Pamela Jaye Smith's Romantic Comedies A Movie Guide for Your Every Mood

I will be giving away a print copy of Pamela Jaye's book to one newsletter subscriber.  If you'd like to join my mailing list, click here. 

And a little history, I met PJS at the 2012 RWA Conference, where she presented a workshop on Making Your Story Sizzle with Symbolism. One of the best workshops I've ever taken.

ROMANTIC COMEDIES 

A Movie Guide for Your Every Mood

Are you sure you mean me?

When my publisher Ken Lee of Michael Wiese Productions first approached me to do a book on Romantic Comedies I reminded him that I was the mythology, military, metaphysics writer. But Ingram Distribution had approached MWP about having one of their authors do the book, and they thought I’d be the best person. Okay….

The genesis of it was an article in Vanity Fair about a study that showed when couples watched Romantic Comedies and talked about them together they had a better stay-together rate than couples who only went to couples therapy. So – proof once again that media can affect us, and in this case, in positive ways.

We decided to make it a movie guidebook to Rom-Coms for lots of different situations, problems, or questions people have about romance.

How did we decide how to structure the movie guide?

Though not considering myself a huge fan of Rom-Coms at that time, I did have my favorites: Roman Holiday, Sabrina, Love Actually, In and Out, Down with Love, and such.

Coming at the categories as situations quickly gave me twenty-five different chapters, from Am I Good Enough to be Loved, to Young Love, to Should You Reconnect With Your Ex, to Crazy Love, to Finding Love Where You Least Expect It, and so on.

Then it was time to start selecting the right four movies for each of the 25 different situations people come up against when searching for romantic love and fulfillment. 

Lots of Romantic Comedies address more than one situation; in fact, the best often have two or more. So what got included and why?

It was fun to confab with my friends, including the guys and individuals all along the spectrum, about which movies meant something special to them. Or sometimes, just the ones they found most entertaining. Before long there was an embarrassment of riches for the choosing.

Part of the criteria for inclusion was they had to be entertaining, relatively popular, teach us something important about love and romance, and in some way be memorable. After all, you don’t put every film within a genre into a guide book, so they had to stand out among the hundreds of Rom-Coms made over the years.

What did a movie have to have to make the cut?

One or more of the following qualities: Idealism, Joy, Passion, Dignity. There’s nothing wrong with just being entertaining, and sometimes we just want a simple no-brainer with laughs and a happy ending. But since the prime directive was to address sometimes problematic situations lovers and potential lovers face, it was essential that these films hold to higher Ideals.

After all, one of the main tenets of the best Romantic Comedies is that they are about Chivalric Love – the kind of love that makes us want to be better people, to become in reality how the other person sees us.

In a world too often shredded by strife and discord, with people operating from fear and separatism, it is even more important that we focus on the ideals that bring us together, that bring peace, that instill us to better behavior, and to better our world.

 

Print or Kindle?

The publishers did such excellent design work, I would suggest adding the print copy to your library. The cover is bright and Rom-Com-y, but inside are images from the various films, often featuring the sad, the hopeful, the heartbroken, the comedic, and the joyous parts of the stories.

Most of us can find ourselves and those we love in the Lover Types, and our experiences in the Love Lessons. These films remind us of how exhilarating love can be, even amongst the trepidations and turmoils that often accompany it.

Mostly, it’s a guide to films that remind us in fun ways that Love is worth it.

BUY: 

Amazon

BIO:

Pamela Jaye Smith loves both romance and adventure in myths and movies. This book is her tribute to love and the movies that show us how to find, hold, and relish it in our romantic relationships.

Pamela is a mythologist, author, international consultant-speaker, and award-winning writer-producer-director with thirty+ years in the media industry, in Hollywood and around the world.

Credits include Fox, Disney, Paramount, Microsoft, Universal, RAI-TV Rome, Romance Writers of America, UCLA, USC Film School, American Film Institute, Women in Film, Natl. Film Institute of Denmark, LA and Marseille WebFests, and many film festi­vals and story conferences. Others are American Assoc. of University Women, Junior ROTC, GM, Boeing, Hyundai, Hughes Space & Comm., the FBI, and the U.S. Army.

