Category: The Intentional Writer

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The Intentional Writer

A simple Tool to Keep Track of Off-Screen Characters

The intentional writer

As I was editing my latest WIP, I ran across several instances where my plot followed one character on a busy day while entirely ignoring another one. This is a problem, since these are not characters who will sit idly at home for a day waiting for their chance to do something!

Once I discovered my mistake, I had to rethink my timeline and revise several scenes in order to give the characters a plausible activity to keep them occupied.

What did this teach me? That it’s easy to lose track of off-screen characters.

And losing track of characters can come back to haunt you. Intelligent readers may notice that you haven’t mentioned what Mrs. X or Villain Y are up to, and make (possibly incorrect) assumptions about why you aren’t mentioning them, which may lead to later confusion.

Or even worse, you suddenly realize that you have a minor character showing up in two different places at the same time. Oops.

Fortunately, there’s simple solution for this problem.

Create a comprehensive timeline

I write mysteries, so timing is critical. But whatever your genre, you need some way to keep track of what happens when.

The wise author creates a timeline to keep track of when each scene occurs. I’ve created timelines for all my novels, but what I’ve been doing isn’t enough. I was only keeping track of the characters who were in the scenes.

What I will be doing from now on is also keeping track of what the other characters are up to each day.

This doesn’t mean I need to invent stories for what every character is doing every day. But I will keep track of where I left each character. And that will help me spot gaps when I’ve been ignoring them, or when I forget to move them from one place to another.

Benefits of a comprehensive timeline

  • A one-stop resource to keep track of who is where when and what they’re up to
  • Highlights when you have too much or too little happening on a specific day. Or when you have a long time span between scenes.
  • Highlights when you’ve ignored a character for too long
  • Points out gaps in the plot when you’ve forgotten to give a major character something to do.
  • Forces you to pay attention to what the bad guys are doing while the good guys are busy trying to track them down.
  • Helps keep track of where minor characters are and what errand you last sent them on.

How to make a timeline

How you create the timeline is up to you. You don’t need to make it “to scale” with an even amount of space for each day. When things are happening rapidly, you might need increments smaller than a day. Or you might jump five years between scenes. Do whatever makes sense for your plot.

Here are some suggestions for different mediums you might use:

  • Find a large space like the dining room table and use sticky notes. When you’re finished, take photos.
  • Use fine-tipped dry erase pens to write everything on a large white board, window, or a full-length mirror. (True story: My son used the mirror on the door of his dorm room to study for tests. It works like a dry erase board.)
  • Tape notebook paper together until you have enough room to write in all the info. (Or use a roll of craft paper.)
  • Create a spreadsheet.
  • Create a table in your word processor. This is what I’ve done in the past. Like a spreadsheet, it can be color-coded to keep track of POV or whatever.

Whatever medium you use, here are some suggested types of information you may want to include:

  • Day. You can use calendar dates if you like. I keep track of days elapsed, with Day One being the start of the novel. If important events happen just before the novel opens, you might want to begin numbering there instead.
  • Time of day. If a lot happens in a short amount of time, you might need to keep track of the hour, or even the minute. (I know from personal experience that it’s easy to write scenes from two different POVs that were supposed to intertwine, but didn’t because I wasn’t keeping careful track of the minutes.)
  • Plot. A brief description of each scene. Just enough so you remember what’s going on
  • Setting. Keeping track of the specific room or area can help you notice if you’re overusing certain ones.
  • Key information revealed in the scene
  • Current theory or goal. In a mystery, the MC’s theory about the crime changes as she learns new information. It’s helpful to keep track of who she thinks is guilty as the plot progresses.
  • Where off-screen characters are and what they’re doing. You may want to make several columns to keep track of different types of characters, such as villains, suspects, servants, rivals, etc.
  • Important plot structure points such as inciting incident or point of no return.

This may sound like a lot of work, but it’s time well spent. When I’m editing my WIP, I frequently refer back to my timeline to check details, particularly how long ago something happened. My timeline also serves as a brief scene list that I can use to revise and rearrange the action.

Do you create a timeline for your novels? What tools help you stay on track with your story?

Lisa E Betz

Lisa E. Betz worked as an engineer, substitute teacher, and play director before becoming an award-winning mystery writer. She brings her analytical mind, quirky humor, and positive outlook to all she writes. She draws inspiration from thirty-five years of leading Bible studies to create entertaining mysteries set in the world of the early church, and then she fills that world with eccentric characters, independent females, and an occasional sausage-snatching cat. Her first novel, Death and a Crocodile, garnered a gold medal in the Illumination Book Awards.

In addition to writing novels, Lisa blogs about living with authenticity and purpose. Visit her at www.lisaebetz.com. Facebook LisaEBetzWriter Twitter @LisaEBetz and Pinterest Lisa E Betz Intentional Living.

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The Intentional Writer

How To Improve Website Accessibility

The intentional writer

How user-friendly is your website? Could a stranger understand at a glance what kind information you offer and where to find it? Can people easily navigate to what they’re looking for?

How about those with impaired vision? Is your website user-friendly for those with vision challenges, or haven’t you given that issue a thought?

I know I’ve been guilty of that omission in the past. But I recently attended a webinar about this issue and I’m passing on some of what I learned to you.

Tips to make your posts and pages more accessible for users, in particular the vision impaired.

Make sure everything is readable.

We’ve all been frustrated by a badly designed web page that is difficult to read. You don’t want that for your website! Common readability errors include:

  • Font size too small. Many people find small print difficult to see. Be kind to your readers and make your default font size large enough to read easily. Consider a 14 pt or 16 pt size for body text.
  • Hard-to-read fonts. Script fonts, handwritten fonts, and ornate fonts are often difficult to read. Save those fonts for invitations and other fancy stuff. Even standard fonts can be challenging when some strokes of letters are very thin. For best readability on a screen, choose a sans serif font like Arial, Lato, or Verdana. (There’s a good reason they’re so popular. They work!)
  • Insufficient contrast. Low contrast between font and background can make the text difficult to read. If you suspect your contrast isn’t good, you’re probably right. Here is a website that allows you to analyze your contrast. You can enter hex values for the foreground (ie text) and background colors, or just use the sliders to play around. The boxes on the top right indicate whether the contrast passes or fails various standards.

Help users see what you want them to see and do what you want them to do

  • Create white space. When you try to cram too much into the page, it becomes confusing to the reader and they may miss the great content you want them to read. Spread things out so it’s easier for someone to see each important thing you have to say. Break long paragraphs into smaller ones. (Read a long paragraph on a phone and you’ll see why this makes a difference.)
  • Provide useful subheadings. Subheadings help users navigate through your posts and let them know at a glance what the key points are. Many readers scan the subheadings before deciding whether to read the post. If there aren’t any subheadings, they may move on immediately.
  • Make it easy to take the next step. After reading the page, what do you want the user to do next? Have you made your call-to-action obvious and simple to use? Can they easily find links to related posts, the comments section, or the search box?
  • Clarify what clicking a link will do. Don’t assume that every user will understand buttons or links that say vague things like “I’m in!” or “Show me.” Instead, be very clear about what will happen when a user clicks a link or a button.

Design for screen readers

Many vision-impaired users rely on a screen reader to navigate websites. Here are tips to make your site more user-friendly for audience members using a screen reader:

  • Include alt text on all images. Screen readers can’t interpret images. By filling out the alt text for each image, you can include an explanation of the image for the screen reader to read. This could be a simple description of the image, or an explanation of what the image is intended to illustrate. (Also, many email browsers default to not showing images. In this case, the alt text will show rather than just the “an image goes here” icon.)
  • Don’t use images when text will work. Since screen readers can’t interpret images, all the data the image provides to those with able vision is lost to those who can’t see it. Screen shots, quote memes, and infographics are examples of images that offer text that is inaccessible to screen reader users.
  • Don’t open a new window unless it’s necessary. Screen readers get confused when they have to deal with multiple windows. Users may get lost or unable to navigate back to the page they want. To avoid this, don’t set hyperlinks to open in new windows, and if you do, clearly state that in the hyperlink. For example: Click here to open ThisAwesomeWebsite in a new window.
  • Create helpful hyperlink descriptions. Screen readers read everything literally. If you include the whole web address in a hyperlink, the screen reader will read out every letter and symbol. Who wants to listen to that? Long links aren’t nice to look at anyway, so it’s better to offer readers a clear description of what the hyperlink will do.

Consider color-blindness.

Color can make a certain image pop.

Unless the viewer is colorblind.

There are several different kinds of colorblindness, and each will see an image with varying degrees of impairment. I have listed two sites (below) that show examples of how images might look to colorblind viewers. (In both of them, clicking the various types of colorblindness will change the image) Both sites also allow you to upload your images to see how they would appear.

If differentiating colors is critical for understanding your images, you should use a resource like the one above to ensure your message will still get across. Colorblindness is also a factor to consider for contrast between text and background.

Here are links to two websites that simulate colorblindness:

I hope these tips help you make your website even more awesome! Have other tips to make user-friendly websites? Let me know in the comments.

Lisa E Betz

Lisa E. Betz worked as an engineer, substitute teacher, and play director before becoming an award-winning mystery writer. She brings her analytical mind, quirky humor, and positive outlook to all she writes. She draws inspiration from thirty-five years of leading Bible studies to create entertaining mysteries set in the world of the early church, and then she fills that world with eccentric characters, independent females, and an occasional sausage-snatching cat. Her first novel, Death and a Crocodile, garnered a gold medal in the Illumination Book Awards.

In addition to writing novels, Lisa blogs about living with authenticity and purpose. Visit her at www.lisaebetz.com. Facebook LisaEBetzWriter Twitter @LisaEBetz and Pinterest Lisa E Betz Intentional Living.

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The Intentional Writer

Stop Feeling Overwhelmed, Adopt a Quarterly Focus

The intentional writer

I am easily overwhelmed when I think about all the things I should be doing to market my book and increase my platform. Grow social media following, SEO research, lead magnets, guest posts, ad split-testing, etc. (Not to mention working on my next book and dealing with the rest of life.)

I work on one thing for a day or two, then I hear I should be doing that other thing, so I switch to working on it instead. And at the end of the week I feel like a failure because I haven’t made any significant progress in any of them.

Does this sound familiar?

Then read on…

A simple strategy to avoid feelin project overwhelm

Stop trying to do it all!

Really.

It’s impossible to focus on every marketing tactic at once, anyway. Not only is is impossible, it will lead to poor results and lots of frustration. Instead, focus on one area at a time.

Big projects like marketing a book—or writing, polishing, and submitting a book—are marathons rather than sprints. The overall success is an accumulation of efforts over a long time span.

This allows us to prioritize one aspect for a period of time and then switch to another. The key is choosing a long enough time period to allow for success.

Try the quarterly approach

Break your year into three-month quarters. Assign a different marketing focus for each quarter. Plan out at least four or five quarters, so that you can cover all the important bases.

An example of using the quarterly focus strategy:

QuarterMarketing focus
April-June:Grow email list
July-Sept.:Grow social media following on one or two accounts
Oct.-Dec.:Run ads and offer a discount to boost sales
Jan. – March:Get spots on podcasts or radio shows
April-June:Learn how to use a new platform effectively (such as Facebook Live, or YouTube, or TikTok)

This quarterly focus strategy helps you:

  • Stay focused
  • Stay motivated
  • Manage time wisely
  • Avoid feeling overwhelmed and giving up
  • Have more time to really do something well
  • Assess how your area of effort affects book sales (because you aren’t trying five things at once.)

