Your Bucket List

Recently, I heard Kenyon Salo, the James Bond of Motivation Speakers. He’s a story teller, motivator, member of the Denver Broncos Thunderstorm Skydive Team, master trainer, adventurer, and photographer. His high energy and enthusiasm were contagious.

Here are some key points that made me think. He talked to us about our bucket list (you know, the things you want to do before you die). The focus of his talk was to “Say, yes, and worry about the how later.” We limit ourselves by coming up with excuses. Dreams lead to goals which lead to a plan which lead to action.

1. Create Experiences - Go and do the things you dream of.

2. Share More Stories - Share your experiences with others.

3. Live a More Fulfilled Life - Help others.

“Some day” is not a day of the week. This resonated with me. Things always seem to end up on my “some day” list.

He also reminded us to accept offers of help. We can’t do it alone. And helping others leads to a more fulfilled life.

Let’s solve this!

I did love his excitement, and my goal is for the rest of 2020 and 2021 to make some of my bucket list items happen.

What about you? What’s on your bucket list?

You Can Do This! Tips to Help Writers Stay Motivated

Writing is primarily a solitary business, and a bad day, the grumpies, a negative review, or someone’s snarky comment can easily send you to a demotivated state. If you want to be a published author, you need to persevere. Writing and publishing are work. You need to keep at it. Here are some ideas that can help you get going .

• Look at the feedback/criticism. Learn from it, but don’t dwell on it.

• Keep control of that voice in your head. Be aware of your self-talk. You don’t need to make things worse by fixating on them.

• Take a break and do something else for a while. Physical activity will clear your mind and get your endorphins going.

• Do something else that’s creative (e.g. paint, draw, knit, sew…). It will boost your energy.

• Be grateful. Count your blessings. You’ll be surprised at the list of positive things in your life.

• Volunteer or help someone else. You’ll often find that your troubles aren’t as challenging as what others are facing. And you are often able to make a difference in someone’s life.

• Writing is work, and it’s a long process. There is a lot of waiting (e.g. on queries, responses, contracts, edits…). You need to stay busy during the down times. Write your next book.

• When something happens that you don’t like, take a minute to cry, scream, yell, or eat chocolate. Get it out of your system and move on. You’ve got things to do. Don’t waste precious time wallowing in self-pity.

What Happens When You Get off Track with Your Writing?

I try to write each day, but sometimes, life gets in the way. What happens when you get off track? Here are some tips and ideas to get you going again:

1. I find when I get off track that I need to make time and just write. It's easy to get off schedule.  And the more that I stay away, the harder it is to back into the rhythm.

2. Blogging keeps me on a schedule. I've committed to at least one post a week, so I know I have a weekly deadline. I also post regularly with several other groups of writers. Those deadlines help too.

3. I joined a critique group. We have a monthly deadline for our short stories and WIPs (Works in Progress). This gives me another deadline to work towards.

4. If I get stuck and that leads to procrastination, I write blog posts or find a writing prompt and do a writing exercise or two. That usually gets me back in writer mode.

5. I count editing, proofreading, and revising as writing time. Rewrites and tweaks take time. I probably spend more time editing and rewriting than I do putting the first draft together.

6. I also bounce between projects. Sometimes, I'm working on my mystery series. I also write short stories. I like writing both. The short stories are compact with fewer characters, and I can experiment with different locations and themes.

7. Don't be too hard on yourself if you don't write regularly. Sometimes, you need a short break. But make sure that it's short and you're back to being productive. Make sure that you don't miss deadlines or commitments.

8. I tend to get involved in marketing, book signings, writing groups, and social media works, and that cuts into my writing time. I have to make sure that writing gets its fair share of time. It's all work that needs to be done, but you need time to write your next work.