Writers Horoscope for October 23: People ask you to be a leader.

Hmmmm…

Those deadlines? Whoooosh! There they go!

And your priority juggling act continues.

Today, let’s first give self-leadership a shot.

A touch of self leadership reduced jpg

 

Writers Horoscope for October 22: Today, it’s nose to the grindstone.

Even if you need some help from a few friends.

writers horoscope persistence Nose to the grindstone

Whether it’s prep for National Novel Writing Month or taking a team approach to knock off ‘Finish This Damnable Project!’ list items, order up some pizza, Cheeto’s, and wet wipes. Beverages? Keep ’em straight. You want to be able to find your keyboard, after all.

That’s the fuel for Round 1.

And the payoff for persistence?

dessert

And there may be even *greater* rewards for that extra-extra effort.

 

 

Writers Horoscope for October 21: Today, take a close-up view of your work.

cat looking into mirror

Take ten minutes and write a short review of your current finished, or nearly finished, project.

In a way, you’ll be taking a close-up view…but from a distance, that of an ‘objective’ reader. Yes, kind of a paradox, isn’t it?

 

 

Writers Horoscope for October 20: Today, you’re open to distraction.

Here it comes…big time.

National Novel Writing Month

And while it will be a distraction from your daily slog, perhaps this is just what you need…a distraction from your daily slog!

There’s plenty to be learned from this unedited dive into verbosity. But don’t take my word for it…

Why You Should Participate in NaNoWriMo, Too!

Come join the writers horoscoper in this 30-day launch into the unknown.

Writers Horoscope for October 19: Open the confessional.

Admit it, that half-finished crossword puzzle has more allure than that half-completed blog post.

Even the half-mowed lawn has more allure than the half-completed blog post.

Solution: Ditch that blog post and write about the writing vs. anything-and-everything-else tug-of-war. You’re not alone, that’s for sure.

Writers Horoscope for October 18: You rise above nagging fear today.

 

  • “Do you really want to offer readers a peek into the real you?”
  • “That editor doesn’t want to read your query, much less your manuscript.”
  • “That subject’s been covered ad nauseum.”

Yep, the voice of hindrance is back.

What to do? Simplify your task. Focus on process, not product. And these eight other ways to Harness Your Fear and Fuel Your Writing. [Thank you, Sage Cohen]

Want to stay brave?

Here is a go-to daily kick-in-the-seat-of-the-pants book you might be interested in. [Gee, that may have just set a world record for number of hyphens in a single sentence. Very dashing of me**, I must say.]

Do One Thing Every Day That Scares You by Robie Rogge and Dian Smith

***

This just in from the ‘exhibit a little fearlessness’ department, a fellow writer from a Facebook group dared us to share her post. So I am. [I’m guessing her timing is meant to coincide with Breast Cancer Awareness Month, though, of course, the message applies all year.]

Certainly, in the most difficult moments of life you realize who your true friends are and which ones really appreciate you.
Unfortunately, like most friendships, FB friends will leave you in the middle of a story. They will post a “like” for the story, but in reality they do not take time to read your post if they see it’s lengthy. More than half of you have already stopped or will stop reading right here. Some may have already scrolled on to the next post in their feed.
Well, I decided to post this message in memory of other family and friends who this awful disease has taken, or is affecting at this time.
It will be interesting to see who will take the time to read this entire post; a little test just to see who reads, and who shares without reading.
If you have read everything so far, select “like” so I can put a thank you in your profile.
Cancer is a very invasive and destructive enemy. Even after the end of treatment for cancer, the body is still ravaged and fights with itself in an attempt to reconstruct and repair the damage caused by radiation, chemotherapy and other agents used to combat the disease. It’s a very long process. Wouldn’t you think it would be nice to see who can relate to what someone is going through?
If you , like me, know someone who is fighting cancer, or if you know someone in remission, or knew someone who sadly lost the battle, please honour them by copying and pasting this post on FB.
I DO believe a select few of my friends will re-post this, to show their support for their family/friend who may be struggling.
COPY and paste – NOT – SHARE this post.
I’d like to know who took a minute from their day to read this and took a second minute to think about and honour that “someone”.
I did. I hope you do too.


** Believe me, inserting that pun took a fair amount of courage as well. ;->

Writers Horoscope for October 5: Feeling unmotivated? Look around you.

messy room pixabay

Turns out you shouldn’t knock yourself for feeling listless…apathetic…phlegmatic. Well, you get the idea.

James Clear claims that, in many cases, our work environment influences our productivity more than our motivation.

Suggestions:

  • Automate your working space to steer yourself toward good decisions. Example: Use software to block access to social media sites.
  • Place meaningful, productive tools [non-wifi connected laptop] within easy reach. He calls it ‘getting in the flow’.
  • Negate your unproductive influences. In other words, hide the bad food. Don’t work near the TV. Clear out the clutter, which consistently drains our focus.

Now, if you lack motivation to sharpen up your work environment, well, that’s a topic for another day. Sympathy will not be forthcoming, however.