Of course, you shouldn’t completely ignore other marketing tactics in the meantime, but you can give yourself permission to do the bare minimum to maintain them while keeping the chosen area the priority.

I hope this quarterly focus strategy helps you face your next big project with more confidence and less stress.

Lisa E. Betz worked as an engineer, substitute teacher, and play director before becoming an award-winning mystery writer. She brings her analytical mind, quirky humor, and positive outlook to all she writes. She draws inspiration from thirty-five years of leading Bible studies to create entertaining mysteries set in the world of the early church, and then she fills that world with eccentric characters, independent females, and an occasional sausage-snatching cat. Her first novel, Death and a Crocodile, garnered a gold medal in the Illumination Book Awards.

In addition to writing novels, Lisa blogs about living with authenticity and purpose. Visit her at www.lisaebetz.com. Facebook LisaEBetzWriter Twitter @LisaEBetz and Pinterest Lisa E Betz Intentional Living.

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The Intentional Writer

Do You Need More Rest?

The intentional writer

What do you do when you feel weary? Burned out? Uninspired and ready to give up?

How do you find the energy to move forward in creative projects when you face personal trauma like the loss of a loved one?

How do you escape the creeping sense of panic when life feels chaotic, overly busy, or out of control?

In all these scenarios, one key to help you move forward is to give yourself adequate rest. And I don’t mean just a few more hours of sleep. True restoration is often active rather than passive, intentionally feeding what is lacking. And we need many different types of rest to fully restore our body, mind and spirit.

In the book Sacred Rest: Recover Your Life, Renew Your Energy, Restore Your Sanity, Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith defines seven type of rest we must consider to be fully whole and healthy.

Here’s a brief description of each:

  • Physical A lack of physical rest may cause symptoms like exhaustion, pain, or poor health. Our bodies need rest in order to function properly. Resting our bodies means sleep, but also includes stretching, exercise, and a wholesome diet that allows our bodies to stay flexible and healthy. If you experience frequent headaches or brain fog, you might be suffering from food sensitivities. If so, avoiding trigger foods can restore your body and help you feel well again.
  • Mental Our brains experience a constant deluge of information. We can exhaust ourselves with unhelpful mental habits such as dwelling on negative thoughts, reliving the past, or worrying about future what-ifs. If you experience decision fatigue, mental fog, or feelings of overwhelm, you probably need mental rest. You can find rest by focusing on what really matters and allowing yourself to let go of the non-essential mental chatter. Meditation, brain dumps, and morning routines can help.
  • Emotional The emotions that surround us—whether from real or virtual people—affect our emotional health. If we don’t monitor the emotions we allow to fill our minds, or don’t process our emotions in a healthy way, we end up with emotional fatigue, which may lead to anxiety, irritability, anger, or depression. Journaling or talking things out with a friend can help us find emotional rest, but sometimes we may need therapy to restore traumatized or burned-out emotions.
  • Spiritual Our faith and relationship with God affect our ability to feel rested in other areas of life. When you feel distant from God, or feel hopeless and defeated by life, those are signs that you need to renew and restore your spirit.
  • Social We humans were created to be social creatures. Even introverts need healthy social interaction. While periods of solitude are restorative, too much time alone can lead to loneliness, a tendency to avoid people, and depression. Solitude may seem like the best solution to avoid the drain of difficult relationships, but in fact our soul needs positive relationships in order to be restored.
  • Sensory Our modern world is filled with noise, music, blinking lights, flashing images, enhanced flavors, perfumed cleaning products, and a million other things that stimulate our senses. Our modern habit of constant screen time is like living on a diet of junk food. The constant bombardment on our senses can lead to becoming either overstimulated or desensitized to the world around us. Find sensory rest by intentionally escaping or blocking out the sensory inputs like screens, bright lights, or constant noise. Instead, focus on one thing that brings you joy, like savoring a favorite food or taking a bath and really paying attention to how the water feels on your skin.
  • Creative We can be so busy juggling career and family responsibilities that we forget to be mindful of the world we pass thru on the way to checking off our next to-do item. When we don’t allow ourselves time for creative play because we’re too focused on the next action item, we lack joy, wonder, and satisfaction in life. If you are struggling with writer’s block or you’re writing feels flat and uninspired, you may need to put your creative “work” aside and give yourself time for creative play that’s unrelated to your WIP.

In order to produce our best work, we must give ourselves permission to pursue proper rest in all seven of these areas. We need to understand which areas of our lives are being drained and how to replenish those areas. For more information on the seven types of rest and which ones you are most in need of restoring, try Dr. Dalton-Smith’s Rest Quiz.

I hope I have encouraged you to seek the rest you need to be whole and healthy.

Lisa E. Betz worked as an engineer, substitute teacher, and play director before becoming an award-winning mystery writer. She brings her analytical mind, quirky humor, and positive outlook to all she writes. She draws inspiration from thirty-five years of leading Bible studies to create entertaining mysteries set in the world of the early church, and then she fills that world with eccentric characters, independent females, and an occasional sausage-snatching cat. Her first novel, Death and a Crocodile, garnered a gold medal in the Illumination Book Awards.

In addition to writing novels, Lisa blogs about living with authenticity and purpose. Visit her at www.lisaebetz.com. Facebook LisaEBetzWriter Twitter @LisaEBetz and Pinterest Lisa E Betz Intentional Living.

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The Intentional Writer

Advice from a Debut Author

The intentional writer

One month ago my first novel officially released. As you might guess, I am proud of finally achieving that goal!

Death and a Crocodile is a fast-paced mystery set in ancient Rome, featuring a feisty female sleuth, quirky humor, a glimpse of the early church, and a naughty, sausage-snatching cat. It was recently named a gold medal winner in the Illumination Book Awards mystery/thriller category.

Death and a Crocodile

In case you’re wondering, my meteoric rise to fame began long, long ago in a phase of life far far away from my current reality. (As in mother of toddlers to grandparent.)

Over the intervening years I’ve spent countless hours learning, writing, getting feedback, writing some more, attending conferences, building platform, and writing. Ten years ago I actually completed an entire novel manuscript. Four years ago I complete the manuscript that became my first novel. Two years ago that manuscript was a finalist in the ACFW Genesis award. One year ago I signed a contract for the book with CrossLink Publishing. And now here I am, at the start of my career as a published author.

Author interviews often include a question something like “What advice do you have for beginning authors?” Since I have just transitioned from unpublished author to published author, I thought I would take a stab at answering that question.

Believe in yourself and your stories

When I first discovered that I enjoyed creative writing, I wrote short articles and drama sketches. Sometimes I would work on a few scenes of a longer story, but I never got very far. Partly because I hadn’t yet learned how to structure a story, but mainly because I didn’t think anyone would want to read the stories I made up.

My inner critic whispered that no one wanted to read my stories. My plot ideas weren’t good enough. They were stupid, lame, boring, or too odd for anyone else to enjoy.

It took me years to get over this hurdle.

And it was only after I decided to believe my stories were worth reading that I began to take myself seriously as a writer. Only once I had moved past that mental hurdle could I risk my work being seen in critique groups or actually decide to finish an entire story manuscript.

Give yourself permission to be a beginner

You’ve probably heard the advice that you must turn off your inner critic and give yourself permission to write a “bad” first draft. I suggest you take that concept further and give yourself permission to write a “bad” first novel.

Let me clarify! By “bad” I don’t mean poorly written, or awful, or a piece of junk. I merely mean not yet good enough to be published. I call them practice novels. A practice novel is not bad. A practice novel is not a waste of time. I think of practices novels as a hands-on writing course that helps us learn and improve our craft.

I recognize that God has called some of you to write a specific book, and therefore you need to continue improving and polishing that manuscript until it is publishable. However, for many of us, and particularly those who write fiction, our calling is to be a teller of tales, not necessarily any one particular tale. Therefore, creating practice novels that helps us hone our skill and find our voice is a perfectly acceptable use of our time and talents. I have heard many successful authors mention the practice novels they wrote, which gave me mental permission to do the same. I wrote three practice novels before writing Death and a Crocodile.

Do you need to give yourself permission to call your manuscript a practice novel and set it aside to begin working on something better? And who knows, a plot point or character from a practice novel could always end up in a future work.

Network even if you don’t know what you’re doing.

I am a card-carrying introvert. I was not born with a networking gene. One of the things I hate most in life is feeling alone in a crowd of people. Attending any large social event drains my energy big-time. (Are you getting the picture?)

So attending writing groups or conferences is a HUGE stretch for me. But I do it.

Because interacting with other writers face-to-face is an important piece of growing as a writer. All of the one-on-one meetings I’ve had at Christian writing conferences have been encouraging, and several of those meetings have led to further interaction with helpful authors. Also, every time I have attended a live conference, the Lord has guided me to people I could befriend. So even though I’m not a natural networker, and I didn’t realize I was networking, I have collected writing acquaintances over the years that I can turn to for advice, encouragement, and even an endorsement or two.

In other words, attending writers’ groups and writing conferences enables God’s providence to operate and lead you to open doors.

An example of networking and God’s providence: A woman I befriended at a local writers’ group met Cyle Young through attending a writing conference. When he was starting Almost an Author, she heard about it and passed the word to me, so I was able to begin writing a column here. That led to Cyle becoming my literary agent. Which eventually landed me a publishing contract. See all that networking? And it began with me talking to ONE writing friend and making the effort to join a group writing blog. That’s all I thought I was doing, but God had bigger plans.

If you know any beginning writers, take the time to encourage them in whatever next step they need to take on their writing journey. Encourage them to believe in the worth of their stories. Or perhaps invite them to come along the next time you attend a writing event.

Lisa E. Betz worked as an engineer, substitute teacher, and play director before becoming an award-winning mystery writer. She brings her analytical mind, quirky humor, and positive outlook to all she writes. She draws inspiration from thirty-five years of leading Bible studies to create entertaining mysteries set in the world of the early church, and then she fills that world with eccentric characters, independent females, and an occasional sausage-snatching cat. Her first novel, Death and a Crocodile, garnered a gold medal in the Illumination Book Awards.

In addition to writing novels, Lisa blogs about living with authenticity and purpose. Visit her at www.lisaebetz.com. Facebook LisaEBetzWriter Twitter @LisaEBetz and Pinterest Lisa E Betz Intentional Living.

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The Intentional Writer

Tips to Look and Sound Professional on Video

The intentional writer

Like it or not, most of us are spending time in front of a webcam. With the sudden onset of virtual everything due to the pandemic, many writers have been thrust into using video technology with little or no training.

Whether you are using video to attend meetings, teach a virtual workshop, or produce webinars for profit, you should do all you can to look and sound your best. These tips will help. The good news is that you can accomplish most of these tips without purchasing expensive technology.

Optimize your background and lighting

The number one way to improve your on-camera professionalism is to make yourself look good. Which means avoiding these common mistakes:

  • The wrong camera angle. A low camera angle isn’t flattering. Everyone looks better when the camera is at eye level or slightly above. You can use a tripod to accomplish this, but a stack of books or a cardboard box will also do the trick.
  • Windows in the background. The glare from sunlight behind you is annoying for viewers and it also means your face is in shadow.
  • Using a busy background. Avoid backgrounds that are messy or distracting. If it’s practical, you can set up a corner of the house to be your private filming studio, with an on-brand set. For the rest of us, a blank section of wall is best.
  • Lighting that is too bright, too dim, or uneven. Ideally you want to avoid direct sunlight, and provide warm lighting from several angles to avoid harsh shadows while illuminating your face well. You may have to experiment with portable lamps to get the right lighting. Or invest in a ring light.

