I got the idea for this blog post from an author talk with Jennifer Braunfels and Jen Dupree that I attended at The Wells Library recently.
Jen Dupree mentioned the blog entitled “Writers on Not Writing” and right away I thought, “Hey! I am a writer who’s not writing!”.
I thought of it again today and then I thought, “Hey! I could change that!”
So, here I am, changing that.
Today, I am a writer who is writing.
National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) starts November 1, as it does every year.
In a nutshell, NaNoWriMo is when you commit to writing 50,000 words in 30 days, the minimum words needed to be considered a novel (according to the Powers That Be in NaNoLand).
Every year that I participate, I finish with at least 50K words.
Have you been telling yourself, “I have no time! There’s no way I can do this!”? Clearly, if you have not yet written your book, then this method is not working for you. What would happen if you start asking yourself, “How can I make this work?”
1. Decide to write your book (draft) in 30 days this November.
2. Do it!
Want help? Check out my online course (at the special price of $47 until 11.1.19–usually $97!) for how to do this: Write the First Draft of Your Book in 30 Days!
There has been a lot of great things happening on my new website, KarenCreamer.com.
If you have already signed up to follow my new blog, then THANK YOU!
But since about 1500 followers never made it over to KarenCreamer.com, I am taking a wild guess that you haven’t found my new site yet. If you didn’t receive emails that the above articles posted, then you may not have subscribed to the blog. Just click here to go to the blog page, look for the box to SUBSCRIBE TO BLOG by EMAIL section to the right of the posts, and sign up! Or, if you are already on WordPress then you can just click the blue FOLLOW ME button (in the same location). E viola!
P.S. Please read the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use when you arrive! You may even find a pop up banner tucked into the footer somewhere to accept when you get there!
Ever wonder about this Kary Oberbrunner guy?
I first met him online in a chatroom…No–wait! Kidding! I first met him online at one of the free webinars he hosted:
How to Turn a Book into a 6-Figure Business
My expectations were low. Full disclosure: I watch a lot of free webinars. I am never motivated to buy anything at the end of them. Anyway, the information that I got was so interesting and so in alignment with what I already knew and was currently doing (or trying to do), that I had to find out more about what this guy was teaching. Also, I had to find out more about this guy in general.
So I did what women everywhere have been doing since the beginning of time when they needed to find out more about a guy:
I googled him.
Not one bad thing. Not one. On the entire internet.
This led to me becoming part of the Igniting Souls Tribe, which led to me going to the Igniting Souls Conference this year.
This was a much bigger deal for me.
I was taking big risks to go to this conference!
Yep; I was feeling the fear (nod to Susan Jeffers)
In the end, though, I did the thing I thought I could not do! (Nod to Eleanor Roosevelt)
I packed up all my fears and I went to Ohio. Alone. On the plane–two planes. No, four, counting the fights home!
In the morning before the first session of the conference started, I heard a song playing over the speakers. I could feel it inside me. This wasn’t just any song.
This was one of my favorite songs in the world:
Con Te Partiro by Andrea Bocelli.
Translation: Time to Say Goodbye. And I realized that I had done exactly that. By making this trip, I said ‘Goodbye’ to my fears and ‘Hello’ to my faith and confidence in myself. When I heard this song playing, I knew I was exactly where I was supposed to be, doing exactly what I was supposed to do.
So, who is this Kary guy? He’s the guy who you can’t find anyone to say anything bad about. And at the Igniting Souls Conference, there were hundreds of people saying only good things. About him. About each other. It was one of the best gatherings that I have ever been part of. Ever.
Thank you, Kary, and thank you to all the amazing members of this tribe, in which I am blessed to be included.
I am leaving you with this, my favorite version of Con Te Partiro, which Andrea Bocelli sings with Sarah Brightman. I hope you feel it, too.
Here is a slideshow of some moments from my trip and #IgnitingSoulsConference17
October 1st! You know what that means? That there’s only 1 more month before National Novel Writing Month begins!
Are you planning to participate this year? I will be. This will be NaNo number 8 for me. I have completed the 50,000 words to win every year since 2010, and I expect this year to be no different.
Maybe you would like to win NaNo, too!
My online course just launched, How to Win NaNoWriMo. These are my strategies that I use to make sure I fit my 50,000 words into 30 days. I do things differently now than I did when I was a NaNo fledgling back in 2010.
