May is almost over. Can you believe it?
I’ve been working feverishly to meet an editing deadline for a box set that’s coming out in June. I finally got where I need to be with that story only to look at my calendar and realize the next deadline is now upon me. And I need to get writing.
So I shall be locking myself away in my writing cave for the foreseeable future so I can pull this next story together.
On the bright side, I’m excited about the story, and I think that always makes for better writing. A week ago I was (sh, don’t tell anyone) dreading this next story because I had no idea what to do with it. Getting the one wrapped up and put aside, though, has made a huge difference. As soon as I was able to fully focus on that next story, the ideas started popping like popcorn in the microwave. Or over an open fire. However you prefer to pop your corn. :)
What about you? Are you one of those people who can do ten things at once, or do you need to work down your to-do list one item at a time? I’m a one-at-a-timer. Whether it’s writing or reading, I can really only handle one story at a time. More than that, and I go a little crazy. Not that crazy is always bad, but since I write romance, it doesn’t always fit well. :)
Wishing you a marvelous Sunday!
Blessings,
Heather
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Last Week
Monday – Narelle Atkins discusses trigger warnings in Christian fiction.
Tuesday – Jolene Navarro talks about her love of water and how it shapes her writing.
Wednesday – Elizabeth Maddrey asks for reader input about street teams.
Thursday – Heather Gray shares more about what she’s learned from being a writer.
Friday – Lee Tobin McClain has a fun quiz for readers.
Saturday – Merrillee Whren hits on the fun and folly of international travel.
Next Week
Monday – Valerie Comer
Tuesday – Autumn Macarthur
Wednesday – Kimberly Rose Johnson
Thursday – Staci Stallings
Friday – Alexa Verde
Saturday – Melanie Snitker
NEW RELEASES
May 2017
Sprouts of Love (Garden Grown Romance 1) (Arcadia Valley Romance 5) by Valerie Comer
Someone to Trust (Life Unexpected 2) by Melanie D Snitker
Dance with Me by Staci Stallings
June 2017
Falling for the Rancher (Aspen Creek Crossroads) by Roxanne Rustand
Cherish by Marion Ueckermann, Autumn Macarthur, Heather Gray, Elizabeth Maddrey, and four others
Engaged (Surrendering Time 3) by Julie Arduini
The Cowboy’s Baby Blessing (Cowboy Country) by Deb Kastner
An Encore for Estelle (Melodies of Love 2) by Kimberly Rose Johnson
A complete list of Inspy Romance books by our authors is always available on our BOOKS tab. Check out our perma-free novels, audiobooks, and more on the NEWS tab.
Heather Gray loves coffee, God, her family, and laughter – not necessarily in that order! She writes approachable characters who, through the highs and lows of life, find a way to love God, embrace each day, and laugh out loud right along with her. And, yeah, her books almost always have someone who's a coffee addict. Some things just can't be helped. Despite their different lives and situations, Heather’s characters have something in common. They're all flawed...but loved anyway.
I am a one at a time kind of person but I struggle a lot on focusing and getting to the end result. I have a exam I need to take but I can’t focus because I am easily distracted?. So I understand how much harder it has to be for a writer who has even more deadlines than I do. How do you guys stay focus and on track? What do you eliminate to meet deadlines?
Hi Heather. To meet deadlines, I make a to do lost and prioritize. As a young mom, pastor’s wife and teacher, a kind mentor told me to always do the most important thing first or what you dislike doing first. Helped keep my sanity over the years! Happy Sunday and best wishes!
Thanks for hosting Sunday Editions in May, Heather! You are much appreciated.
They say multi-tasking is a myth. That we cannot, in fact, do more than one thing at a time, at least beyond that whole breathing, walking and talking thing! I do best with one major project at a time, too, though sometimes I block out mornings for one project and afternoons for another.
What do we eliminate to meet deadlines? Hm… I can’t speak for everyone, but speaking for myself…sleep. ;) Okay, not always. But when a deadline is breathing down my neck, my life kind of gets put on hold. We eat a lot of frozen dinners instead of homecooked meals, the laundry falls behind, and I stay up hours later than is good for me. Thankfully, I only get that *desperate* once/year or so. If I plan carefully, I can usually meet my deadlines without a lot of fuss and muss. When there is fuss and muss, though…*shudder* There’s a reason I’m a planner. ^_^
Oh, I like that! Doing what you dislike the most first. That’s sort of how I approach meals. If there’s a food I’m not crazy for, that’s the first one to get eaten – so then I can enjoy the rest of the meal. I did the same in college (sort of). I had a handful of classes I was required to take but didn’t want to. So I spread those classes out to one per semester. I had watched friends put off all their hated classes till the end, and then their last year of college was miserable – and I didn’t want that to be me. So I made sure every semester included classes I loved and at least one class I wasn’t as fond of. So I can see how that same philosophy would apply to a to-do list. (Which means I should bump “cleaning bathrooms” up on my to-do list…) ;)
I am a mess at proritizing.