A simple trick: You can figure out how to improve all of these considerations by turning your phone on selfie mode. Experiment with different locations and lighting to find out what looks best.

Other things to consider

  • Don’t use a virtual background unless you’ve practiced with it and know how to keep yourself looking good while using it. If you move a lot, a virtual background is probably not the way to go.
  • Remember to frame yourself properly. Keeping your head and shoulders visible and centered in the frame is best.
  • Be aware of doors. Allowing a door to be visible in the background opens up the possibility of someone accidentally interrupting your video. It’s better to keep doors off camera so you can see intruders and stop them before they become visible to viewers.

Optimize your audio

  • Know the limitations of your mic. If you are using the microphone on your device, stay close enough for it to pick up your voice. If you move too far away, your voice will become faint or garbled to listeners. The microphone that comes with earbuds is often an improvement over using your device mic.
  • If you plan to teach on video, or regularly do something like Facebook live, invest in a microphone. Two options are a clip-on lavalier mic or a tripod-mounted mic that sits on the floor or desk in front of you.
  • Pay attention to background noise. If at all possible, avoid recording when someone is mowing the lawn, or when a noisy appliance like the washer is running. Also be aware of fans. Too much moving air near the mic can create odd noises for listeners.
  • Avoid unwanted beeps. Turn off all notifications on your device. Silence your phone. Check the room for anything else that could make an unwanted noise.

Improve your delivery

  • In a live situation, a presenter makes eye contact with the audience. In a video, a presenter makes virtual eye contact by looking directly at the camera. This can feel awkward, because your eyes want to look at the slide, or at other viewers pictured on your screen. Pro tip: put a sticky note near the webcam to remind yourself where to look.
  • In a similar vein, video presenters should avoid looking down to read. It’s much better to look sideways, so find a way to position your notes at eye level and to the side of your camera rather than on a table in front of you.
  • Plan your outfit. Solid colors work best on camera. Also consider the evergreen quality. If this video will be viewed year-round, select an outfit that could be suitable for any season rather than a sleeveless shirt or bulky sweater.
  • Practice, practice, practice. Get used to the software controls and how to switch from one view to another, so you aren’t stumbling when the video goes live.
  • Open your presentation to the first slide before you begin the video session. That way you can click right into the presentation without delay.
  • Don’t forget to adjust the camera so you center yourself in the frame.

Don’t neglect technical details.

  • Consider bandwidth. To avoid frozen screens, garbled audio, and other problems, make sure you have sufficient internet bandwidth. Every device in the house is competing for bandwidth, so turn off everything you can. This is not the ideal time for someone else to be streaming a movie or playing online games.
  • Also be aware that WiFi signal varies throughout the house. Choose a location where you have a strong signal.
  • Close all extra tabs to keep background programs to a minimum.
  • Clear the cache. A full cache can bog down your speed, so it’s a good practice to restart your device before recording. (Just leave yourself sufficient time in case your computer decides to do a backup without warning you.)
  • Do at least one solo recording session, including any visuals you plan to use, to make sure everything looks and sounds good.
  • Make sure your battery is fully charged before the session begins.
  • Join the meeting a few minutes early to make sure everything is working.

Finally: Do you have a backup plan? Imagine you are in the middle of a live workshop and your internet goes out. What will you do? If you plan to do live video, make sure you have a hotspot as a backup in case the internet fails you.

I hope these tips help you look and sound awesome in your next video session.

Lisa E. Betz worked as an engineer, substitute teacher, and play director before becoming an award-winning mystery writer. She brings her analytical mind, quirky humor, and positive outlook to all she writes. She draws inspiration from thirty-five years of leading Bible studies to create entertaining mysteries set in the world of the early church, and then she fills that world with eccentric characters, independent females, and an occasional sausage-snatching cat. Her first novel, Death and a Crocodile, releases February 9.

In addition to writing novels, Lisa blogs about living with authenticity and purpose. Visit her at www.lisaebetz.com. Facebook LisaEBetzWriter Twitter @LisaEBetz and Pinterest Lisa E Betz Intentional Living.

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The Intentional Writer

10 Ways to Help Fellow Writers (Without Spending Money)

The intentional writer

When it comes to marketing, most of us can use all the help we can get. Savvy authors know that working together benefits everyone. So it’s a good practice to help other writers whenever possible. That way, when you need a boost you can ask for support without feeling selfish.

And besides, when we support other authors, we’re helping them spread their message to the world.

Why not start this year spreading kindness and support to other authors? Here are a few quick and easy ideas that won’t cost you a cent.

Ten simple things you can do to help other authors

Social Media

  • Aid their platform by following them on social media. Like their Facebook author page, follow their Instagram or Twitter feeds, etc.
  • Interact with other authors on social media. Comment, like, and respond to questions and surveys.
  • Share their giveaways and special news. Your friends like free books, too, so share or retweet author giveaways on your accounts.
  • Create a meme featuring a favorite quote from a book and post it on your social media. Make sure you include your fellow author’s name and the book you took the quote from. That way, others who like the quote can look into the book.

Goodreads

  • Whenever you take an action on Goodreads, all your friends and followers get a notice. This means every book you review or add to your Want to Read shelf shows up in the feed of your friends, too. We can use this feature intentionally to promote our own books, and the books of others. NOTE: Check your feed settings to make sure your actions are being shared. Go to Account Settings and find the Feeds tab. Make sure the checkboxes are checked in order for your actions to be shared with friends.
  • Add the books of fellow authors to your Want to Read shelf. (Even if you never get around to reading them, you’ve helped those authors by showing your friend the book is worth reading.)
  • Look at reviews posted for another author’s books. Find one that is both positive and informative and Like it or or comment on it. Doing this will spread that positive review to your friends.

Other actions

  • Download free e-books. When a fellow author runs a special, download their e-book even if you never plan on reading it. By downloading the book you help their sales numbers. If it’s free, you’re not “wasting” money. And who knows, you might try it and find you like it after all. (This does not apply to Kindle Unlimited books, where Amazon credits authors by number of pages read.)
  • Leave positive reviews. When you read a book by a fellow author, make the effort to leave reviews on Amazon, Goodreads, B&N, or anywhere else you buy or discover books.
  • Mention a fellow author’s book in your blog or author newsletter. If you read a book your audience might like, share that recommendation with them. It serves your audience and supports a fellow writer at the same time.

And a few Don’ts

  • Don’t post a review on a site you never use. Potential buyers are suspicious of a review when it’s the only item a reviewer has posted.
  • Don’t post a glowing review that’s full of generic praise but doesn’t say anything helpful about the book. Give potential buyers specific reasons why you liked the book.
  • Don’t post reviews that mislead potential buyers. You won’t help the author by attracting the wrong target audience, so be clear about what kind of book it is and who might enjoy it.

We’re all on the same team here. When we support other authors, we’re helping them spread their version of God’s message to the world.

Do you have other simple ways to support other writers? I’d love to hear about them.

Lisa E. Betz worked as an engineer, substitute teacher, and play director before becoming an award-winning mystery writer. She brings her analytical mind, quirky humor, and positive outlook to all she writes. She draws inspiration from thirty-five years of leading Bible studies to create entertaining mysteries set in the world of the early church, and then she fills that world with eccentric characters, independent females, and an occasional sausage-snatching cat. Her first novel, Death and a Crocodile, releases February 9.

In addition to writing novels, Lisa blogs about living with authenticity and purpose. Visit her at www.lisaebetz.com. Facebook LisaEBetzWriter Twitter @LisaEBetz and Pinterest Lisa E Betz Intentional Living.

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The Intentional Writer

What’s on Your Writer’s Wish List?

The intentional writer

The Christmas season is an excellent time to expand your writing resources. Here are some suggestions of items you can include on your wish list.

Craft Books

A serious writer knows there’s always room to learn more about the craft of writing. If you don’t have a list of writing-related books you want to read, now’s the time to start one. If you do have a list, select s few titles to add to your on your writer’s wish list.

Marketing Books

Writers need to learn about the marketing side of things, too. So add a few titles about marketing, branding, platform, and social media to your writing TBR pile. Then choose a title or two to add to your writer’s wish list. It’s never too soon to start learning about marketing and platform, so even if you’re a beginner you should be collecting (and reading) books on these topics.

Creativity and Inspirational Books

Why not invest in a book that inspires your creativity or helps you get past writer’s block? There are plenty of books designed to help creatives in all fields, so don’t confine yourself to those aimed specifically at writing. Need a suggestion for a non-self-help book to inspire you? How about a biography of someone you admire, or a story of someone who succeeded against great odds.

Genre Books

A good writer reads avidly and widely. You need to read books in the genres you write, because it helps you understand what readers expect, and what You should also read a variety of books in other genres, because we can learn and find inspiration in good books of all genres.

Software and apps

Have you been wishing you could upgrade to a more powerful version of a tool you use regularly, such as Canva or Book Brush? Why not add a year’s subscription to your wish list? Ditto for software that would make you a more productive and happy writer.

Memberships

Joining multiple organizations can get expensive, but these groups offer networking and other resources that may give your career the boost it needs. What kind of groups make the most sense for you? Some are specific to a genre, such as Sisters in Crime. Others are intended for a broader range of writers, such as American Christian Fiction Writers. Many offer a support community, such as Serious Writer Club. Why not look into a few and pick one for your wish list?

Classes and Coaching Sessions

There are tons of classes and coaches out there who can help you learn what you need to learn, or help you figure out what you need to do to take the next step in your career. Invest in yourself and make use of all that knowledge.

Technology

When apps give you a warning that your computer is too old to run their software properly, you know it’s time to think about replacing your laptop. [Yes, I am getting that message from a particular app.] In addition this might be a good opportunity to consider adding useful accessories like a microphone, to up your quality on podcasts or videos.

Office equipment

When was the last time you considered the ergonomics of your favorite writing spot? Maybe it’s time to invest in a more supportive desk chair, or a better desk that allows you to adjust the height of your keyboard. Or maybe you simply need some cute organizer bins to tame the clutter.

Hobbies

If you want your to keep producing creative ideas, you need to be intentional about feeding your creative well. And that means regularly doing the kinds of activities that feed your soul. Hiking, beekeeping, knitting, gardening, etc. Don’t neglect to include hobby supplies and equipment on your wish list.

I hope these suggestions have inspired you, both for items to add to your wish list, and also for awesome gifts you can five to your friends and loved ones.

Lisa E. Betz worked as an engineer, substitute teacher, and play director before becoming an award-winning mystery writer. She brings her analytical mind, quirky humor, and positive outlook to all she writes. She draws inspiration from thirty-five years of leading Bible studies to create entertaining mysteries set in the world of the early church, and then she fills that world with eccentric characters, independent females, and an occasional sausage-snatching cat. Her first novel, Death and a Crocodile, releases February 9.

In addition to writing novels, Lisa blogs about living with authenticity and purpose. Visit her at www.lisaebetz.com. Facebook LisaEBetzWriter Twitter @LisaEBetz and Pinterest Lisa E Betz Intentional Living.

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The Intentional Writer

Do You Understand Copyrights?

