CONNECT with Other #MFRWauthors for #NaNoWriMo!

Are You NaNo-ing?
November is National Novel Writing Month, also known as #NaNoWriMo. It happens each November and many authors, both old and new, find it motivational.

It pushes authors to increase their word count higher for the month - and typically spurs on higher word counts for a few months afterwards too.

You can SIGN UP here. You should set up a profile and bookmark it because this is where you will go each day or so to update your writing stats.

You'll also earn badges and be able to see your writing progress, along with connecting with other authors.

Let's CONNECT with other MFRW Authors!
1. After you register, come back HERE and put your NaNo Link in a comment.
2. Scroll through comments and follow others.
3. You can also find NaNoWriMo on these social media sites:

• On Facebook: @NaNoWriMo
• On Twitter: @NaNoWriMo
• On Tumblr: @NaNoWriMo
• On Instagram: @NaNoWriMo
• On Pinterest: @NaNoWriMo

Writing Through Adversity @barbbradley #MFRWauthor #amwriting

We all have rough days - I know I have had my share this year and I hope I'll give a little inspiration as I vent over what I have been through. We all handle adversity differently. I like to escape, by sleeping, writing, and working. Whatever helps me forget what is going on for a little while.

So lets look at what's been happening in my life. Back in March I was told that my mother-in-law probably won't make it a year, She's 88 and has COPD, congestive heart failure, AFIB, and pulmonary hypertension. I've been her caregiver for the last few years and have learned more about these diseases than I want to know. The doctors recommended that we get her in the Bridge to Hospice program so as she deteriorates we have something in place.

Dealing with this put a weight on my shoulders I didn't need, but I took it in stride and continued to write every night.

When I called the company in my area to set this up they told me that home hospice would keep her care at home. No more trips to the emergency, no more doctor calls. I said great because I know she doesn't want to go in a hospital.

So the nurse came to the house to start the enrollment, The rules for home hospice are quite strict. She must be home bound although she could go out every once in a while. Well she wanted to go to the YMCA one time because they were having a luncheon, but she didn't say it to the nurse that way. My MIL said she was going to the Y. She also has restless leg syndrome and it chose the moment when we were enrolling her into the program to get up and walk around the room. The nurse felt if she was going to the Y and that mobile she wasn't ready for home hospice.

Not what I needed, but I squared my shoulders and kept writing.

Now along with all the other things my MIL has Macular (sp) degeneration so her vision is failing. There were several more trips to the ER but I think when her eye doctor declared her legally blind she finally realized we needed the help home hospice can give us.

A little less stress and more writing.

In the middle of August my dad had back surgery and had a disk replaced. Well at the beginning of October I got a text from my step-mom that the disk collapsed and he was back in the hospital. The disk was contaminated when it went in him and he got this weird infection from it so they put him on antibiotics and said he'd be there for six weeks before they could replace the disk. He lives about eight hours from me so I was worried and stressed but still wrote.

My mom, who lives near me, had knee surgery on Oct 8th. I learned she was getting a little confused and it worried me. More stress. She went into a rehab center for her rehabilitation and I try to visit her every day. Trying to balance the two mom's can take some juggling, but still found the time to write every day.

Now that's a lot isn't it? But I've kept writing. It gives me relief from all of this. But I'm not done.

My MIL's hearing is gone. I had to have her tested and they show a strong hearing loss, A hearing aid does help her, but with her oxygen tube, and her glasses, there is no place for the hearing aid. When we borrowed it from the office to see how she would do with it, within the day she it had popped out of her ear too many times or I would find it dangling next to her ear like a weird hairpiece. We're going to try something else.

The day after this I went down to see my dad in the hospital. We had a great visit, but the poor thing is allergic to the antibiotics. Broke out in hives just before I arrived. Oh and he lost his cell  phone and his upper teeth, but that's a story for one of my books. On my way home my car broke down. At the time I write this it is about four hours away being worked on. I still have to go back after it.

It started losing power halfway between where my father lives in SC and my where my sister lives in NC. I was able to find a place and found out my battery was bad so I replaced it and was on my way, except that wasn't the problem. I passed the exit I normally take to see my sister and my car died again. I was able to get it to her mechanic and he said it was my alternator. I had to stay with my sister for the night (and I did some writing) then the next day after I got my car I got on the road once again. About an hour and a half down the road my car started loosing power again. I had no clue where to go or how to get the car to a repair shop but I put on my big girl panties and got it done.The hubby and I are planning a trip to go after it once it's fixed...again.

Now, I didn't write this to make you feel sorry for me. I wrote this to show you can't let the crapstorm that life serves you from time to time stop you from doing something you love. I love writing and I'm not going to stop, no matter what.

Barb:)

Timeless Desire - Book 9 of the Vespian Way Due out at the beginning of Nov.

http://www.phaze.com/author.php?author=21

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Barbara-Donlon-Bradley/118673448173249

Twitter: https://twitter.com/barbbradley

Dealing with Email without Going Crazy @kayelleallen #MFRWauthor #authortips

Have a system for your files 

Are you drowning in email? I average less than a dozen items in my inbox at the end of almost any workday, but I get nearly a hundred emails a day, every day. How do I keep up with it? I have a system, and it has five basic components.

