#WriterWednesday Interview with Katherine Hayes

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I’d like to welcome Katherine Hayes to the blog for #WriterWednesday!

Things you never want to run out of: I never want to run out of friends and family members to love, engage with, and do life with.

Things you wish you’d never bought: I wish I’d never bought black licorice. I thought I would like it because of the delightful smell, but I wouldn’t say I like the taste.

The hardest thing about being a writer is that it’s challenging to make a living strictly from writing. It’s also hard to balance the business and marketing of being a writer.

Easiest thing about being a writer: The easiest thing about being a writer is being able to write all the stories, ideas, and worlds I’ve created in my mind.

Things you need for your writing sessions: I need candles, delicious snacks, the fitting soundtrack, caffeine, my fur babies, and my laptop. But I’ll settle for my notebook and pen if these things aren't available.

Things that hamper your writing: I’m hampered by clutter, an untidy space, and too many outside distractions.

A few of your favorite things: I love God, my husband, my children, my grandson, short lines, lattes, spicy food, and gatherings at my home with uplifting music, good food, and laughter. I adore animals, children, and traveling with friends and family.

Things you need to throw out: I despise clutter but desperately need to clean my junk drawers where I shove too many random things.

Words that describe you: Vibrant, eclectic, artistic, hospitable, and vivacious.

Words that describe you, but you wish they didn’t: Procrastinator (especially if something is important to me) and sometimes tardy. Ugh!

Favorite foods: I love Jamaican food, especially curry chicken, curried shrimp, jerk pork, and ackee and saltfish. I also love authentic Korean, Italian, and Mexican.

Things that make you want to gag: Mean people, untidiness, rhubarb, and liver make me want to gag.

Something you’re really good at: I’m good at painting (as in pictures), cooking, teaching, and mentoring.

Something you’re really bad at math and laundry. Thankfully, my husband is my accountant and prefers doing the laundry in exchange for great meals and a clean house.

Favorite music or song: My favorite types of music are reggae, jazz, classical piano, gospel, contemporary worship, and Afro-beats. My favorite song is Don’t Worry About A Thing” by Bob Marley.

Music that drives you crazy: Heavy metal and most country music.

Favorite smells: Lavender, jasmine, and the farm. The farm is nostalgic for me, as my grandparents lived on one.

Something that makes you hold your nose: locker rooms and bad breath.

Last best thing you ate: Ackee and saltfish with johnny cakes.

Last thing you regret eating: Bad sushi.

Things you always put in your books: Hope and hidden references to things and people only a few close friends and family members would know about.

Things you never put in your books: Hopelessness.

The funniest thing to happen to you: When I was still a school principal, I brought Tony, my then fiancé (now husband), to our annual Christmas party. When I returned from a visit to the bathroom, Tony had the group of teachers he was surrounded by in stitches. I soon found out he jokingly told everyone we’d met while I was in a bookstore in the self-help section, reading a book, “How to Get a Man.” The staff believed him.

The most embarrassing thing to happen to you: I tripped while on a treadmill in a crowded gym. It happened so fast that I grabbed onto the bottom sides of the equipment, where my clothing got tangled. I mooned the entire gym.

About Katherine:

Author, speaker, educational consultant, and editor–Katherine Hutchinson-Hayes, Ed. D. has had her hand in leadership for many years. She loves speaking to groups and delivering messages with a quick wit and real-life stories. Katherine is a freelance writer/content editor, a content editor/writing coach for Iron Stream Media, and a sensitivity reader for Sensitivity Between the Lines. She is a review board member and contributor to Inkspirations (an online magazine for Christian writers), and her writing has been published in Guideposts. Her work in art/writing is distinguished by awards, including the New York Mayor’s Contribution to the Arts, Outstanding Resident Artist of Arizona, and the Foundations Awards at the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writer’s Conference (2016, 2019, 2021). She is a member of Word Weavers International and serves as an online chapter president and mentor. She belongs to FWA (Florida Writers Association), ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers), CWoC (Crime Writers of Color), AWSA (Advanced Writers and Speakers Association), and AASA (American Association of School Administrators). She serves on the board of the nonprofit organization Submersion 14 and is an art instructor for the nonprofit organization Light for the Future. Katherine hosts the podcast Murder, Mystery & Mayhem Laced with Morality. She has authored a Christian Bible study for women and is currently working on the sequel to her first general market thriller novel.

