Monday Morning Motivators to Slay Your Creative Dragons

By CJ Lyons and Margie Lawson

A Girl Who Can’t Say “No!” from CJ:


I’m just a girl who can’t say No! So goes the song and so goes my life….and my free time, my writing time, my work-out time, my family time…you get the picture.

It’s hard for working writers, especially those of us working from home, to say no.

After all, we’re easy targets. To pick up the neighbor’s packages, answer the calls from telemarketers (how many times have you been in the zone only to have it shattered by a call about mortgage insurance?), run errands, help out with writing groups, etc, etc.

Yeah, we know the rules: prioritize our time, protect our working space and schedule, yadada….but it all boils down to learning how to say No!

So, here I go, my new resolution–I’m going to learn how to say No! How about you?

Thanks for reading,
CJ
As a pediatric ER doctor, CJ Lyons has lived the life she writes about in her cutting edge suspense novels. Her debut, LIFELINES (Berkley, March 2008), became a national bestseller and Publishers Weekly proclaimed it a "breathtakingly fast-paced medical thriller." The second in the series, WARNING SIGNS, is due out January, 2009. Contact her at http://www.cjlyons.net

Margie Lawson -- presenter, psychotherapist, writer -- lives at the top of a Colorado mountain west of Denver. Margie merged her two worlds, psychology and writing, to develop psychologically anchored editing systems and techniques that teach writers how to write page turners. A former college professor, Margie works as a psychotherapist, writes fiction and nonfiction, and presents full day master classes for writers internationally. Go to http://www.margielawson.com for more information.


Read more!

Monday Morning Motivators to Slay Your Creative Dragons

By CJ Lyons and Margie Lawson

Time A-Wasting from CJ:

Ever find yourself sucked into a time vortex when you should be working? You know, “I’ll just spend ten minutes checking email before I tackle this next scene” only to turn away, blurry-eyed from the computer an hour later…


Take control of your time wasters! How? Simple. Use time to your advantage by using a timer.

Set your microwave or a kitchen timer to the amount of time you really want to spend on your writing break. This keeps you grounded and gives you a reminder of where your priorities lie: with your writing.

Try it and you’ll find there really are more hours in the day!

As a pediatric ER doctor, CJ Lyons has lived the life she writes about in her cutting edge suspense novels. Her debut, LIFELINES (Berkley, March 2008), became a national bestseller and Publishers Weekly proclaimed it a "breathtakingly fast-paced medical thriller." The second in the series, WARNING SIGNS, is due out January, 2009. Contact her at http://www.cjlyons.net

Margie Lawson -- presenter, psychotherapist, writer -- lives at the top of a Colorado mountain west of Denver. Margie merged her two worlds, psychology and writing, to develop psychologically anchored editing systems and techniques that teach writers how to write page turners. A former college professor, Margie works as a psychotherapist, writes fiction and nonfiction, and presents full day master classes for writers internationally. Go to http://www.margielawson.com for more information.

Read more!

Creative Connections

Creative Car Time

School starts back next week, which means a lot more time in the car for me, not only driving but waiting for the end of school and practices. My creative project time is already quite limited. So as I'm buying school supplies for the kids, I'm also stocking the car for me so that I don't waste those waiting hours. Tiny notebooks are a must for capturing snippets of inspirations, remembering things to do, and jotting down the name of a song that captures my interest. Full sized notebooks or legal pads are better for journaling and real writing. A clipboard to write on is helpful too. For editing I like different colored pens and sticky notes. I've also got a few soft drawing pencils because drawing something small, in detail, helps wake up my creative brain. All of these supplies easily fit into a canvas bag, and actually have me looking forward to some of those hours of waiting. If my car just came with a coffee maker....

Lauri Griffin is a published short story writer who is currently revising some longer works. She holds degrees in educational psychology and gifted education, and is the instructional coordinator for a a literacy program. Lauri is fascinated by the many different ways our brains learn, and by the creative process. Visit Lauri's Reflections, for more thoughts on creativity, writing, lifelong learning, and parenting. Read more!