LELA House

Tag: writing coaching

  • Let’s Have an Intentional Finish to the Year

    Let’s Have an Intentional Finish to the Year

    Hi, y’all,

    How are you? Like, really – how are you?

    I’m doing well. I’m experiencing my annual shock that it’s almost the end of the year. Years go by so much faster than they used to. One day it’s mid-October, and I’m enjoying watching the leaves turn, and next thing I know, it’s New Year’s Eve.

    If the year is flying by for you (along with all those writing deadlines you’ve set, ahem), then we are in the same boat.

    I’ve invited myself to have an Intentional Finish and wrap up my writing for 2025. I’m dedicating 4.5 hours per week, over the course of 6 weeks between now (mid-October) and early December, to focus on my writing and flesh out some of the ideas I’ve been working on. And I’m inviting you to join me.

    What I’m not doing is stressing myself out or berating myself for all the things I haven’t done. I’m also not pretending like I’m going to do a lot of writing over the holidays. I’ve seen how that has worked out for me, and I’m trying something different.

    So instead, I’m focusing on what I can do to move forward in my writing in a way that works for me. In other words, I am plotting an Intentional Finish to my writing for 2025.

    In brief, Intentional Finish is 1 week of writing together (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday), then getting a professional review of what you have written, up to 5000 words – all for $250.

    You can learn more and sign up for Intentional Finish by clicking the link.

    Learn more about Intentional Finish

    If you’re like me, you were going to get yourself a little something for the holidays (maybe a few little somethings). Why not gift yourself forward progress on your writing? As they say, investing in yourself is the best investment.

    Click to sign up today to create your own Intentional Finish.

    And if you know anyone who may be interested in their own Intentional Finish, please pass this along to them.

    Until next time!

  • Tell Your Story Now

    Tell Your Story Now

    I don’t believe anyone should spew hate. We should not hold hate in our hearts, and we should not act on any hate we find within ourselves. But I do believe in the US we have the right to speak hateful things. Yes, limits exist to free speech, but simply saying something a group of people don’t like doesn’t negate a person’s right to speak those things freely. Additionally, what we say and what we believe in our hearts affect the people around us. Hate doesn’t exist in a vacuum. I am deeply disturbed by recent developments regarding our penchant for spewing hate in the US.

    First, the US was built on spewing hate. Hate is built into our foundation. Chattel slavery. Atrocities against Indigenous peoples. Rampant misogyny. I could indefinitely list instances of hate permeating the US, because the incidences of such are endless. This endless march of hatred has shaped the US, and we shouldn’t pretend that it has not. Removing images and teachings of this hate doesn’t erase it. Instead of helping us remember our sordid history and learn from it, removing uncomfortable truths from the public sphere helps us to pretend like our past didn’t happen, enables us to repeat it, and facilitates a return to a society where only wealthy White men enjoy the full rights and safeguards of US citizenship.

    Secondly, no one should die because they have said something someone doesn’t like. And no one should lose their jobs for this reason. And television shows should not be canceled for this reason. What I’m watching happen is that it’s ok for some people to exercise their right to free speech but not for others. Recent assaults on the First Amendment are disturbing, and more importantly, they are dangerous. They are leading us ever closer to an Orwellian future where “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”

    So if you have a story to tell that promotes a history that will likely be erased, tell it now. If you have a study that safeguards the lives of people whose lives seem to matter less and less, write and publish it now.

    Now is the only time in which you can do anything, and, friends, the world needs to hear from you now. That novel that’s been burning in your soul? Bring it into the world now. That idea that keeps you up at night? Bring it into the world now. That research you have pored over? Bring it into the world now.

    Take the next step and get some support for your writing endeavors. I’m here to help with Book & Writing Coaching and Life & Accountability Coaching. Click to book some time with me. And if we work together or not, please bring your art into the world now. We need it. I’m rooting for you. And for all of us.