I have multiple to do lists written in a notebook and on Evernote.
My son has argued that point with me – the myth of multi-tasking. I stand by it, though. In part because I get bored/fidgety a little too easily. If I’m watching TV with my husband, I’m almost always doing something else at the same time. If I miss an important plot point of the TV show, that’s not because of my inability to multi-task. It’s the show’s inability to make things clear. Or if something happens silently on screen, but I’m digging through the laundry basket looking for a matching sock to the one in my hand, I didn’t miss the big clue because I failed to multi-task. I missed it because didn’t understand the importance of catering to his non-watching TV audience…
Hm. I *might* need to rethink my stance on multi-tasking… ^_^
I’ve been loving those popping ideas too, Heather! Only problem for me is I have three other partly-started books to finish before I can get to that one, so I need to not get tooooooo excited yet! ;)
I have been retired for a couple of years so I’m not as frenetic about my to-do lists as I was. I still make them and lose them. I tend to put things off and do things at the last minute. I’m a good planner – just not as good an executor! I only have one real responsibility– lead a Bible Study but we rotate leaders every week. Household chores are split between my husband and me but he takes on quite a lot….he cooks because he wants to measure everything for health reasons.
I sew and make jewelry for fun and charity , so my to do list is mostly what gifts I want to make before someone’s birthday or for Christmas, or for the Country Store at Church.
My book reading has taken a turn for the worse. I’m in the middle of several books now. 1. I spend too much time on Facebook. 2. I am in some reading challenges and sometimes find it hard to get the books that are on the challenge and then finish them on time. 3. I request my library purchase books— but they all come in at once and I’m first in line to check them out!
I liked it better when I could choose what to read when I wanted to! I guess I still can do that if I don’t obsess over it! Thanks for this thought provoking post !
I’m the mast of the to-do list. The only problem is, I can never remember where I’ve left my list… ;)
Ah. The demands of being in high demand. ^_^ I’ll file that under “good problem to have”… :) :) :)
Ha! Too many books to read all at once. I’ll call that a happy problem. ^_^ But to be honest – I have a hard time reading someone that I’m told to read. I did it so much in college that when I was done…I just didn’t want to do that anymore. I read what I want to read, and I enjoy every minute of it. The only exceptions I make are when I’m doing a beta read for another author – then I fit that in to be a good help to them. But I only do that for people whose writing I enjoy to begin with, so it’s not great hardship. ^_^ Enjoy your retirement, your lost to-do lists, and the plethora of books that beg to be read!
Yep, I had locked myself up in my reading “closet” if you will as I got so woefully behind on my review books with all the monkey wrenches life threw at me! So I can understand the stress of trying to catch up. Thankfully, I can see the end of the line, the light at the end of the tunnel, or whatever else you’d want to dub it :-) That’s why I haven’t been around much the last month or so. It was a refreshing break and I got to read some fabulous books from some equally fabulous authors. I think I’ll be spending my time more wisely from now on….in other words, reading more books, spending less time online :-)
I, too, am a one-book or one-thing-at-a-time person. I can do maybe two or three things well at one time but then I get off track and forget what I was doing originally. But definitely only one book at a time :-) I don’t see how some people can do more…lol!
Happy SONday everyone! I hope to be around a little more now that I’m caught up on my reading. Blessings!
So glad you could stop by Trixi! But also glad that you’ve been able to take some time to get caught up. (I’m sure the authors you were reading/reviewing for are glad, too!) ^_^
I used to be a very organized person, before kids and before I quit work to stay home with said kids, lol. Today, I’d probably have to do one thing at a time, though it depends on what it is. I spend a lot of time playing games and reading. Some games I can read a bit in between what’s going on. For anything that needs total concentration I have to do one thing at a time, and I can not read more than one book at a time.
I also used to be very organized pre marriage and child, and while I may juggle a few things at a time, I’m hesitant to say I’m a multi-tasker. I do enjoy your writing and hope that your story goes together smoothly.