Ms. Smith has served on think tanks for the Entertainment Industries Council – The Art of Making a Difference, the U.S. Army’s Advanced Warfighting Working Group giving presentations on the Warrior Archetype, and Boeing’s Workforce Development. She is on the Board of Advisors for the LAWebFest, the Center for Conscious Creativity, and the Orpheus Project.

She is the founder of MYTHWORKS, co-founder of Alpha Babe Academy and Mythic Challenges: Create Stories that Change the World. 

Find Pamela Jaye:

Mythworks | Alpha Babe Academy | Mythic Challenges | Email

Sarra Cannon of Heart Breathings ~ Tips For Success In 2019 As An Indie Author

I heard about Sarra Cannon from everyone at RWA, and I just had to go to her site and watch her Heart Breathing videos.

Then I had the audacity to email her and see if she'd guest post for me. 

I'm so glad I did and I hope you will be as well. 

Tips For Success In 2019 As An Indie Author

Thanks, L.A., for hosting me on your blog. 

It's that wonderful time of year when we all get to look back at what we've accomplished in the past year and daydream about what's possible in the year to come. If you are an indie author who is looking to really set yourself up for success in 2019, I would love to share some of what I've learned over the course of my career.

First of all, if you aren't familiar with me, my name is Sarra Cannon. I write Young Adult Contemporary Fantasy, and I've been self-published since October of 2010. I've made some mistakes along the way, but mistakes are great teachers. I've also had my fair share of success with over seven-hundred-thousand books sold since I first began.

I am excited to have the opportunity to talk with you today about some of the biggest lessons I've learned throughout my indie journey and how you can hopefully take some of what I've learned and use it to set yourself up for one of your best years coming up.

Focus On Joy, Not Fear

When people talk about success, they tend to focus on marketing, but one of the most important things I've learned over the years is that there is so much more to success than how much money you make. Yes, of course, money is essential to publishing, and most of us have some goal of making money and reaching a lot of readers.

But let me tell you what I had to learn the hard way.

When you focus solely on marketing and the business of writing, it's really easy to forget the joy. The more successful I became, the more I focused on how to keep it up. How to sell more. How to reach more fans.

There's nothing wrong with that. Not exactly.

The problem for me came when I realized I had made a subtle shift from joy and loving what I was writing to constantly being afraid. I was afraid of losing my fans, of making a mistake, or of not doing everything I felt I "should" be doing. Instead of feeling giddy when I release a new book, I found myself chewing my fingernails, watching my rankings and sales numbers as if my life depended on it.

My writing and career was fueled by fear, and please take my word for it when I say fear leaves no space for creativity to bloom.

If you want to find true success as an indie author, I encourage you to focus on what lights you up. What makes you feel excited and joyful? Focus there and the money will come.

Yes, please keep learning how to run a good business and reach more readers. Make good business decisions. But don't let stress and fear steal your joy along the way.

Remember: Success Takes Time

We live in a fast-paced digital world where the outliers are louder than ever. It can get so loud, in fact, that it may seem like every author around you has found a ridiculous amount of success overnight.

The truth is, though, that lasting success takes time to build. There will always be that one-in-a-million example who wrote a book over spring break and found instant success, but that person is almost an urban legend. For most authors--Indie or Traditionally published--success simply takes time.

Be patient with yourself. Say nice things to yourself when you sit down to write. Putting yourself out there takes courage. Don't put extra pressure on your creativity and bravery by expecting your first book to pay all your bills.

Growing a loyal readership, learning the business of publishing, and even learning to write amazing books all take time. Give yourself that gift.

The good news is that there is no time limit on massive success. As my business mentor, Amber McCue says, "You are right on time."

