by Peter Leavell, @PeterLeavell

I broke my finger and had surgery, and need to not type for a few weeks, so my daughter Kade, age 15, took her experience of watching me write for the past 10 years and wrote a bit of advice about how to prioritize your writing:

Remember that one important thing you had to do today? You probably woke up, grabbed your cup of coffee, sat down and thought about it. Maybe it was cleaning up the house or running an errand or even making sure the dog got his walk. You probably started thinking about other things that needed to be done. Soon, your list would be full of chores you need to do, people you need to talk to, and issues you need to take care of before the day is done. In that moment of adding to your to-do list, you took your top priority of the day and threw it into a pile of other things you needed to do.  

For some people, their top priority of the day is writing. However, as they go about their day, they find things that need done before they put all their effort into their writing. Soon, writing stops being a priority and becomes another chore on their list. As writers continue with this, it becomes a habit to fit writing somewhere into their daily schedule. So, what is the solution to keeping writing as your priority?

Step 1: Get up early! If you write for just an hour or two right away, you get it done before anything else has the chance to slip into your list of the day. From there you have the chance to tackle the smaller jobs.

Step 2: Make it enjoyable for yourself. If you are dreading the idea of having to write another thousand words, make it something that you can enjoy. Put on music that inspires you, grab some M&M’s, or make yourself your favorite cup of coffee. Any little thing that makes you happy will help you look forward to writing.  

Step 3: Sometimes people start doing distracting things when their brain needs a break. Instead of stopping your writing hour to clean the house, take several five-minute breaks. This will keep your brain from getting foggy, and will help you stay focused.

Prioritizing your writing so that it’s more than a chore is important. Keep these steps in mind and write great things! That way, I have more wonderful things to read.

Dino Hunters: Discovery in the Desert

Siblings Josh and Abby Hunter don’t believe their parents’ death was an accident. After taking pictures of the most incredible find of the 1920’s—proof humans and dinosaurs lived together in the same time and place—desperate outlaws armed with tommy guns are on their tail! Only Josh and Abby know where the proof is hidden—in the canyons of Arizona’s desert. When an intruder searches Josh and Abby’s bags inside their new home, the two convince their uncle Dr. David Hunter to return to the canyon and find the pictures they’d hidden. But the outlaws are just as eager to find the proof before Josh and Abby. Can Josh use his super-smart brain to outfox the villains in time? Will Abby’s incredible physical abilities stop full-grown men? And will their uncle believe them?
Dino Hunters is an apologetics-adventure series aimed at the middle reader to help them trust the Bible from the very first verse.