-
Newbie Author Struggles
This post may contain affiliate links. Just thought you’d like to know. Once upon a time, waiting in my inbox, I was summoned to attend a webinar on how to publish a book. I’ve always loved to write. But once I birthed my littles, helping them grow closer to Christ became my passion and I forgot all about my once favorite past time. The seminar rekindled my literary love and I felt inspired to write. Fast forward and here I sit, an author. 1 year old and growing. But the writing business wasn’t the glamour parade I’d imagined it would be. Here are my top four struggles during my first…
-
Writer Hacks (Crazy Things I Do)
The blank page aka the white nightmare. On parchment, the lines mock my lax beginnings. On the screen, the cursor blinks explicit expostulations. Like most writers, my brain is near bursting with ideas, worlds, people, and situations. Mine struggle to exit my person and live their own lives. Keeping these imaginary friends at bay tends to feed, only, my insomnia. However, when faced with time and the energy to create, these pals grow fickle and flee into the recesses of my brain. How do I get them to come out? How do I encourage them the play nicely? How do I keep them from stomping all over my compositions? Every…
-
My Official Nano 2018 Coffee
As the name of my blog suggests, I love coffee. Unfortunately, as a wife, mama, homeschooler, tutor, writer and more, the first cup of coffee I get to finish from sniffed to sipped comes during the late night hours. Thus the Late Night modifier of Coffee Moms. During an anniversary outing, I discovered my new favorite brew. Today I’m declaring it my official brew of Nanowrimo 2018. At least as far as this mom is concerned. Let me introduce you to Abide Coffee Roasters. Abide is a family run business. Their coffee yummy, satisfying, and smooth. It offers a mouthful of flavor with warm dark chocolate undertones. It inspires me…
-
Outlining Season
September is a busy month in my household. Homeschool begins, birthdays are celebrated, and tutoring goes into full mode. Little writing occurs during this very frantic month of settling in. The focus falls on routines and finding the school year’s groove. October is mostly recovery from September’s madness. But it’s also time to outline. As November comes, Nanowrimo approaches. In a few days, the writing feast will begin. 50,000 words are the goal. The time limit: the month of November. My first Nano I was utterly unprepared. I prepped out a rough outline two nights before the event. That meant I was flying by the seat of my pants. This is…
-
Dyslexia Awareness Discount
October is dyslexia awareness month. Being a family dealing with the disability, I couldn’t be left out of the celebration. Yes, dyslexia difficult to master. We have days of clamorous victory and days we’re barely staving off defeat. Reading feels impossible. Catching up is the normal. But dyslexia isn’t all gloom. The dyslexics I’ve encountered have grit. They have spunk and determination. They can see into problems and through issues without a double glance. Dyslexics are inventive problem solvers and compassionate creatives. If you have a dyslexic in your life, give them a squeeze and cheer them on. To celebrate my book Diary of a Dyslexic Homeschooler will be on…
-
Free Homeschool Inspiration
The Homeschool Parenting Summit If you are a homeschooling parent — then you can probably relate to burning the candle at both ends. And if there were more than two ends on a candle, they’d probably be burning too! Parenting children is a monumental task in itself; add in home education and “craziness” becomes an understatement. There is good news, though! You can learn to trade your parenting discouragement for courage, founded on biblical truth, and that’s what the Homeschool Parenting Summit is all about. It’s a free week-long event coming October 22-27, 2018 to help you focus on God’s simple plan for family discipleship, recharge your motivation, and faithfully take…
-
Teaching Textbooks: Our Math Time Buddy
Dyslexia is a giving disability. It gives us trouble in reading, trouble in writing, and trouble in math. This equals hands-on Mom and me schooltime, all day long. When my student was still little this was a blessing. It was a time to reassure and comfort my struggling learner. The older my student gets the more independence they crave and the more frustrated they become when they NEED mom’s help. Enter Teaching Textbooks After hours of repeated and laborious instruction in reading and writing, the last thing my mother/child relationship needs is another round in math. Teaching Textbooks works fabulously for my struggling learner. I oversee everything, from a distance,…
-
Meet Adrienne Wright
Time to say hello to this homeschooling indie Christian author. Let’s get straight into the interview. How do you find time to write? Especially with homeschool, housekeeping, work, and ‘real life’ happening all around you? I put time aside to write, just as I put time aside to homeschool, clean house, study the Word, pray, and spend time with God, spend time with my family, cook, etc. Time is of the essence and so I’ve learned to use it wisely. What are common traps for aspiring writers? Overthinking. Redundant writing. Cramming too much information into one chapter. Using Adverbs…a lot. And having trouble with Dialogue mechanics, such as; “he said”…
-
Hit Reset
Long ago, when I first started homeschooling a friend recommended I label every good day with a happy face. I grabbed that advice and ran with it. The first year of school most of my family calendar boasted drawn smiles and stickers. Homeschool wasn’t a breeze but it was snuggly and fun. Fast forward a few years later and our calendar is peppered with doctor appointments, tutoring sessions, sports meets, and AWANA nights. The happy faces haven’t just vacated our calendar but sometimes our hearts as well. Busy is as busy does. Checklists, deadlines, and other appointments can eat up a homeschool day. It’s easy to forget homeschooling isn’t just…
-
Mama’s Morning Basket
Many homeschooling families begin their day with morning basket time. What is morning basket time? It usually starts with a literal basket. Mom has packed the basket with books. She carefully selects books for spiritual growth, books for inspiration and encouragement, and books that tie family studies together. Mom rounds up her young ones, sometimes at the breakfast table and sometimes later, and they pull a book out their basket and begin the day. Some families start with a hymn of praise, prayer time , and the devotions. This moment of intentional worship creates the school day’s center and focus. It encourages bonding between siblings, between mom and child, and more…
