Share Your Story in Cup of Comfort!
Calling all Love Birds and Golf Lovers! The submission windows for A Cup of Comfort for Couples and A Cup of Comfort for Golfers are still wide open. We're most interested in well-crafted narrative essays that convey a universal truth in a personal and creative way. Stories can be humorous or serious, but always uplifting or inspiring.
You'll find complete details in the online Call for Submissions and in the Writers Guidelines.
Submit your stories now!
Showing posts with label Cup of Comfort. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cup of Comfort. Show all posts
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Kelly L. Stone, guest blogger
How To Find Time to Write Despite Your Busy Life
By Kelly L. Stone
When I tell people that I've written three books and started a freelance writing career while holding down a full-time job, their jaws drop. Then the inevitable question follows: how did you find the time? That is the basis of my book Time to Write: More Than 100 Professional Writers Reveal How to Fit Writing into Your Busy Life. In that book, I reveal how I and the other authors managed to find time to write and get published, all while holding down jobs, caring for families, juggling household responsibilities and managing to get sufficient amounts of sleep.
The bottom line is, we're all busy, sometimes to the point of feeling frantic. But finding time to write can be done, no matter how busy you are. Here are just a few of the tips from my book:
1) Make writing appointments. Making time to write is similar to any new activity that you are attempting to fit into your life; let's use exercise as an example. How do you do it? You plan ahead. You decide that you'll exercise for twenty minutes, three times a week. You might choose Tuesday and Thursday at four o'clock and Saturday at nine o'clock. It's the same idea with writing. Decide when you will write, and then jot it down in your calendar. Whatever time slots you choose, write them down and then.
2) .keep the appointments. Just like you won't reap the health benefits that come with exercise if you don't regularly break a sweat, you won't reap the benefits of consistent writing if you routinely blow it off. So work hard to keep that writing appointment. Treat it like it's "real," just like an appointment with the doctor or at your child's school. The only way to do this is to exercise self-discipline and make yourself follow through.
3) Stay Focused. When it's writing time, you should be writing. Don't let yourself get sucked into surfing the Internet, checking e-mail or making a grocery list.
4) Plan your work. When you make the weekly appointments, also plan what you'll be working on during that time: Monday you'll use your twenty minutes to create plot points, Wednesday you'll use the hour for writing freely on your draft and during Friday's thirty minute session, you'll revise what you did that week. Maximize the time spent at your desk by planning ahead how you'll tackle that day's writing session.
5) Set long range and intermediate goals. Knowing what you're striving for (long range goals) will help you decide how much time you need to write and how much work you should produce during that time (intermediate goals). For example, decide what date in the future you want to have your book finished. Then, work backwards to determine how much writing you should do every week to meet that deadline. If the draft of your novel will be four hundred pages and you want to finish it in a year, then you'll have to write thirty-three pages per month (four-hundred divided by twelve), or roughly eight pages a week (thirty-three divided by four). If you write three days a week, that's two to three pages each sitting. Break your writing down this way to make time management seem easier.
6) Make up lost time. Let's face it--life happens. If you miss a writing appointment because your kid gets sick or your car breaks down or there's a family function you simply must attend, cut yourself some slack, but do plan to make up the lost time the following week if possible. This means you might have to make four writing appointments instead of your usual three, or write two hours one day instead of just one. Make every effort to stay on track with your weekly goal.
7) Reward yourself. This is an important step because you want to associate positive feelings with that self-discipline you've been practicing. It reinforces the behavior and increases the chances that you'll do it again. So at the end of each week that you kept your writing appointments, do something nice for yourself. Take a bubble bath, get a pedicure, have a romantic dinner with your spouse or buy your favorite author's latest release. You can even reward yourself at the end of each writing session. For example: If I write for thirty minutes, I can watch General Hospital.
Finding time to write is a dilemma that every writer faces, published or not. The tips above are based on my interviews with over one hundred professional writers on how they do it, and there are a lot more in my book. Give them a try!
Kelly L. Stone (www.kellylstone.com) began a freelance writing career while holding down a full-time job. Her articles and essays have been published in Family Circle, Writer's Digest, Cat Fancy, Chicken Soup for the Soul and Cup of Comfort. Her debut novel, Grave Secret, was released in September. Her book Time to Write: More Than 100 Professional Writers Reveal How to Fit Writing Into Your Busy Life is now in stores. Her next book, Thinking Write: The Secret to Freeing Your Creative Mind, will be released in October, 2009 and demonstrates how to apply the power of your subconscious mind to your writing aspirations.
By Kelly L. Stone
When I tell people that I've written three books and started a freelance writing career while holding down a full-time job, their jaws drop. Then the inevitable question follows: how did you find the time? That is the basis of my book Time to Write: More Than 100 Professional Writers Reveal How to Fit Writing into Your Busy Life. In that book, I reveal how I and the other authors managed to find time to write and get published, all while holding down jobs, caring for families, juggling household responsibilities and managing to get sufficient amounts of sleep.