The intentional writer

As writers, we are concerned about protecting our work from theft or misuse. That is why we should have a general understanding of copyright laws.

DISCLAIMER: I am not a lawyer. This post is intended as a guide to understanding the basics of this topic. If you have actual copyright questions, please contact an expert.

What is a copyright?

According to the Wikipedia entry for Copyright:

Copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to make copies of a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, educational, or musical form.

(Although lengthy, this article provides a good foundation for understanding what the concept of copyright is all about. I recommend you take a look.)

Do I need to apply for a copyright to protect my work?

No. Under current law, as soon as a creative work is “fixed”, or recorded in some tangible way, then copyright protection is automatically in force. Therefore as soon as you write your ideas down or type them on your computer, they are theoretically protected. Authors do not need to apply for a copyright or include a copyright notation on their work. (An older version of the law did require authors to include a copyright notation.)

However, an author’s protection is enhanced when the work is officially registered with the Copyright Office. This can be done online at copyright.gov, but it requires a fee.

Note: A registered copyright only protects the copy you registered. Therefore it makes no sense to apply for copyrights for unfinished works.

What constitutes copyright infringement?

This is where many of us may run into problems. We know better than to plagiarize another author’s writing, but what about grabbing a photo off the web to use in our blog, or borrowing a song to use in a video?

Like writing, other forms of intellectual property are protected by copyright laws. Artwork, photos, music, videos, and performances are considered copyrighted. Which means we don’t have permission to use them unless that permission has been granted by the owner.

How can I use copyrighted material?

  • You can contact the owner and ask for permission.
  • You can purchase the rights, such as buying a stock photo.
  • The law makes an exception for fair use. (See below.)
  • Also, some material has been assigned a Creative Commons license. This is a standardized way for copyright owners to grant permission for others to use their work. (See below.)

What is fair use?

The Copyright Act of 1976 allows for limited copying and distribution of copyrighted material under what is termed “fair use.” However, it can be tricky to determine what does or does not qualify as fair use. Factors to consider include the purpose for which the copies are being used, the proportion of the work that is being used, and how the use might affect the market value of the work.

What are Creative Commons licenses about?

There are six different types of Creative Commons licenses, each of which have different stipulations about what uses are allowed and how the owner of the work should be attributed. These are clearly explained on the Creative Commons website.

Reputable sources of photos, music, or other creative works will indicate which license applies to each item. You should assume that anything on the web not labeled public domain or marked with a CC license is not available for use.

Like most of the information on Wikipedia, the copyright definition I copied in this post falls under a Creative Commons license. Specifically CC 3.0 (CC BY-SA) which states that credit must be given to the author, as I have done by including a hyperlink to the original article.

What is a derivative work?

Some CC licenses do not allow derivative works. A derivative work is something that has been derived from the original. In other words, a work that adapts the original work in some way. For example, taking a photo and adding text to it, as is demonstrated by the featured image on this post.

Some CC licenses specify non-commercial use only. What does that mean?

Non-commercial uses refers to using the material for personal or educational purposes only, without the end product being sold or used for the marketing of a salable product.

Commercial use includes the obvious: the material is being used on or in a product. It also includes any instance where the creative property is being used for any purpose that enables you to make money.

For example, a book trailer is commercial use because it is advertising a product. A blog that makes you money, such as one with affiliate links, is also considered commercial use.

If you are working on a website or anything that may be connected with selling your work, now or in the future, it’s a good idea to stay on the safe side and limit yourself to works that allow commercial use.

I hope this helps you understand the world of copyrights, so that you can honor the intellectual property of others as ethically as you wish your rights to be honored.

Award-winning writer Lisa E. Betz believes that everyone has a unique story to tell the world. She loves inspiring fellow writers to be more intentional about developing their craft and courageous in sharing their words. Lisa shares her words through speaking, leading Bible studies, writing historical mysteries, and blogging about living intentionally.

You can find her on Facebook LisaEBetzWriter Twitter @LisaEBetz and Pinterest Lisa E Betz Intentional Living.

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The Intentional Writer

Lead Magnets 101:A Useful Tool for Growing Your Audience

The intentional writer

What is a lead magnet?

A lead magnet is a marketing term for a free item or service that is given away to potential customers for the purpose of gathering contact details, such as their email address. Examples of lead magnets include free ebooks, webinars, and printable checklists.

How do lead magnets help you?

The purpose of lead magnets is to attract potential customers, who hopefully will become actual customers after interacting with your lead magnet. Even those of us who don’t yet have a book to sell benefit from lead magnets, because lead magnets build your email list, which enlarges your platform.

Here are some ways they can attract customers.

  1. People like free stuff. Marketers have been exploiting this fact for years.
  2. If your freebie is on-brand, it will attract the kind of readers who are most likely to be interested in your writing, and thus and purchase your products in the future.
  3. They give potential customers something helpful, which A) builds trust in your brand and B) makes them more likely to return and purchase something from you.
  4. They help you acquire potential customers for future sales by growing your email list, which is still the most effective way to convert book sales.

Before you create a lead magnet, you must consider three parts of the definition:

  • the What (the free item or service)
  • the Who (potential customers)
  • the Why (your purpose for gathering contact details)

Don’t put the cart before the horse

To create the best possible lead magnet, you need to consider the Why and Who before worrying about the What.

1. The Why: Consider your specific purpose

What do you want the lead magnet to accomplish? What is your end goal? Possibilities include:

  • Gain author newsletter subscribers
  • Gain blog followers
  • Get people to try your product/service in the hopes they’ll want more
  • Get people to read your free ebook, so they’ll want to read more of your books

2. The Who: Define your target audience (and their felt needs)

The more specifically you can define your target audience, the easier it will be to create a valuable lead magnet that meets one of their felt needs.

  • What are the target audience(s) of your author brand?
  • What subset of that target audience you are targeting with your lead magnet? You will need different lead magnets for different goals and audience subsets.
  • What are their felt needs or pain points? The more specific you are at identifying these pain points, the better your chance of creating a lead magnet they will love.
  • What social media platforms do they spend time on? Optimize your lead magnet for that kind of media.

3. The What: Create a freebie your target audience will love

The ideal lead magnet will:

  1. Meet a felt need or pain point the user has
  2. Be something the user can use immediately and easily
  3. Be something the user can use repeatedly
  4. Make the user feel like they’re “stealing” from you—i.e. getting a lot of value for free
  5. Reinforce your brand.
  6. Deliver what is promised. Don’t disappoint the user with content that doesn’t live up to the hype.

With those goals in mind, begin to brainstorm:

  •  What helpful service or information can you offer that meets a felt need of your target audience? .
  • How might you package that information into a downloadable form? (Printable pdf, How-To video, ebook, free link to a training webinar, etc.)
  • Which kinds of media and content do you feel most comfortable creating? A quality lead magnet combines a useful idea with good design. If you’ve never created a video before, it’s probably not the best format for your lead magnet.

There are tons of websites that offer lists of ideas. Here are three to try:

Three fiction lead magnet ideas

Lead magnet examples from successful authors.

A comprehensive list of 101 ideas with a handy table of contents.

Finally, don’t stress out! (And stop trying to create the perfect lead magnet.)

There’s no such thing as the perfect lead magnet, so stop stressing over whether your idea is “right”. Your goal is not to spend the next six months analyzing your target audience, coming up with eight dozen possible lead magnets ideas and then rejecting all of them.

Your goal is to make your best effort, put it out there, and see what happens. So have fun.

Award-winning writer Lisa E. Betz believes that everyone has a unique story to tell the world. She loves inspiring fellow writers to be more intentional about developing their craft and courageous in sharing their words. Lisa shares her words through speaking, leading Bible studies, writing historical mysteries, and blogging about living intentionally.

You can find her on Facebook LisaEBetzWriter Twitter @LisaEBetz and Pinterest Lisa E Betz Intentional Living.

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The Intentional Writer

Boost Creativity by Increasing Diversity

The intentional writer

Do you want to take your creativity and problem-solving abilities to a new level? Diversify your inputs. Increasing the diversity of the groups you interact with and the sources of your creative inspiration will lead to:

  • Greater creativity
  • More innovative ideas
  • Improved problem-solving
  • Better decisions

All of which lead to greater success and greater job satisfaction.

It makes sense when you think about it. The more alike your friends and writing associates are, the more likely they will think along the same lines and come up with similar answers to problems. On the other hand, a more diverse group of people will have a broader outlook, more varied ideas, and more novel approaches to solving problems.

If you want to tap into the power of diversity, consider where you can add more diverse inputs in your writing life. Here are some suggestions.

Critique partners

Do your critique partners all write in the same genre? Do they all prefer to read the same sorts of books? While a critique from someone who hates your genre is usually not helpful, it’s wise to find critique partners who aren’t all writing the same kind of story.

My main critique partners write in completely different genres. This has served us well. In addition, I have joined forces with a fellow mystery writer (through the Sisters in Crime organization). When we were first brought together we weren’t sure it would work because our styles and worldviews appeared to be very different, but it turns out those differences have helped us identify blind spots, faulty assumptions, and plot holes. (Not to mention an occasional discussion on midwest vs. northeast idioms and brand familiarity.)

If you are looking for ways to diversify your critique input, here is a sample of the factors to consider:

  • Age
  • Gender
  • Cultural background
  • Income level
  • Education level
  • Occupation(s)
  • Work experience
  • Religious beliefs
  • Where they’ve lived
  • Where they’ve traveled
  • Family background
  • Personality / temperament
  • Taste in books
  • Taste in music, and/or other arts
  • Main interests and hobbies
  • Favorite leisure activities
  • Writing experience level
  • Genres they write
  • Pantser or plotter?
  • Writing style and voice

Beta readers

The same goes for beta readers. Your readers will (hopefully) come from all walks of life, so finding a diverse group of beta readers will help ensure your story makes sense and appeals to different audience segments who might benefit from your book.

Brainstorming

Who do you bounce ideas off of? Do you count on your spouse and your critique partners to solve all your writing problems, or do you solicit ideas from a larger group of people? You might benefit from finding a handful of people with diverse backgrounds who are willing to gather now and then to brainstorm plot problems, plot ideas, marketing strategies, or anything else that could spark new life into your writing career. When choosing brainstorming partners, remember to choose a mixed group, and don’t limit yourself to writers.

Social contacts

How diverse are the backgrounds and life experiences of the people you interact with on a regular basis? Could you benefit from spending more time with people outside your usual group? I realize it’s difficult to socialize in a post-Covid world, but social media and internet forums provide an opportunity to interact with diverse viewpoints.

Book and media consumption

Just as with nutrition, the more varied our diet, the healthier we’ll be. If you find yourself reading book after book in the same tried-and-true genre, it may be time to branch out. Pick up a few books in genres you don’t normally read. If you really hate them, you don’t have to finish them, but don’t dismiss an entire genre just because you disliked one or two books. Ditto for movies, music, and other creative inputs.

Years ago I stated a book club with the primary purpose of forcing myself to read books I wouldn’t normally read. Because it’s an organized thing, it makes me remain intentional about choosing a variety of book genres, topics, and styles. Do you have a book club that pushes you out of your reading comfort zone? If not, perhaps its time to join one or start your own.

 I hope these ideas help you widen your creative horizons and find new inspiration.

Award-winning writer Lisa E. Betz believes that everyone has a unique story to tell the world. She loves inspiring fellow writers to be more intentional about developing their craft and courageous in sharing their words. Lisa shares her words through speaking, leading Bible studies, writing historical mysteries, and blogging about living intentionally.