Maybe these tips will help you, too!
I wanted to be an author for years and years. I wrote drafts and partial drafts and outlines and overviews but never turned anything into a completed draft of a book.
And then I found National Novel Writing Month.
It turned out that structure is my friend! The NaNo structure helped me get it done. The first drafts of both of my novels came from National Novel Writing Month.
All the details are here: How to Win NaNoWriMo.
Whether you want to take the course or not, I would still love to know if you are a NaNoWriMo-er. Comment below if you are! What year(s) did you win?
I began to read Michele’s story and as a woman, my heart was filled with compassion and empathy for her and the situation she was in. As an RN, my heart was filled with rage for how this patient was treated by her physician! Michele was not defined by her circumstances, 
however. Rather, she decided to educate herself and therein lay her power, and now she is offering to share her results with all of us.
One quote resonated with me very early in the book, as the author described her experience with “continual roller coaster ride courtesy of allopathic medicine,” perfectly capturing what can happen if you are not empowered with the information you need to evaluate medical information and make good, informed health care choices for yourself and your loved ones.
Many other sentences speak to my own beliefs. On page 92: “The pharmaceutical industry is not interested in your health.” Truer words have never been spoken. Also, on page 108: “The corruption at the CDC runs deep and wide and the health of the American public is not the sole priority, or even a priority at all.”
The chapters dealing with the pharmaceutical industry and vaccines will provide you with especially valuable information.
I highly recommend this book. Buy it here: Informed Consent
Spoiler alert: Cheez-its lovers, you are about to have your heart broken. J
Michele Stanford, M.Ed., CHC#InformedConsentTheBook
When I was in elementary school, I was in a new school every year.
Every. Single. Year.
No, my parents weren’t in the military. My father was disabled, and when money got tight, we got moving.
Kindergarten: The Hancock in Medford. First grade and half of second: The Emerson in Malden. Last half of second grade and third: The Parker in Billerica. Fourth: The Hajjar in Billerica. Fifth: The Davenport in Medford.
Maybe you noticed that Billerica is up there twice in a row. We actually didn’t move that year, but as luck would have it, the town built a new elementary school to accommodate its growing population and (you guess it) I was zoned to move to the new school.
Oh, happy day.
Moving can be hard for anyone at any age, and I was no exception. Every time I made a friend, we moved, and I had to begin all over again. As I got older, it seemed as if everyone was already paired up with a best friend, and had been forever. I always felt like the odd girl out. Like I didn’t belong.
And then something wonderful happened. I discovered my BFF’s in books!
Nancy Drew and Pippi Longstocking were among the first and are still my friends today.
Of course, Judy Blume’s books were part of my life back then, and the one that immediately comes to my mind when I think of that time is this one: Are You There God? It’s me, Margaret.
I have been thinking a lot lately about how reading books can help us find meaning and insight into our lives. Even in fiction–maybe especially in fiction–it’s the story we connect with, and how it resonates for us in our real lives, and through which we can find comfort and clarity.
The phrase, “Go back to go forward” popped into my head not too long ago, and it kept popping in, over and over, so I thought, hey, I have to do something with this.
About the same time, Margaret was also intruding on my thoughts.
Pretty much everyone I know that is past puberty has read the Margaret book. Maybe because I have been re-reading other books lately that impacted me, it occurred to me that it might be very interesting to re-read this particular book now. Maybe that’s why it was so persistently intruding in my thoughts. It wanted me to read it again!
And then I had another thought: maybe other women would also enjoy this.
And my free mini-course idea was born!
You can join the Facebook group now to get notified when the free course is available. As of now, I expect it to be ready on the Tuesday before Labor Day (August 29, 2017). Once it’s live, this link should work to sign up for my free mini-course, GO BACK TO GO FORWARD!
Feel free to share this with anyone else who has read this book and might enjoy coming with me on my learning curve to take this free course!
Please enjoy this month’s interview with Jennifer Davies!
INTRODUCTION
Hello everyone, I’m thrilled to be here as a featured guest in the Brave series. Thank you Karen for inviting me! A few facts about me; my name is Jennifer Davies, and I’m a fifty something mom with four boys, two cats, a dog, and a husband in tow. I have been married for twenty-one years this August to my best friend and strongest supporter. I’m originally from Wales in the UK which is why I have a funny accent, but I now reside on the East Coast of America in New England.