The bottom line is, we're all busy, sometimes to the point of feeling frantic. But finding time to write can be done, no matter how busy you are. Here are just a few of the tips from my book:
1) Make writing appointments. Making time to write is similar to any new activity that you are attempting to fit into your life; let's use exercise as an example. How do you do it? You plan ahead. You decide that you'll exercise for twenty minutes, three times a week. You might choose Tuesday and Thursday at four o'clock and Saturday at nine o'clock. It's the same idea with writing. Decide when you will write, and then jot it down in your calendar. Whatever time slots you choose, write them down and then.
2) .keep the appointments. Just like you won't reap the health benefits that come with exercise if you don't regularly break a sweat, you won't reap the benefits of consistent writing if you routinely blow it off. So work hard to keep that writing appointment. Treat it like it's "real," just like an appointment with the doctor or at your child's school. The only way to do this is to exercise self-discipline and make yourself follow through.
3) Stay Focused. When it's writing time, you should be writing. Don't let yourself get sucked into surfing the Internet, checking e-mail or making a grocery list.
4) Plan your work. When you make the weekly appointments, also plan what you'll be working on during that time: Monday you'll use your twenty minutes to create plot points, Wednesday you'll use the hour for writing freely on your draft and during Friday's thirty minute session, you'll revise what you did that week. Maximize the time spent at your desk by planning ahead how you'll tackle that day's writing session.
5) Set long range and intermediate goals. Knowing what you're striving for (long range goals) will help you decide how much time you need to write and how much work you should produce during that time (intermediate goals). For example, decide what date in the future you want to have your book finished. Then, work backwards to determine how much writing you should do every week to meet that deadline. If the draft of your novel will be four hundred pages and you want to finish it in a year, then you'll have to write thirty-three pages per month (four-hundred divided by twelve), or roughly eight pages a week (thirty-three divided by four). If you write three days a week, that's two to three pages each sitting. Break your writing down this way to make time management seem easier.
6) Make up lost time. Let's face it--life happens. If you miss a writing appointment because your kid gets sick or your car breaks down or there's a family function you simply must attend, cut yourself some slack, but do plan to make up the lost time the following week if possible. This means you might have to make four writing appointments instead of your usual three, or write two hours one day instead of just one. Make every effort to stay on track with your weekly goal.
7) Reward yourself. This is an important step because you want to associate positive feelings with that self-discipline you've been practicing. It reinforces the behavior and increases the chances that you'll do it again. So at the end of each week that you kept your writing appointments, do something nice for yourself. Take a bubble bath, get a pedicure, have a romantic dinner with your spouse or buy your favorite author's latest release. You can even reward yourself at the end of each writing session. For example: If I write for thirty minutes, I can watch General Hospital.
Finding time to write is a dilemma that every writer faces, published or not. The tips above are based on my interviews with over one hundred professional writers on how they do it, and there are a lot more in my book. Give them a try!
Kelly L. Stone (www.kellylstone.com) began a freelance writing career while holding down a full-time job. Her articles and essays have been published in Family Circle, Writer's Digest, Cat Fancy, Chicken Soup for the Soul and Cup of Comfort. Her debut novel, Grave Secret, was released in September. Her book Time to Write: More Than 100 Professional Writers Reveal How to Fit Writing Into Your Busy Life is now in stores. Her next book, Thinking Write: The Secret to Freeing Your Creative Mind, will be released in October, 2009 and demonstrates how to apply the power of your subconscious mind to your writing aspirations.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Book Signings, Christmas, Dogs and Horses
Carole Thompson, author of the short story, A Bag of Sugar for Paula, at the Book Nook in Blairsville, GA. Her story is included in the anthology Christmas Presence, edited by Celia Miles and Nancy Dillingham.
I awoke early today, Saturday, another rainy day, but delightful day for me. Shirley Uphouse and I had a date to sign books at the Mountain Valley Country Store in Hayesville, NC, a really neat place for animal lovers. Saddles, bridles, halters, and everything needed for horse owners. Dog food, dog toys, dog "clothes", and anything one might want for a beloved dog. Lots of cool clothes, leather, jeweled jackets, boots, and jeans and hats. Just the place to find folks interested in our books.
We sat up our table in a little spot out of the way and not easily seen by incoming customers, but since this was where the owner placed us, we were grateful to be there.
This morning I baked chocolate chip cookies and found an 8x10 photo of Barry riding his horse. My story, An Angel Named Amos, is about him and a very special horse. I placed a holiday plate filled with cookies and the framed photo on the table with my Cup of Comfort for Horse Lovers books.
Shirley brought her book, My Friends, My Dogs, and placed one on an
easel. Her book has an attractive cover with a Keeshond on the front.
Before I could get my books out, two writer friends, Nancy Simpson and Glenda Barrett, appeared to buy copies. I know that neither of them are horse enthusiasts, so I hope they give the books as gifts, (after they read my story). With friends like this who support my writing, I feel extremely blessed. Both of them already had copies of My Friends, My Dogs.