If you ever look around and start to panic, feeling that everyone around you is miles ahead or rising fast, take a deep breath and repeat that to yourself. "I am right on time." It will make you feel better, I promise.

One of the best things you can do for yourself in 2019 is to take the pressure of needing fast success off your shoulders and just focus on what matters most--the creating and learning.

Be Deliberate About Everything

This is the toughest tip I'm going to share with you today.

As creatives, we have more ideas than we will ever be able to write in ten lifetimes. As entrepreneurs, we have more items on our to-do lists than we could possibly get done, even if we had ten assistants.

So, what's the solution, other than to run screaming into the night?

I guess we could choose to work sixty or more hours a week, but how long can we keep that up? And is that really the vision you have of your ideal life?

I was one of these writer-preneurs who tried to do it all. A few years ago, I was writing several different genres, trying to manage ads and social media accounts, and raising a small child. I worked sixty-plus hours a week and always felt behind and overwhelmed.

Which is when I burned out. Big time.

Everything halted for me, which felt like the worst possible thing that could happen to me. It turns out being forced to slow down was a blessing because I had no choice but to really think about what it was I wanted out of this career. I didn't just think about what success looked like to me. I also thought about what success felt like.

And I'll tell you this. My ideal life was not, in fact, feeling constantly behind, overworked, and out of control.

That's when I made a major shift in my energy and my business that has made all the difference in my life. I figured out exactly what I wanted, and then I got deliberate about every single choice I made from where I spent my time to what books I was going to write.

The truth is we don't have enough time to write all our ideas or do everything we feel we should be doing as indie authors. We never will.

That means we have a choice to either throw spaghetti at the wall and feel out of control at all times, or we can set very clear intentions. When I got clear about my vision for my life, I started to weigh every single action and decision against that vision. If it moved me closer to my vision for my life, I put it on my list. If it didn't, I just stopped doing it. I didn't care if other people told me I needed to do it to be a success. I knew what my vision for myself was, and I only had time to do those things that moved me closer to it.

I got very clear about who my ideal reader was, too, and I stopped worrying about pleasing everyone. I developed a system of planning 90 days at a time, which helped me to be intentional (and realistic) about my time.

Being deliberate changed my life, and if you want to move toward huge success in 2019, I would encourage you to get clear on what it is that truly motivates and matters to you, too. It can truly make all the difference.

Heart Breathings

If you want to go deeper in setting goals and getting intentional about planning your time, I would love for you to check out my My YouTube Channel where I talk about indie publishing, writing, and organizing your time as an author. 

Or, if you'd like to take a look at my other tips for How To Make 2019 Your Best Year, I'd love for you to visit my blog.

Bio: 

Sarra Cannon is the YA Indie Author of more than 25 novels, including the bestselling Shadow Demons Saga. She is also a passionate speaker and productivity coach for authors. Through her website and YouTube channel, Heart Breathings, Sarra shares her own experiences in order to help fellow authors live their dream. She is a devoted planner girl, anime-lover, and gamer. Sarra lives in Charleston, South Carolina with her programmer husband and adorable red-headed son.

You can find her on her author website at author website or over on her heartbreathings blog.

Guest Post by Michele Drier ~ What's A Brand?

Today, I'm happy to bring you Michele Drier's guest post on branding...

Thanks, L.A. for hosting me on your blog.

A brand?

Being from California (the part of ranches and cows), isn’t a brand that thing they put on cattle? Sear it on with a red-hot metal shape?

Well, yes and no.

For a writer, your brand is what brings readers to you. It can be a genre, think Stephen King for horror or Carl Hiaasen for humor. Or it can be a series, think Charlaine Harris or Diana Gabaldon. Or it can be a character, think Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe.

To be a successful brand, though, I think it has to be our name.

I know a few people who write under pen names. And I know some people who write under a few different pen names for their different series or genres.

I don’t want to second guess any of my colleagues, but with about 4 million new books out annually, discoverability is the key to marking as an indie author. Discoverability is THE key of marketing, regardless of who and how your books are published.