I have lived in North Andover for the past 14 years, and it’s a perfect distance from the city of Boston, the coast, and the mountains which I love. Living in New England has been a huge source of inspiration for me, but I find inspiration from many avenues, my family, my life, traveling and my persistence to keep writing. As a result, I always have ideas for future books.
I’m a former registered nurse/midwife. I am always battling my weight, but as I’m addicted to chocolate, it’s not a fight I will win anytime soon. I adore Grey’s Anatomy. I love yard sales and get excited at the purchase of old furniture that I can recycle. My goal is to be a NY Times best seller—one day!
MY BRAVE STORY
Well, it’s actually hard to choose which piece of my life to reveal that would showcase something BRAVE that I have done! I believe to be BRAVE you have to face something that is painful, fearful or difficult, and my life has contained many instances that would fit that definition.
Most recently, the one I still process is the loss of my mother. Even now, six months later I miss her. My mom, lived with Alzheimer’s, and had for the past almost five years. Living overseas made it difficult to provide the care I wished to, but in the early stages I could help by having mum visit through the summer and stay for several weeks at a time. As the disease progressed, even that wasn’t an option. Feeling frustrated and needing to do something, I started a support page on-line called ALZHEIMER’S SUPPORT, which still provides help to those going through the painful and heartbreaking experience.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/291824310860629/
In December 2016, my mother entered full-time nursing care and shortly after her renal disease deteriorated to the point that we knew we were entering the final stages of her life. At Christmas, my wish and prayer was to be able to care for mum in her final days. God answered in a strange way that enabled me to spend four weeks with my mum in the UK until her passing on the 29th January. Even now, I have tears as I write this because knowing your loved one is dying is devastating no matter the age or the situation. Being a former nurse, I knew what to expect to a degree, but I wasn’t prepared for the emotional trauma and loss as I watched my mum slip away.
The memories of her final four weeks are ingrained on my brain, good and bad. I remember the days that she slept, and we weren’t sure if she would make it through the next twenty-four hours, to standing next to her in the make-shift church singing hymns in shock at her complete turnaround, to holding her hand as she took her last breath. Those final hours were heartbreaking, and I have no regrets. In life, mum had always been there for me, and this was the least I could do no matter how hard or painful it was to ensure she wasn’t alone as she made her final journey onward to my dad.
All through the night there was a panic that I wouldn’t be able to face the end that I wouldn’t be able to find the words of comfort as her condition changed. In the early hours when the built up fluids became noisy, “death rattle” I lost it. Tears poured, and an overwhelming sense of panic and futility washed over me. I wanted to leave, but as I watched mum, I couldn’t let her down. I needed to be strong and to be there for her right until the end. I hated the thought of her being alone, and now, it gives me comfort to know she was surrounded by love, and her death was peaceful. My mum enjoyed a long and happy life, she was a brave woman loved by all her daughters and grandchildren. She is missed every day.
MY LIFE
My mum was always a strong supporter of my dreams to become a romance author, and her encouragement kept me going. I’m now a multi-genre author, and I’ve been writing full-time for the last eight years. Every good and bad moment of my life has helped shape me as a writer. Throughout my life, I have always been an avid reader, and from that stemmed the desire to create my own stories.
My Latest Release THE WITCH’S HEART is the second book in the Rise of Orion series.
I love to hear from readers and these are the ways you can contact me…
FB Author page https://www.facebook.com/Jennifer-Owen-Davies-YA-J-M-Davies-Adult-1421409368089313/
Website http://www.jenniferowendavies.com/
Email Jendaviesuk@gmail.com
Twitter https://twitter.com/jendaviesuk
Instagram Jengal124
Blog https://welshjensblog.blogspot.com
Thank you, Jennifer!!
Read the other BRAVE interviews here: https://kwrites.com/?s=The+BRAVE+Interview
If you would like to be interviewed for this series about something brave you have done in your life, email me at kmcwrites@gmail.com!
Okay, I am home and supposed to be writing, but I need to eat. I want something that I have here already so here’s what I’ve got:
Egg salad (Here’s my recipe)
Mix it all up.
Eat it with some chips (I am currently eating Cape Cod Salt and Pepper Kettle Chips *subject to change without notice*).
Back to writing.
Karen Creamer Author, Coach, Speaker 
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