“I’m just that ordinary Joe walking on the path of life … and sharing it with you. There are joys. There are tribulations. There are reflections.”
There are joys. There are tribulations. There are reflections. There is everyday life. In each essay, I try to convey a recognition of a greater Power who colors my perspective. My comments are always filtered through the lens of my Judeo-Christian values and largely based on 40 years of marriage raising five children.
About The Author:
Joe Siccardi has been an editorial writer, editor, and publisher for 52 years and publishes a blog at https://wisdomfromafather.com/. As he states, “I’m the ordinary Joe walking along this journey called life and sharing it with you.” He is the proud father of five children, 18 grandchildren, and three great-granddaughters. He currently lives in Dover-Foxcroft, ME, after life experiences in Paterson, Totowa, Newton and Ogdensburg, NJ; Belvidere, IL; Toledo, OH; Washington, DC; Laurel, MD; and Seneca Falls and Willard (Romulus), NY.
.
.
An Interview With Author, Joe Siccardi and His First Release – HEAVEN Shining Through … By Linda Parkinson-Hardman …
Our Author Interview, and today it’s the turn of Joe Siccardi, an “ordinary joe” from Seneca County, NY with his novel, Heaven Shining Through.
.
What is one thing people wouldn’t usually know about you?
I’ve been in the newspaper publishing business for over 50 years
.
.
What did the best review you have had say about your work?
.
I want to first of all say that this book really plays on your memories and emotions I laughed and cried. I laughed because I hadn’t heard the phrase “the rabbit died” since our first daughter was born 37 years ago. I cried with the significant relationships that were introduced and the heart felt real life meaning that the author put into them. I could really identify with these characters. A good, quick read. I highly recommend it.
Have you ever wished you could be or do anything else instead of writing, and if so, what?
No. I love writing. I always did from grade school on. I was fortunate enough to find a career in newspapers.
Have you ever written naked?
No … but I have written in my underwear
What is the best excuse you have had for missing a deadline?
The game went into overtime.
What has been the best experience of your life?
My 40-year marriage.
What is the strangest thing you have ever had to do to promote a book?
Do a local podcast … but instead of in person by phone 500 miles away
If you could commit the perfect murder, what would you do with the body?
Bury it in the foundation of a building or bridge.
WHO Doesn’t Need Some Extra “After The Holiday” Cool Cash? Well, if your writer? Get your writing chops on over at “Two Drops of Ink” and WIN you some cash! All The Details Are Below and HAPPY WRITING!
Best 1000 Words for the Image Contest
Note from the Editor-in-chief, Marilyn L. Davis:
The idea that a picture can convey what might take many words to express was voiced by a character in Ivan S. Turgenev’s novel Fathers and Sons, 1862: “The drawing shows me at one glance what might be spread over ten pages in a book.”
But, is a picture always worth a thousand words? Not necessarily.
So, here’s the challenge for all of Two Drops of Ink’s~ Cat Lyon’s Reading and Writing writers and readers.
. As the writer, you get to describe the picture. But it’s got to be more than just a park bench in autumn, regardless of how beautiful the leaves are. Show us how this park bench gave relief to the elderly couple who walked that path for twenty years or sat forlornly waiting for the bulldozer so the city could have another parking deck, or how this bench and all it stood for united a community.
Now I See It!
Do you see how those words add meaning? See how those words evoke a feeling in the reader? That’s the power of words and images combined.
For this contest, you’ll write at least 1000 words to tell a story, enchant us with a poem, or provide memoir-based problem-solving for the blogger or writer from the images.
.
Our monthly contributors may enter as well. It gives them an opportunity to get outside of their comfort zones and entertain, educate, or enchant us.
.
In the subject line of your submission, write, “Best 1000 Words for the Image Contest.” Send to twodropsofinksubmissions@yahoo.com
.
Deadline for this contest is December 8, 2018
.
Then, we’ll let the readers vote for their favorite.
.