Let’s Be Social:

Website: https://www.drkatherinehayes.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/khutch0767

Personal Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/katherine.hutchinsonhayes

Author Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authordrkatherinehayes/

Books:   https://www.amazon.com/Gods-Little-Black-Dress-Women/dp/1365056163  

LinkedIn:   https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-katherine-hutchinson-hayes-3b5a3254/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.kathy.hayes/

Podcast (Apple): https://podcastsconnect.apple.com/my-podcasts/show/murder-mysterymayhem-laced-with-morality/ade5f5bb-6cbf-4722-a421-9874b24fa49d

Podcast (Spotify): https://open.spotify.com/show/4zWmZckdnPsYG9CUAKkv1p

What I've Learned Recently about Book Marketing

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I’ve attended some Sisters in Crime chapter presentations recently, and I’m loving that I can experience speakers and workshops from all over the country. Here’s what I’ve learned recently about book marketing from Chessie, Grand Canyon Writers, and Central Virginia chapters.

From Brian Paone’s session on effective marketing, I learned:

  • You cannot wait for readers or sales to come to you.

  • If you decide to write in a new genre, be prepared that it will be almost like starting over with your marketing and platform-building.

  • Your website, headshot, and social sites need to look professional. You also need to look professional on virtual calls and in-person events.

  • For in-person events where you have an author table, you need to make it unique and attractive. You want people to approach you. Make sure to take a look at how your table looks to the audience before the doors open. Make sure that all book covers face the audience (and not you).

  • Have a good elevator pitch about your book(s). You need to practice this and be ready, but you don’t want it to sound too rehearsed.

  • When you are at in-person events, stand as much as possible. Stay off your phone and smile. You want to be approachable.

  • When someone approaches your table, be the first to speak. At in-person events, readers want to connect with authors. Be conversational.

Nicolette Lemmon had some very helpful advice. You also need to check out her book for writers at any stage. It’s called Write. Market. Succeed. An Author’s Marketing Playbook.

  • Know where your readers are. Know what social media platforms they prefer.

  • If you are trying to figure out who your reader is, go on social media and find authors that are similar to you. Look at what they are doing and look at their reviews. You’ll get an idea of what their fans like.

  • Start your marketing plans BEFORE your book is out.

  • You have about 8 seconds to get someone’s attention on social media.

  • You have about 30 seconds when you talk to someone about your book to get your key points across. Make sure you have a short elevator speech ready to go.

  • Your audience has to see your message 7 times before they remember and recognize you/your work.

  • Make sure you stay visible on your website and social media.

  • Your website is your online office. Make sure that you update it regularly.

  • Google yourself to see what comes up.

  • Pay attention to your writing business.

#ThisorThatThursday Author Interview with Anna St. John

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I’d like to welcome the fabulous Anna St. John to the blog for #ThisorThatThursday!

Things you never want to run out of: Coffee, pens, time.

Things you wish you’d never bought: Wrinkle cream. It didn’t work.

Things you need for your writing sessions: A quiet place, my computer, and a candle

Things that hamper your writing: Phone calls, household chores, rabbit holes when I’m doing research.

A few of your favorite things: A collection of Madeline dolls, a super soft sweatshirt, and my desk chair.

Things you need to throw out: Outdated clothes in my closet, and a lot of cookbooks I have never used.

Favorite foods: Potato soup, pecan pie, and ice cream sundaes.

Things that make you want to gag: Turnips, horseradish, and steak when it’s served too rare.

Favorite music or song: Songs from the 60’s, because they make me smile.

Music that drives you crazy: Rap, because I can never understand the lyrics.

Favorite smell: The sweet scent of lilacs reminds me of my mother’s garden.

Something that makes you hold your nose: Skunk spray.

The last thing you ordered online: Silver polish.

The last thing you regret buying: Silver polish. Now I have no excuse to avoid cleaning my tarnished tableware.

Things to say to an author: I love your characters and your books.

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: Writing cozy mysteries must be so easy.

Favorite books (or genre): Mysteries, Biographies, Historical Fiction, Romance, and Beach Reads.

Books you wouldn’t buy: Diet books, math books, or anything about taxes.

Besides writing, what’s the most creative thing you’ve done: I once painted our large college dorm window to look like a stained-glass image of the three wise men for the holidays. (I haven’t accomplished anything that ambitious, since.)

