Tip #10 in the Publish Don’t Perish Series is — TAKE A BREAK, when you need one. Sometimes the process of making lemonade from life’s lemons requires a break for whatever reason. When it comes to the life of an author, sometimes a break will do wonders for writer’s block. However, sometimes different aspects of our lives must take a priority, whether it’s children, your spouse/significant other, day job, a family member who needs assistance, or …
The last post
Karen Van Den Heuvel Fischer
The last post I published was the last Thursday in April, thanks to Candee Fick. The last post I wrote, was two weeks prior. Friends, I took a break from writing. Not all writing, I am an attorney with the law firm of Karen VDH Fischer LLC and I write legal documents all day, whether for businesses, estate planning, probate, Employee Handbooks, or … . I took a break from writing my articles and working on my book, Search Beyond Lies. That break is over, and I am charging forward.
Search beyond lies
My latest novel (a work in progress) is titled, Search Beyond Lies. It’s very important to me, as it was inspired by my son’s close friend and mentor, Brian Perri, who lost his life on Mount Meeker on June 30, 2018 and those who would not give up on his search — my son, J.C. and Brian’s close friend from his army days, Kimo, who is now a part of our family. Although inspired by these incredible people, the book is a work of fiction and will have a happy ending.
Brian Perri
An inspiring rare friendship
After the 3-week search for Brian, I wrote an article titled, An Inspiring Rare Friendship. Although I posted this article on my website, it was subsequently lost when my website “crashed” and a number of published articles could not be recovered. Next week, I will republish this article, as it will be instrumental for the next tip.
Take a break
Take a break with a culinary work of art.
Take a break if you need it, and please don’t feel bad about taking it. Do something fun if you can or a task you enjoy, perhaps painting, gardening or culinary works of art, whatever your pleasure (mine is culinary since I have no talent with a paint brush or with the garden — although I enjoy others’ creations). These are unprecedented times and it’s important to take care of yourself.
It’s a new year and it’s important to remember that you need to take care of yourself! Your best work, your best writing, your best time, occurs when you are at your best self. With this in mind, there are a number of things you can do to ensure that you do — they are not time intensive, after all, you have to eat and move around.
I previously wrote a number of articles (wearing my health and wellness hat with my Master of Science degree in Nutrition and as a registered dietitian) that focus on a healthy weight, taking control, as well as exercise and stretching with the help of a friend and physical therapist, Diane Foley. To give you a jump start, this article will provide you with quick links and a brief summary with tips.
Remember, before you make any changes to your health care regimen, always speak to your physician.
This article provides a great start with an overview of energy balance and its relationship to weight control.
It’s All about Health and Wellness — 5 lb Human Fat Model
Tip #1 – Write down everything you eat and drink. It may be old school, but it works. Tip #2 – Use an app that helps you monitor calories and exercise.
Guidance for developing reasonable goals and a plan is the focus of this article.
On the Road to Healthy Living
Tip #3 – Find yourself an accountability partner. Just as with writing, support is important with this aspect of your life. Tip #4 – Remove distractions
My Dad: Christian Van Den Heuvel – Exercise is Key: A Tribute to Our Military
My dad’s 87th birthday is next week. What better way to talk about what’s critical to your health — exercise. All of his life, and to this day, he exercises. Step in the right direction with the benefits of walking.
You are motivated when you are ready to not only take the weight off, but keep it off. This article helps you with the following tips:
Plan
Activities
Eating Behavior
Parties and Holidays
How to Monitor Yourself
Your Reward
Shopping
As writers, we spend most of our days sitting. The following articles will show you a few simple moves that will diminish your pain and leaving you feeling better.
Physical Therapist, Diane Foley shares a few simple moves that will reduce some of the health risks associated with sitting. There are five common muscle groups, Diane provides a stretch for the first — the neck.
Stretches for the Back of the Legs — Calf Stretch Lunge
Hamstrings and calves is the last muscle group addressed in this series that’s affected by prolonged sitting. It’s important to take short breaks throughout your day to stretch. This will make a difference in your life and your writing.
