Pay Back Time!

I had a blast at ACFW. Met lots of new people. Got to reconnect with old friends, good friends, and sisters of the heart. I laughed. Laughed some more. Stayed up waaaay too late.

And now it's time to get cracking.

Here's the trouble with taking time off writing - it's so hard to get back into the swing of things. I mean, let's be honest, we've all got lives aside from writing. Some of us work outside the home, some of us work from home, some of us homeschool kids. Then there's laundry, dishes, floors. BATHROOMS. The list goes on, but I won't depress myself by continuing. So, we come back from a wonderful conference feeling refreshed, renewed, and ready to continue pursuing our writing goals, but that means writing and writing means hard work above and beyond all the work we already do. Worse, it means facing our demons. You know the ones. They whisper into our minds and insist that everything we write is sludge from the bottom of a stagnant pond. If you've ever smelled sludge from the bottom of a stagnant pond, you know just how much it stinks.

So, for those of you who (like me) are having a hard time facing the computer, the WIP, the words that refuse to flow, here's a bit of advice (free of charge!). Think one sentence at a time, one paragraph, one page. Focus on moving forward rather than looking back. And never ever worry about making your work fit a particular publishing house or agent. If you're preparing to submit requested material, focus on your strengths, work on your weaknesses. Tell the story of your heart the best way you can without all the rules cluttering your head.

Most importantly, trust God. Self can do so little. God can do so much. Trust His timing, His perfect will, and believe that no matter the outcome you are walking safe in His love and acceptance.

If you have questions about submitting, queries, synopsis writing feel free to drop me a note. shirlee@shirleemccoy.com