Housework vs. Writing Time

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“Nutty with a Dash of Meat” Jeanette Levellie here with a fun story for writers and other creatives who find yourself having to choose between housework and writing… Not all women have it. A few of us were still asleep the morning they handed out the I-love-housework gene. “Dust bunnies are for wimps” became my motto when I discovered dust kangaroos, with families of dust joeys springing out of their pockets every few days to stir up some fun. Because we live in the parsonage and my husband’s desk is a pulpit, I figure I should try to appear neat…

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New 12-Step Program for Authors

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Nutty with a Dash of Meat Jeanette Levellie here to share with you about a new 12-Step Program for Authors: “Hello. Welcome to O.P.A. My name is Jeanette and I am addicted to pens with scented ink, sticky notes, and highlighters.  Let’s go around the circle and say our names—first name only, please, to keep our anonymity—and what types of office products we’re addicted to.”

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Pray, Write, Pray

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Hi Everyone, it’s Judith Couchman. My assignment for this year focuses on blogging about writing: technique, practical pointers,encouragement, and such. I hope this helps you.   If you want to improve your prayer life, try writing. If you want to improve your writing life, try praying. —Ed Cyzewski If any profession produces anxiety, it’s writing. Writers fret about deadlines, the quality of their work, if they’ll publish, whether readers will buy their books, or if they’ll earn income. Potentially, the anxiety can paralyze getting the work done. Two thousand years ago a writer working under duress suggested an antidote for…

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Five Ways to Stay Sane while Raising Cain (or Jane)

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“Nutty with a Dash of Meat” Jeanette Levellie here with some tips for those of you with kids at home, taken from my Time Management for Part-time Writers  conference class, Five Ways to Stay Sane while Raising Cain (or Jane). Although my kids are done being kids, I’ve learned a few secrets—mostly the hard way—of managing my time when I had only scraps of it to manage. I hope these help and encourage you.

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What’s In A Name?

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Greetings from Kathy Collard Miller in the Southern California desert near Palm Springs. What’s in a name? Ask the clerk at the Los Angeles Superior Court, where, for a fee and the cost of filing a legal advertisement, anyone over the age of 18 can have his name changed. A newspaper article published years ago gave some examples of the name changes. Georgia Ricotta wanted her name changed. After all, who would want to be identified with a cheese? Her new name? Anna Novelli. “I picked my last name from a TV series,” the new Anna says.

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12 Ways to Increase Your Brain Power

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  “Nutty with a Dash of Meat Jeanette Levellie” here. We already know how smart you are, since you’re following the CAN blog! But if you’d like to increase your brain power, I believe you’ll enjoy these 12 fun ways. I discovered  the first 11 on brain specialist Dr. Daniel G. Amen’s blog, and the 12th–a fun method I use to stretch my own brain muscles–is my idea. I have also added some of my thoughts to Dr. Amen’s. 1. Learn something new–an obscure president’s name, a variety of flower, even a little-known verse to a song.

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Three Ways to Beat the Writer Blues

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Hi Everyone, it’s Judith Couchman. My assignment for this year focuses on blogging about writing: technique; practical pointers, encouragement, and such. I hope this helps you on the writing journey. Some people call it writer’s block. I call it writer blues. You just can’t face that writing project today, or tomorrow, or next week.  Or you can’t think of a stunning idea. But a deadline looms, and you need a boost. A host of suggestions can help you get unstuck. But rather than overload your brain and schedule, I’m offering a few that work for me.

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Three ways to reach success.

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Hola from Janet Perez Eckles…Igniting Your Passion to Overcome Five books a year? Insanely impossible. To reach real success, it’s not the number of books sold, but the quantity of hope our books sing. The hope that revives the soul shines the spotlight on Jesus and brightens the horizon through the gloom of pain.

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Growing Pains

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By Dianne Barker It’s Dianne Barker with reflections on growing pains. Looking back, many of us recall stages of awkwardness as we left childhood for adolescence and then adulthood, each phase bringing growth and change. After a few stumbles, we got our footing and moved ahead, walking in confidence. The process is much like our faith journey—stages and stumbles as we learn and grow. I’m thinking of 2 Peter 3:18. “Grow in grace (undeserved favor, spiritual strength) and recognition and knowledge and understanding of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (the Messiah)…” (The Amplified Bible).

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