A project that didn’t quite turn out the way you planned it: I knitted a sweater for my boyfriend and the sleeves stretched…and…stretched…and stretched, until they were waaay too long. He claimed he liked them that way. Shoved the sleeves up to his elbows and wore the sweater everywhere. I married him.

About Anna:

Anna St. John writes cozy mysteries featuring a mature, yet feisty, fomer crime reporter, Josie Posey, as the amateur sleuth.

Her debut novel, DOOMED BY BLOOMS, was released by Level Best Books in February 2023. CLOCKED OUT is the second book in her Josie Posey Mystery Series.

Anna is a former journalist, award-winning advertising copywriter and ad agency owner. She is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and the Kansas Authors Club.

Anna is represented by Cindy Bullard, of Birch Literary Agency.

Let’s Be Social:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cozyauthor/

Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/AuthorStJohn

Website: www.anna-stjohn.com

About CLOCKED OUT

Josie Posey and her posse of Mahjong Mavens are at it again, in this cozy mystery where the retired big city crime reporter turned small town crime solver uncovers another murder in picturesque English Village.

When the clockmaker’s daughter returns home for a visit, reporter Josie Posey is assigned the task of interviewing the talented watch designer. That very afternoon the young woman falls from a ladder while inventorying antique clocks.

At first, Josie is certain the fall was an accident. Everyone loved Ella McGregor Benjamin. But Ella’s deathbed statement is a mysterious riddle that can’t be ignored. With her Old English Sheepdog Moe by her side, and an ever-growing list of suspects, Josie scrambles to identify the killer before anyone else gets hurt.

The local police chief wants Josie to help solve the puzzle, but stay out of his murder case. The editor of The Village Gazette wants an in-depth story for the next edition. And somebody wants Josie to stop asking questions. Deadlines loom.

In this fast-paced rollercoaster ride of a mystery, the clock is ticking as Josie vows to find the killer before time runs out.

 

#WriterWednesday Interview with Mark Morton

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I’d like to welcome Mark Morton to the blog for #WriterWednesday!

A few of your favorite things: I love amber: the warmth of its translucent color, the way it forms over eons from tree resin, the bits of leaves and even tiny insects that it often contains. When my wife and I got married, I gave her a piece of amber I found as a child on the grain farm where I grew up; I had a jeweler drill a hole into it and made it into a necklace for her. If I could only take one thing from our house, that would be it!

Things you need to throw out: Nothing! Our house is full of “artifacts”: little wooden boxes, curious stones we’ve found, vintage items like a rotary phone, a sewing machine from 1910 that belonged to my grandmother, antique coins, pocket watches, carvings—all of them embody a memory, and I couldn’t let any of them go. (However, we do, I guess, have a lot of half-chewed dog toys I could cull!)

Things you need for your writing sessions: A bit of ambient hubbub—I can’t write if it’s too quiet. Our dog Myah curled up behind my head on the top of my armchair. A glass of my home-made ginger beer.

Things that hamper your writing: Fatigue from lack of sleep; interruptions; worrying about existential threats like climate change, the possibility of new pandemics, the escalation and continuance of wars and conflicts.

Things you love about writing: I love how characters organically “emerge” as I’m writing—it’s as if they reveal themselves to me in a way I could never have intentionally imagined, like pulling treasure up from the bottom of a deep lake.

Things you hate about writing: I can’t think of a single thing—I enjoy all aspects of the writing process—even realizing that I need to rewrite a section of a manuscript is something I appreciate. Writing is a privilege that most people in the world don’t have—so who am I to complain about any part of it!

Hardest thing about being a writer: Finding time is of course always a challenge, as I so far have not been able to persuade an 18th-century patron to pay my bills. Also, as I grow older, my memory is not what it used to be: holding many plot elements in my head at the same time has become more challenging.

Easiest thing about being a writer: Thanks to tools like ChatGPT, finding peculiar facts and needed answers to obscure questions has become much easier! But at the same time, I have a genuine fear of where AI will take us as a species (see existential threats, above!).

Things you never want to run out of: Wonder; love; dogs.

Things you wish you’d never bought: A pound of steamed mussels still in their shells—one of them must have been off… it didn’t end well!

Favorite music or song: So many songs by Alison Goldfrapp (e.g., Black Cherry), John Prine (e.g., Angel from Montgomery), and The Tragically Hip (e.g. Ahead by a Century). That latter group is perhaps Canada’s “national rock band.”

