Tag: encouragement

Home > ArchivesTag: encouragement

Keep Up! Calming That Sense of Overwhelm

October 12, 2026 by in category The Writing Journey by Denise Colby tagged as , ,

I was at a complete loss for what to write about this month. I wanted something different. Something witty. Something that spoke from my heart with where I am right now. But what exactly was that? What do authors, such as myself, want to read about? I don’t know about you, but I’m having trouble staying on top of writing, promoting, following, reading, and doing all the things my brain has identified as opportunities to pursue. In other words, I’m trying to keep up. And then I realized I felt overwhelmed and I needed to write out something to help me to calm that overwhelm.

denise colby writes about her writing journey on this blog including how she tries to keep up with all there is to do

What Am I Trying to Keep Up With?

Keep up with my own writing. Keep up with reading authors I enjoy and the plethera of books coming out. Keep up with all the blog opportunities, graphics I want to design, website updates I want to make, and all the other things that make being a published author entails.

Before being published I wanted to connect with published authors so badly. Have them take me under their wing, read my book, and then help me cross over into this unknown abyss. Now that I am on the other side, I understand so much more. There’s not a lot of time in the day to do all the things I want to do, let alone the things I need to do.

Question for Other Authors

Do any of you feel now that your book is released there’s this urgency to get the next book done and out to readers? Authors all around are publishing books and it’s hard to keep up. Each week there are a slew of books releasing. (Please know, I want to support everyone, but I don’t even read that many books anymore (not between research and writing ones).)

Then on top of that, I’ve been visiting book stores in my home town this week, seeing if I might be able to do a book signing in a future trip. But to not find sections where my book would fit at any of these stores seems so disappointing (historial Christian fiction). If the biggest authors in my genre aren’t on the shelves, how am I supposed to get my books on the shelf? How am I supposed to get my books in front of readers when there aren’t places to do so, along with so many books coming out every week?

It all can be a little overwhelming. And I need to find a way to calm that sense of overwhelm.

Focus on What’s Truly Important To Help Calm Your Mind

As an author, it takes so long to write a story, edit it, and then submit it and edit it some more. But you can’t really skimp on those steps. That’s what makes a good story a great book. And I want to write great books!

However, I feel as impatient as my readers. I want to know what happens to the next character I’ve introduced and who they will be paired with, and have new characters to learn about and so on and so on. I envision writing a chapter in a day, but sometimes it takes much longer than the time I have available (thanks to the day job).

But I need to be patient. Because it’s in the simmering of writing that the pieces come that make a book a great book.

I love it when a specific scene reveals a layer I hadn’t known existed that ends up being an important thread. I love writing the words of the hero declaring his feelings in a way that is uniquely his. And I love it when the heroine finally believes she’s lovable and capable of loving someone in return.

That is all in the details. And I need to be patient with being able to develop those details. And when that takes longer than I want, I then need to be patient with myself.

And in writing those words, I just calmed some of the overwhelming sensations I was feeling.

How I Just Calmed the Overwhelm

I typed in “Bible verses on patience”, several about ‘being still’ popped up. I actually used this verse about being still in my last book. And I remember writing this into my characters arc. And now, I’m feeling silly….

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret …

Psalm 37:7

It’s funny because being still is the opposite of what I feel I need to do right now. I want to write my list and start tackling every task on my to do list. Yet, when I actually sit down and write, that is sort of what I do. I’m still. I only focus on the words coming to me in that moment. Nothing else. And it is in that moment that writing is a release, or an expression, or a way to create something that didn’t exist before.

And those moments are what I love about being an author.

It’s in those moments I’m progressing, developing, and keeping up.

Finding Small Things to Help Calm The Overwhelm

Sometimes I like to step out of the frantic pace I set for myself and color. Funny thing is that helps me be still too. And that allows me to collect my thoughts, take a break, and calm the overwhelm going on inside of me. I also love to watch the colors turn into something more than just a page. The pictures comes to life for me. And that helps keep me calm as well.

Coloring page with the Bible verse Jeremiah 17:7 Blessed are those that trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. Coloring helps me be still and calm that overwhelm.

I never set out to write a post on patience. Or on being still. I just wanted to write from my heart. And maybe that is exactly what I needed to write today. About my feelings, my struggles, and something to remind me that all is okay in my world and my story world.

I hope if you are reading to this point, that it was something you needed today as well.

Thanks for reading.

