I am so thrilled to post this. I have to say, being a part of LitSisters has changed my life in the most amazing way. And we are starting 2010 off with a bang! Not only did our boutique publishing house, LitSisters Publishing, launch today, but we also were featured on the home page of [...]
This is the first of four installments in the Time Management 1.0 Series: Prioritizing what’s Important in Your Life
Time Management 1.1: What Makes You Happy?
Dear Writer: If you want to get organized and manage your time effectively, the first step is knowing what’s most important to you. Chances are you may feel so overwhelmed with everything in your life that you don’t even know where to begin. I know. I’ve been there. The next four blogs are designed to help you discover what’s essential to your happiness and success, and how to make it first and foremost in your life (like writing!) Before the rest of the unimportant, and often very insistent, things overrun your day.
The first step is to make a list. Stop! Don’t run away! Yes, I know. If you’re struggling with managing your time and organizing your life, then there’s a good possibility you hate lists. But, trust me. This is a good list.
Drum roll please. Write down a list of things that make you happy. Really happy; joyfully, blissfully happy.
There’s no right or wrong answer. Put your censor/editor in a padlocked box for this exercise. The only criteria is it makes you happy – don’t worry if it makes anyone else happy (or sad). Use a pen, pencil, crayon, typewriter or computer. Write it on a napkin, in your journal or on your eight-year-old’s report card. I don’t care, just get it down on something you can find again later.
Take note, you may not know what makes you happy. Not right away.
I didn’t. I really had to think about it…for awhile. I was stunned: How could I not know what made me happy? I thought for days about my list and slowly I began thinking of things and writing them down. Once I started, I made a very long list. I still have it saved to my computer. It has things on it like, listening to the sound of thunder, working on a story, and playing with my kids. It may sound goofy to make such a list. However, if you want to manage your time, it helps to know what you’d like to be doing with it.
You don’t need to do any of the things on your list (unless you want too!), just write them down. It might take a while, but they’ll come to you. Add to your list throughout the week, and next Monday, I’ll share the next step.
If you have any questions, feel free to email me at christine@litsisters.com. Check back regularly for more LitSisters™ writing tips and resources.
Next Week: Time Management 1.2: Determining the Important Stuff
We are pleased to announce the launch of LitSisters Publishing, a boutique publisher specializing in high quality fiction by women authors. Each partner is an acclaimed author in her own right and, together, the partners bring over sixty years of business, marketing, PR, R & D, and entrepreneurial acumen to this new era of publishing. We have taken our destiny into our own hands and are excited to empower other women authors on their journey to publication and beyond.
LitSisters is currently producing our 2010 list . Please check in with us later this year for information on submission opportunities for our 2011 list. For more information, please find us at www.litsisterspublishing.com. Further, we invite you to join our LitSisters writing community – open to all writers.
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Spice up your fiction with a quirky character or two. They’re unpredictable, memorable, and a whole lot of fun to write.
Let’s examine my quirky character, Miss Sallie Baker. I’ve listed some of her major traits and inserted helpful commentary in italics.
Yep, that’s right. A sex talk operator who’s never done it. Miss Sallie is full of strange contradictions and inconsistencies, many of which relate to one another. Therefore, her story lines should be interesting because she’s not going to act in a predicable manner. Plus, she’s got that turtleneck/square dancing skirt look going on. Plenty of visual opportunity there.
Try your hand at a quirky character today.
I guarantee you’ll love it!
I’ve recently finished reading a book by the comedian/actor/producer Denis Leary, Why We Suck. I found it extremely funny and outrageous and yes, very crude. But that’s okay. I like crude. Mr. Leary is from the East Coast. From personal experience, I know those dudes always tell it like they see it.
Crude gets a bad rap. Which is ridiculous. Look at these synonyms for crude. Natural. Green. Homemade.
Now look at these antonyms for crude. Formal. Refined. Stilted.
I don’t know about you, but I’d much rather be in the first category. And yeah, I hand picked the adjectives that supported my opinion, but hey, it’s my blog post.
With crude, there’s no need to proceed with caution. No need to worry about offending… cause most likely you will, and in fact, you want to.
Tactful humor is nicer. But lets face it, tact requires thought. And discernment. And usually a little white lie or a REALLY big white lie. And of course, it requires empathy. Frankly, being tactful is a lot of work.
Crude humor is so much easier. It slaps you in the face and kicks you in the butt at the same time.
And that’s why I laugh.
What the heck is this all about? So glad you asked, reader!
Let me introduce myself. My name is CL. I’m the founder of LitSisters. What is LitSisters? Well, we’re a group of women. We write. We love wine, tea, coffee and the occasional pastry. But mostly, we write. And we believe that the term ’self-publishing’ is a four letter word. We’re writers with a strong business sense, empowered to do this publishing thing on our own.
We’re Indie Authors. We’re Writerpreneurs.
And we’ve each got our own poison. Aud, for instance, writes heart-warming stories about families, love, and strength. Terri will make you laugh until you pee yourself, but then smile when you realize that you’ve learned something in between your giggle-snorts. Christine’s literary-noir style will suck you into her sepia-toned world and keep you hooked until it’s 4am and you’re wondering where the night went. Robin’s slow, romantic style will make you swoon, like you’re holding hands with your loved one, taking a walk in the park in the middle of an Autumn day.
As for me? I write about hot guys, smart girls, glitzy parties and fabulous clothes.
So, what is our goal here? Well, in business terms, here’s our mission statement:
To encourage and empower writers to complete, polish and market publishable commercial print and electronic creative work. To provide technical, artistic, emotional and social support. But above all, to be kind and honest.
We support each other in a way we believe all women should, writers or not. We focus on creating quality work that we believe in, and will all stand behind. We’re a family. We’re sisters. And we hope that this site will help you, with your writing, the way we help each other. By providing useful links, interesting articles, and letting you into our worlds.
I hope you’ll come back soon, reader! You’re always welcome to join in the discussion in the comments, send us an email or two, and let us know what you need help with.
Because, just like in our three-dimensional meetings? We’re here to support you with your writing business, too.