The post that gets the most “likes” is the winner. The “like” button is below …
In many cases, the image will dictate what type of post you submit. Poetry, short fiction, memoir-based, or helpful hints … So go visit my dear friend Marilyn Davis and this article here “Two Drops of Ink” and pick which IMAGE calls you and the hints and get writing!
.
Tell your friends and families after you’ve submitted. Every vote counts.
Two Drops of Ink: The Literary Home for Collaborative Writing
My dear friend Marsha Friedman is back with News & Experts PR Firm with an exceptional article and inside view of just how a PR Media Pitch Happens! I really think this one will help to all who have wondered if they should use and hire a PR Firm and Why… ~Catherine Lyon, Author/Writer
.
If you’ve ever wondered how a successful publicity effort goes from idea to media pitch to publication, let me give you a little glimpse of the process behind the scenes.
Just recently one of our print campaign managers here at News & Experts . Ashley Pontius announced that she had something big to reveal about one of our long-term clients. It turns out that, thanks to Ashley’s work, this client was included in a lengthy Wall Street Journal article!
I asked for a little more detail on how this exciting coverage came about and I’m sharing the story with you because I think it’s enlightening for anyone trying to gain the media’s attention.
To begin with, this is a client we have worked with for about five years, and during that time we helped land them in Yahoo News, Reuters, CNN Money and the Washington Times, among other media outlets.
They continue to come back to us, knowing that we can help them get their message out to the larger world. They also understand that publicity isn’t a one-off. You have to keep at it if you want to remain relevant.
This client recently signed on for yet another campaign and Ashley reviewed their material. She noticed that one of the topics they were willing to talk about involved Generation Z, which is the generation born from the mid-1990s to the early 2000s. Ashley googled Gen Z and found that there seemed to be some interest in how Gen Z fits into the workforce, a topic that would tie into both the client’s message and one of its target audiences.
So she crafted a short pitch for print journalists, promoting our client as a source who could speak on a particular angle related to this topic. Nothing happened at first, but a couple of weeks later an email appeared in Ashley’s inbox. A Wall Street Journal reporter wrote that the idea fit perfectly into something the reporter planned to develop into a larger, in-depth piece.
Could Ashley set up an interview for her? She sure could!
.
.
If you break down what happened in this situation, you’ll find that it holds lessons for you:
Hone your message. When you reach out to the media, it’s always best if you can give them guidance on just how your expertise could fit into a particular angle for an article. Remember, in this case, the angle involved how Gen Z fits into the workforce. If you’re a financial professional, you might offer four money-saving tips for easing retirement anxieties. If you’re a chef, you could suggest unusual dishes for the upcoming holidays. While suggesting a specific angle, it doesn’t hurt also to mention that you can speak on other issues related to the topic as well.
Keep up with what’s trending. Don’t hesitate tomake use of the internet to learn what the media has written about in the past related to your topic. You’ll also want to keep track of the daily headlines to see if anything is being reported right now that would match your message. Are you an orthopedic surgeon who could comment on a new study about the most common sports injuries? Are you a small business owner with tips about staying afloat when the economy takes a turn for the worse?
Reach out to the media. Even if you’vehad contact with reporters or talk show hosts before, you shouldn’t sit around waiting for them to reach out to you. You don’t want to become a pest, but you do want to remind them – or let them know for the first time – that you’re available for an interview whenever something in your area of expertise pops up.
Respond promptly. Journalists are often on tight deadlines, so if you can’t provide them what they need quickly, they’ll find someone else who can.
Finally, what happened with our client is a marvelous example of why it’s important to stay on the publicity playing field and to constantly find ways to match your message with the latest trends in the news.
If you don’t keep current with fresh ideas that you can turn into pitches – and that the media can turn into coverage – then you’ll miss out on all kinds of publicity opportunities. And that would be a shame.
Get the idea?
~Marsha Friedman
About News and Experts
As an award-winning, top national public relations agency, News and Experts has been delivering highly specialized publicity campaigns for over two decades. Our specialty is creating angles we know the media will want to cover and will obtain quality media exposure for our clients.