You can find her on Facebook LisaEBetzWriter Twitter @LisaEBetz and Pinterest Lisa E Betz Intentional Living.

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The Intentional Writer

The Importance of Taking Breaks

The intentional writer

Writing is hard work. It may not look like writers expend much energy, but we are. Writing saps our mental, emotional, and spiritual energy reserves. If you’ve ever felt drained after a writing session you know what I mean.

In order to be effective in our writing career, we need to intentional about taking breaks to restore our creative energy. We need time to rest, refuel, and find new inspiration. Here are some ideas:

Five types of breaks to boost writing success

Give your project a rest

Sometimes the best thing we can do with a writing project is set it aside for a time. When we get deep into a story we lose the ability to look at it objectively, plus we tend to get stuck on certain details, scenes, or sentences. When we set the project aside and work on a different piece of writing for a time, we allow our brains to do a reset.

Taking a break between one draft and the next enables our conscious and unconscious brains to return to the project with clearer thinking. We can more easily spot problems and think up more creative solutions for solving them. If you feel stuck with a piece of writing, try locking it in a drawer (real or virtual) for at least a week, or perhaps a few months.

Take short breaks to enhance efficiency

When we’re in the middle of a busy day, taking a break may feel highly unproductive, but productivity experts have shown that taking short breaks actually enhances our ability to think and perform. They suggest stopping every two hours or so to take a short break.

All breaks are not created equally, however. To make the most of short breaks, walk away from your desk, turn your brain to a completely unrelated subject, and connect with either nature or other humans. Limit the break to about fifteen minutes. Above all, resist the temptation to check social media or email! Those activities are not restorative.

Refill your empty tank

When we push ourselves to keep going after our inner energy tank is on empty, our creativity suffers. If we want to do our best work, we must be intentional about taking refueling breaks. What refreshes and restores your heart and soul? Taking a walk along the seashore? Paining a picture? Gardening? Reading? Talking with a friend over coffee? Do yourself and your future readers a favor by making a point to refuel yourself regularly by spending time in activities that restore your body and psyche.

Seek out inspiration

Along with refueling our inner energy tank, we occasionally need to resupply our stock of inspiration. Now and then we need to take a break from writing to seek other kinds of experiences that will fill our store of ideas and spark creativity. The more varied the activities, the better. Vacations, nature walks, art classes, dancing lessons, or a visit to an art museum are all great ways to refill our cache of inspiration. So is reading a book outside our preferred genres or watching a TED talk on something we know nothing about. It may feel like wasted time, but all positive input is fodder for out subconscious. What new things can you learn or experience this week?

Meditate and pray

Our words reflect the state of our spirit. If we hope to communicate truth and hope to our readers we need to remain connected to our Lord. He is the one who gifted us with imagination and called us to write. He is the one who can inspire, guide, and clarify our thoughts. He is the one who enables us to write with efficiency and purpose. Taking spiritual breaks to pray and meditate will help us stay true to our calling and enable us to communicate the truths in our hearts.

I hope these tips help you avoid burnout and enhance your creative output.

Happy writing!

Award-winning writer Lisa E. Betz believes that everyone has a unique story to tell the world. She loves inspiring fellow writers to be more intentional about developing their craft and courageous in sharing their words. Lisa shares her words through speaking, leading Bible studies, writing historical mysteries, and blogging about living intentionally.

You can find her on Facebook LisaEBetzWriter Twitter @LisaEBetz and Pinterest Lisa E Betz Intentional Living.

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The Intentional Writer

Declutter Your Writing Life

The intentional writer

In my blog about living intentionally I often talk about decluttering—not just in our homes but in all areas of life. My definition of clutter is as follows:

Clutter: any thing, activity, expectation, or task that is non-essential and gets in the way of doing what matters most. Clutter is everything that is not meaningful, useful, or beautiful. 

So then, decluttering is the removal of all that is non-essential so that we can focus on what matters most—in our case, writing and promoting our books and our message.   


Areas where you might need to remove some clutter

  1. Your workspace. Does your workspace encourage productive work or does it contain objects that distract you? Are the tools and information you need readily available, or is your workspace filled with other stuff that doesn’t help your writing but happens to “live” in that space? Can those non-essentials be moved elsewhere?
  2.  Virtual clutter. When you sit down to write, are there virtual things that distract you? Perhaps you need to turn off social media notifications, close internet tabs, or even disconnect with the internet altogether while you write. Perhaps you need to leave your phone in another room. Or perhaps the weight of unprocessed emails has gotten so heavy it hinders your focus. Would an hour spent sorting your inbox and dealing with simple tasks declutter part of your brain and give you more bandwidth to create well?
  3. Unfinished projects. Do you have unfinished writing projects lurking in the back corners of your mind that make you feel guilty? Perhaps you need to declutter them from your to-do list. Life happens and your priorities change. It’s OK to change your mind about a project and decide something else is a better use of your time, but when you do, put the old projects completely away—physically and mentally. They do not need to be fed or watered. You can ignore them completely, and they will still be there if you ever want to revisit them.
  4. Too many spinning plates. Are you trying to keep up with all the big social media platforms, blog weekly, promote your new book while working on two others, and fill up every weekend with speaking engagements? Perhaps you need to declutter your schedule. Return to your Why and your career goals for this season. Identify which writing activities are essential and which are not-so-essential. Thinning out your schedule will help you become more productive and do your best work on what is left.
  5. Other people’s methods. No two writers are the same. Therefore, no two writers follow the same writing process or find the same promotion techniques helpful. I know many writers who have tried Mr. Expert’s method for writing only to give themselves a major angst-filled case of writer’s block. By all means, try any method that sounds like it might work, but also know when to discard that expert advice and do what works best for your unique brain. If your process is working, declutter any guilt you might feel for not following the experts. If your process is not working, perhaps you need to jettison a method that doesn’t suit your creative style.
  6.  Expectations. This is a huge area for all of us (and not just in regard to writing). Unhelpful (or unsolicited) expectations can sabotage our self-confidence, creativity, and willingness to share our words with others. What expectations do you need to declutter from your writing life? Comparing your writing to a best-selling author? Listening to friends who think you should have several books published by now? Beating yourself up for once again failing to hit your five-thousand-words-per-day goal? Your success is based on who you are as God’s child, not on what you write, how much you write, or how well it sells.
  7. False Aspirations. Every now and then I go through my bookshelves (both the real ones and the virtual ones) looking for titles of books I aspire-to-have-read but I don’t particularly want to actually read. Sometimes we face a similar issue in our writing. We may aspire to write literary fiction (because it proves how masterful and intellectual our writing is) or crime thrillers (because they sell well) while what our heart and God are actually calling us to is a different genre. Perhaps you need to declutter some unhelpful aspirations and come to terms with what you are best suited to write (in this season of your life, anyway), even if it’s not as glamorous, as spiritual, or as saleable as you think writing ought to be.

I hope these decluttering suggestions will help you write with better focus, more contentment, and greater creativity.

What other kind of writing clutter have you discovered in your life? Let me know in the comments.

Award-winning writer Lisa E. Betz believes that everyone has a unique story to tell the world. She loves inspiring fellow writers to be more intentional about developing their craft and courageous in sharing their words. Lisa shares her words through speaking, leading Bible studies, writing historical mysteries, and blogging about living intentionally.

You can find her on Facebook  LisaEBetzWriter Twitter @LisaEBetz and Pinterest Lisa E Betz Intentional Living.

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The Intentional Writer

Be a Generous Writer

The intentional writer

The law of prosperity is generosity. If you want more, give more.”

Bob Proctor

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.

2 Corinthians 9:6

One of the best ways writers can grow their platform and their influence it to be consistently and intentionally generous. Generosity is strategic: it fosters cooperation, strengthens connection, and develops trust. Generosity is also good for us, because helping others boosts our happiness and enables us to make a difference. Here are some ways you can be generous in your writing life.

Be generous with your content

  • Offer free materials on your website.
  • Include some freebies that come with no strings attached.
  • Give away free copies of your books whenever it makes sense
  • Share blog content on social media. Don’t just advertise your blog posts, but share a point of two of your content with each pin, tweet, or post.

Be generous with your time and expertise

  • Give free advice to those who ask. Even if you sometimes are paid to teach or edit, be willing to answer short questions or follow up questions without charge.
  • Volunteer to be a judge for a writing contest. You don’t need to be an expert to help with some contests. Large organizations like ACFW are always looking for judges to read manuscripts in the First Impressions, and Genesis contests. They also need readers to rate published books in the Carol Awards
  • Volunteer to give a talk at a local group, book club, or library that doesn’t have the funds to pay for it.
  • Offer a free webinar or ebook about the craft or business of writing.

Be generous in supporting other artists

  • Leave positive reviews
  • Purchase their products
  • Share their work within your network
  • Recommend other artists on your social media and pass on their special offers
  • Attend the venues where artists share their work: conferences, workshops, concerts, art shows.

Be generous with encouragement

  • To those who are learning: This is your chance to pay it forward by passing on the nurture and encouragement other writers have poured into you.
  • To your peers: Think of them as teammates not competitors. We’re all more likely to succeed if we work together.
  • To your mentors and role models: Even those who seem to have succeeded need encouragement.
  • To your audience: What message do you give your readers? Are your words filled with hope, even if your topic is heavy?

Be generous with those outside the writing world

  • Give your time and resources to organizations that matter to you.
  • Use your writing talents to benefit groups and individuals.
  • Don’t resent the time you devote to the important people God brings into your life. Who knows when an experience will inspire a fantastic story idea or lead you to the the answer you need to get out of the corner you wrote yourself into.

Final thoughts

  • Make sure what you give is appropriate and useful to the recipients.
  • Make sure what you give fits with your brand and values.
  • Accept thanks with humble grace.

How can you be intentionally generous this week?

What is one act of generosity that significantly impacted your life?

Award-winning writer Lisa E. Betz believes that everyone has a unique story to tell the world. She loves inspiring fellow writers to be more intentional about developing their craft and courageous in sharing their words. Lisa shares her words through speaking, leading Bible studies, writing historical mysteries, and blogging about living intentionally.

You can find her on Facebook LisaEBetzWriter Twitter @LisaEBetz and Pinterest Lisa E Betz Intentional Living.

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The Intentional Writer

Staying Relevant

The intentional writer

As writers, our success is based on creating something others find useful or enjoyable. Which implies our success is based on staying relevant.

Is your writing as relevant as it could be?

Back in February, I was quite pleased with myself for having two months of blog posts written and scheduled. Then the pandemic hit and suddenly my insightful blog post topics didn’t seem so relevant.

I could have ignored current affairs and let my posts go out as scheduled, but would that have been the best value I could deliver to my readers? I don’t think so.

Such a drastic change in everyone’s lives demanded some changes on my part. So I wrote a few blogs that addressed the new issues my readers were suddenly facing, and tweaked my previously written posts to acknowledge the new reality.

Because I chose to adapt to the new situation I received some heartfelt thanks from readers. In other words, it pays to be relevant.

How can you stay relevant in your writing?

Traps to avoid

Ignoring what is going on in the world. Our message shouldn’t change with every headline, but we do need to be sensitive to the major events and social trends happening around us. Imagine a post on celebrating Mother’s Day that’s all about gathering the extended family at a favorite restaurant for brunch. It may be a beautiful piece of writing. It may be excellent advice. But right now that post is going to fall flat because it doesn’t apply to our quarantined reality.