Music that drives you crazy: Avant garde jazz—I just can’t enjoy anything that goes beep bop squawk.

Something you’re really good at: Mental compartmentalization.

Something you’re really bad at: Recognizing faces (I have prosopagnosia: face blindness—it’s harmless except that it often results in embarrassing mix ups and also makes it harder to follow movies).

Something you wish you could do: Forget certain memories—and not necessarily bad ones. Sometimes a good memory can remain so vivid that it becomes hard to assimilate into the past.

Something you wish you’d never learned to do: Troubleshoot other people’s computers.

Something you like to do: Watch educational YouTube series: Smarter Every Day, Vsauce, Veritasium, Philosophy Tube, ContraPoints, Up and Atom. Also, short films on YouTube channels such as Dust and Omeleto.

Something you wish you’d never done: Eaten an entire large cinnamon bun while completing these questions.

Favorite place you’ve been: Manitoulin Island—the largest freshwater island in the world. My wife’s mom has a cabin there. No electricity, no plumbing, but it has a river right behind it with salmon in it and the shore of Lake Huron is just a four-minute walk away. A remote and magical place.

Places you never want to go to again: Houston, Texas (see steamed mussels, above!).

Favorite books: Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel; Handling the Undead by John Ajvide Lindqvist; The Road and Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy; the complete set of the Oxford English Dictionary.

Books you wouldn’t buy: Cooking with Spam. The Collected Blondie and Dagwood. Intelligent Design for Dummies. Curious George and the Electric Fence. Bigger and Better Boners (not what one might think!).

Best thing you’ve ever done: Adopting our four kids.

Biggest mistake: Not taking my mom up on her offer to pay for music lessons when I was ten. (Wait, did I get the answers to these two questions mixed up?)

About Mark:

Mark Morton, author of The Headmasters and Cupboard Love: A Dictionary of Culinary Curiosities (nominated for a Julia Child Award), is also the author of three other nonfiction titles, The End: Closing Words for a Millennium (winner of the Alexander Isbister Award for nonfiction); The Lover’s Tongue: A Merry Romp Through the Language of Love and Sex (republished in the UK as Dirty Words), and Cooking with Shakespeare. He’s also written more than 50 columns for Gastronomica: The Journal of Food and Culture (University of California Press) and has written and broadcast more than a hundred columns about language and culture for Canada’s national radio, CBC Radio One. Mark has a PhD in sixteenth-century literature from the University of Toronto and has taught at several universities in France and Canada.

It's Read in the Bathtub Day!

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Happy Read in the Bathtub Day! I have never actually done that. I’m way too concerned about getting my book or digital reader wet. But, it sounds like a fun, relaxing afternoon.

What has been on your reading list for 2024? I am working my way through all the great books that I received for Christmas. My year started out with book 3 in Mindy Quigley’s Deep Dish Mystery series. What a fun read. Who could ask for more…pizza, quirky characters, and a whole lot of mayhem and murder.

I also really enjoyed Tara Lush’s Live and Let Grind, part of her Coffee Lovers’ Mystery series. I love her zany characters, and the quaint Florida beach town where chaos seems to break out every time her amateur sleuth is around.

I’m catching up on Olivia Blacke’s the Record Shop Mysteries. What fun! Music, coffee, murder, mayhem, Texas bluebonnets, and a cow.

And I switched things up from my normal cozy reading with Nicolette Lemmon’s Write. Market. Succeed: An Author’s Marketing Playbook. This is a thorough workbook and plan for new and seasoned authors.

I highly recommend all of these, and up next for me is Lee Goldberg, Linda Reilly, Sarah Fox, and Kallie E. Benjamin.

#ThisorThatThursday Author Interview with Ruth J. Hartman

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I’d like to welcome my friend, the fabulous Ruth J. Hartman, back to the blog for #ThisorThatThursday!

Favorite thing to do when you have free time: Right now, I’m watching Gray’s Anatomy. I didn’t watch it when it was on the first time, and I’m hooked!

The thing you’ll always move to the bottom of your to do list: Anything to do with dusting. I mean, dust bunnies aren’t even cute!

Things you need when you’re in your writing cave: A diet 7UP, chocolate, and a cat asleep on my lap.

Things that distract you from writing: A cat sitting behind me, chewing on my hair!

Things you will run to the store for at midnight: Pizza, chocolate, and chips.

Things you never put on your shopping list: Anything Beet-related.