Denise

Denise M. Colby bio pic

Denise M. Colby writes historical romance sweetened with faith, hope, and love. She finds history fascinating and contemplates often how it was to live in the 1800’s. Her debut novel, When Plans Go Awry, is a 2025 Carol Award finalist. Sign up for her newsletter at www.denisemcolby.com or follow Denise on Facebook, Instagram, Bookbub, Pinterest, or GoodReads.

If you want to take a peek at other blog posts Denise has written here, you can check out this link

0 0 Read more

Are You Contaminated? by Kitty Bucholtz

September 9, 2025 by in category It's Worth It by Kitty Bucholtz, Writing tagged as , , , ,

This weekend I saw some friends who moved away five years ago. What a wonderful surprise! At church, one of the pastors asked them what it was like to visit after so long, and one friend said something that made me laugh.

He said, Coming to this church, you get contaminated. People are so friendly and loving and kind, it brings out those traits in you. Then we all learn and grow together.

What a great way to look at it! Getting contaminated, but in a good way! It made me think of us. Outside of church, I’ve never known such an encouraging, helpful group of people like writers. No matter what’s happening, outside or inside our community, we end up coming together and helping each other through.

I want you to just sit in that for a moment. Think of all the writers who have encouraged you or taught you or held you together when it seemed things were falling apart. Think of all the times you’ve done that for others. This kind of contamination is our super power!

Let’s never forget it. Keeping up this strength individually and as a community is so worth it. 🥰

0 0 Read more

Attitude is Everything

November 12, 2023 by in category The Writing Journey by Denise Colby tagged as , ,

Why is attitude everything when it comes to our writing? Because it is our own choice what our attitude will be. And if it isn’t great, we have the choice to change it.

Attitude is everything quote above a pic of Yosemite Half Dome from Glacier Point created by Denise M. Colby

How we react to feedback or the different set-backs on our writing journey can make a difference. I have had plenty of negative feedback, disappointments, “where do I go from here” moments. But I’ve also encountered encouragement that has helped me pick myself up off the floor and get back at it.

In some ways, my writing journey has been a great life lesson of growth for me.

And I want to encourage you in your writing journey.

Change your attitude

My word this is year is change. One definition of change is to become different; be altered or modified. I also love the definition to replace with something else, especially something of the same kind that is newer or better. For me, attitude was part of the change I wanted to make this year in how I approached my health, my time, and my writing.

Writing is such a mental game

Attitude becomes a philosophy – if you think negatively, you will be negative. If you think positive, you’ll be more positive.

If you think you can’t do it, you won’t.

When you think you can, you will keep moving forward and not let the negativity stop you. Our attitudes in every little step will allow us to keep moving forward. 

Be willing to learn and accept feedback

Write and write some more

Try and try again.

Don’t give up.

Denise M. Colby loves to write words to encourage, enrich, and engage with others. You can find similar encouraging posts on A Slice of Orange such as meeting writing goals or when your confidence wavers, and on her own website denisemcolby.com , including a blog post about Moments of Encouragement. She also loves to write about her word of the year and share quotes that include that specific word in them. Each word builds a new layer in her writing journey (and her life). In 2022, her word was Work. This year, her word is change.

0 0 Read more

Consistently Write In Order to Meet Your Writing Goals

September 12, 2022 by in category The Writing Journey by Denise Colby tagged as , ,

Each week my progress feels limited, but add the work all up together (it’s the 37th Monday of the year) and I’m finding that consistently writing a small amount week to week is working for me. It’s fun to check in mid-year, or in this case, September, and take a peek at the goals I set for the year. Am I even close? Did I miss my mark this year? Should I give up writing? 

Blog Banner with laptop on right side, and Left side text saying Consistently write in order to meet your writing goals by Denise M. Colby

And learn I HAVE made progress.

It’s just so hard to see when we are going word by word, page by page.

Be Encouraged to Keep Writing Consistently

I want to encourage my writing friends to not give up. Set realistic goals for yourself on a week to week basis and keep plugging along. Stay steady. Be persistent.

Have I reached all my goals? No. But the year isn’t done yet. And yes, I have some far-reaching goals that can overwhelm me if I try to hurry up and get them done all at once. But this is where breaking tasks into manageable chunks help. 

Put in the work (my word for the year) and you will see results. If you are like me, figuring out what that work should be in each stage of the process can be challenging. I’m not able to focus on my writing full-time at this stage in my life, so my writing consistently has to be squeezed in between my day job and the family commitments. 

How do I do that? 

Find The Schedule to Help You Consistently Write

At first I selected a specific day and time, one day a week. But that fell through when other required events popped up. Then I tried to just touch my ms sometime during the week. Constantly touching your MS even if it’s one page at a time is better than no writing at all. But it was hit or miss how far I would get and there wasn’t any accountability to myself to keep going.

