by Heidi McCahan, @HeidiMcCahan

When I started writing my first manuscript seven years ago, drafting a scene in one day seemed impossible. That blinking cursor was my nemesis. The only feature on my computer I despised more than that cursor was the backspace key. My inner critic was defeating my muse every single time I sat down to write. How would I ever finish a manuscript if I stared out the window for ten minutes, then plunked out a sentence, only to delete it?

Creative writing is my calling. My passion. There had to be a better way. And by better, I mean a method that didn’t leave me in tears and questioning why I ever had the audacity to call myself a writer.

The difficulty of the writing life isn’t a secret. One doesn’t have to look far to find a quote referencing the challenges facing a creative soul, but I never quite knew what to make of those insights. Kind of like I rolled my eyes when people told the giddy, newly engaged version of me that marriage was hard, or when mothers noticed my pregnant abdomen and spouted cryptic comments about the difficulties of childbirth and the exhaustion I’d soon navigate from dealing with a newborn.

Well, it turns out those pithy bits of wisdom were accurate. Sometimes marriage is hard. Caring for newborns is exhausting. And writing a complete story involved a kind of emotional and mental exhaustion I’d never known before. I just kept wondering when this would get easier? Should I try harder? Take another class? Read another craft book?

As the years have passed, both my confidence and my skills have improved. Much like a runner who trains consistently, my endurance has increased, and I just completed my eleventh manuscript.

And I still can’t stand that blinking cursor.

Choosing to write consistently will probably always be a challenge. We’re all busy and must find ways to get the work done, so I realize my struggles are not unique. I still want to be more productive and less frustrated. Now that I’m published, I’d like to stay published, so the drive to draft a new story remains strong. I’m capable of writing more than one book a year and yet I continue to be my own worst enemy when it comes to finishing the first draft.

So how can we consistently build our word count without fighting a losing battle with our inner critics?

While there’s more than one way to solve this dilemma, I recently heard about the benefits of dictation. Immediately, flashbacks of my days as an assistant for a stressed-out orthopedic surgeon resurfaced and I couldn’t imagine how dictation could be the solution. Nothing about the way he babbled into that recording device seemed fun.

Then Becky Wade wrote a blog post about how dictation had impacted her writing life, which inspired me to reconsider. At first, I was nervous. Self-conscious, really. Even though I was alone in my car when I dictated my first scene into my phone, I felt so silly. However, once I got over the awkward feelings, it was very exciting. Storytelling is enjoyable again! Eureka!

No blinking cursor.

A second tool that has helped me write more and find joy in the process is my Boogie Board Sync. It’s basically an LCD tablet that feels like writing with pen and paper. So wonderful! Battery-powered, super portable and a delightful escape from the computer.

My favorite new tool is the Nebo app, which Tari Faris and Lisa Jordan introduced me to recently. Using the smart pen on my Surface Pro, I’m able to write directly on my tablet’s screen. A click of the mouse converts my handwritten scene into text, which I paste into a Word document. Tools that mimic writing with pen and paper seem to work best for me, because that’s how I feel the most creative. The barriers to connecting with my muse are less noticeable when I have a pen in hand.

There you have it: three tools that help put the fun back in creative writing.

Happy writing!

Their Baby Blessing

The navy prepared him for anything … except an instant family.

When navy veteran Gage Westbrook promised to look out for his late best friend’s son, he never imagined he’d bond with the baby boy. And he definitely didn’t plan to fall for Connor’s gorgeous temporary guardian, Skye Tomlinson. But weighted by guilt for the accident that took Connor’s dad, can Gage find the courage to forgive himself and embrace the chance at a family?

Heidi McCahan secretly dreamed of writing a book for most of her childhood, but a particularly painful rejection letter in middle school convinced her to tuck that dream away. Instead, she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Sports Medicine from Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington and a Master’s Degree in Athletic Training from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. After a brief career as a Certified Athletic Trainer, Heidi married her husband Steve, then she dusted off her big dream of becoming a published author and launched her first contemporary romance into the world in 2014. She is a huge fan of coffee, dark chocolate, and happily ever after, and she currently lives in Cary, North Carolina with Steve, three active boys and one amazing Goldendoodle.