Something you’re really good at: Making people laugh, even when I’m not trying to be funny.

Something you’re really bad at: Remembering somebody’s name when I’m introducing them to someone else!

Something you wanted to be when you were a kid: Something to do with cats (not sure what!)

Something you do that you never dreamed you’d do: Work in a dental office – I’m a retired hygienist!

Things to say to an author: I love your books! Can’t wait to read the next one!

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: Do you want to know how many typos I counted in your last book?

Favorite places you’ve been: Alaska (7 times!)

Places you never want to go to again: New Orleans. It has a weird smell.

Favorite things to do: Take a walk with my husband on the trail close to our house.

Things you’d run through a fire or eat bugs to get out of doing: Public speaking!

The most exciting thing about your writing life: When I’ve hit the bestseller categories for my mysteries.

The one thing you wish you could do over in your writing life: Not wait until I was 45 to write for publication.

The nicest thing a reader said to you: Your books give me a vacation from my troubles.

The craziest thing a reader said to you: I don’t think you know anything about cats. Why do you even have them in your books?

Best piece of advice you received from another writer: Don’t ever compare yourself to other writers. Everyone has their own path.

Something you would tell a younger you about your writing: Don’t give up just because it’s hard. It will be worth it in the end.

About Ruth:

Ruth J. Hartman spends her days herding cats and her nights spinning mysterious tales. She, her husband, and their cats love to spend time curled up in their recliners watching old Cary Grant movies. Well, the cats sit in the people's recliners. Not that the cats couldn't get their own furniture. They just choose to shed on someone else's.

Ruth, a left-handed, cat-herding, farmhouse-dwelling writer uses her sense of humor as she writes tales of lovable, klutzy women who seem to find trouble without even trying.

Ruth's husband and best friend, Garry, reads her manuscripts, rolls his eyes at her weird story ideas, and loves her despite her insistence all of her books have at least one cat in them. See updates about her cozy mysteries at Ruthjhartman.com.

Let’s Be Social:

Website: https://www.ruthjhartman.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ruth.j.hartman

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063631596817

Publisher: https://www.gemmahallidaypublishing.com/ruth-j-hartman

Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/ruthjhartman

#WriterWednesday Interview with S. Atzeni

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It’s the middle of February here in North America, and my guest today, S. Atzeni, is going to mix it up and bring us a taste of summer. Welcome to the blog!

A few of your favorite summer traditions: My favorite summer tradition is summer reading. I look forward to it every year by building my reading list and carving out time in my schedule. Since I was a kid, we’ve always gone to the library to get our summer reading books, so I like to keep that tradition alive and visit my local library for each book.

Something summer-related that you’ll never do again: I hate the beach (I know - an unpopular opinion!). I like the boardwalk and the arcade - I just don’t see a point in sitting on the beach or swimming in the ocean. It’s pretty to look at, but not something I seek out during the summer months.

Favorite summer beverage: An iced cappuccino - it’s refreshing and I love the cold foam on top!

A drink that gives you a pickle face: Anything too sugary! It doesn’t help in the Jersey heat.

Your favorite thing to get from the ice cream truck: Vanilla and chocolate ice cream in a dixie cup. Bonus points if there’s a wooden spoon included.

Some dessert that you wish you’d never bought: I used to get those ice cream pops that looked like cartoon characters - when I was a kid, I would always get the Ninja Turtle. They didn’t taste particularly good, but who wouldn’t want ice cream in the shape of a Ninja Turtle?

Best summer vacation ever: We went to Europe one summer and it was fun traveling across the continent. Plus you learn so many new things about yourself when you travel. One thing I learned is how bad my Polish is (I’m still learning!)

Somewhere where you don’t ever want to return: On that tiny plane that took us from England to Poland - I could feel my teeth rattle the entire time we were in the air!

Most favorite place to write/edit in the summer: I have a spot in my local library that I’ve been using for years. Nothing is more satisfying than being in an air-conditioned library writing away when it’s really hot outside. Plus it’s so quiet that I get a lot of work done.

The worst place to try to write in the summer because of all the distractions: My house because the air conditioners in the windows create a buzz that’s really distracting. Plus my cats like to jump all over my laptop - in any season - and it’s hard to get work done.

Favorite thing to do on a summer evening: Sit outside and enjoy the summer evening. It’s so quiet at night, but also not with the crickets chirping and people outside. There’s a balance to the noise that I find really peaceful.

