View this email online if it doesn't display correctly Deadlines are Your Friend November 20, 2015 Hi Friend,  Today I want to talk about deadlines and how they are your friend. Or would that be friends? The power of this November during Nanowrimo lies in that it's a deadline, and a collective one at that. Powerful stuff.  For new writers, it's a great training ground to push yourself. For more experienced writers, Nanowrimo is a great container to write in a collective space. I've discovered in talking with hundreds of writers that many thrive on deadlines, but are often embarrassed about that or think there's something wrong with them, and feel shame that they're so last minute about their projects. But what if you're just motivated by deadlines? What if deadlines were your friends?  I'll stick with the word "deadline" since I'm neutral to it. If the word "deadlines" tweaks you out, choose another one. Here's a few to choose from: Finish line End point Limit Target Date Zero Hour Some ways to make deadlines work for you -- whether or not you like Nanowrimo: Decide upon a writing project you're passionate about. Clarify how much writing you can do in one sitting and how many writing sessions you can do per day. Example: Perhaps you can write in 20-minute blocks, four times a day. I actually did that today in the space of an hour and twenty minutes. Be reasonable about your daily/regular writing amount and stay within your limits. You'll build your capacity to write more and for longer with time. Let the growth come from showing up regularly for your writing and your natural ability to challenge yourself. Create weekly goals, and monthly goals, and be flexible how you achieve those goals. There is no rule that says you have to write at the same time every day. Honor your creative flow; show up for your work; and face the fear; make that fear your ally in your courageous endeavor of writing a novel.  Stay focused on your daily writing sessions. That's it. Don't worry about tomorrow or next week. Stay focused on the now. What is your relationship with deadlines? How are they working for you? Or not working for you? Hit reply and let me know! ♥ Personal Note from Beth As I mentioned last week, I am doing Nanowrimo, National Novel Writing Month, and have written 24,461 words to date. I'm happy with my progress. I've been marinating this story for month, and so when I sit down to write this story flows. I talked about creative flow last week and posted that article on my blog here.  ♥ “Go and make interesting mistakes, make amazing mistakes, make glorious and fantastic mistakes. Break rules. Leave the world more interesting for your being here. Make. Good. Art.” ~Neil Gaiman Read more at: http://skinnyartist.com/150-amazing-quotes-to-feed-your-creative-soul/ Welcome to CreativitySparks (tm) newsletter, where I share tips and resources for novelists to help you build a successful and sustainable career. In practical terms, I help genre novelists write, publish, and market their books. Why? Because I too am a novelist and a teacher. I love helping authors and have dedicated hundreds of hours to training, teaching and coaching writers. I am a certified creativity coach for writers and Master NLP practitioner. (NLP stands for neurolinguistic programming or patterning.) Clients have called me a book midwife. I hold your hand while you push. I believe it's a sacred act to write fiction, for when we travel into a novel, we come back home to ourselves renewed, refreshed, and transformed. I believe it is also a sacred act to share our work with the world. Marketing your fiction can be a heart-centered powerful act. Readers are waiting for your books, the ones only you can write. Welcome to our Creativity Sparks community! Talk with me if you're not writing your novel and you want to be. Talk with me if you want to step into your dream of crafting a successful and sustainable career as a novelist. Ready? Book your no-obligation complimentary discovery session here. ♥ Upcoming Events ♥ December 2015: Early Bird Registration opens up for 12-month Group Coaching Program for Novelists, for those of you who want an intimate support group for learning and coaching while you finish, polish, and publish your novel. The new program officially restarts February 2016, though writers can join anytime. http://coaching.bethbarany.com/ ♥ December 2015: Special Products Sale coming soon! ♥ January 2016: Edit Your Novel starts. We'll open registration to that in December.  ♥ February 2016: Branding & Marketing for Novelists free mini-course will launch in anticipation for the April 2016 live course. Go here to sign up to be notified when it opens. http://www.writersfunzone.com/blog/branding-marketing-for-genre-novelists-101/ ♥ March 2016: How to Get Book Reviews two-week class opens. Go to here to be notified when this course opens: http://www.writersfunzone.com/blog/how-to-get-reviews/ Have a Happy and Creative Weekend and Week! And thanks for showing up for yourself and doing your creative work! All our best, Beth & Ezra beth@bethbarany.com http://bethbarany.com/ PS. If you found this newsletter useful, please forward it to your friends, writing buddies, and people who you know want to write a novel, but gosh darn it, haven't, yet. ♥ ABOUT US Beth and Ezra Barany are award-winning, best-selling novelists, with 18 books and 5 awards to their name. They are teachers who have worked with over 100 authors to help them get their books written and published and into the hands of their readers. ♥ Happily married for over 15 years, we’re passionate about writing, storytelling, and guiding authors to achieve their dreams. ♥ We offer coaching, change work sessions, book marketing coaching (Beth) and cover design (Ezra), all for genre novelists. More at bethbarany.com.  ♥ To explore how Beth can support you, schedule a 1-hour complimentary Discovery Call here: http://bit.ly/AppmtWithBeth. ABOUT BETH BARANY An award-winning novelist, certified creativity coach and Master NLP Practitioner, Beth runs Writer's Fun Zone, a blog for and by writers, and her recently launched school for novelists, the Barany School of Fiction. Beth writes YA fantasy and magical contemporary romance. She also writes how-to books and courses for novelists, including her home study coaching guide, The Writer's Adventure Guide: 12 Stages to Writing Your Book, a Hero's Journey adaption with you the author as the hero in your own adventure of writing your book. Her latest book for writers is Twitter for Authors: Social Media Marketing for Shy Writers. In her downtime, Beth takes walks, paints, watches movies with her sweetie, travels, and has coffee with friends and family. And plays with her two cats, gardens, and does capoeira. And sleeps. She loves sleep. Photo Credit: by c. 2014 Vivienne McMaster In connection with the operation of this newsletter and business, Creativity Sparks features in the Newsletter affiliate links, including links to Amazon.com (“Affiliate Links”). Barany Consulting earns a commission from the Affiliate Links which commission is based on the number of sales that are made as a result of users of the Newsletter clicking over to the Affiliate Link and purchasing from the Affiliate Link a product and/or service. Not ready to receive these writing and publishing tips? You can unsubscribe below. However, please do not report us as Spam. This negatively impacts our ability to send emails to your fellow subscribers -- the 2100+ people who enjoy these tips each week -- and I'm sure that's not your intention.  https://app.getresponse.com/unsubscribe.html?x=a62b&m=9Lbjp&mc=VA&s=E&u=Shp&z=ESBuCAP&

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