Not listening to feedback. (Or not getting any in the first place.) We can’t predict how others will receive our words, but we can solicit feedback to see how effective our words are at communicating our message. What we think we are saying and what others are hearing may be very different, so don’t forget to check.

An inconsistent brand message. Readers become loyal to an author or blogger who consistently writes on topics that interest them or in a style they enjoy. However, if a writer’s message is inconsistent readers will lose trust and may abandon that writer altogether. Our writing will not appeal to everyone. The wise writer knows her niche and is consistent in delivering it.

Remaining stuck in the past. We all have certain topics and causes we particularly like to talk about. However, the big causes of yesteryear may no longer be relevant. In a similar vein, that blog topic that people raved about a year or two ago might no longer get the same traction, because A) too many others are writing about it now, B) it was timely back then but life has moved on, or C) the fates are fickle and Fortuna isn’t blessing that topic anymore.

Not keeping up with technology. Even if your message is relevant, you may not be delivering it in the most effective manner. Imagine how foolish it would be to only offer your podcasts on cassette tapes. Ditto if your only social media account is Myspace. The wise writer adapts his techniques to effectively reach his audience.

Tips for staying relevant.

Spend time with your target audience. In person. In Facebook or Goodreads groups. In internet forums. Wherever you can find them. Yes, it takes time to find these groups. Yes, it takes time to hang out there and listen to the conversations. Yes, we would rather spend that time working on a writing project. But in the long run hanging out with potential readers is a wise investment that can net future followers. Check out this blog post for a story of why it’s worth the effort.

Ask questions. Of your readers. Of fellow writers. Of mentors. The best way to know what topics are relevant to your readers is to ask them. Take polls and surveys. Ask questions in your CTA, in your emails, and on social media. We writers improve our work by getting feedback. This is true of our craft, but it’s also true of our subject matter. So ask away.

Research. Discovering what is relevant is easier than ever. Just google a topic and see what related terms auto-fill in the search bar. Or check what is trending on Twitter. Or read the latest Facebook post from that one friend who’s always up on the most current news. You get the idea. You may be like me, preferring to remain snugly in your writer’s cave, safe, solitary, and oblivious, but do yourself and your readers a favor by venturing out into the world now and then to see what’s happening.

Be flexible. Relevant writers know how to adapt to ever-changing circumstances. As Gabriela Pereira at DIY MFA says,

“Iterate, iterate, iterate.”

By which she means: Try something. Assess and adapt. Try again. History is littered with companies that died because they didn’t adapt with the times. Don’t go the way of Blockbuster and Toys R Us. Stay flexible.

Know when to quit. We need to discern when a topic, story project, or marketing tactic isn’t working and have the courage to set it aside and try something else. That doesn’t mean you must abandon it forever. It may be a perfectly good idea, but now isn’t the right time for it. Trust that when you let go of not-so-relevant ideas God will open doors for fresh inspiration.

You and I have an important and unique message to tell the world. If we want our words to make a difference and spread to those who need to hear them, we need to stay relevant.

What are your best tips for staying relevant?

Award-winning writer Lisa E. Betz believes that everyone has a unique story to tell the world. She loves inspiring fellow writers to be more intentional about developing their craft and courageous in sharing their words. Lisa shares her words through speaking, leading Bible studies, writing historical mysteries, and blogging about living intentionally.

You can find her on Facebook  LisaEBetzWriter Twitter @LisaEBetz and Pinterest Lisa E Betz Intentional Living.

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The Intentional Writer

The Power of Our Words

The intentional writer

We writers understand the power of words. Words can wound or heal. Educate or mislead. Give hope or cause despair.

How are you using your words?

Everyone is stressed right now. People are frightened, lonely, and going stir crazy. Our world needs all the encouragement and hope we can give them.

Are you ready to use your words to combat fear, encourage kindness, and inspire hope?

Three ways we can use our words for good.

1 Excel at your craft.

It does not matter what genre you write, there are readers who need to read your stories and articles. The more you hone your writing skills, the more people will enjoy and respect your words, leading to more people listening to your message. Whether overtly or not, your faith and your worldview shine through your words and are lived out through your characters. Even if you write science articles or ad copy, you can still promote whatever is good, true, admirable, or praiseworthy.

2 Watch what you say.

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

Ephesians 4:29 (NIV)

What message are you sending into the world? Be aware of every message you post, pin, or retweet. Are you spreading hope and encouragement or something else? Do your words build others up? Do your words benefit others in some way?

Ask yourself, “How will this benefit others?” every time you consider sharing social media content, blog posts, or comments to your friends. Be the positive change by wielding your words wisely.

3 Look for listening ears

If our focus is solely on our books, articles, and blogs we are missing out on other opportunities to serve our world through our words. Don’t neglect to use your gift of words and your heart to serve through engaging with those around you. Every text, phone call, note, or kind comment makes a difference to somebody.

Who needs a gift of life-giving words from you today?

Award-winning writer Lisa E. Betz believes that everyone has a unique story to tell the world. She loves inspiring fellow writers to be more intentional about developing their craft and courageous in sharing their words. Lisa shares her words through speaking, leading Bible studies, writing historical mysteries, and blogging about living intentionally.

You can find her on Facebook  LisaEBetzWriter Twitter @LisaEBetz and Pinterest Lisa E Betz Intentional Living.

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The Intentional Writer

What to Do When the Conference Is Over

The intentional writer

A few days ago Annette’s Embrace the Wait column listed good strategies to prepare for a writers’ conference. Conferences are important investments in our writing career, so it makes sense to start well by preparing ahead of time.

It also makes sense to end well, which means thinking about what you do after the conference is over.

Here are seven post-conference strategies to get the most out of your investment

  1. Send thank yous. Send a brief email to every professional you met with, thanking them for their time and their advice. You may also send thank yous to conference hosts and anyone else that seems appropriate.
  2. Follow up on contacts. Dig out the business cards you collected and follow your new writing friends on social media. Even better, send them a brief personal message that will help them remember who you are. You never know which contacts will turn out to be important a few months or years from now.
  3. Follow through on submissions. Right away. Do not procrastinate. (In fact, having your query/proposal/sample chapters polished and formatted should be part of your pre-conference checklist so you are ready to take advantage of these opportunities.) Sending your promised materials promptly shows busy agents and editors that you are professional, disciplined, and prompt. It also puts you in the front of the line, when they can still remember who you are and why they wanted to see your work.
  4. Give yourself time to recover. Conferences can be exhausting, physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Yes, you may be pumped to go home and try all the wonderful things you learned, but be patient. Practice good self-care by allowing your writer self to recover for a day or two before starting a blog or completely revamping your website.
  5. Organize your notes. Go through all the materials you acquired during the conference. File course materials where you can find them for later reference. If you do not have a workable system for storing information so you can find it again, this is a good time to create one.
  6. Choose One Thing to implement right away.  Conferences can fill us with motivation and inspire us to try new and wonderful techniques, but attempting too much too soon usually leads to frustration and a lack of focus. You will be more successful if you select one or two practical strategies or ideas to implement. Choose ones that particularly resonated with you or that apply to exactly where you happen to be in your current project. Once you get that going, you can return to your notes and apply something else.
  7. Journal your thoughts. It may be helpful to spend some time pondering your experiences and journaling about them. Pay attention to what excited you the most, what struck fear into you, and what caused a pang of some other emotion. Think through the reasons for those emotions and ponder what to do if those emotions are holding you back. You may also find it helpful to list all the key takeaways you learned, or list the wonderful people you met and jot down a note or two about what you discussed with them. Whatever will help you put useful information into long-term memory.

May your next writers’ conference be the best one yet.

Award-winning writer Lisa E. Betz believes that everyone has a unique story to tell the world. She loves inspiring fellow writers to be more intentional about developing their craft and courageous in sharing their words. Lisa shares her words through speaking, leading Bible studies, writing historical mysteries, and blogging about living intentionally.

You can find her on Facebook  LisaEBetzWriter Twitter @LisaEBetz and Pinterest Lisa E Betz Intentional Living.

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The Intentional Writer

How to be a Helpful Critique Partner

The intentional writer

Last month I talked about how useful critiques are for writers, because they provide important feedback that helps us improve our craft and clarify our message.

Writers must learn how to accept critiques. We must also learn how to critique the work of others in a way that is loving and helpful. These principles can help you become a better critique partner.

Principles to help you give helpful critiques

  • Be encouraging. The ancient oath for physicians included the promise, “First, do no harm.” It is a useful reminder for critiquing the precious work of a fellow angst-filled writer. Always find something positive to say! It’s easy to focus on what is wrong, or what needs to be improved. Make the effort to note what is working, what you like, what made you laugh, and the insights that touched you.
  • Ask what kind of feedback the writer is looking for. This will vary depending on where the piece is in the process. In a first draft the writer may be testing out a character or plot idea. In a later draft she may be more concerned with getting a description just right. It’s easier to give useful feedback when you know what to look for, so ask.
  • Be fair and reasonable. Don’t compare the work being critiqued with your favorite author. Teachers don’t expect a third-grader to write a story as well as a tenth-grader. In the same vein, you should try to give feedback in keeping with the level of the writer, not expect them to attain standards that are beyond their current skill. Consider what criticism will help them take the next small step toward better writer. Look for a key area where they might grow and suggest how they could improve in that area.  
  • Don’t focus solely on the obvious. Typos, grammar, and incorrect facts are easy to catch. Try to look beyond them to what else is there, such as structure, characterization, motives, world-building, theme, etc.
  • Notice what isn’t clear or what doesn’t make sense. A piece of writing is only effective it if communicates what it’s meant to communicate. All writers need feedback to ensure they are getting their message across.
  • Notice what is missing. We all have some aspects of writing we tend to skip. For example, my critique partner is always asking me, “How does he feel when that happened?” She helps me remember to include the emotions I would otherwise ignore.
  • Notice what doesn’t feel right. Is the heroine acting out of character in this scene? Does the action seem unbelievable? Does the voice not come through like it did in the last scene?
  • Notice how the writing makes you feel. What emotions does the piece evoke? Do you like the characters or not? Are you intrigued or tempted to skim over stuff? Do you sense something ominous? This may be helpful feedback, so pay attention as you read.
  • Whenever possible, read through the piece more than once. That gives you a chance to focus on different facets of the writing with each pass.
  • Finally, remember your ultimate goal is to inspire, encourage, and enable growth. Be kind. Be encouraging. But also provide honest and constructive input that can help the writer take their piece to the next level.

Award-winning writer Lisa E. Betz believes that everyone has a unique story to tell the world. She loves inspiring fellow writers to be more intentional about developing their craft and courageous in sharing their words. Lisa shares her words through speaking, leading Bible studies, writing historical mysteries, and blogging about living intentionally.

You can find her on Facebook  LisaEBetzWriter Twitter @LisaEBetz and Pinterest Lisa E Betz Intentional Living.

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The Intentional Writer

How to Face A Critique

The intentional writer

Does the word critique fill you with dread? It shouldn’t.

I have learned most of what I know about writing by receiving critiques. It started in school, when teachers graded my first early efforts. It continues today every time I seek the input and feedback of others.

All artists need feedback in order to improve their craft. Consider a piano student. Each week she goes to her instructor and receive a lesson, which consists primarily of a critique on whatever skill she is trying to master. The same goes for an athlete and her coach.