Through the years, we have worked with clients spanning a wide array of industries from authors, publishing, health, food, music, software and finance, to politics. News and Experts customize its clients’ PR campaigns to focus on specific objectives and we only work with quality media to ensure the results meet our clients’ needs and expectations.
News and Experts was a pioneer in the field of public relations, offering pay-for-performance PR long before being joined by other agencies. Today, News and Experts represent all its clients on a performance and project basis.
Welcome, Everyone! Especially Those Who Love To Write!
I happen to be doing my Twitter book shares today for all my author clients and came across an amazing post by my dear friend and fellow writer, Marilyn L. Davis. Not only is she a “writing expert,” but I learn so much from her and her literary blog. I have written a couple of posts for her but this past year has been so busy with my marketing business and co-writing another with a friend that the time has just gotten away from me to write more for both her literary blog, ” Two Drops Of Ink ” and her informative recovery blog where I also write posts on From Addict 2 Advocate.
That will have to be my ‘New Year Resolution’ going into 2019, writer more for others! Lol. I am happy today to share her new post from her fabulous literary blog Two Drops Of Ink. Even though this article is from back in 2015? It is informative and has some amazing writing advice as to overcome that intimidating “Blank Page.” I hope all you writers who visit get something to take with you after reading this post. Make sure you take a visit to Marilyn’s blog. Some amazing and helpful tips there!
.
.
Overcoming the Big, Blank Page
By: Marilyn L. Davis
“Confront the page that taunts you with its whiteness. Face your enemy and fill it with words. You are bigger and stronger than a piece of paper.” ―Fennel Hudson, A Writer’s Year – Fennel’s Journal
Blank Page? Fill it Wisely
I have gotten emails from other writers asking how I continue to make my niches new and exciting. They perceive that I do not seem to suffer from Writer’s Block. The reality is that I do, from a different perspective, Writers Glut. I have too many ideas floating in my head, both forTwo Drops of Ink and my other blog, From Addict 2 Advocate.
One problem with brain overload is that we have difficulty focusing.
Just in case you didn’t know, the Megillah alludes to five books of the Bible read on certain Jewish feast days and considered by some as long and tedious, and frankly, long and tedious are the last things that people want in a blog post.
Too Much for Just One Page?
With too many words or ideas clamoring for attention, it’s often necessary to find ways to focus the writing. Certainly, you can free write and fill the pages with words, and in turn, move the random thoughts and ideas from brain to paper. Since it’s the first draft, you also don’t have to worry about how disjointed it might be.
Are you passionate, angry, or saddened by the subject?
Do you think there’s already too much information about your topic?
Is this a worthwhile topic?
Did you research to find correct, factual, and accurate information?
Can you support your information with credible links?
Can you add useful or valuable information about the topic?
What are your qualifications to write about a topic?
.
Mastering the Blank Page
.
.
After your point of interest, decide your level of skill in presenting the information.
Skilled
Authority
Knowledgeable
Professional
Expert
.
When you establish your skill level about the topic, approach it from the standpoint of the reader. Frame questions to help you narrow your focus.
.
What were you curious about when you didn’t have much information about the topic? What stimulated this interest? Write as if you’re discovering something beneficial and exciting, as this tone and sense of wonder will translate and engage your readers.
Remember what you did not know and tell the reader about it. While you’re an authority on the topic now, there’s always a backstory about what you learned. These stories can also add some humor. “Then there was the time that I didn’t understand…” and let your readers know that you’re an authority or knowledgeable, but had to learn a lesson the hard way.
We’ve all made mistakes, in fact, mine was misspelling message with massage and trust me, that one change in letters made my piece unacceptable for small children, even though spell check let it pass. Thank goodness for an editor with an eye for context like Scott Biddulph.
