Monday, February 2, 2015

Focus - What is Your Biggest Challenge as a Writer?

Focus is my struggle - Wearing many hats of wife, mother, grandmother, business owner, as well as coaching and teaching several days a week, cause the demands of daily urgencies often to become a huge distraction from my writing time.  However,  through personal practice and coaching other writers, I have seen huge achievements when the combination of a designated writing time and well-defined long-term goals are set in place.   
Priority
I have seen the most success in my personal life and with the clients I work with when writing time is treated like a divine appointment with a deadline.  In my personal life, the best time of the day for writing is the first hour to two in the morning.  I think more clearly, my house is quiet and  things just come together easier.  But to have this time, I have to start getting ready for bed the night before around 8:30.  If I start at 8:30 I get into bed about 9:00 and I'm often asleep well before 10.  Then I wake up around 4:30; this gives me quiet thinking time with NOTHING but coffee, toast with peanut butter and a computer for about 2 hours.  Sometimes my schedule dictates that I need to be in town very early. Those days I will grab coffee at a local coffee shop and write before an appointment. If I'm in town at the coffee shop writing and someone I really need to talk to walks in.... I say, "I have a deadline to meet, can I call you this afternoon or tomorrrow?"   If you treat your writing like a divine appointment, you will be shocked at what happens.
You have to guard from distractions. If your phone rings don't answer it; don't even have your ringer turned on in your divine writing time.  Think about the most important person you could possibly have a one to two-hour interview or lunch with.  Would you let anything pull you away from lunch with your grandmother that was born in 1837, in Texas? What an opportunity! Okay, treat your writing the same way.  You can never get this time back again.  Treat it like a divine appointment!  :-)  The most successful writers I know and work with have a set aside divine appointment for writing daily.      
Goals are the roadmap to your writing journey. 
Set a goal for the next year.  Then think about the daily steps you need to take to achieve those goals.  Give yourself some mile markers to encourage yourself and to know you are making progress on the journey. The map may change slightly along the way, but you need to start with the end in mind.  If not, you don't know where you are going.  :-) 

My shorter term goal to keep myself on track is for the next 4 months  to make sure I generate at least 500 new words each day.  Five hundred words is not that many, but if I do that seven days a week that is 3500 words a week.  In four months that is 14000 words, if you add that to a story you have started that is just sitting there waiting on you to get back to it.....  you have made alot of headway in completing a project.
Focus, make your divine appointments and have an end goal in mind. Do something daily to work towards your goal.
In a year, your book will be at least ready for an editor. 

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Archer's Son Proclamation Celebration

The Archer’s Son Proclamation Celebration – Costume Contest
August 16, 2014 Florence-Lauderdale Public Library 

The Archer’s Son Proclamation Celebration was a fun day of medieval education and festivities. There were sword fights, dancing lessons, presentations and demonstrations. Men, women, children, and even dogs came dressed in period clothing from the Middle Ages. A costume contest to determine who donned the most impressive outfits capped off the celebration.

The first contestant was a young girl sporting a gorgeous Renaissance-era evening gown.



Next up was another young girl wearing a realistic medieval green dress and coif. In addition, she had on her a pouch for coins and a hood that could be pulled over her head.


Then we saw a very young knight, ready for combat with his sword and helmet.



The next contestant was a young archer. Well, I think he was an archer. He was equipped not just with a bow and quiver, but also a sword and shield. Whatever he was, he was well prepared for anything that would dare fight against him.


And for the last of the child contestants, we were presented with none other than the Archer’s Son himself. Dressed in very authentic attire, he came equipped with a dagger that was customary for his character.


And then came the adults.
The first of the adult contestants was a noblewoman dressed in a beautiful green gown and several pendants, including one in the shape of a fleur-de-lis.


We also saw a moderately-armored English Archer, wielding a longbow and dagger.



The final contestant came in the costume of a woodsman from Yorkshire. He was wearing a very handy-looking leather utility belt, from which he carried a pouch, a dagger, and a drinking cup.


All of the contest’s participants placed and received a free copy of Mark Hubbs’ book, The Archer’s Son, as a prize. In addition, the top adult contestants each received a free ticket to The Feast, a large celebration dinner held annually as part of the Alabama Renaissance Faire.



All of the contestants looked amazing and presented us with a great demonstration of the attire of the Middle Ages.
To get your copy or download of The Archer’s Son go to:

An event is a wonderful way to launch a publication!