Tabitha Caplinger's Blog: TabithaCaplinger.com, page 10

My Process (It's not just about coffee.)

Okay, so maybe it's just about coffee. After all, I don't know if a lot of words would make it onto a page without that wondrous nectar that is my sanity. But there is more to writing than coffee.There's also pajamas. I don't know that I have ever written while dressed in something other than comfy PJs or sweats. Could I? I mean, I'm sure that it's possible to get dressed and slap on some makeup and then sit down to write but what if that was the thing that would ruin it all? I'm not willing to risk it. But my writing process isn't really about pajamas or coffee.It's about intentionality, mixed with an overactive imagination and a splash of crazy.Most days I am at home with a one or both of my fabulously zany daughters, curled up in my oversized chair, coffee by my side and laptop on my lap trying not to get sucked into the vortex of procrastination known as Pinterest. When I'm successful some scenes might play out in my head while I talk myself through conversations and a few words actually get spilled onto the page.I read once that Ted Dekker, I think it was Ted Dekker anyway, has a writing goal of 2000 words a day. I laughed out loud at that because at the time I was potty training daughter number one and 2000 words all in one little day just seemed comical. But I liked the goal, I liked having something with which to gauge my success. So I thought, 'hey, I can do 2000 words a week. Maybe. Probably. Let's go for it!'That's where the intentionality comes in. Kids and ministry and marketing (i.e. getting lost on Pinterest) can all steal away time I should spend writing. (I'm going to pretend that my TV addiction has nothing to do with it because that makes me feel better, like I'm in control and stuff.) So, while I don't really make money writing right now I pretend that I do. I pretend that this is my actual career and I give it the appropriate time and energy. I make it a priority at least two days a week and when I'm in full book mode I can hit that 2000 word a week goal pretty consistently. When I can't, it's okay and I make up for it on days when my characters are behaving themselves and the story is flowing along.But getting those words on the page isn't where it ends for me. You're thinking I'm going to talk about editing and revisions and all that jazz. Nope. All that comes along eventually and I have a love/hate relationship with it. But what has become my routine is to send my completed chapter to some young ladies that have become my first fangirls. They are adorable and invested and emotional and they send me email rants about whatever I just sent them that make me laugh. Because I don't want to disappoint them, or because they have threatened me if I don't keep going, I write the next chapter. (I'd post some examples of their email responses so that you could also enjoy the fangirliness of it all but they would spoil all kinds of things for you so you'll have to wait until later for that experience.) This is how one book turned into two books which is on its way to becoming three books.All that and me acting out sword fights in my living room. (I told you there was a splash of crazy.)PS: The Chronicle of the Three: Bloodline is once again available for purchase so if you haven't already joined the world of my imagination I would love for you to check it out. It would make me happy and I would sing and dance. Then you can send me your fangirl rants too.

#TCO3Bloodline Fan Art!!!

EEK!!!The Chronicle of the Three: Bloodline rereleases in just 9 days!! To kick off the festivities I am hosting a fan art contest and the entries are in!!! I will be sharing one entry a day (starting today) across all my social media platforms. (You can find me on all social media by clicking on the little icons found all over my website.)We have 7 talented persons who were inspired by my little book and created their own personal works of awesomeness in hopes they would win book swag from me

I Wanna Be A Book Dragon.

I am not a reader. I don't do much of the reading of the books. I like more of the watching of the movies and the television. And, yes I get that I write books that I want people to read so the fact I don't read a lot is kind of weird and maybe a little hypocritical. I am working on it. It's actually one of my "year on purpose" goals, to read more fiction. (I say fiction here because I actually tend to read a lot of devotionals like Lisa Bevere's Lioness Arising which I highly recommend. So I do

Delivered By Angels

Thanks to my time at Vox Dei(my Booktrope imprint)I made some wonderful friends. I am super excited to be hosting one of them on my blog today. She has just rereleased two of the books in her series, Entertaining Angels and Before We Say I Do. On June 14th she will be releasing the third book in the series, Delivered By Angels. Here's a little bit of her heart in writing this latest book. Welcome Emerald Barnes...Delivered by Angels was a difficult novel to write. One, I was dealing with

Letter to My Teenage Self.

 Dear high school me,We are pushing ever closer to 40 and while you may think that’s really old, trust me you will change your mind when you’re my age. You will also rock your thirties so don’t stress about getting older. Also don’t stress about acne…it’s not going anywhere so you have plenty of time to be bothered by it, not care and then be bothered by it again. Besides, a pimple won’t kill you.  While we are on the stress thing, don’t stress about boys. You have never been the boy crazy type

A New Home

In April I found out I would be losing my publisher, Booktrope. (It's a not so long story that you can catch up on the details about here.)  After a few days of panic and prayer I still didn't have a plan. Would I seek out a new publisher or agent? Would I self-publish? It was a quirker. And the idea of it all hurt a little bit because I loved my Vox Dei family. (The Christian Imprint of Booktrope.)  In a social media post another Vox Deian mentioned being a partner at a new Indie Publisher. I

One + One = One. (Making Marriage Math Work is Hard)

  My husband and I just celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary in April. In some ways it feels so weird because it seems like just yesterday that we were saying I do and yet it also seems like we have already been together a lifetime. And I mean that in a good way. It's hard to remember what my life was like before him. We love each other more today then we did back then. We understand each other, and marriage, more today then we did back then too.  When you are young and in love and getting

Learning Minecraft From A Three Year Old

Let me warn you that this is not one of those posts that will change your life. But sometimes we just need to laugh a little bit and as a mom a lot of what makes me laugh comes from watching my kids. Currently I am finding a lot (lot!) of joy watching my three year old play Minecraft. She has taught me a thing or two. **You should note before we begin that I know nothing of this game on my own, so if something is incorrect take it up with the three year old. So, here are the Minecraft lessons

Breakups Are Hard

Last night I was minding my business, prepping for some pieces of the first session of our church's women's conference. I had a quick moment to myself and decided to check my email. I shouldn't have done it, it wasn't a good time for email but that little red badge icon was poking at my OCD and so I opened the app. Then I really wished I had waited until later.  At the top of my inbox was a message from my publisher. Thinking it was a standard house keeping announcement, nothing major, I began

The Imperfect Parent's Guide to Parenting

I am far from a perfect parent. (Thus the title of this little post.) I am sure there are things I do well. The days when I am full of grace and patience feel drowned by the days that I am the monster roaring 'don't make a mess'. So, maybe I am just too hard on myself and maybe I am the last person who should be writing advice on parenting. But in the spirit of living this year on purpose I have been taking a lot of time to assess myself in every area including being a mom. I think about what I