What to Leave In and What to Leave Out
As you learn and write about your topic, you may understand the subtle nuances of it. Elaborate on them. Remember, you’re not writing this as a new topic. You’re writing this with a skilled eye and can expand on the obvious facets of the topic. However, your readers may just be learning about the topic, so teach them. It is not redundant to explain the basic aspects of the topic.
If you have professional or expert knowledge about a topic, you need to let readers know that while any post is your opinion; you back it up with years of experience, your education, or current research.
Your readers know that you’ve worked in a field, have advanced degrees, or you can let them know where you’ve been published. Letting them know that other sites value your writing goes a long way in establishing this trust.
Even for an expert, it’s not enough to write about the technicalities, subtle nuances, obscure facts learned over the years, or minutiae of the topic; you still have to write new insights, interesting content, and provide original thoughts. Whichever skill level you have about the topic, it is your writing that will make it worthwhile. Your distinct tone, style, and phrasing can and will make it original, which allows you to produce a stand-out piece.
How you convey your information might be:
Repeating sage wisdom of the ages with a new twist.
Reforming someone’s thinking with persuasive facts, passion, and your point of view.
Revamping one of your old articles with updated information.
.
Taming Block andGlut
Some days, we simply have to accept that we can’t produce and publish a piece. We’re either too distracted to narrow the focus, too uncertain about our skill level of the subject, or we can’t think of a perspective that isn’t saturated. On those days, unless you have a deadline, give yourself a break.
.
.
Adopt the Scarlett O’Hara mentality, “I can’t think about that right now. If I do, I’ll go crazy. I’ll think about that tomorrow”, or remember the words of Ann Lamott, “The word blocksuggests that you are constipated or stuck when the truth is that you’re empty.”
When you think you’re empty, then reference the following:
Have you taken a reader’s comment and expanded on it?
What grabbed your attention today?
What piques your curiosity?
I think writers are often too hard on themselves. Writing is one of the few professions that it’s hard to walk away from because it doesn’t need an office. Furthermore, I’ve never seen any mention of traditional writer hours. For most of us, it’s when we’re awake.
Too Tired or Too Much Going on to Focus?
Writers are always writing, even if it’s just in our heads. We read signs on the road, imagine character’s conversations, or a great title pops into our brains while at lunch. Those are the creative ways that we think. But sometimes, all those great ideas don’t go anywhere.
Drink some tea, meditate, take a nap, or call it a day and go to bed and read.
After all, glut and block will undoubtedly pass by morning.
Here at Two Drops of Ink,we also believe that how something is said is just as important as what is said. In this spirit, we invite you to submit your writing.
Two Drops of Ink is accepting submissions for all genres except “R” rated romance or anything politically partisan.
How to Be Cost-Effective With Your Digital Marketing Plan ~ Strong Social.
Before the Internet, the advertising industry had a monopoly over media. If you wanted to advertise your brand and products/services, you needed to pay for an ad in your local or national newspapers, buy radio or television airtime, place ads on billboards, and so on. Now, anyone can advertise online for just a fraction of the cost of these traditional marketing techniques.
When it comes to brand promotion, both small businesses and large corporations have the same tools and strategies available to them. However, small businesses and startups have less money and fewer staff members they can rely on, which is why they should find ways to make their digital marketing plan as cost-effective as possible.
1. Social media
From startups to corporations to authors – everybody has a social media marketing strategy in place. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn are an integral part of every digital marketing strategy as they offer a large pool of potential prospects and tools for targeting specific market segments and demographics. Social media allows you to reach out to, stay in touch, and interact with your customers. This can significantly increase your brand’s visibility and requires just a portion of your marketing budget.
However, not every social media platform will help you maximize the benefits, so choose it wisely. Facebook has the largest pool of users and excellent targeting system, so it’s always best to start there. On the other hand, if you’re a B2B company, then LinkedIn should be your social media “weapon” of choice.
Use these platform’s analytics to understand your campaign’s performance, and engage with social media influencers. For choosing the right social media platform for your business, check out this guide on Medium.com.
