SET YOUR INTENTION EACH DAY

Set Your Intention Each Day

Each day upon awakening, ask yourself.  “What is my intention for the day?”  This is really just another way of asking yourself “What do I want for myself and what am I willing to allow into my life?” Examples of daily intentions are “Today I intend to write at least 500 words” or “ My intention today is to extend kindness to every person that I encounter.” Most people give very little thought to their daily desires. Chaotic, overscheduled lives often cause us to live in an unconscious way.  As a result, we wind up creating lives that cause dissatisfaction and inner turmoil by default. Intention is a powerful tool that will help you manifest your heart’s desire and accomplish your writing goals, one day at a time. You may find that once you begin setting an intention each day, you feel the need to make drastic life changes related to your job, relationship status or family life. Or perhaps the only things will change is the way you view life and your new found sense of joy. Declaring a daily intention will help you clarify your values and determine what will truly bring you happiness. In addition, your awareness will shift and you will attract the people, experiences and things that you want into your life.

Aileen McCabe-Maucher is the author of the book "The Inner Peace Diet" which was published by Penguin Books and released in December 2008. Aileen is a licensed clinical social worker and psychotherapist who has helped many people find inner peace and discover their unique life purpose. Aileen has worked for over fifteen years as a licensed psychotherapist and registered nurse providing individual and group counseling to a diverse client population. She is a graduate of West Chester University, Widener University, University of Delaware, and The Gestalt Therapy Institute of Philadelphia at Bryn Mawr College. Aileen completed her yoga teacher training at Leela Mata's Peaceful Valley Ashram. She is currently pursuing a doctorate at the University of Pennsylvania and writing her third book.

For your free copy of Aileen's 7 day "Inner Peace Diet", please visit www.theinnerpeacediet.com today.

Inspirational Quotes for Writers

No matter where we are in our writing career, we all need encouragement. It's amazing how a simple gesture - a hand on your shoulder, a smile, or a few words can make all the difference.

                                                             

Whether you are a successful, accomplished author or you're working on your very first book, let these inspirational quotes give you the encouragement we all need at one time or another:

"I dwell in possibility."

- Emily Dickenson

"It's never too late to be what you might have been." 

- George Eliot

“The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” 

- Agatha Christie

“Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.” 

 - Stephen King

“Self-trust is the first secret of success."

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

“I like good strong words that mean something."

- Louisa May Alcott

 "If you do not hear music in your words, you have put too much thought into your writing and not enough heart."

- Terry Brooks

 

“You have to protect your writing time. You have to protect it to the death."

- William Goldman

“Success is a finished book, a stack of pages each of which is filled with words. If you reach that point, you have won a victory over yourself no less impressive than sailing single-handed around the world."

- Tom Clancy

"If you start with a bang, you won't end with a whimper."

- T.S. Eliot

 "In a mood of faith and hope my work goes on. A ream of fresh paper lies on my desk waiting for the next book. I am a writer and I take up my pen to write."
  - Pearl S. Buck

"Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart." 

-William Wadsworth

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Kathleen Moulton is a member of the Working Writer’s Club and monthly contributor to Heartbeat the Magazine. You can find her passion to bring encouragement and hope at When It Hurts – http://kathleenmoulton.com

Article photo credit: Βethan / Foter / CC BY-NC-ND

Compliment Vs. Complement

There is no one as bad as I am about getting words mixed up. Lie vs. lay is one of my biggest errors. I don't know why but it is. The point is I really have no room to criticize others, but there is still two words that really bug me when I see them misused, and I have been seeing it more and more. Those words are compliment and complement.

They have been misused in books, journals, sales flyers that stores put in the newspapers, and I've seen it on billboards. Being one of those crazy people who actually owns a dictionary, I looked up both words to find the following definitions:

Compliment--An action showing praise and respect.

Complement--That which serves to complete; the full number required.

Our readers expect writers to know what they are doing, and that applies to not only our writing but our spelling and grammar. So we must be aware of our spelling and meaning of words along with all the other aspects of writing.

Faye M. Tollison

Author of: To Tell the Truth

Upcoming books:  The Bible Murders

                             Sarah's Secret

Member of: Sisters In Crime

                   Writers on the Move

www.fayemtollison.com

www.fayetollison.com

www.fmtoll.wordpress.com

www.booksinsync.com

To Be or Not To Be--A Self-Published Author

How To Publish A Book?

