Lisa A. Wroble's Blog: With a Writer's Eye, page 4

Writing Routine

Ilove my routines — especially when they relate to writing. At the beginning of every new semester or session of writing workshops, it can be a struggle to settle into a routine. I’ve learned to give it time to settle because I know that routine ensures my creative habit.

When paradise weather sets in, I begin my day with coffee and my journal on the lanai. The scenery inspires me and I enter “auto-gratitude” mode which is a great way to begin each day. The journaling is a warm-up for writing...

All Things Writing

Looking for tips about writing? See my blog at the Word-Coach.com or click here.

Recent topics include: Recharging Stalled Writing, Breaking Writer’s Block, andSetting Goals instead of New Year’s Resolutions.

If you want to knowhowand what I read in my free time and how I incorporate that into my writing workshops, see my Goodreads page.

Filed under: Books, coaching writers, craft, Writing Tagged: good reading, other blogs, Word-Coach

New Year’s Gratitude Walk

With the same eagerness and excitement that sends me to the foot of the sparkly, light wrapped tree on Christmas morning, I wake on the first day of a new year eager for my gratitude walk. It’s simply wandering through my home and giving thanks for everything in my life. It’s about taking time and allowing photos, knickknacks, and other mementos to trigger gratitude for the life I have today.

I begin outside, and move indoors, then eventually to my journal and reviewing past entries. Sometimes...

Survival of the Technologically Savvy

Finally! Success.I’vebeen playing with the gadgets and accessories I received for Christmas. Someday soon I’ll “get” how to sync my PC docs with iCloud. (At the moment, it’s just easier to e-mail them to myself because I love iAWriter and don’t use DropBox.)

And, who imagined using Bluetooth could be so easy–and so much fun? The one problem I’m encountering with this new technology (well, other than figuring out how to get my devices to recognize it–don’t bother reading the instructions becaus...

The “Read” Not Taken

Who got Kindles, Nooks, or iPads for the holidays? It’s time to load them with e-books and apps (and I’ll be offering my latest Kindle book free in the next few days). I never thought I’d read e-books; now I’m seriously considering writing more of them. The possibilities (for my background) are numerous. One of the big features is the option to publish shorter pieces, advice, nonfiction, fiction, etc.

Several of my traditionally published books also have e-book versions; in fact, my Kids Throu...

Appreciating Spontaneous Moments

It should have been easy. I wrote about showing gratitude and decided to tweet something I was grateful or thankful for at least once each day until Thanksgiving. It was only 10 days.Wow! Not so easy. Because I was tweeting it, the first things that came to mind seemed so silly. “I’m thankful for my family,” “I’m grateful for the tiny little things that most of us take for granted everyday.” Duh! I wanted to think bigger, so I focused on my students instead of family. (Hey, it was a start!)

In...

Testing Ingredients. Discarding Scenes

In addition to writing, I enjoy a variety of creative endeavors. Sewing, watercolor painting, counted cross stitch, crafting, making scrapbooks and collages are just a few. I also like to get creative in the kitchen. I find a lot of similarities between writing and cooking and baking. Perhaps because I like to alter recipes as I cook. I call it “editing” recipes as I adapt them to my taste. Also, as I chop and pare, slice and mix, my mind is engaged on following a recipe while it is also plot...

10 Days of Gratitude

My favorite holiday is coming up. No, not Christmas; Thanksgiving. As a younger member of a large family, Thanksgiving was a time to come together, catch-up, and share what we were thankful for. I enjoyed keeping nieces and nephews amused while my mother and sisters prepared our wonderful meals.

Yes, meals, plural. We ate — all day long — first a huge Thanksgiving breakfast, then an mid-afternoon turkey dinner followed in a few hours with pie and later in the evening the first of the turkey sa...

Listening to the Silence

It’s the beginning of the first full week of a new month. I actually remembered to turn my clocks back, a miracle actually. (I’m usually one of those people who forget and one year I set it forward in November. That was embarrassing when I showed up really early for work!!)

Anyway, though the clocks back to the regular time, my body still isn’t. When I got up super early this morning it was foggy. I like to see the trees and pond through the fog and then watch as the “cloud” lifts. I make a no...

Permission to be Playful

This has been a busy week (well, month and year, too) so I’m pleased that I’ve managed to keep juggling everything. In fact, it feels like an accomplishment to move from project to project and workshop to workshop. Yes! Ican do it all and have fun too!

I can’t do this without a good planner, so I’ve been looking for a solution. Something better than I’ve used in the past; something inspirational. I think I’ve found it. At least, I found a site last week that looks promising: Bloom: grow-your-j...