Two ladies approached and said they had seen the article about our book signing in the local newspaper. One lady wanted two copies for two horse loving sisters.
Clay County poet, Brenda Kay Ledford bought a book and stuck around to take a photograph of Shirley and me.
By this time I had forgotten the nasty weather outside. It did not seem to slow the traffic coming into the store. Recently I read that the smell of chocolate increases the desire to shop, so I offered everyone a cookie. A few just followed their noses and ended up at our table.
Since I enjoy meeting and talking with people, I sold two books for Shirley, having to go find her at one point so she could sign one for the lady. I was having fun!
I only had ten copies of Cup of Comfort for Horse Lovers. I sold nine. One I gave away. Lorraine and Chip, owners of the store refused a commission on the books, which was extremely nice of them.
Yesterday, I kept Carole Thompson company while she signed copies of Christmas Presence at the Book Nook in Blairsville, GA. The store quickly sold out and Carole's husband had to go home and bring more books.
Could it be the season? Could it be the books and the subjects of the books? Christmas stories appeal to all of us, and make wonderful gifts.
Shirley's book and the anthology I signed appeal to animal lovers and almost everyone is a dog or cat enthusiast. In our area many are horse people. I met a teenager today who said her family owned twenty horses and three of them belonged to her. She brought her mother over to buy a book.
We have issued a call for submissions for our next NCWN West anthology. When it is published, we want to hold signings in every town in our area. We'll be sure to bake and serve chocolate chip cookies.
We sat up our table in a little spot out of the way and not easily seen by incoming customers, but since this was where the owner placed us, we were grateful to be there.
This morning I baked chocolate chip cookies and found an 8x10 photo of Barry riding his horse. My story, An Angel Named Amos, is about him and a very special horse. I placed a holiday plate filled with cookies and the framed photo on the table with my Cup of Comfort for Horse Lovers books.
Shirley brought her book, My Friends, My Dogs, and placed one on an
easel. Her book has an attractive cover with a Keeshond on the front.
Before I could get my books out, two writer friends, Nancy Simpson and Glenda Barrett, appeared to buy copies. I know that neither of them are horse enthusiasts, so I hope they give the books as gifts, (after they read my story). With friends like this who support my writing, I feel extremely blessed. Both of them already had copies of My Friends, My Dogs.
Two ladies approached and said they had seen the article about our book signing in the local newspaper. One lady wanted two copies for two horse loving sisters.
Clay County poet, Brenda Kay Ledford bought a book and stuck around to take a photograph of Shirley and me.
By this time I had forgotten the nasty weather outside. It did not seem to slow the traffic coming into the store. Recently I read that the smell of chocolate increases the desire to shop, so I offered everyone a cookie. A few just followed their noses and ended up at our table.
Since I enjoy meeting and talking with people, I sold two books for Shirley, having to go find her at one point so she could sign one for the lady. I was having fun!
I only had ten copies of Cup of Comfort for Horse Lovers. I sold nine. One I gave away. Lorraine and Chip, owners of the store refused a commission on the books, which was extremely nice of them.
Yesterday, I kept Carole Thompson company while she signed copies of Christmas Presence at the Book Nook in Blairsville, GA. The store quickly sold out and Carole's husband had to go home and bring more books.
Could it be the season? Could it be the books and the subjects of the books? Christmas stories appeal to all of us, and make wonderful gifts.
Shirley's book and the anthology I signed appeal to animal lovers and almost everyone is a dog or cat enthusiast. In our area many are horse people. I met a teenager today who said her family owned twenty horses and three of them belonged to her. She brought her mother over to buy a book.
We have issued a call for submissions for our next NCWN West anthology. When it is published, we want to hold signings in every town in our area. We'll be sure to bake and serve chocolate chip cookies.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
HAYESVILLE NC, BOOK SIGNING AT THE MOUNTAIN VALLEY COUNTRY STORE
The Mountain Valley Country 
Store, route 69, Hayesville, NC will hold their Christmas Extravaganza on Saturday December 20.
Store, route 69, Hayesville, NC will hold their Christmas Extravaganza on Saturday December 20. Shirley Uphouse will be signing her book My Dogs My Friends starting around noon.
Glenda Beall will be signing copies of the anthology, Cup of Comfort for Horse Lovers edited by Colleen Sell and published by Adams Media.
This book is filled with stories that celebrate the extraordinary relationship between horse and rider.
Both books make great last minute gifts for animal lovers.
The store has a great selection of items for dogs -- toys, leads, bones and of course, food.
Horse enthusiasts will find jeans, boots, hats, saddles, bridles and grooming tools here.
Saturday, December 20th is the annual Mountain Valley Country Store Christmas Extravaganza! THE EVENT MASTER, Gary St. Pierre, with his all new Christmas Show. The store will be open late with STORE WIDE SAVINGS -- food and refreshments from 4 until 8. Register now for a $500 Shopping Spree to be given away at 7:00 pm. You must be present to win !!!
Shirley and Glenda invite anyone in the Clay and Cherokee area of NC and the folks in north Georgia to come by.
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