Month: September 2015

Part-Time Novel Turns 4!

On By Robert EvenhouseIn Blogging3 Comments

I missed it. My blogiversary raced passed with little notice. The good news is I’m still blogging.

Through the last four years I’ve experienced the highest internal highs followed by the lowest internal lows. I knew I was going to have a writing career and I knew I was just not cut out for this life.

Photo Credit: Peter O'Connor aka anemoneprojectors via Compfight cc
Photo Credit: Peter O’Connor aka anemoneprojectors via Compfight cc

I’ve also stopped blogging and started again. I’ve help create a writers conference attended by hundreds of people, had coffee with agents, been rejected, and then asked by that very agent to speak at another conference. If you choose to pursue writing, it can be a wild ride.

Reflection gives you perspective and if there is anything I’ve learned it’s two fold. One, that writing, no matter how solitary, requires community. You’ll go crazy and give up without it. So seek out other writers. The other? Patience. It can be a slow life filled with blitzes and surprise requests. That’s the fun part.

So if you are about to give up don’t. Seek council or a trusted friend. Do what you can do today – 50 words, 100 words, and know that the weight of what we do is not contained to one day’s successes or failures. It’s a larger narrative built over years of hard work, discipline, and good friendships.

Here is an excerpt of what my blog was supposed to be about. I’m glad that this still rings true today.

The intention of this blog is to share what I have learned with those who work full time, have children, are otherwise engaged, but still have the wild dream of publishing a novel someday

Write well today and a sincere thanks to you for your encouragement over the years.

It’s meant more than you know.

Are You A Chronic Starter Or A Steady Finisher?

On By Robert EvenhouseIn The Writing Life7 Comments

My iphone is filled with ideas. It’s my virtual commonplace book. I keep all of my short stories and blog posts and novels there. I would not be surprised if that list took up more storage than the albums on my phone.

The main reason I have all these ideas is that I get inspired easily. Some might say it’s a focus problem but I like to think I’m just creative.

If I call myself creative I can simply shrug off my inability to stick with one thing for very long. The problem with this? I never give an idea a chance.

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The strange thing about this is that I’ve been married for ten years. I’ve been at my job for almost that long as well. I have commitments that I keep in every aspect of my life but my writing life. I think I might have discovered the reason and I wondering if it is something you struggle with as well.

If I call a piece finished, it can be judged. Someone can tell me it is garbage and I should stop while I have the rest of my life left. No need to continue down this silly little writing path. You have to be great after all, or born with it, right?

Because of this self doubt, I have a hard time hitting the submit button on a blog post not to mention the dozens of drafts I do on a book that lay here and not in some agents slush pile. I am a chronic starter in need of a cure for my disbelief.

Do you struggle with finishing? Why? If not, what are your tips for sticking with it? I’m all ears.

How Small Details Can Make A Huge Impact

On By Robert EvenhouseIn The Writing Life2 Comments

Each night before my two-year-old son goes to bed he runs to his bookshelf and yells Goose! Goose! This means he wants to read Favorite Nursery Rhymes From Mother Goose illustrated by the talented Scott Gustafson, before bed.

This is some of the best time I have with my children each day. My three-year-old daughter perches on the arm of the chair and joins in. It is calm and quiet and the kids are in awe of a great story or fun rhyming verse.

One of the nursery rhymes has stuck with me ever since I read it to my five-year-old four years ago. Here it is.

For want of a nail, the shoe was lost,

For want of the shoe, the horse was lost,

For want of a horse, the rider was lost,

For want of a rider, the battle was lost,

For want of the battle, the kingdom was lost,

And all for the want of a horseshose nail.

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Photo Credit: Funpack via Compfight cc

The message is simple. Small, sometimes seemingly inconsequential, details can have huge a impact.

I’ve written about my attempts to stay organized, the importance of making boundaries for our blogs and keeping them tidy. These are some of the ways I keep track of the details of my work and my life.

What are some ways you keep your kingdom in order? Are there small changes you could make that would have a huge impact on your book, business, or the life you want to live?

Why You Should Tidy Up Your Blog Occasionally

On By Robert EvenhouseIn Blogging2 Comments

I recently read a post by Chad Allen that changed my perspective of blogging. He’s an editorial director at Baker Publishing Group and a two time presenter at Jot. He said the first thing he does when he gets a manuscript is he Googles the author’s name.