I write in different genres; traditional mystery, paranormal romance, psychological thriller, and I may take a stab at cozy mysteries…maybe. What ties all those books and genres together is that I write them under my name.

My website, facebook, twitter, LinkedIn, Amazon, email accounts, are all Michele Drier (or micheledrier). If someone’s bought and read all nine (soon to the ten) books in the Kandesky Vampires Chronicles and are chomping at the bit for the next one, they can pick up one of my other books and still hear my voice, my syntax, my style. After all, most people read faster than I can write, even at two books a year.

Developing and sticking to your brand is a necessity in today’s world of serious overproduction. Everybody has swag. Everybody has banners and bookmarks and glittering displays. The only thing you have that’s uniquely you is your name. And only you can sell your books. Whether you go traditional publishing or indie publishing, a reader is buying you, the stories you tell, the sense of excitement you bring, the characters you develop.

There are as many reasons that writers decide to indie publish as there are writers, but in my case is came down to simple control and money.

My first book, a mystery, was bought by a small press. The press did the final edit, got a cover design and IBSN, and arranged for POD paperback publication. It was a less-than-stellar relationship, probably on both sides, and I made royalties of around $.47 cents a book. My second book, which I wrote, researched, published five months before my first book actually hit the market, was an indie published. It took a lot of research to learn the ins and outs, and I published it in ebook first, but I was making better than $2 per book. The die was cast.

I’m now finishing my 15^th book and will indie publish it as well. I also have a complete 71,000-word manuscript that an agent requested on spec. He didn’t bite, but I think I’m going to do a final edit and indie publish it as well. It’s the first book in a new mystery series with two further ones plotted out.

And even if I end up writing a new mystery series, or a cozy series, or thrillers, or fantasies or a couple of literary history—another idea that’s percolating—they will be under my name, my brand. Yes, there are times when it feels as though it’s been impressed with a red-hot piece of metal, but now it’s a familiar part of me.

  

Blurb: 

Getting what you wish for can bring unintended circumstances. Jennifer in New York and Matt in San Francisco worry that they're losing their memories. Jennifer from an earlier trauma and Matt while watching his father succumb to Alzheimer's. After finding a new medical technology designed to help people with cognitive disorders, they independently track down a grey-market supply, but when they meet they find unknown terrors.

Buy:

Amazon

Bio:

Michele Drier was born in Santa Cruz and is a fifth generation Californian. During her career in journalism—as a reporter and editor at daily newspapers—she won awards for producing investigative series.

She is the president of Capitol Crimes, the Sacramento chapter of Sisters in Crime, and the co-chair of Bouchercon 2020.

Her Amy Hobbes Newspaper Mysteries are Edited for Death, (called “Riveting and much recommended” by the Midwest Book Review), Labeled for Death and Delta for Death, and a stand-alone thriller, Ashes of Memories, published in 2017.

Her paranormal romance series, The Kandesky Vampire Chronicles, has consistently won awards and was the best paranormal vampire series of 2014 from the Paranormal Romance Guild. The series is SNAP: The World Unfolds, SNAP: New Talent, Plague: A Love Story, Danube: A Tale of Murder, SNAP: Love for Blood, SNAP: Happily Ever After?, SNAP: White Nights,  SNAP: All That Jazz, and SNAP: I, Vampire.

Find Michele: 

Facebook| Amazon Page | LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram

Author Ann Everett Talks About The Importance Of Opening Lines

Ann, who has appeared on An Indie Adventure before (welcome back), talks about the importance of a great opening line to grab a reader

Twenty-four hours ago, Tizzy Donovan was naked in Ridge Cooper’s bed, screaming to get God’s attention.

Did that opening line grab your interest? What about this one?

Jay Roy Hobbs held the county record for talking women out of their panties.

Or, perhaps one of these?

Two weeks earlier, Raynie stood in the same spot and swore off bad boys. Absolutely. For sure. Maybe.