Just under a week ago, Bob Medak wrote an interesting article for Writers on the Move discussing when is the best time to build an author platform. But the last line stopped me in amazement.

"Authors," he wrote, " should have their book published the way they wrote it."

To my surprise, no one even queried the statement, far less took him to task. But as a judge for the recent Global e-Book awards and member of an enthusiastic Kindle publishing group, I have to disagree or at least urge caution on any author thinking of going it alone.

So many potentially good books cannot achieve the success their authors deserve because 

• poor editing leaves muddled sentences, glaring grammatical mistakes and confused plot lines.
• poor formatting renders books irritatingly untidy and difficult to read
• poor spelling and proofreading stop the reader from concentrating on the story or information provided.
• the cover does not have sales appeal.

A reader who is disappointed in the presentation of a book will not buy from the same author again in a hurry.

Advantages of Self-Publishing

• Publish the book the way you, the author, wrote it--but please employ an editor and proofreader.
• Have the last word in the design of your own cover--but consult a good graphic designer or at least visit a site like The Book Designer.

 The designers' comments here on the great range of book covers submitted for awards are helpful and informative and teach what makes a cover attractive to buyers.

• Check and recheck your formatting till it is absolutely perfect.
• You have complete control over your own work. 
• You can publish as fast or as slowly as you like. You make your own deadlines.
•  You have the joy of learning all the ins and outs of the business.

Advantages of Traditional Publishing

•  The editors, proofreader and cover designer will be provided. They are professionals and will advise on what sells.
•   The formatting will be handled by someone who knows the job and the pitfalls.
•  A good publisher, editor, cover designer will listen.
•  You will have more time for writing. 

There is of course the downside.

• The length of time between contract signing and publication date.
• Less income as you have effectively outsourced the work of publication.
•  You may not have the book published the way you wrote it but then and again it might just be a smidgeon better. 

 Anne Duguid is a senior content editor with MuseItUp Publishing and   her New Year's Resolution is to blog with helpful writing,editing and publishing tips at Slow and Steady Writers far more regularly than she managed in 2011.

What I Did This Summer: Learning Opportunities in Writing

It’s a good idea to always be on the look-out to learn all you can about writing. I recently found a few things that helped and I would like to share them with you today.

In my efforts to improve my writing abilities and learn more about the field, I have been busy this summer, making use of classes, workshops and conferences. Last month, I told you about a two-week class on writing children’s books, with the help of a coach (Suzanne Lieurance of the Working Writers Club) and a software program (How to Write a Children’s Book in 14 Days (or Less!) by Mel McIntyre). If you missed my July post, you can find it here: http://www.writersonthemove.com/2012/07/write-childrens-book-in-14-days.html. I’m still working on my do-over efforts.

In July, I attended an in-person one-day picture book workshop taught by Liz Garton Scanlon, www.LizGartonScanlon.com.  We studied the form and craft of picture books. The author of four picture books, Liz shared her expertise with us, discussing conflict, characterization, setting, language, revision, and other aspects of writing a great picture book. 

If you are able, going to a workshop, class or conference in-person is a great way to learn as well as network. I realize attending a writing event in-person may cost more, but it’s worth it. If you don’t know where to look or haven’t had luck at finding a writing event in your area, you can read more about that in my March post, How to Find Writing Workshops, Seminars and Conferences in Smaller Markets, http://www.writersonthemove.com/2012/03/how-to-find-writing-workshops-seminars_19.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+WritersOnTheMove+%28Writers+On+The+Move%29.

This month, I attended a free online writing conference, WriteOnCon, www.writeoncon.com. For two days, authors, agents, and editors shared their knowledge, answered questions, critiqued and gave away prizes. The day before the conference, attendees could submit queries, pitches and the first 100 words of their manuscripts for critiquing. If you missed it, this year’s WriteOnCon, as well as the 2010 and 2011 conferences, are archived on their website, http://writeoncon.com/2012/08/writeoncon-2012-full-schedule/. (Another free online writing event, the Muse Online Writers Conference, is held every October. You will find more information at their website, http://themuseonlinewritersconference.com/.)

I haven’t written as much as I would have liked this summer, but I have been fortunate to meet other writers and gain insight from industry professionals. What have you done this summer to learn more about writing and to improve your skills?

