It's all about showing up for work.
While it would be fun for me to say I sit and write in my pajamas all day long, it would be far from reality. Like most mother's, I wear many hats during the course of my day – and only one of them is that of an author.
I used to stress myself out by writing a word goal on my calendar every day. I'd send myself reminders on my phone twice a day (once in the morning and once at night…crazy, I know!) I had sticky notes stuck to my computer monitor with the word goal in plain sight. Then when the day job called, the kids needed attention or dinner needed to be cooked, I'd add stressing about missing my word goal to the laundry list of daily to-do's.
Did this torture work? No. The words I did get on the page were more out of frustration than anything I'd called "inspired!"
A few months ago I sat myself down and did an internal review. I don't work well with numbers posted in every possible place. I need a simple plan. Yes, the KISS plan applies here: Keep It Simple, Stupid!
One page. Even if the muse is on vacation, I can surely bang out ONE PAGE a day. I did the math - one page a day all year is 365 pages. The bonus? Without the stress of thousands of word hanging over my head everyday – the muse shows up early for work and that one page turns into three or four. Score!
In addition to training the muse to write that one page everyday, I can found online:
Website: http://www.deboradennis.com
Blog: http://www.thesaucyscribe.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/DeboraDennis.Author
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/DeboraDennis
Thank you for having me stop by today!
Debora's latest release is A Knight In Her Arms is available now!
Blurb:
Dreaming of the past. Hannah Falcon loves her job cataloging medieval artifacts and setting up the displays at the Natural History Museum in New York City. What she doesn’t love is her friends insisting she date more. When a man dressed as a medieval knight shows up in the museum, Hannah mistakes him for her friend’s latest attempt at a blind date.
Sent into the future: Sir Gavin of Rogueforth is a battle-hardened twelfth century knight who expects nothing more from life than to live and die by his sword. Sent through time to protect a woman named Hannah and claim her as his own, he expects a reward. He doesn’t expect a woman who refuses to be protected.
Can one passionate night, ten days before Christmas, convince a twenty-first century woman to follow her heart and show a medieval knight there's more to life than being a protector?
Excerpt:
Prologue
England, 1192
"Sir?" The squire slowly approached Sir Gavin of Rogueforth, who sat alone in front of the roaring fire with a trencher of food in his hands.
An orange flame spiked in the hearth, warming Gavin's tired legs and half-frozen feet. He needed to teach the boy to know better when he didn't want to be disturbed. Turning toward the squire he nodded for him to speak.
"A woman wishes an audience with you."
"Who is she?" Exhausted and hungry, all he wanted was to eat and sleep. "Can it not wait until morning?"
"It's the old woman from the road, Sir. She is alone."
Gavin barely had time to put his trencher on the table and stand before she walked across the vaulted room and into view.
He immediately recognized the woman cloaked entirely in black, the strands of her hair barely contained beneath the hood. He'd come upon her and another female companion that morning as their coach was under attack from a band of highway thieves. The body of her son lay dead on the road.
She removed her hood and said, "Sir, I wanted to thank you properly for aiding us today."
Her wrinkled, frail fingers clutched at the neck of her cloak. She did not smile, but her eyes held a twinkle he found curious for a lady who'd faced the death of her son mere hours before.
"I'm sorry I didn't arrive soon enough to save your son." Sorry didn't seem enough, but after years of witnessing death both at his hand and that of his enemies, he had no other words to offer.
"I am sorry too, and I will grieve his loss for the rest of my life. He was ill prepared for fighting, I'm afraid. I am not here to talk of my son, but to reward your service. My daughter Hannah is safe tonight because of you."
Available at:
All Romance Ebooks: http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-aknightinherarms-586348-141.html
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/78585
Barnes & Noble: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/A-Knight-in-Her-Arms/Debora-Dennis/e/2940013111103
Bio:
Debora Dennis writes spicy romance with timeless adventure which takes her everywhere from contemporary erotic novellas to historical novels with a paranormal flair. An avid romance reader since she first discovered Barbara Cartland in her junior high library, she’s never without a book on her nightstand or in her pocketbook and now on her NOOK. Always the optimist and firm believer that love really does conquer all, every story she writes celebrates romance. You can find her stories everywhere digital books are sold.
Thanks for being here today, Debora! Your post is just what every aspiring writer needs to learn - putting a word goal target on yourself to achieve every day will do nothing but stress you out. I always put a figure in my head that I KNOW I can achieve and as you said, more often than not you exceed that. Happy days!!
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Thanks for having me!
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