One hot August Thursday afternoon, Maddie Faraday reached under the front seat of her husband’s Cadillac and pulled out a pair of black lace underpants. They weren’t hers.

Hopefully, one of those piqued your interest, and you’d want to read more. I’d like to take credit for all of them, but the last one comes from Tell Me Lies by Jennifer Crusie.

I spend days trying to come up with killer first lines. Why? Because as a reader, I read the first line of a book before I read the blurb. I want to know if the author can grab me from page one. For me, that opening sentence sets the tone.

Even though the first two examples are from books 2 and 3 of my small-town mysteries, You’re Busting My Nuptials, and Tied With a Bow and No Place to Go, the opening lines, along with the titles, are a good indication there will be plenty of humor in the stories. I hope.

The third sample is from one of my contemporary romances, Say You’ll Never Love Me. Again, I want the beginning to show the book will be lighthearted. My purpose isn’t to cure world hunger, it’s to entertain. Although, curing world hunger is an admirable goal, and if writing steamy romances helped, then I’d be on it!

Years ago, when I was first published by a small press, they claimed to have a 3-3-3 rule. They’d read the first three paragraphs, and if those held their interest, they’d read the first three pages, if they were still interested, they’d read the first three chapters. After that, if they wanted to read more, they requested the entire manuscript.

Think about it. If those first three paragraphs didn’t make an impression, the query went into the slush pile. Isn’t it terrible how quickly someone makes their mind up about what we write? Yet, I do the same thing—usually within the first three lines!

Here’s one more of my favorites:

Annie didn’t usually talk to her suitcase, but she wasn’t exactly herself these days. 

From Heroes Are My Weakness by Susan Elizabeth Phillips.

How important are opening lines to you? Do you have an example of one that grabbed you so hard, you couldn’t put the book down?

Let me know in the comments. One lucky commenter will receive digital copies of my latest two books, Chirp, a Kindle Scout winner, and True, the second book in my Bluebird, Texas Romance series.

Blurb:
A woman hiding from her future…
Heiress to the largest steel company in America, twenty-year-old, socially awkward Blaze Bledsoe hides out at Dessie Bishop’s farm. For the last three years, Blaze has eluded one investigator after another, but just when she thinks she’s safe, a PI closes in. Her luck is about to run out in more ways than one.

A man running from his past…
Rance Keller, a tough, hard-living ex-con, fresh out of prison for a crime he didn’t commit, arrives to claim the house his grandmother left him. Finding a strange girl living there, his plans for a solitary life take a turn. Her lack of modesty, no filter, and word of the day fetish baffles him, but those big green eyes and sweet mouth have him losing sleep.

Welcome to Bluebird, Texas
Where two damaged people with secrets, discover trust can lead to passion.

Buy: 
Amazon

Bio:
Ann Everett writes about small-town Texas where women are sassy enough to say what they want, and men are panty-melting hot with plenty of southern charm.

She's an Amazon bestselling author and Kindle Scout winner. She’s a top reviewer on a major writing website, and a regular speaker at Wordwyse Exposytions. No need to bore you with the details. Here are ten things about her more interesting than accolades.

She’s married to her high school sweetheart.

She loves shopping at thrift stores.

She doesn’t remember her first kiss.

She hates talking on the telephone.

A really sharp pencil makes her happy.

She secretly wants to get a tattoo.

She believes everyone should own a pair of cowboy boots.

She’s thankful wrinkles aren’t painful.

She sucks at math.

Find Ann: 
Facebook | Twitter | Blog |Newsletter | Instagram| Pinterest | Amazon Author Page |Goodreads | Bookbub | Linkedin

Geoff Symon's Forensics For Fiction Flubs – Circumstantial Evidence

I'm so excited to have uber amazing Geoff Symon as a guest. I attended several of his workshops at #RW2018 and found him vastly entertaining while giving us serious information. Please welcome Geoff. 

Forensics For Fiction Flubs – Circumstantial Evidence

 Thanks, L.A., it's a pleasure to be here today.