2. Content Marketing
A well-designed content marketing process requires a content strategist, planner, creator, and editor. But if you don’t plan to post large amounts of content, this can be handled by one or two experienced content marketers.
When creating content, it’s important that it resonates with your audience. You can write informative and educational blog articles, engaging website copy, infographics, white papers, case studies, ebooks, or produce engaging video content. Whatever you want to go for (or your analytics point out that you should), remember that content marketing won’t give you any instant results. On the other hand, it is beneficial in the long run because it can help you build brand reputation, establish yourself as an authority in your industry, connect with potential customers, and build a trustworthy relationship with them.
Quality content can also help you rank higher in SERPs (Google loves the quality and relevant long-form content), increase your social media engagement (if your fans like it, they’ll share it), build your credibility, and help you generate and nurture leads.
3. Organic SEO
Paid search costs a bit more so you can go with the organic ways of improving website search engine rank. There are many ways to do it and prove to yourself that SEO doesn’t have to cost a lot. First, assess your website’s search engine optimization with Google Webmaster – register, verify your domain name, follow the steps, and the tool will give you some tips for your organic SEO, tailored to your specific website.
.
.
Because SEO targets people who are actively looking for products/services like yours, the website traffic you get is more qualified than in other marketing strategies, which will save you a great deal of money. Check out Neil Patel’s guide to SEO to get a better understanding of the concept along with some tips to get the maximum effect.
4. Email Marketing
Email marketing is not dead. It’s alive and well. It remains to be one of the most cost-effective marketing strategies out there. Even though it may seem to be lagging behind the latest digital marketing trends, email marketing can provide significant value to your customers. Email is a behavioral marketing tool, and thanks to personalization, segmentation, and behavior-triggered automation, you can boost customer engagement and turn them into your loyal brand advocates. Email marketing delivers the best ROI (in the US, for every dollar spent, it brings back $44), while the developments in machine learning will allow us to use email to predict what the customer does next.
5. Retargeting
Retargeting is one of the essential, cost-effective techniques for growing an audience. What is retargeting? It is known as remarketing. A form of online advertising that can help you keep your brand in front of bounced traffic after they leave your website. To be able to recognize a brand, people need to be constantly reminded of it. They may not remember it from when they initially visited your site, but you can re-engage them through retargeting, and many marketers see it as a sure way to drive repeat sales. With retargeting, you can ensure that they will come back to your site rather than go elsewhere to consume their content.
6. Mobile focus
Don’t forget about mobile marketing! There are billions of people around the world walking around with a smartphone in their pocket. Mobile ads get you more bang for your buck because they cost less than desktop ads. On Facebook and Google, it is possible to set up mobile campaigns and allocate your marketing funds to run only on smartphones with full browsers. This way, you can significantly stretch your budget.
To effectively advertise your business, product, and target your ideal customers, (readers) take your time to research and find out what will and won’t work for your company or brand as an author. By adopting some (or all) of these digital marketing strategies in your marketing plan, you will make your digital marketing plan more cost-effective, without sacrificing your ROI.
In case you need any help, reach out to Strong Social for help in blog writing, social media marketing, and lead generation. As a business leader, the chances are that you can do all these things yourself, but limited time and staff often make it challenging.
Please meet my friend Lorraine Reguly who like me wears many literary hats. Actually, funny story, and don’t know if Lorraine will remember this as it HOW we first met. When I first set up my recovery blog here on WordPress, I had NO IDEA what I was doing as I wrote my very first blog post. Lorraine came and gave it read. She then was kind enough to leave me a comment about how I wasn’t using correct spacing and paragraphing. Now, at first, I felt embarrassed, which then lead to me thinking, what the hell I am doing!!? Lol. Which lead me to, how dare her! Doesn’t she know I am not a writer? And my goodness! How dare she leave me such a rude comment? LOL!!
.
.
