For me, when Christmas is over, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for a fresh start. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know about you, but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m ready to pick up the publishing pieces that were left far behind during the holiday preparation frenzy. <\/p>\n
What tasks are waiting for you in your office? What new ideas have manifested with regard to your writing projects? Are you refreshed and rejuvenated after a wonderful holiday with family and friends? I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll bet you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve even come up with some new ideas for your pending story or a magazine article. Maybe you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve discovered a good book promotion opportunity.<\/p>\n
Here are my suggestions for making the most of the Christmas distraction:<\/p>\n
1: Take your holiday mindset to work with you. Perhaps you were stressing over an article earlier in the month or you were stuck on an aspect of the main character in your novel. Go back to your computer today with your relaxed holiday attitude and you may just have a breakthrough moment.<\/p>\n
2: Bring in new ideas collected throughout the holidays. Unless you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re in a coma, you can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t help but learn something or observe something new when engaged in different activities. Maybe your elder family members shared stories of your ancestors around the dinner table Christmas day. This could be the basis for an article for Nostalgia Magazine<\/em>, Good Old Days <\/em>or Reminisce<\/em>. Perhaps you enjoyed interacting with your young nieces and nephews this season and this experience provided you with new material for your nonfiction book or a new perspective for your novel.<\/p>\n 3: Was a neighbor particularly generous with his\/her time or gifts this season? Maybe you witnessed a classic case of bah humbug while shopping at the mall. Let these experiences live in your brain until you can find a way to use them in your writing.<\/p>\n 4: Just like the leftovers after Christmas dinner, treasure the memory remnants leftover from a joyous holiday and incorporate them into your writing. Write a piece featuring tips for repairing family rifts during the holidays. Create a story around a blessed moment that occurred within your circle of friends this season. <\/p>\n 5: Capture the feeling\u00e2\u20ac\u201dthe emotions\u00e2\u20ac\u201dof your holiday experience. What made you smile, cry, laugh out loud? Savor these emotions and use them to enhance your story or to write a new one.<\/p>\n 6: Review the contacts you made over these past busy weeks. Now is the time to send out that promotional material to the interested reader you met at your cousin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s party. Reconnect with the store owner who expressed an interest in carrying your book.<\/p>\n Nothing in life is a waste. You may feel as though you were ripped away from your writing world against your will just to participate in a commercial farce of a holiday. In reality, though, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been given the opportunity to stretch your emotions, experience and observe new realms and you can bring all of this back to your writing. When you can look at time away from your writing work as a gift, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll become a better writer for it.<\/p>\n For help writing your book, purchase and study my newly revised book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book.<\/em> And use the NEW Author’s Workbook<\/em>. Order them both at a discounted price: http:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/rightway.html<\/a>. For consultation or editorial help with your project or assistance with your book proposal, contact me at plfry620@yahoo.com. Learn more about me and my work at http:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/consulting.html<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For me, when Christmas is over, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for a fresh start. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know about you, but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m ready to pick up the publishing pieces that were left far behind during the holiday preparation frenzy. What tasks are waiting for you in your office? What new ideas have manifested with regard to your writing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t