You only have one life. Remember to take care of it!
Have you brought home the bird yet? We’ve just about reached our “free” turkey with earned points from our grocery receipts at the local market. We’ll bring home a frozen 20 pounder and wrestle with it in the sink to rinse, clean out the innards, season and plop in a roasting pan with pats of butter slathered over it.
Sage: Get Under the Skin of Your Story
Hours later, the house smells amazing and our tummies rumble with anticipation for succulent gobble-ready slices on our plate, the traditional companion to stuffing, mashed potatoes, and cranberry sauce.
This year, though, I’m considering the addition of a leafy twist for added substance and spice in my turkey prep. Not that my old stand-by recipe of garlic salt, pepper, and butter isn’t enough. But with the sliding of sage leaves between the skin and meat, greater potential for lip smacking satisfaction is released as the efficacy of the herb permeates the bird with flavor.
Though primarily used today in the kitchen, sage, a member of the mint family, had been used for thousands of years in the sick room. Greeks and Romans discovered its medicinal qualities in the curing of snake bites, as well as a tonic for colds, fever, constipation, and even seizures. Add to that its effective uses promoting hair growth and whiter teeth, sage has lived up to its Latin name, salvia—meaning, to save—for centuries.
Why should a man die who has sage in his garden? Ancient Proverb
When it comes to the strong, spicy flavor of sage, a little goes a long way. Use dry sage leaves sparingly to add import to poultry, pork, and beef. Steep sage tea for a battery of health benefits. Tie dried leaves together and burn them, releasing a cleansing smoke to change the ionic composition of the air, which can reduce stress and improve energy.
Sage
In considering how to add sage to my turkey, tea, and tonics, I wonder what the equivalent of a sage injection into my writing might produce.
Sage is defined as a plant, we know, but the word is also defined as wisdom in discernment and prudence. If my writing is so flavored, I know I am prepping my words with greater substance to draw out the full potential of my work for better efficacy upon my readers.
Good writers are wise writers. They act the part of a sage injecting words of health and wellness into their work—like sliding those sage leaves between the turkey’s skin and meat in key places. Sage-spicy words of substance permeate the whole manuscript with greater reader impact, producing sticky stories for lasting satisfaction.
I’ve read many books—fiction and non-fiction—that left me unsatisfied and disappointed because they did not explore their topic deeply enough. The lack of permeated flavor made the book easy to forget and of no effect on my life or thinking at all.
The Write Spice: Writing Tips for Flavorful Words
by Kathryn Ross
The Christian writer must pen words that are sage—salvia, lifesaving—whether it’s in a romance novel or a treatise on a biblical principle, chapter and verse. Don’t just season the surface. Get under the skin of the story and develop deep themes for a truly satisfying, memorable, and possibly life altering read.
Apply this sage advice to develop the full potential of your work. Wrestle with your turkey, so to speak. Cleanse it. Rip out the innards that need to be tossed. Revise and edit your work, slipping in wisdom and discernment between the lines like sage leaves between the skin and meat. In this way, you’ll draw out the fullest potential of your work and distinguish yourself, not just as a storyteller who entertains, but a sage who brings lasting health to hearts and minds.
Journal Prompt: What is the thematic-virtue story you want to tell with your current manuscript? Does it reflect biblical values, discernment, and prudence? What sage injections between the lines of plot and dialogue should you add? What depth of meaning and purpose can you draw out to produce a healthful, lasting impression upon your reader?
The Write Spice: Writing Tips for Flavorful Words
By Kathryn Ross
Writer-speaker, Kathryn Ross, ignites a love of literature and learning through Pageant Wagon Publishing. She writes and publishes homeschool enrichment and Christian living books for home, church, and school. In addition, she shepherds writers through the steps book development and production. Her passion to equip women and families in developing a Family Literacy Lifestyle, produces readers and thinkers who can engage the world from a biblical worldview. She blogs and podcasts at TheWritersReverie.com and PageantWagonPublishing.com. Connect with Miss Kathy on Facebook.