One of the most frequently misused terms from the investigative community by writers of entertainment is "Circumstantial Evidence.” Quotes like “it’s circumstantial at best,” “you brought me in here for this circumstantial case? My client will walk!” and “All you have is circumstantial evidence! You got nothin’!” express a belief that circumstantial evidence is weak, inapplicable and useless in a case. The truth is it’s the exact opposite.

Circumstantial evidence is just that – Evidence, and therefore by definition, it works to prove or disprove an allegation.

There are two main categories of evidence: Direct and Circumstantial. Direct evidence is an unquestionable statement of fact. It is evidence that requires no interpretation because the evidence itself (the statement) tells the story. Legally, what that boils down to is an eyewitness account of the crime. In the digital age, this can also mean a video recording of the crime. 

So, when a witness testifies that she saw the suspect shoot the victim with a gun, there is no inference that needs to be made. The suspect shot her. The only thing a defense team can do is try to discredit the testimony as an outright lie or misinterpretation. But, there is no wiggle room as far as what the account tells. To be clear, not all eyewitness accounts are counted as direct evidence. The description must be a first-hand account of the crime itself. If this witness saw the suspect in the vicinity of the shooting at the approximate time it occurred, that would fall into the circumstantial category.

Circumstantial evidence, then, is everything else that is not an eyewitness/video account. Officially, it is evidence that requires some level of inference.

For instance, in the example above where the witness simply saw the suspect in the area, this requires us to take extra steps in our minds to put the gun in his hand in order to conclude he shot the victim. Seems pretty flimsy as far as evidence goes, doesn’t it? Except there’s so much more included in this category. Fingerprints, footprints, murder weapons and, yes, even DNA are all considered circumstantial evidence. They all require you to create the story in your mind to put it all together, unlike direct eyewitness testimony that tells the story for you. But, I think we can all agree that a case that has fingerprints, DNA, and possession of the murder weapon is a VERY strong case. And yet, it’s merely a circumstantial case.

Many argue that direct evidence is stronger than circumstantial evidence, but the concession must be made that circumstantial evidence can be extremely powerful on its own. The reality of the world we live in is the vast majority of crimes don’t have an eyewitness or a video capture. So if circumstantial evidence was deemed to be ‘useless’ then hardly any wrongdoing would be solved. The U.S. legal system accommodates this by having a “Burden of Proof” requirement. In layman’s terms this simply establishes how much circumstantial evidence is needed for us all to agree this suspect is guilty. There are different levels of the Burdens of Proof, depending on the severity of the infraction. 

For example, in civil cases the Burden of Proof is a Preponderance of the Evidence, which means, does the evidence show the suspect is more likely guilty than not? It’s a 50% rule. If the evidence can make the judge feel 51% certain the suspect did it, he’s guilty. In criminal cases, however, the Burden of Proof becomes much greater. It’s no longer the “most likely” standard, but instead rises to Beyond a Reasonable Doubt. This means that an average person would have no doubt that the suspect is guilty. If there is a legitimate doubt whether the suspect did the crime, then he cannot be found guilty. This is much more difficult to prove than a Preponderance of the Evidence case.

Using the Beyond a Reasonable Doubt standard in a circumstantial evidence case, if the only proof the prosecution had was the suspect was seen arguing with the victim earlier in the day, would not be enough to erase the doubt that he was involved in the shooting.

People have arguments all the time - that does not mean they shoot each other. Likewise, not all shootings are because the two argued earlier that day. But when you start adding other circumstantial evidence so that not only were they seen arguing early in the day, but gas receipts show his car was out at 3AM (around the time of the shooting), his footprints were found outside her window and his fingerprints were found on the gun, you now have a very strong case against this suspect. Each of these pieces of the evidence, however, is still only circumstantial evidence. All of it works together to make a case just as strong as any direct evidence investigation.

So be careful using dialogue like, “it’s just a circumstantial case” in your books, because circumstantial evidence is what often brings the bad guys to justice.