Then a door opened that was exactly what I needed (which is something that has happened a lot in my writing journey). A new critique group came along at the perfect time within one of my writing groups. Out of all the writing clubs I belong too, this was really where I needed to put in the time. But I was afraid of the commitment. Yet it’s the commitment to consistently write that helps us complete a book. So finding the way that works for you to do that is key.

So this critique group came along at the perfect time. Sure I wanted my MS completely edited and ready to pitch ASAP. But instead I’m focusing on a chapter a week, by relooking at the scenes, editing, submitting and getting great feedback. And learning how to provide feedback back to others. Which has helped in many ways as well. 

Overall, this has helped me streamline my story and make it stronger. And I’ve become a better writer. The bonus with working on this one writing task consistently every week? By the end of the year, I’ll have gotten feedback on every chapter. This was the accountability I needed.

Choose Your Own Way to Be Consistent

I’m not writing this post to encourage you to join a critique group. Maybe a critique group isn’t for you at this stage. For each writer, what helps you consistently write can be different. So know yourself. And spend some time figuring out what you need to do at this stage in your writing. What you need can change. Allow it to change. There just needs to be forward momentum (which happens when we consistently write) in order for us to reach our goals.

It’s the consistently writing, however we approach it, that counts.

Denise M. Colby loves to write words of encouragement blog posts. She also loves to write about her word of the year she chooses each year. She’s been working on her first manuscript for a long time and hopes to publish soon, since she has lots of other stories in her head waiting to be put on the page.

0 1 Read more

Mental Reset for Writers After Receiving Contest Results

May 12, 2022 by in category The Writing Journey by Denise Colby tagged as , ,

I always have to pause and reset after receiving contest results. Am I the only one who experiences this?

blog post title graphic with picture of a blank journal with hand ready to write and words underneath that say mental reset for writers after receiving contest results

Contests are wonderful ways to get feedback, get in front of agents or publishers, and stretch yourself as a writer. I have entered many and have grown as a writer because of the them. 

But every time when the contest results are out, I’m so afraid of opening up the email and reading the comments. And this year was no different. 

Last week I received my contest results email from the 2022 ACFW Genesis Contest. I did not semi-final like I did back in 2019. For a brief moment, that right there makes it hard. Did I go backwards? Shouldn’t I have not made the changes that were in the suggestions?

But alas, I can’t do that to myself.

Contest Results Do Not Tell The Entire Story

I’ve had many pairs of eyes look over my entry and the overall feedback has been positive. And as I look at the scores from the three judges, two loved it and had very little comments (one even scored it a 99 out of 100, which is something to celebrate). But the third judge. It was obvious, my style of book is not their cup of tea. And even though two out of the three were positive, it’s still such a hard pill to swallow.

Is this what it feels like to read reviews of your work?

It probably is, and maybe you have to have a mental reset after reading those too.

But keep in mind some things. What’s being judged is such a small snippet (for me it was 15 pages). Not everyone will have the same opinion (which is why there are so many different authors and books available).

So What Do You Do To Move Forward?

I’m still figuring that out. For me, I needed to give myself a few days. Then dive right back into my manuscript. Keep editing, keep writing, and work toward the next opportunity when it presents itself. Pay attention to the things where multiple people gave similar feedback. And remember the positive comments (and the fact I earned a 99 from someone!).

I even wore this shirt to help me get back into a good frame of mind.

T-shirt with the words write on

I think it’s also important to relook at the comments and feedback a few times over a period of time. Each time they sink in more. They are not as personal. And there’s something in there that you can use. After a little while, you are ready to figure out how to adapt the feedback you want to include into your manuscript.

If any of you are struggling, I encourage you. You are not the only one. And as a seasoned contest results receiver, it is never easy. But putting our work out there is never easy. Yet we trail on, because our stories are more than our feelings. They are our work (my word for the year!). And it takes work (lots and lots of work) to get them into the best shape possible before we release them.

Hang in there. Keep writing. Write On!

Denise

Denise M. Colby loves to write words that encourage, enrich, & engage. Every year, she chooses a word to focus on. Her 2021 word was Wisdom and her 2022 word is Work. She talks about how one turned into the other in her blog at denisemcolby.com. If you’d like to see more of Denise’s posts on this blog, you can check out her archives.

4 0 Read more
1234

Copyright ©2017 A Slice of Orange. All Rights Reserved. ~PROUDLY POWERED BY WORDPRESS ~ CREATED BY ISHYOBOY.COM

>