Well, if my first blogging and writing experience didn’t happen like this? I would not be writing today! Yes, I got over myself after and knew she was only trying to help guide me. We connected together all over social media and I have been learning from her ever since! So, thank you, Lorraine, for making me better at all that I do today. You know I love you to pieces! So, I was on Facebook and my dear friend and Author, Max Ivy., Jr. happened to reshare an article Lorraine had up on her site that is so informative I needed and asked her permission to share it with all of you. I thank her for doing so!
There are 6 things you can do to optimize your writing time so you can achieve your writing goals:
1: Determine your “best” time.
2: Determine your realistic writing time.
3: Determine the days you will write.
4: Make writing a priority.
5: Write during your spare pockets of time.
6: Optimize your writing time by getting help and outsourcing tasks/chores.
Now, let’s look at each of these in-depth.
NOTE: Two different planners are available to you in this post (for FREE)!
1: Determine your “best” time
The first thingyou need to do to optimize your writing time so you can reach your writing goals is to determine your best writing time. You can determine the best time to write if you know your body’s rhythms.
Do you write best in the morning, afternoon, or night?
When do you have the most energy? Write during that time!
A lot of people get tired in the late afternoon, but after they get their second wind, they are more energetic. When do you get your second wind? Write right after that!
Do you have more time on weekends? Write on weekends!
Do you exercise and eat healthily? Once you consider your diet and exercise habits, you can improve your energy levels. Some people feel more energetic when they drink caffeine (found in coffee, tea, and most sodas), while others find they are more energetic when they consume more water, eat more fruits and vegetables, and avoid sugar. Most people also function better when they exercise every day.
If you have a hard time finding your peak writing time, do some self-experiments. Write in the morning. Write in the afternoon. Then write at night. See what times you enjoy best, and see when you are most productive. Write during those times!
2: Determine your realistic writing time
The second thingyou need to do to optimize your writing time so you can reach your writing goals is to determine your realistic writing time. By this, I mean how long you can actually write for.
I don’t know about you, but I get tired of writing after a while. I certainly can’t sit and write for hours on end! I can write for only an hour or so before I get bored or tired of the task.
(Even when I’m editing, I only edit for two hours at a time, at most!)
By determining your real writing time, you will be able to schedule the times you write. By doing this, you will become more realistic with your goals, too. And when you are writing, you will simply write, because you know that, after an hour passes, you can move on to doing something else!
I like this concept because I also apply it to exercising. I hate the moments leading up to it and find it hard to motivate myself to exercise. But once I am actually doing that task, I know it’s not going to last forever. I know that it will soon come to an end! I can then force myself to finish my 30 minutes easily. Also, I always feel great afterward, so that is another added benefit!
3: Determine the days you will write
The third is, we all have busy schedules and often make the excuse that we can’t find the time to write. So how can you find time to do your best writing, even when you’re busy?
Make a schedule!
You need to do this to optimize your writing time so you can reach your writing goals. You can use this FREE PLANNER to help you. This planner is specifically tailored toward bloggers.
The other planner (the downloadable one) is for every writer to use.
Alternatively, you can use this planner. It’s also free and requires you to sign up to my email list but it’s a much better planner!!!
Look at your weekly routine. It is probably not feasible for you to plan to write every day. But if you know that you can write on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 7 and 9 p.m., then you should plan to write on those days.
Maybe Sunday is a good day for you to write. If you work a full-time job from Monday to Friday and run errands on Saturday, then that leaves Sunday as the best day for you to write.
You don’t need to write every day. Even writing just one day a week (and being faithful to that schedule) will bring you closer and closer to reaching your writing goal!
Think about it.
In one year, there are 52 weeks. That means there are 52 Sundays for you two write. If you spend one hour each Sunday writing and write (on average) 1000-2000 words each Sunday, you will have written a full-length novel within a year!
Any writing goal is easy to achieve if you look at the big picture and then break your goal down into small steps that are easily achievable!
4: Make writing a priority
The fourth thingyou need to do to optimize your writing time so you can reach your writing goals is to make writing a priority.