Critiques should be welcomed as a writer’s best tool for improvement. Here are some suggestions for making the most of critique sessions.

Tips for facing a critique

  • Attitude is key. Start with a teachable spirit. If you are not open to feedback and willing to learn then there is no point in asking for a critique.
  • Remember a critique is not an attack on you or your worth. It may feel painful, but a good critique will always help you grow rather than tear you down.
  • Think of the person giving the critique as a teammate or coach, not an adversary.
  • Remember, a critique is not a contest. There are no winners or losers. You are not at war and you don’t need to defend yourself.
  • Listen to everything politely and without interrupting. Listening silently does not mean you are being passive, or that you agree with what is said.
  • Expect to learn something. Approach every critique session with the attitude: What can I learn from this discussion?
  • Even if you disagree with a critiquer’s opinions, you can still learn something. For example, you might learn that some readers will not understand a paragraph the way you meant it to be understood. That is valuable feedback.
  • A good critique will cite specific examples of what is being criticized. If examples are not cited, ask for some. Example: “You say my writing is choppy. Can you show me what you mean by that?”
  • When it’s practical, ask the critiquer for suggestions on how to improve. You can learn much from someone who points out a writing weakness and then shows you how to make it better.
  • There are two main kind of information you gain from a critique. A) How well am I mastering my craft? and B) How well am I communicating what I am trying to say? You need feedback in both areas.
  • You do not need to follow all advice you receive in a critique session. Use your best judgment. (If you receive similar feedback from several sources, you should take a good hard look at the issue. If you don’t agree, begin to ask why they think what they do and see if you can get to the root of the problem.)
  • When you consider how much weight to put behind a critique, consider the critiquer’s experience, skill, and familiarity with the genre and today’s publishing realities.

Unfortunately, we have all experienced critiques that did more damage than good. It happens. Here are some suggestions to avoid non-constructive critiques and mitigate the problems they create.

Tips for protecting yourself against malicious or unhelpful critiques.

  • Be suspect of any critique that is 100% praise.
  • Do not expect expert advice from beginning writers.
  • Do not expect good writing advice from those who don’t write and rarely read.
  • Realize that someone who does not enjoy your genre will probably not enjoy your manuscript. This does not mean their critique is unhelpful, but you might need to guide them to look past the genre to specific things. For example, ask them: “Can you picture my setting?” or “Can you follow my main character’s logic?” 
  • Don’t expect a helpful critique from someone with an axe to grind against you or the topic of your manuscript.
  •  Learn who not to ask! When someone rips your writing to shreds, choose not to open yourself up to that pain by asking them again. Like anything in life, we need to keep wise boundaries.

Critiques are important and powerful tools for improving our craft and honing our manuscripts. May you face them with confidence and utilize them wisely.

Award-winning writer Lisa E. Betz believes that everyone has a unique story to tell the world. She loves inspiring fellow writers to be more intentional about developing their craft and courageous in sharing their words. Lisa shares her words through speaking, leading Bible studies, writing historical mysteries, and blogging about living intentionally.

You can find her on Facebook  LisaEBetzWriter Twitter @LisaEBetz and Pinterest Lisa E Betz Intentional Living.

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The Intentional Writer

Invest in Yourself

The intentional writer

If you want to do excellent work you need to invest in quality tools.

A cook needs good knives. An athlete needs high-performance shoes and clothing. A serious musician needs a professional-quality instrument.

What about a writer?

  • What tools will help you produce quality work?
  • What upgrades will help you become a better or more efficient writer?
  • How will you honor your calling and God-given talents by investing in your writing journey?

Are you ready to invest in yourself? Here are some tools, resources, and opportunities to consider:

  • How-to Books. We can always learn more about the craft and business of writing. What books need to be added to your writing shelf?
  • Books to inspire you. If you want to write a good book, you should be reading good books—in your genre and in others.
  • Reference books. The internet is a wonderful tool, but sometimes you need a book, because A) the information isn’t readily available elsewhere, or B) it’s quicker and easier for you to find a particular fact in a book you know well.
  • Classes. Some professions require you to get so many Continuing Education Credits every year to maintain your license. Writing isn’t like that, but classes are still a wise investment.
  • Writing tools. Computer, keyboard, printer, pens, notebooks. What tools do you use on a daily basis? Are you making do with the family’s leftovers or do you care enough about writing to invest in quality?
  • Software. Writing, editing, photo editing, social media scheduling, time management, marketing… Sure, you can get by with the free or basic versions of these programs, but sooner or later it becomes a good investment to upgrade to the “Pro” level. Is now the time to become a pro?
  • Workspace. Would a dedicated writing space help you work more efficiently? Is your current workstation ergonomically designed, or do you need a more supportive chair or an adjustable desk? Maybe a new light or a fresh coat of paint will do wonders for your frame of mind?
  • Conferences. Writing conferences are one of the best ways to network and meet industry professionals. Now is the time to consider which conferences you will attend in 2020 and begin saving for them.
  • Expert help. No writer can do it all. Sometimes we need to hire an editor, website designer, publicist, or other expert to help do what we can’t do well ourselves.
  • The small stuff. Healthy snacks. Inspiring wall art. Coffee mugs or water bottles that help you get into your “writer’s mindset.” What small things will help you get motivated and maintain energy throughout your writing sessions?

Hint: Some of these suggestions would make a nice Christmas or birthday present, so update your wish list today. And don’t forget to make room in next year’s budget for bigger items and a conference or two.

You and your words are worth the investment!

Award-winning writer Lisa E. Betz believes that everyone has a unique story to tell the world. She loves inspiring fellow writers to be more intentional about developing their craft and courageous in sharing their words. Lisa shares her words through speaking, leading Bible studies, writing historical mysteries, and blogging about living intentionally.

You can find her on Facebook  LisaEBetzWriter Twitter @LisaEBetz and Pinterest Lisa E Betz Intentional Living.

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The Intentional Writer

What’s the Big Deal About NaNoWriMo?

The intentional writer

If you are a writer, you have probably heard of NaNoWriMo—National Novel Writing Month.

Maybe you’ve tried NaNoWriMo in the past.

Maybe you’re in the middle of it right now. (If you are, Bravo! I wish you success.)

If you haven’t participated, you may have decided it’s too intense, or doesn’t apply to your genre, or it’s just not your style. Maybe so, but there are good reasons so many writers join the movement, and the rest of us can apply some of those benefits even if we’re not participating.

Here are some principles from NaNoWriMo that all writers can apply to their work no matter what they write or what month they write it in.

A good writer benefits from:

  • Pre-planning: It is much easier to write when you know the main point you want to communicate or where you want the story to end. Whether you are trying to complete a manuscript in one month or a weekly post for your blog, appropriate pre-planning will help you succeed more confidently and efficiently. How much foundation do you need to write a good story?
  • Concrete goals: Most of us work better when we have well-defined, reasonable goals to shoot for (such as the typical NaNo goal of 1,667 words per day). What specific and measureable goals will inspire you to keep going, even on the tough days?   
  • Consistency: The best way to get better at any skill is to practice consistently. First of all, if you write consistently it will become a habit, which means you will be more likely to keep at it even on the days you don’t feel like it. Secondly, writing consistently strengthens the connection to your subconscious where true creativity comes from.
  • Accountability: Hitting your goals on a consistent basis is easier when you know others are following your progress. If you struggle to be consistent in your writing, look for someone to keep you accountable. A regular meeting (face to face or virtual) with critique partners is one good option.
  • Support: Being part of a world-wide community of writers is often cited as a key benefit of the NaNo movement. Writing is a lonely business. Even the most introverted of us need support from other humans to keep going.
  • Motivation: Some writers are motivated by goals and deadlines. Others thrive on competition. Yet others work best in a community of like-minded peers who can spur each other on with daily boosts of encouragement. If you know what style of motivation works for you, you can find fellow writers to help you keep at it.
  • Creativity without judgment: Most of us have a critical voice in our heads that wants to edit every word we write. That voice is deadly to the creativity needed in a first draft!  If you find it impossible to allow yourself to write a lousy first draft full of typos, clichés, and bad grammar, maybe you should try NaNo. Pushing through a novel in a month leaves no time for that pesky editor to meddle with your creative output. Writing sprints are another strategy that can help you work past your inner critic.  
  • Limited and achievable milestones: Part of the beauty of NaNoWriMo is that the commitment is only for one month. It’s easier to keep going when we know there is finish line in sight. And celebrating each small milestone as you reach it helps, too.

I hope these concepts have inspired and encouraged you, no matter where you are in your writing journey. Which of these principles will be most helpful to you today? What’s keeping you from giving it a try?

Award-winning writer Lisa E. Betz believes that everyone has a unique story to tell the world. She loves inspiring fellow writers to be more intentional about developing their craft and courageous in sharing their words. Lisa shares her words through speaking, leading Bible studies, writing historical mysteries, and blogging about living intentionally.

You can find her on Facebook  LisaEBetzWriter Twitter @LisaEBetz and Pinterest Lisa E Betz Intentional Living.

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The Intentional Writer

What is Your Core Message?

The intentional writer

Can you connect all your writing projects to one central theme?

If you are like me, it may seem impossible to find a single theme for my writing projects, let alone my other interests. I puzzled for years over how to connect historical novels set in first century Rome with a blog about intentional living, church dramas, and various other writing and speaking topics. How could they all fit into one brand?

Then I was challenged by an instructor at a writing conference to identify my core message.

You have a core message

The instructor looked at each student in the classroom and told us we each had a single core message, which should be at the center of our personal brand. We looked baffled. One core message? Didn’t we all write multiple genres for various audiences?    

Then she explained what she meant by core message.

  • If you could only communicate one message to the world, what would it be?
  • What is your heart’s cry? What truth beats at the core of your being?
  • What life lesson have you learned that you find yourself sharing time and time again?
  • What truth can you not help but speak to those who need to hear it?
  • Your core truth is probably connected to wounds in your past and how you have overcome them.

Then she put us on the spot. One at a time she asked us to identify our core message. No warning. No time to ponder. Yet we each came up with an answer.

Our answers weren’t eloquent. They didn’t perfectly capture our message, but at a gut level they were pretty near the mark. Because, deep down, we do have a core concept or truth that we feel passionate about sharing with those around us.

How your core message connects the dots

Next the instructor asked another question. “How does some aspect of your message show up in the manuscript you are working on?”

Again, we were able to identify something in our WIPs that related to the core message we had identified only moments before. A theme, a character arc, an inner demon. Without being conscious of it, we were communicating our core messages through our stories.

Why?

Because who we are comes out in what we write: Our beliefs, our sense of humor, our passions. And our core message.

Since that workshop I have pondered my message and how it shows up in my various writing projects. Now that I have identified that central truth I can be more intentional about expressing it in my writing.

Knowing my core message is yet another step in refining the focus of my blog. It has given me a new understanding of my mystery series characters and their inner struggles. What I once did by gut instinct I can now do with intention and clarity.

I have experimented with variations of my message and composed taglines to capture it succinctly. I have rewritten my social media bios to better express it. I am working it into the synopsis of my series and dust jacket blurbs for my novels.

I am reveling in the clarity and direction my core message gives me. And because it comes from my deepest soul, it feels right. True. Authentic.

What is your core message? How is a thread of your core message woven into your writing?