Folders

Who emails you the most? (family, friends, groups, publisher, promo assistant?) Give the people who email you most their own folder. It might be okay to put all book reviews in one big folder, but if you have a promotion assistant who follows up with you and you constantly go back and forth about material needed, you will want a folder for that assistant. Sort your email inbox by sender and see who is sending you the most stuff that you either want or need to keep. Make a list. After you've completed your list, combine folders that make sense to combine. I have one for family and one for friends, but I have separate folders for each of my blogs where I have guests. I need to be able to differentiate emails for the various sites.

Filters

Most email programs have a filter system. What this means if you can set up email to come in and be pre-labeled with a folder name. For example, everything from your newsletter service goes right to the folder for your newsletter. All your Twitter messages go right into a Twitter folder. Instructions depend on what email program you use. Remember, Google is your friend. Search your email program name plus the word "filter". When something goes to the folder where you are going to eventually store it, it saves time twice. You don't have to put it there, and it's out of your inbox in the first place.

Finding

Name your folders in such a way that you can easily see what's in them. If you abbreviate, be consistent. Number folders and they will float to the top in email. Use your email's search program to find things you need. You can often search by sender, which is a big help.

Filing

File as soon as you've read your email. Don't wait. Don't think about it. Just put it in the folder and move to the next thing. It feels great to complete something and move on. Should you have a "pending' file? I have one where I put work that's going to take more than a day to do. I keep it listed as unread, so the folder is Bold and it reminds me that I have pending work there. But everything else is filed and marked as read.

Flinging

At the Mercy of Her Pleasure 

It's not hard to decide whether to keep or toss an email. Stop and think: will I ever need this again? Will I need it to prove I did something, or to prove I paid for something? Does it make me feel good to read it? Will I need to refer to the information in the future? If any of this is yes, keep it. If no, toss it.

In conclusion, whatever system you use, be consistent. Apply simple filters and then file when you complete your work. Toss what you don't need. It's work, but it's not impossible. Do you have tips for handling email? Share it in the comments below.

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Kayelle Allen is a best-selling, award-winning author. Her unstoppable heroes and heroines include contemporary every day folk, role-playing immortal gamers, futuristic covert agents, and warriors who purr. She is the founder of Marketing for Romance Writers.

At the Mercy of Her Pleasure http://kayelleallen.com/at-the-mercy/
Romance Lives Forever Reader Group http://kayelleallen.com/bro
Twitter http://twitter.com/kayelleallen
Facebook http://facebook.com/kayelleallen.author

Writing Tip: Prioritizing a Task #MFRWauthor #amwriting @kayelleallen

How to Prioritize a Task 

Writers deal with shifting priorities all the time. If we have children, we put their needs before just about anything else. A spouse often comes before our needs. We face deadlines with books, with blog posts, with friends' expectations... you name it. There are always things tugging at us. Asking us to decide which is more important.

How do we decide? By putting them into a chart like the one shown here. There are four quadrants: Important, Not Important, Urgent, Not Urgent.

Important implies something that must be done, but perhaps not this moment. Urgent means it's something that must be done now. Not important means it can wait until a better time. Perhaps nothing bad will happen if we don't do it at all, or at least the consequence is something we can live with. Not urgent means it should be done, but can be put off.

What's the difference? An urgent task has a looming deadline or one that has passed. It can have a significant impact on your life. Important tasks don't have a deadline, but they have an impact anyway. Urgency is associated with time and impact. Importance is associated more with impact.

So how do you decide what to do first? Consider whether the task at hand has a deadline. Must it be done right now? Paying the light bill by a certain date to keep the lights on is an urgent task. Changing a burned out light bulb might be important if it means you can't see to pay the light bill.

Think of the Urgent and Important tasks as putting out fires. They are extremely important. Things could get worse if they are not handled now.

Important but Not Urgent tasks are things we do to be proactive. We can do them at a pace that allows us to spend "quality time" on them, without rushing. But they must be done.

Urgent but Not Important tasks are things we have to do right now (answering the phone) but that you might be able to shuffle a bit.

Not Urgent and Not Important tasks are things we do that don't add to our goals, such as shopping, playing a game, even some driving. These are more "time wasters" than productive items.

Tarthian Empire
Companion

Plug a few tasks into this chart and see how they fall. If they are not urgent and not important, they can wait. The urgent and important can not. Determine where your tasks fall in this chart and you will be well on your way to prioritizing your next task.

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Kayelle Allen is the founder of Marketing for Romance Writers. She is a multi-published, award-winning author, and the owner of The Author's Secret, an author support company. Her unstoppable heroes and heroines include contemporary characters, futuristic immortals, covert agents, and warriors who purr.

Homeworld http://kayelleallen.com

Unstoppable Heroes Blog http://kayelleallen.com/blog

Twitter http://twitter.com/kayelleallen

Facebook http://facebook.com/kayelleallen.author

The Author's Secret https://theauthorssecret.com