You are building your blog for your books, right? What if an editor pulls up your website and sees nothing updated in a month and a picture from six years ago? Or worse, finds nothing?

Creating content so you look engaged does sound a bit sleazy but as pointed out in the article (which I recommend you read straight away) a book is about the art but it’s also a business partnership and it’s the editors job to ensure a sound investment.

Your blog is an extension of you and your writing. It tells them if you have an engaged audience and that you are committed to the craft.

So when you blog, keep your virtual lawn clean. Post the strongest content you can as regularly as you can and know that if you send in a manuscript, someone important may be popping by, even if it’s only for thirty seconds. Leave the best impression possible.

My Writing Update

On By Robert EvenhouseIn MY Writing UpdateLeave a comment

The JOT Conference is THIS Saturday. I am busy planning, coordinating, and putting on the final touches. Not much other writing besides parts of a book I’m not ready to share about yet, blogging, and outlining my workshop for the Breathe Conference in early October.

My Posts This Week

Photo Credit: zpeckler via Compfight cc
Photo Credit: zpeckler via Compfight cc

Yesterday’s post highlighted what else but the delightful Jot Writers Conference! Click here for details and for the sign up.

Friday – Many times we plan for the day, week, or month. But writing or blogging is something the builds over time. Are you writing with that distant goal in mind, or the quick hit?

Thursday – White Space is the space where you plan and grow and clear you head. In today’s world it’s hard to find space moment for this. But in life there are ebbs and flows like the tide. Time to produce time to play and time to plan. Remember to invest in White Space.

Wednesday – You’ve heard the old saying – you never know if you don’t try – a billion times. Often these pieces of sage advice wear thin and become dull. But this one still carries it’s luster as you’ll learn. Read the post here.

On Tuesday it was all about change. We want to grow here, travel there, and change this habit. But how does one make changes that stick and maintain growth that endures? Learn here.

Monday – Ever have that moment where you are caught with a compelling idea for a book but are thick in the middle of another one? Then it’s followed by a conga line of killer blog posts tiles that just won’t keep quiet? I have. Here is how you can stay focused on the task at hand and also collect all of these ideas.

I hope to see you this week at the Jot Writer’s Conference or in the comments section in future posts.

Do the things that matter longer than a day.

Write well this week.

Jot Is One Week From Today!

On By Robert EvenhouseIn Jot Writers Conference1 Comment

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If you’ve been following me long enough you know about the Jot Conference, even if you don’t live in the US or Michigan. It’s a one day free conference that celebrates the love of writing. It’s a place of encouragement and growth and connection.

This next Jot will be considerably smaller than the previous conferences because of the venue. But that does not mean it will be any less impactful to your writing career.

This Jot will be intimate and accessible. You’ll be able to interact with the presenters and encourage each other by sharing the mutual joy we have.

I hope you come with questions and are prepared to share during the breaks and after the presentations.

Great life happens in community.

I hope to see you there.

Sign up here!

Click here for location and time.

Where Will You Be In One Year?

On By Robert EvenhouseIn Chasing Life1 Comment

When we blog or write daily and we don’t have success, we can easily get discouraged. We put in a lot of work on the post and no one came to see it or our words are garbage and we throw away the chapter.

At this point we can either give or keep going. Giving up makes the most sense because the blogging/writing/artistic/creative life is tough. We must work harder than most to push ourselves to the next plateau and the cliff is straight up.

But what if you don’t want to give up? What if you want to fight through the tension, go out on a limb, and dance in a minefield?

Photo Credit: Leo Reynolds via Compfight cc
Photo Credit: Leo Reynolds via Compfight cc

Each year I ask myself these questions at least a dozen times. What’s the point? Do I really want to keep doing this? Is writing for me? Then, I write the next post. Why? Because I am focused on the goal ahead not on what happens in the day to day.

Don’t get me wrong, daily success is thrilling. A strong day in sales, a great day in the comments section on your blog, or a promotion. Shortly after that though, roughly eight hours later most likely, the day is fresh, the achievement has faded, and the blank page is there again complete with blinking cursor.

We need to develop the march of the everydayer. You and I must come prepared to put in our work, but not looking at the ground below and the daily miles we have to traverse but instead be fixed on the mountain we want to climb, far in the distance, and move forward with jaw clenched.

