Idaho Book Extravaganza

Idaho's first publishing industry show will be next weekend, October 22 and 23, and is being sponsored by Aloha Publishing and Stone House Ink. The theme is "The Future of Writing and Publishing." It will be held in Meridian, Idaho, at the Silverstone Plaza (eight minutes from downtown Boise). The event will feature publishers, printers, literary agents, book designers, booksellers, social media experts, and authors. For more information, go to Idaho Book Extravaganza.

Roadblocks to Writing - The Two Syndromes

Last night I pondered (again) why I hadn't gotten my blog finished. I found out I'm suffering from two syndromes: The I-Come-Last Syndrome and the I-Can't-Say-No Syndrome. The symptoms are very debilitating to any type of writing schedule. Symptoms include: I'll just dump the garbage, throw in a load of laundry, and clean the kitchen, then it there's time before I have to walk the dog, pick up the kids, make dinner, fill in the blank, then I'll write. How can any responsible person write until she has all this work caught up, right? Life can get in the way but sometimes we use it to cover a deeper issue: self-esteem. Do we feel it's a waste of time to dream of a writing career? Or our dream isn't important enough to deserve our attention? If you suffer from this syndrome go get a big piece of paper and write on it: Where would the world be without its storytellers? Then place that paper on the fridge or mirror or somewhere you see it each and every day, because to get rid of this syndrome we need to truly value our talent. A unique talent that each and everyone of us in Blue Sage has!

The next syndrome is hard because as caring people how can we possibly say no to someone who really needs our help? People tend to discourage us from saying the dreaded "no" for the simple reason that our yes benefits them. Could you please bake cookies for the holiday bazaar? With the state of our country won't you please help with the upcoming election? Could you please lie down over there in front of the door so I have someplace to wipe my feet? We should be kind and caring but we need to realize that a writer does not have some magic well of renewable resources. Since I suffer from both syndromes I've decided to dig deep in my psyche and see why am I really saying yes to everything else and no to my writing. I need to place my worth to my goals because they are worthy ones. I hope if you suffer, as I am, you will join me in getting rid of the fear, the guilt, the who-could-possibly-want-to-read-my-stuff! I promise I will help you if you'll help me. Now please excuse me while I put my words into action and actually get back to my novel.