Bio:

Geoff Symon is a 25-year federal forensic investigator, teacher, and consultant. For the past several years, he has shared his expertise by teaching authors about real-life forensics through lectures, online courses, and his Forensics for Fiction series of books.  

Find Geoff:

Website | Forensics For fiction | Twitter

Find Geoff's Books:

                    

The Chunky Method ~ By Allie Pleiter

I was fortunate to meet Allie Pleiter at the #RWA2018 Conference in Denver this summer.  I've read her book and I use her method. Frankly, and I'm not overstating this, the Chunky Method changed my writing flow.

I'll share my consistent "chunk" in the comments :)

Discover Your “Chunk” To Get That Book Done

Hi, L.A. Thanks for inviting me to share my book and method on your blog. 

These days publishing has become as much about productivity as about product. Writers are expected to produce books faster than ever, while also handling a multitude of marketing (if not independent publishing) tasks.  How do you get those words out of your head to become the books you want to share with the world?

Here’s a powerful system for tackling this issue:  The Chunky Method.

What is your Chunk?

Your “Chunk” is simply how many words you write in a single sitting before you run out of creative energy. Most of us have a consistent chunk, and that can be the basis of some very effective planning.  Once you give yourself a few experimental sessions and average the output, you’ll know your Chunk—and that’s half the data you need.

           

Are you a Big Chunk writer or a Small Chunk writer?

This distinction is the other half of the information you need.  Based on my experience, if your chunk is 1000 words or greater, you are probably a Big Chunk writer.  If it is less than that, you are likely a Small Chunk writer.  Their needs are different.

Big Chunk writers, who must totally immerse themselves in the words to make progress, need:

       -a dedicated space to work. Banging out your passages at the dining room table annoys you.

       - a specific environment. You require silence or a certain kind of music around you when you write. A shared, messy, or a make-do office won’t do.

       - an extended period in which to write. You need a big block of time to find your rhythm. It’s frustrating to find a large enough span of time to write every day.

       - proper ergonomics. Long sessions mean you need a chair, desk, keyboard, mouse, monitor and lighting that helps your body rather than hurts it.

Small Chunk writers tend to be more adaptable…but prone to distraction. They take life, work, and writing in smaller bites and often juggle multiple projects. You can:

       - write anytime, anywhere. Coffee bars, park benches, libraries, airplanes—any setting works for you.

       - easily tune out distractions. You don’t need pleasing music (or silence)—you can tune out and crawl inside a project anywhere.

       - write often. Small spurts fit your writing into a busy life. A daily word count works for you, but cramming for a deadline probably won’t.

       - use any tools. Tablets, notepads, laptops, even index cards or cell phones —ergonomics don’t make much difference, so you’ve got lots of possibilities.

       Big Chunk Writers aren’t better or more committed than Small Chunk writers, they’re just different.  But both need a plan that takes their styles into account, one chunk at a time. After all, you don’t have to write the whole thing right now, just the next chunk of it. You’ll be amazed at how empowering this smaller goal can be.

Calculate how many chunks it takes you to reach your desired word count, then plot them out on a calendar to reach your desired deadline. Any spreadsheet or even a simple calculator can help you plan, but if you’d like help formulating your Chunk and the path to a completed project, I’ve created a free Chunky Calculator you can download.  Simply text CHUNKY to 22828 or click here [link listed below].  You’ll be on your way to greater productivity and a sound plan in no time.

Buy Link: 

Amazon

Bio:

Bestselling author Allie Pleiter has written over 30 novels and non-fiction works, selling over 1.2 million books worldwide.  Aside from teaching her popular Chunky Method of time management for writers, Allie works on as many as four books at a time.  How? By fitting small “chunks” of writing into a busy life—accompanied by coffee, knitting, and lemon meringue pie.

She is the author of The Chunky Method Handbook: Your Step-by-Step Plan to WRITE THAT BOOK Even When Life Gets in the Way. Visit her website for more information.

Find Allie:

Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | Twitter | Pinterest | Goodreads