So, friend, I ask you this question. Are you looking down at your feet? Or are you looking ahead at the goal you set at the beginning of this year or the last. You want to reach ___, right? Then focus on the long haul.

Where do you want to be in one year?

White Space And Why Every Writer Needs It.

On By Robert EvenhouseIn Chasing Life3 Comments

If you are like me, your life is filled with noise. I’d love to be the pondering cabin dwelling writer, however, I live in a much more vibrant world. I have a wife, three (soon to be four) kids, a full time job, and a budding writing career. This is not to mention the housework, the extra curriculars, the struggling to make ends meet, and trying to stay in shape.

Life can move at such a pace that I feel if I make one misstep, the collapsing bridge will catch up with me like a villain in an Indiana Jones movie.

Ever feel this way? When you are overwhelmed and there is no rest in sight?

One thing I’ve learned is that though I desire a night where I sleep more than six hours straight or have four uninterrupted hours on a peaceful Sunday afternoon, there is little chance that I’ll get it. At least more than twice a year.

So how does one find the capacity to charge into the creative foray of writing every day? The key for me has been to clear out bits of time for White Space.

Photo Credit: slightly everything via Compfight cc
Photo Credit: slightly everything via Compfight cc

White Space is the clean, nothing space. It’s like a newly fallen snow. It’s pristine, uninterruptable space. Where you take a brief walk, close your eyes, lie back in your car, and just clear your head. It’s a bite size respite in the current of a frenzied life.

My White Space happens during the week at lunch. I clear my head by walking down a park path that weaves through a forest. Or, I go downstairs to my desk and kick my feet up and read in the early morning or late evenings.

In this space I pray, journal, or read something inspiring, or just am quiet. I breath deeply and soak in the silence or rustle of the leaves as they are brushed by the wind.

White space is precious to me because its budgeted clear your head time. I know I need it when I am wound a little too tight from work or life and I need to visit my park or read quietly pronto. It doesn’t have to be an hour or even a half hour as long as I have a handful of minutes to find the quiet.

For me, White Space creates balance and gives perspective. Do you create White Space in your life? How do you spend it?

Why – You Never Know If You Don’t Try – Is Still True

On By Robert EvenhouseIn Writing Tips4 Comments

When I relaunched my blog, I knew I’d eventually hit a wall. Every writer who produces consistent works does. The other day I thought about moving my blog to three days a week instead of every day.

The reason? I was not sure about the post that was about to go live.

If I’m honest I thought it was merely okay. It was fantastic when I wrote it but in the light of the early morning it felt strained. Now, I wasn’t sure how I felt about it.

Then it went live.

I’m thrilled to say I had the most follows I’ve had in several months. I had the most views of the day that week and I had some great comments.

The message of this post is simple. The old adage – you never know if you don’t try -is still true.

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Photo Credit: Adrian Fagg via Compfight cc

It also shows that you never know what can happen if you put in the effort. But it does increase the odds about 100%.

In the words of Seth Godin, Ship it! You’ll either have something to learn and grow from or you’ll succeed.

An editor or agent may love your story.

A novel may ready to be converted into an e-book and posted on Amazon or Smashwords.

So try. Give an effort worthy the task.

Have you been surprised by success before? Tell me your story below.

How To Make Lifestyle Changes That Last

On By Robert EvenhouseIn Chasing Life8 Comments

A few years ago I wanted to start running. My company paid for the entry fee for a local run. I was playing hockey and was otherwise active and thought it’d be fun experience. I also thought it would be incredibly easy.

I started out running two miles at a time a few weeks before the race. Then two weeks before the race I developed a pain in my knee. No big deal. I kept going. Then shin splints set in and I needed to stop. I’d overdone it and missed the race. I am still not running regularly.

We all have grand plans for our lives. But once we start to change anything it can be nearly impossible to make it stick. Every try to write every day, diet, or exercise? But why is change so hard?

Photo Credit: rosswebsdale via Compfight cc
Photo Credit: rosswebsdale via Compfight cc

One reason, according to the American Psychological Society, is that we start too big. We want to run two miles a day, like I did. Or we want to be a published author, tomorrow.

But, the path to sustainable change starts small.

We should strive to write 100 words a day not 2000. Run a half a mile first, then a mile. We all want change to happen immediately and permanently and we get discouraged and stop trying altogether when we fail.

If you want to change anything start with a small goal and then take it up a notch from there.

I need to start exercising regularly. What do you need to change?