Lisa E Betz

Award-winning writer Lisa E. Betz believes that everyone has a unique story to tell the world. She loves inspiring fellow writers to be more intentional about developing their craft and courageous in sharing their words. Lisa shares her words through speaking, leading Bible studies, writing historical mysteries, and blogging about living intentionally.

You can find her on Facebook  LisaEBetzWriter Twitter @LisaEBetz and Pinterest Lisa E Betz Intentional Living.

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Are You “Almost” an Author?

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Do you identify yourself as an author? A writer?

If not, it’s time to start.

You are a writer if…

Do you write poems? Blog posts? Funny anecdotes for the church newsletter?  

Do you journal on a regular basis?

Do you assemble words into sentences and paragraphs for no other reason than because you enjoy doing it?

Do you have ideas and truths you attempt to communicate to others through some written medium?

If you answered yes to any of those questions then you are a writer. A writer is someone who writes. Simple as that.

“A professional writer is an amateur who didn’t quit.”

Richard Bach

You are an author if…

Have you written a book, article, or report? If so, then according to the dictionary you are an author.

Don’t believe me? Then consider this.

I was talking about Almost an Author with a faculty member at a writing conference. With a smile, she asked me if I considered myself only almost an author. Then she made an interesting comment about how we use the word author.

She said that published author is a commonly used term but no one ever says unpublished author. This implies that the word author does not necessarily mean a person has been published.

In other words, if you have completed a piece of writing, you are an author. Not almost an author. Not an aspiring author. Not an author imposter.

A real, honest-to-goodness author.

Do you feel like an imposter?

I know how you feel. I struggled for years with the idea that I wasn’t good enough or successful enough to call myself a writer. But one day a wiser and more experienced writer challenged me to have the courage to begin calling myself a writer.

So I did.

And you know what? Not one person accused me of being an imposter. (I did get a few odd looks, but that’s to be expected.)

More recently I went through the same struggle over calling myself an author. I have completed multiple novel manuscripts. I have been published in magazines. I have seen my scripts performed on the stage. And yet I was loathe to call myself an author.

No more!

Three steps to claiming the title of writer (or author)

  1. Internal. The first step is to begin thinking of yourself as a writer (or author). Claiming the title in your own head boosts your confidence and helps you take writing seriously. Until you are willing to think of yourself as a writer you will remain a dabbler—someone who has an excuse to quit at any time. Writers are intentional about writing. Writers mean business.
  2. Among friends. The second step is to call yourself a writer (or author) among your fellow writers. Claiming the title in public can be scary, so start with those who will understand and support you. Other writers understand what it means to call yourself a writer. They understand how long and difficult it is to get published. They will not ridicule you for calling yourself a writer. (If they do, it’s time to find different writer friends.)  
  3. In public. The final step is introducing yourself as a writer (or author) in public. Claiming the title of writer produces instant accountability. It implies you are actively writing. (So long as you are, you can claim the title with pride.) When you get to this step, be prepared to answer questions such as, “What do you write?” and “when will your novel be published?” You may also face skepticism or ridicule. Do not let this stop you from owning the title.

Are you ready to quit being almost an author? I hope so.

What was your biggest hurdle in referring to yourself as a writer? Let me know in the comments.

Award-winning writer Lisa E. Betz believes that everyone has a unique story to tell the world. She loves inspiring fellow writers to be more intentional about developing their craft and courageous in sharing their words. Lisa shares her words through speaking, leading Bible studies, writing historical mysteries, and blogging about living intentionally.

You can find her on Facebook  LisaEBetzWriter Twitter @LisaEBetz and Pinterest Lisa E Betz Intentional Living.

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The Intentional Writer

25 Quotes to Inspire Writers

The intentional writer

Writing is difficult.

Some days we face disappointment, rejection, criticism, frustration, nasty reviews, or writer’s block. On the tough days, we need encouragement to keep going.

Here are 25 quotes on writing, creativity, and calling that can inspire you to keep going, even on the tough days.

Words: So innocent and powerless as they are, as standing in a dictionary, how potent for good and evil they become in the hands of one who knows how to combine them.

Nathaniel Hawthorne

We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.

Ernest Hemingway

There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.

Maya Angelou

The world always seems brighter when you’ve just made something that wasn’t there before.

Neil Gaiman

Each of us has a unique part to play in the healing of the world.  

Marianne Williamson

Stories have to be told or they die, and when they die, we can’t remember who we are or why we’re here.

Sue Monk Kidd

I know nothing in the world that has as much power as a word. Sometimes I write one, and I look at it until it begins to shine.

Emily Dickinson

We live in a world where bad stories are told, stories that teach us life doesn’t mean anything and that humanity has no great purpose. It’s a good calling, then, to speak a better story. How brightly a better story shines. How easily the world looks to it in wonder. How grateful we are to hear these stories, and how happy it makes us to repeat them.  

Donald Miller

Behind every specific call, whether it is to teach or preach or write or encourage or comfort, there is a deeper call that gives shape to the first: the call to give ourselves away — the call to die.

Michael Card

Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.

William Wordsworth

You see, in my view a writer is a writer not because she writes well and easily, because she has amazing talent, because everything she does is golden. In my view a writer is a writer because even when there is no hope, even when nothing you do shows any sign of promise, you keep writing anyway.

Junot Diaz

Go and make interesting mistakes, make amazing mistakes, make glorious and fantastic mistakes. Break rules. Leave the world more interesting for your being here. Make. Good. Art.

Neil Gaiman

Stories create community, enable us to see through the eyes of other people, and open us to the claims of others.

Peter Forbes

Creative work is not a selfish act or a bid for attention on the part of the actor. It’s a gift to the world and every being in it. Don’t cheat us of your contribution. Give us what you’ve got.

Steven Pressfield

Creativity is allowing oneself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.

Scott Adams

There is something about words. In expert hands, manipulated deftly, they take you prisoner. Wind themselves around your limbs like spider silk, and when you are so enthralled you cannot move, they pierce your skin, enter your blood, numb your thoughts. Inside you they work their magic.

Diane Setterfield

The most authentic thing about us is our capacity to create, to overcome, to endure, to transform, to love and to be greater than our suffering.

Ben Okri

I think… the most brilliant thing about being a writer is that if you don’t like the way the world is, you can create your own.

Maegan Cook

The whole culture is telling you to hurry, while the art tells you to take your time. Always listen to the art.

Junot Diaz 

If you wait for inspiration to write, you’re not a writer, you’re a waiter.

Dan Poynter

Do not hoard what seems good for a later place in the book, or for another book; give it, give it all, give it now.

Annie Dillard

I write to give myself strength. I write to be the characters that I am not. I write to explore all the things I’m afraid of.

Joss Whedon

Each writer is born with a repertory company in his head. Shakespeare has perhaps 20 players. … I have 10 or so, and that’s a lot. As you get older, you become more skillful at casting them.

Gore Vidal

One thing that helps is to give myself permission to write badly. I tell myself that I’m going to do my five or 10 pages no matter what, and that I can always tear them up the following morning if I want. I’ll have lost nothing—writing and tearing up five pages would leave me no further behind than if I took the day off.

Lawrence Block

The most important things are the hardest to say. They are the things you get ashamed of, because words diminish them — words shrink things that seemed limitless when they were in your head to no more than living size when they’re brought out. But it’s more than that, isn’t it? The most important things lie too close to wherever your secret heart is buried, like landmarks to a treasure your enemies would love to steal away. And you may make revelations that cost you dearly only to have people look at you in a funny way, not understanding what you’ve said at all, or why you thought it was so important that you almost cried while you were saying it.  That’s the worst, I think. When the secret stays locked within not for want of a teller but for want of an understanding ear.

Stephen King

Award-winning writer Lisa E. Betz believes that everyone has a unique story to tell the world. She loves inspiring fellow writers to be more intentional about their craft and courageous in sharing their words. Lisa shares her words through speaking, leading Bible studies, writing historical mysteries, and blogging about living intentionally.

You can find her on Facebook  LisaEBetzWriter Twitter @LisaEBetz and Pinterest Lisa E Betz.

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The Intentional Writer

How to Host a DIY Writers’ Retreat

The intentional writer

What writer doesn’t dream of attending a writers’ retreat in some charming or exotic location? Retreats can be wonderful opportunities for encouragement, learning, and networking, along with glorious stretches of uninterrupted writing time. But retreats can also be expensive, intimidating, and inconveniently far from home.

Wouldn’t it be nice to find an inexpensive writer’s retreat near your home?

Enter the DIY writers’ retreat.

A writer’s retreat doesn’t have to be a big affair with nationally known speakers. The key ingredients are simple: encouragement, fellowship, challenge, and (most important of all) time to write without the normal daily distractions.

So one day I decided to host my own one-day retreat where the attendees would take turns leading various sessions. The writers I invited might not be qualified to teach at a major conference, but they were perfectly able to share a favorite technique or lead a creative excise.

That first retreat was a great success. Those who attended left my house encouraged, reinvigorated, and eager to come back for the next one. I have since hosted five more.

Here are my suggestions for designing and running your own DIY writers’ retreat.

1. Keep it small

Hosting a retreat in someone’s home keeps things cozy and simplifies logistics, but it limits the number of attendees.  Between six and ten is a good size, unless you have a house large enough to handle more. You need enough attendees to generate good discussion, but not so many that you feel crowded. Ideally, the group should be small enough so you can all eat lunch at the same table. The conversations over lunch can be as important as any other part of the day.

2. Keep it simple

My first retreat was over-planned. I worried about unnecessary details, bought too much food, and packed the schedule too tightly. I have since found that retreats work best with a flexible schedule and plenty of time for solo work. Plan a few key sessions, but leave the rest of the day open. Who knows when an impromptu brainstorming session or walk in the park might be exactly what someone needs.

Keep the food simple, too. Order pizza, do a pot luck, or ask everyone to bring their own. Whatever is easiest for you and your group.

3. Divvy up the tasks

A DIY retreat is a group project. By spreading tasks among the attendees, the whole thing comes together without any one person feeling overwhelmed. Part of the vision for a DIY retreat is that the attendees are also the teachers. One person shares a devotional. Another leads a creative writing exercise, A third teaches a simple-but-useful writing technique.

You can pool your resources for the meal and snacks as well, so the hostess doesn’t need to provide everything.

4. Identify your primary needs

In my first retreat we tried a little of everything. In subsequent retreats we skipped critique time (we all have critique partners) and opted for more free writing time, since most of us have children or other distractions at home.

What does your group want most? Free writing time? A chance to brainstorm story problems? Two hours of creative writing prompts? Poll your potential attendees and design a schedule that meets their needs.

5. Mix it up

A writer’s retreat is an opportunity to meet with people outside your regular critique partners. Invite writers you don’t normally hang out with and be intentional about cross-pollination. A broad selection of personalities and genres makes for more interesting discussion and fresher insights. You never know when a YA sci-fi novelist might spark an idea that takes your historical romance to a new level.

A writer’s retreat doesn’t have to be complicated. All it requires is a quiet place where you and fellow writers can share knowledge, challenge each other, and provide support through encouragement and practical problem-solving. Why don’t you give it a try?

Lisa E. Betz believes that everyone has a story to tell the world. She loves to encourage fellow writers to be intentional about their craft and courageous in sharing their words with others. Lisa shares her words through dramas, Bible studies, historical mysteries, and her blog about intentional living. You can find her on Facebook  LisaEBetzWriter and Twitter @LisaEBetz