy and irritable. And let’s not even go into Oscar, the dog’s behavior. I’ve come to accept that if I’m not in the room, he won’t eat.

So what is a Mommy to do? Many of us still work, and I consider myself very lucky to work from the comforts of my home, with my daughter and Oscar. Now, I’m not pretending to be any expert on the topic, but here is my plan. Let’s call this an experiment and I’ll let you know if it works. Here are my steps to helping child separation anxiety for the traveling mommy.

1. Make sure that your child is with someone that they know.

2. Take time to call and talk to your child. My daughter is about to turn one and it made my day today when I called and she laughed and babbled back at me!

3. Bring your child a souvenir. I got my daughter and adorable bear from FAO Swartz.

4. As a writer, I still have work when I’m at a convention. I have columns, this blog, etc. Take advantage of what free time you might get and work ahead. This way you can afford to take a day or two off when you get home for a play day. Honestly, I could use a play day after this conference!

So, what do you think? Have you followed any of these ideas? Did they work? Share your suggestions in a comment and I’ll be sure to let you know how this little experiment of mine goes.

Happy writing, working or whatever you do as a working mom :-)

Announcements:

I have launched my official writing website. You can visit it at www.NatalieCMarkey.com Thanks to my fabulous brother for doing such a great job. Now I'm sure I'll have some new ideas after this conference :-)

My non-fiction, ‘Caring for Your Special Needs Dog,’ is out. Vets will always be your first resource in pet care, but as owners, we have a lot of power in giving our dog the best possible life. It is currently selling for $2.99 with a percentage going to The Texas A&M Foundation to the benefit of the Neurology Section, Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinarian Medicine.

I’m participating, as an author in The 400 Hundred Hours to Four Hundred Days blog tour. The purpose of this is to celebrate the upcoming release of L Carroll’s second book, ‘Four Hundred Days.’ A component of this tour is a social media contest. If you are interested in winning a free book read the rules below.

The goal behind this contest is to spread the word about Four Hundred Days as far as possible to as many people as possible.

Four Hundred Days is the second book in the Lor Mandela series by L Carroll. It’s a captivating trilogy.

Win Nice Girls Does Noir by Julia Crane

To Enter:

· Tweet “Join us on the 400 Hour to @FourHundredDays blog tour (participants add your link to this contest here)

· Leave a comment with the links.

Extra entries

· Facebook about the contest. (+1 entry)

· Change your Facebook Image to the 400 Hours to Four Hundred Days blog tour button for the duration of this tour. (+3 entries)

· Change your Twitter avatar to the 400 Hours to Four Hundred Days blog tour button for the duration of this tour. (+3 entries)

· Blog about this tour. (+5 entries)

· Grab the 400 hours to Four Hundred Days button and place it your blogs sidebar. (+3 entries)

· Youtube about the 400 hours to Four Hundred Days tour. (+10 entries)

As I mentioned, I'm out of town and I'm having some internet issues. You can find the 400 Hours to Four Hundred Days blog tour button at Woven Strands

Contest Ends at 11:59 July 15^th 2011

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