You will need to make sacrifices in order to reach your goals. That is just a fact of life if you want to be successful!
By making writing a priority, you will have to sacrifice some of the time you spend elsewhere. This might mean giving up an hour of TV time each night. It might mean waking up an hour earlier. Or it might mean hiring someone to come in once a week to clean the house, thus allowing that time to focus on your writing goals. Whatever you do, make sure you find a good work-life balance!
5: Write during your spare pockets of time
The fifth thingyou need to do to optimize your writing time so you can reach your writing goals is to write during your spare pockets of time.
I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: Make the most of the time you have available to you!
Maybe you have 20 minutes to spare in the morning while the kids are getting dressed. Maybe you can write during the time it takes to cook a casserole in the oven. Maybe you can use that 30 minutes in the evening while your child is bathing to get some writing done.
“The key is to take advantage of every opportunity you have to write!” ~Lorraine
Another example is to write while waiting for an appointment (like when you’re at the doctor’s office). Just simply pull out your phone and write in a Google Doc. I have this app on my phone (it’s one of the many apps I have to make my life easier), and I have set so that writing offline is enabled. That way, I don’t even need Internet access to write!
I have taken this one step further by enabling the speech-to-text function on my phone. I don’t need to fiddle with tiny keyboard buttons on my phone to write. I can simply say what it is that I want to write, and the speech-to-text function will record what I’m saying!
It also doesn’t matter if other people are around because this feature is set to record the sound of my voice, not everyone else’s. It is a very neat way to write, and I love it. I’ve been using this feature for over a year now, and I even use it to record emails and Facebook comments (when I am checking my Facebook notifications from my phone).
The sixth and final thing you need to do to optimize your writing time so you can reach your writing goals is to get help.
Bloggers automate their scheduling. Businesses hire employees to work for them. You can apply similar principles to your own life by outsourcing some of your weekly tasks.
For example, can you hire someone to clean your house, do your laundry, or cook for you once a week? Can you get your groceries delivered so you can save time on grocery shopping?
What can you do to free up more time for you to write?
Can you automate your bill-paying practices with online banking?
If you think about every task you have to do (especially ones you don’t enjoy doing), perhaps you can brainstorm some ways for you to reduce your workload so you have more writing time.
You don’t always have to look at solutions that cost money, either. Maybe you have a family member or a friend (or both) who is willing to help you out once a week, for free. If you take the time to explain to them how important it is for you to find some uninterrupted writing time, they will be more likely to help you.
Maybe the solution is as simple as asking for a little help. As my good friend Max Ivey says, “If you don’t ask, they can’t say YES!” He is a Life Coach after all and just may be of help!
.
.
(Note: This saying is so popular that Max even had T-shirts made that say this! You can order yours by following the links from his page that advertises them.)
Your Turn!
Do you know your peak energy time? How long is your realistic writing time?
How can you optimize your time more effectively? Share your experiences in the comments!
Also, tell us what other things have helped you become a more productive writer!
Let’s learn from each other! ~ Lorraine ~
#########
About Lorraine Reguly:
Lorraine Reguly is a freelance writer, editor, and blogger who provides stellar services at superb rates. Lorraine is a reliable, highly skilled, Canadian-based freelance writer, editor, and blogger who has written for many top blogs online. (Check out her portfolio.)
She has also written several articles and letters, which have been published in local papers in Thunder Bay, Ontario, including The Argus, Lakehead University’s newspaper. These particular articles focus on her life experiences, which have been vast. Lorraine has many hobbies, loves to read, and has a passion for the English language. She prides herself to a high standard and is a perfectionist! Connect with on social media. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Google+.
( Cat knows this first hand! Lol! ) Thank You, Lorraine, for writing and letting me share this informative POST! ~Catherine Lyon
WHERE CAN I FIND OUT MORE ABOUT JOE AND HIS BOOK?
.
"CAT'S BOOK LIBRARY 4 READERS" 