Holy Homesteading

The Delight is in the Details

When it comes to the details of a story we can tend to sink in the quagmire of description. It can downright Tolkien for some folks. Others of us can see it in our head but it's missing in action on the page. The rule of THREE for details: Details must be concrete. Be specific.Continue reading "The Delight is in the Details"

Creating organization for creatives

Do you love lists or are you a visual person? I love lists. I have so many lists: a to-do list at job 1, another one at job 2, a meal plan list, a grocery list, a list of writing projects I’m working on and plan to work on, a random to-do list on myContinue reading "Creating organization for creatives"

Activating Setting Within Story

Setting can be as shallow as the seasonal stream along the road or as bottomless as an ocean chasm. I've talked about setting before in another way and love how it was described at a KDL Conference I attended a year ago. These ideas build upon each other like a blocks. Master each level throughContinue reading "Activating Setting Within Story"

Accountability matters

When my alarm goes off and it’s dark outside, all I want to do it hit snooze. But I always think about my accountability partner. She’s probably working out right now because she’s amazing. I can’t let her down. We’re on this journey together. So I get up and, after walking my dogs, I changeContinue reading "Accountability matters"

Yay! A Rejection Due to Similarity

If you've gotten a rejection from an agent that says, "I really like this story and it's a good fit for my tastes, BUT I already have something similar on my list." You know it hurts. You're close but getting an agent can be like a chasm you can throw your manuscript across but notContinue reading "Yay! A Rejection Due to Similarity"

‘What if?’ insurance

We have car insurance and health insurance, but what about "What if?" insurance? What if your car breaks down? What if you're laid off? What if you get seriously sick? What if your computer dies and the manuscript you've been working on for two years dies with it? What if you get in a carContinue reading "‘What if?’ insurance"

Scrabble Photo Panel DIY

I tend to hoard scrabble games. Peices go missing and I end up canabalizing them to make a complete set. I've already used the extra boards for a chalk board DIY but what about the tile trays? Combined with a favorite peice of fabric I constructed a photo panel. To replicate this DIY you willContinue reading "Scrabble Photo Panel DIY"

A coffee creamer lover’s dream

Fat is good for you. Read that again and internalize it. Fat is good for you. I’m not a nutritionist, but I’ve learned a lot from reading and listening to nutritionists' work. After listening to Dishing Up Nutrition, a podcast by Nutritional Weight & Wellness, I’ve learned a lot about what is good for ourContinue reading "A coffee creamer lover’s dream"

A Coffee Date

I need to say a HUGE thank you! 500 of you have liked our blog enough to follow us on a weekly basis. That makes my heart so glad and we are honored. Thank you! As a blog we are going to try something new and I'd like to take a moment to chat aboutContinue reading "A Coffee Date"

Budgeting matters in the creative life

My husband and I recently completed Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University, so together, our financial budget matters. But so does our time budget. Your grandma's birthday is this weekend? My best friends's birthday is next weekend and I work all day. Why does money and time matter to the creative life? We need to budgetContinue reading "Budgeting matters in the creative life"

Using Maps for Plotting

I have great writing friend who is brilliant with characters. Whereas my skills lie in the plot. We could learn a lot from one another. We tried the other day and came up with a functional medium, we hope. Here goes, if you start with characters or with plot try this tactic and see ifContinue reading "Using Maps for Plotting"

Got goals? Learn from the pros!

Last week we discussed #goals. This week, we’ll talk about how to achieve those goals. Here’s a simple step-by-step process that takes a lot of time and effort: Step 1: Learn from the pros. Step 2: Do what the pros do. Step 3: Achieve goal. No matter what your goals is – writing a book,Continue reading "Got goals? Learn from the pros!"

Letting Go of Perfect

Some days I'm convinced perfectionism is a shape shifter. As I edit my drafts and continue down this writing path I get more and more 'finished' projects. At least I think they are finished, till I read them again a week or two later. What happened to my perfect project? Why do I hate theContinue reading "Letting Go of Perfect"

Life #goals

Last week I shared a post about why we want to quit and talked about how important it is to flip the question and instead think about why we are doing whatever it is we're doing in the first place. I talked about goals a bit and I want to develop the idea that goalsContinue reading "Life #goals"

Finding Your Picture Book’s Place

So you a have the most wonderful, adorable, unique idea for a picture book. Great! But what kind of picture book is it? Does it matter? Yes, it really does matter if you are planning on sending those words out into the world. First, you'll need to decide on the age range of your story.Continue reading "Finding Your Picture Book’s Place"

Why do we want to quit?

My 6 o'clock alarm goes off and I want to roll over and skip my workout because I’m tired and hate mornings until I have coffee in my hand. Halfway through my writing project, I think it's dumb and want to stop writing because it’s crap and I can’t imagine who would like it anyway. When I haveContinue reading "Why do we want to quit?"

Using Arc Beyond Characters

I've talked about character before but I'm going deeper this time. Have you ever thought about giving a character like arc to things that technically are not characters? Did I just lose you? What I'm getting at is that characters are not the only ones that change within a story. At least they shouldn't beContinue reading "Using Arc Beyond Characters"

Get your creativity flowing again

When your creativity flows more like a slow trickle instead of a gushing waterfall, it’s time to rest. I could be poetic and say something like… Creativity is an ever-flowing waterfall. Whether it’s trickling or gushing, it’s always running. Until it stops... But I’m too tired for that right now. I’ve been working A LOTContinue reading "Get your creativity flowing again"

The Young Adult Book Buyout

I'm a little riled up. I just saw a list circulating Twitter for young adult stories set in college. Young adult is supposed to limit the age of the characters in the book to 18. So unless you are all writing the next version of Young Sheldon Cooper I don't know why this list exists.Continue reading "The Young Adult Book Buyout"

The power of ‘no’

Saying “no” can be powerful. As a people-pleasing, passive person, I rarely say no in real life. When I do say no to a friend or loved one, I feel super guilty about it for weeks. No, I can’t go to the movies this weekend because I have plans with my husband/mom/grandma/husband’s mom or grandma.Continue reading "The power of ‘no’"