Debbie A. Byrne has a B.S. in Mass Communication with a minor in History. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and is currently working on her first children’s book.

Writing Tip: Different Ways to Take Notes on the Go

Different Ways to Take Notes on the Go

Guest Post by Heather Smith

Every writer can attest to the fact that inspiration can strike at any time, paying no heed to whether it’s convenient for you or not. More frustrating than that is when you are suddenly struck with an idea, and not just any idea but the best idea, but you are out and about with no way to jot said idea down. “I’ll remember”, you think, but in reality by the time you get home and try to put pen to paper the idea has long since been erased from your memory, with only the vague edges of it flitting in and out of your brain, taunting you. It is times like this that remind us how essential it is to have a fast and easy way to jot down notes or ideas at any given moment, and these four ways will appeal to every type of writer out there:

1.    The classic notepad – If you’re into the old school approach to taking notes, then keeping a small notepad and pen with you at all times is essential. While some people may scoff at this pen and paper approach, there is something whimsical about whipping out your notepad at any given second and taking down a few words of inspiration.


2.    Voice Recording – Sometimes it’s easier to talk out ideas than it is to write them down, and this is where a voice recording device comes in quite handy. You may look a little strange walking around talking to yourself, but it’s likely that you’re not going to forget anything that way either. And being able to go back and listen through your ideas over and over again can help spark creativity in a way that a text note might not be able to do.


3.    An email draft – When you’re tied up at work, running errands, or you’re out socializing with friends and you have no way to preserve an idea then it might be easiest to just open an email draft and type out a few key points. Then you can save it to your drafts or email it to yourself without any worry of losing the spark of creativity.


4.    Evernote – If you’re like most people these days with your phone being an essential part of your person at all times of the day then the Evernote app can come in quite handy. Evernote allows you to jot down notes or talk them out and record them, take photos, and craft monster to-do lists, and then syncs the content with all of your devices.  Added bonus: it’s free.

You aren’t always going to be able to sit down and write when an idea sparks your creativity, but you can be prepared to take down some notes in any given situation as long as you’re prepared. Find a note-taking solution that works for you that way you’re never caught off guard when writing creativity strikes. With each of these options appealing to a different type of writer you’re sure to find one that fits you and your style. 

Author Bio: Heather Smith is an ex-nanny. Passionate about thought leadership and writing, Heather regularly contributes to various career, social media, public relations, branding, and parenting blogs/websites. She also provides value to nannies by giving advice on site design as well as the features and functionality to provide more and more value to Nannies.net and families across the U.S. and Canada. She can be available at H.smith7295 [at] gmail.com.

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Getting Back on Track from a Writing Vacation

Has your writing taken a summer vacation?  My critique group took a hiatus during the summer and so did my writing life.  I needed the break.  Spending time gardening, camping with friends and cooking over a fire was just what this writer needed.    But now I need to refocus. 

Did the hiccups of a summer routine interrupt your writing?  Maybe you took a vacation or have been playing solitaire way to much.  If so, here are four steps to get back on track.

1. Connect with your critique group or writing support system—My critique group met tonight.  It’s only been two months since we last met, but it was like meeting long lost friends.  We mostly spent the time talking about our summer and how we feel about our writing at this juncture.  We set a date in September to begin are bi-weekly meetings.  Just connecting with this group, starts my creative juices flowing. 
2. Identify small action steps – Select one writing project and dissect it into manageable pieces to get you started.  This is especially important if you are feeling overwhelmed. 
3.  Mind-map your writing life—In the last Writers On the Move blog post, Shirley Corder discusses mind-mapping as a way to stimulate the right brain.   For me, mind mapping my writing life is especially helpful when I have been disconnected from my writing.    I use the program Freeplane and identify the progress and next step for each of my writing projects.  Freeplane provides a visual map for my small action steps. 
4. Commit to a time to write – For the last few years, I had the luxury to be able to write for long blocks of time.  With a new job, I now have to squeeze writing into my life.  My plan is to write four mornings a week, before I start my day.   I’ll start my day by putting my goals first.

Have you slacked off this summer?  If so, how do you plan to reconnect with your writing life?

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Mary Jo Guglielmo is writer and intuitive life strategist. For more information check out  www.donorth.biz   or folllow her at:

http://theadvantagepoint.wordpress.com

http://helpingchidrencope.blogspot.com

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