Least favorite thing about summer: The days that are so hot, you feel like you’re going to melt, Wicked Witch of the West-style. New Jersey summers can be really humid, which ruins the fun part of the summer weather.

Favorite place to visit in Virginia: The Torpedo Factory in Alexandria. Also, I LOVE Old Town Books on Royal Street!

Somewhere you’ve visited way too much. Been there. Done that. Got the T-shirt: No where! I love going back to old places - you can always find something new!

The thing you like most about being a writer: My absolute favorite part is holding your book when it’s all complete. Nothing about the process is very easy, but the finish line is always nice. All the hard work is worth it.

The thing you like least about being a writer: The hardest part is finding the time to write. There’s so much that fills the day and I can never find that “sweet spot” amount of time to write when I need to. It takes a lot of planning.

The thing that you will most remember about your writing life: I hope what I remember most are all of the different stories that I am privileged to write and the authors I’m privileged to work with as an editor. As an author-publisher, you get to have all of these great experiences and work with an extraordinary community. It’s a joy that I carry with me every day.

Something in your writing life that you wish you could do over: I try not to have any regrets, but one would be that I should have started sooner sharing my work. For many years, I was embarrassed or felt like I wasn’t ready to call myself a writer. Imposter syndrome is real - but I wish I ignored it and started sooner.

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: Once upon a time, I braved Nitro at Six Flags. I went on it twice. It was terrifying, but it makes a good fun fact.

Something you chickened out from doing: Going on a rollercoaster after the age of 35. Now it’s terrifying in a different way!

The funniest thing to happen to you: I broke my ankle once at a BBQ while trying to sing like Shania Twain.

The most embarrassing thing to happen to you: I broke my ankle once at a BBQ while trying to sing like Shania Twain. I feel like there’s a story here.

The nicest thing a reader said to you: “Your book made me laugh” - that is the greatest compliment and it makes me feel as though I’m doing something right.

The craziest thing a reader said to you: “It’s interesting that your play is a metaphor for God” - to this day, I have no idea where they got that out of a play about a diner, but thanks to that person for thinking I’m smart enough to pull that off.

About S. Atzeni:

S. Atzeni (she/they) is a multi-genre, award-winning writer of prose, comics, and academic scholarship. They are the co-author of The MOTHER Principle graphic novel series and The Legend of Dave Bradley and the upcoming W(h)ine and Cheese in the One 'n Done series. S. Atzeni holds a B.A. in Professional Writing and Journalism and a Master of Arts in English from The College of New Jersey.

When not being an adjunct professor and academic of ethnography, sequential art studies, and trauma theory, S. Atzeni is the co-founder of Read Furiously Publishing, its editorial director and its head of acquisitions. Through Read Furiously, S. Atzeni is proud to publish great books, be a part of an amazing independent literary community, and participate in literary activism.

Happy Groundhog Day! - Ways to Get out of Writing Rut

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I am a beach girl. I like A (one) good snow every now and then. But by this time in February, I am counting down the days until spring and warmer temperatures. And Punxsutawney Phil never sees things my way. It is like the Bill Murray movie…the same thing over and over…

Consistency is good in your writing life. It helps you stay on track and complete projects, especially if we’re talking about writing goals and daily quotas. But sometimes writers get stuck in a rut. Here are some ideas to spark your creativity and ward off the doldrums.

  • Work on another creative project other than writing. Cooking, baking, decorating, painting…They all will exercise the creative side of your brain.

  • Exercise, do yoga, or go for a walk. Once you get those endorphins going, you’ll see a new surge of energy.

  • Grab your camera and go to places around your town for a photo safari. Use these on your blog and social media to share your adventures.

  • Volunteer. There are so many worthy organizations and causes that could use your help. You’ll meet new people, try new things, and give back to your community.

  • Schedule a library day and do some research on topics that interest you or would make a great story idea. Give yourself some free time to explore the stacks. You’ll be surprised at what you may find.

  • Set aside some time to start a new project. Work on that project that you keep meaning to do, but never get around to.

  • Plan some friend-time. Take some time to get away for lunch or coffee and enjoy each other’s company. Writing is often too solitary a sport.

  • Make a list of twenty marketing things you’d like to do for your book. No idea is bad in brainstorming. When you’re done, use your list to plan some new activities and ways to promote your writing.

    What would you add to my list?