writing books – My Life in Paragraphs

Writing Discipline in the Chaos of Life

It’s summertime and the living is not so easy, at least in this foster dog home.

With my office cottage filled with three dogs and three puppies, plus a serious medical (possibly hospice) foster dog, my office cat Hazel, and I are both overwhelmed by the dogs, their needs, and their noise.

Which means that I am not getting a lot of writing done. Sigh.

I seem to get myself into these situations on the regular. I’m writing this from a dog bed, where I’m sitting with my Lima Bean, my foster dog who is struggling with advanced heartworm disease in addition to other serious health issues.

There are moments when I’m overwhelmed at all of it – the foster dogs, the nonprofit, our dog-friendly rental business, my writing career (or what’s left of it), and being there to support my family and friends (plus my own three dogs), not to mention my gardens (which so far this year are glorious!).

But then I consider all that is happening in our world, and remind myself that my overly full life is just so rich and I am just so dang lucky.

I used to say ‘blessed’ but I’ve grown to see that word differently these days, figuring that if I’m blessed, does that mean someone who doesn’t have as much is not blessed?

Why would I be blessed, and someone else not? I’ve never cottoned to a God who plays favorites.

I’m where I am because of circumstance, the work I’ve put in, and the decisions I’ve made. But I do believe there is also some luck, or maybe, timing, to it.

One thing I’ve learned after writing eight books is that if you wait until you have time to write, you’ll never get anything written. Which is why I’m here in this dog bed with this needy dog, finally creating a blog post.

When I have the opportunity to teach writing or coach another writer, I always advise them to ‘just write.’

Every day.

And I know there are lots of writers who pooh-pooh that advice these days, but I don’t think there is any other way to make progress. Everyone can write something, every day, even if it’s just a sentence. In fact, one-sentence journals make great stories.

So, having offered excuse after excuse for not finishing writing project after writing project in the last six months, I’ve decided to take my own medicine. I ~~plan to~~ will write every day.

Even if it’s just a blog post written from a dog bed. Even if it’s just a journal entry. Even if it’s just dictating something in a note on my phone.

No one else is going to create the time for me to write. Only I can do that. So, when I finally opened up a document to work today, and I heard Lima Bean whimpering, I unplugged my laptop and moved camp. Now, she is comforted by my side, and I am actually writing!

If you told yourself, ‘this summer I’m going to make time for my writing’ or if last January, you resolved to get something written this year, this is your wake-up call.

Carve out the time and space to write. Your soul needs it.

And maybe this world needs it. But if you find another (good) excuse today not to write, you’ll never know.

Just write.

Hey, thanks for reading. I know you’ve got lots of options, so thanks for sharing a few of your minutes with me.

Honored,

Cara

If you like what you read and want to support my writing, consider buying me a cup of coffee.

If you’re curious about what else I’m up to, check out my website, CaraWrites.com.

If you’d like to subscribe to my twice-monthly newsletters filled with book recommendations, more stories, one truly fabulous recipe, and positive thoughts, click here.

Who Will Let the Dogs Out book written by Cara Achterberg

My newest book is out! You can order a copy and support the work of Who Will Let the Dogs Out, by purchasing one directly from us here.

If you’re a dog lover, check out my other blog, Another Good Dog. And if you want to know what is really happening in the animal shelters in this country, visit, Who Will Let the Dogs Out, and subscribe to the blog I write there.

I’d love to connect with you on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or Substack, and I’m thrilled to get email from readers (and writers), you can reach me at carasueachterberg@gmail.com.

My latest novel, Blind Turn is a mother-daughter story of forgiveness in the aftermath of a fatal texting and driving accident. It won the Womens Fiction category of the American Writing Awards. Learn more about it and find out how to get your copy here.

New Book Coming in 2025!

Finally! After a three year drought, I have a new book coming out in 2025! And this one was sure worth waiting for.

Note: Maybe this is old news because you follow me on Facebook or subscribe to Another Good Dog. So if that’s the case, you have my permission to skip this blog post. Or you can read it again because, hey, this is good stuff and there’s dog pictures!

My newest book is a little different. It’s a passion project, for sure, and it’s been five years in the making. It’s also a nonprofit venture.

The Long and Winding Road to Publication

My most recent novel, Blind Turn, has had the longest and most winding road to publication of all my books. I looked back through my files to try to figure out when I started writing it – as best as I can tell, I began writing it in 2010.

I was inspired to think about this because it was chosen to be the Ereader News Book of the Day for this Friday, August 30. For one day it will be just 99 cents!

So, if your reason for not buying a copy has been that you don’t want to spend the money, here’s your chance to get an e-copy for less than a dollar. There’s not much you can buy for less than a buck these days, so I hope you’ll take a chance on me..]

Back to my long and winding story, which I’ll try to keep brief by sharing it in a timeline:

Setting is Real (Bird by Bird Book Club)

The next chapter in Bird By Bird is titled, “Set Design”, or in other words, setting. Setting is critical, but it can also be nauseatingly overdone (and underdone, as my sad story will reveal).

The reader needs to be able to picture your characters somewhere. And not just somewhere, but in what kind of weather? What time of day? What season of the year?

Characters: What They Reveal about Us (Book Club Four)

I love this chapter on Characters. Lamott connects it seamlessly to the preceding chapter by saying that characters develop just like polaroids, as you write your story, coming into focus the further you go.

That’s always been true for me. I love being surprised by my characters. Sometimes they don’t turn out to be anything like I first imagined they would be. As my story unwinds, my characters come to life.

Lamott says, “You are going to love some of your characters, because they are you or some facet of you, and you are going to hate some of your characters for the same reason.”

Let’s Write Together

I’ve often said that as a writer, I wish I had a boss. Or maybe a coach. Someone to give me a little direction, listen to my dreams and guide me toward them, and offer accountability.

Because here’s the thing—accountability is an energy source. It can be the motivation you need to follow through on that big idea and move forward with your dreams. It’s pretty easy to let your goals languish if you’re the only person paying attention to those goals.

One of my superpowers is encouraging others. I thrive on the opportunity to teach, inspire, and help other writers. Between the pandemic and our move to a new state, I haven’t had many opportunities to work with others and I miss it.

My new program is called Write Together, and my goal is to help you move toward your goals with practical ideas and tools you can put into action, helpful (compassionate) critique, and the encouragement you need to believe in your writing and send it out into the world. I’ll offer practical, personalized advice and resources from my two decades of publishing experience in multiple formats.

So whether you’re working on a book, a blog, an essay, an article, or your own journal, I want to help. If you’re still sorting out what kind of writer you want to be when you grow up (no matter your age), you want to start a blog or a freelancing career or find a home for your essay, or you just need a fresh pair of eyes on something you’ve been working on for years, consider joining me for this inaugural Write Together session.

Write Together (beta) is a flexible 4-week coaching program that begins with an initial call to talk about what you want to accomplish over your four weeks. After that, for four (flexible) weeks, you’ll get:

Critique/feedback on 5 pages of your writing (could be pages of a work-in-progress, an essay, a synopsis, query letter, fiction, nonfiction, memoir, pretty much anything except poetry and children’s books of which I have no experience)
A 30-minute call in to talk about your week’s writing, your progress toward your goals, questions you have about any aspect of writing (craft, publishing, etc.), plus the piece of writing I critiqued, and then we assign the work you’ll do before our next call.
Access to a private Facebook group with other people also in my Write Together coaching group where you can share your questions, fears, and ideas, and encourage each other. I’ll pop in occasionally with my two cents, plus share links to resources you can use to improve your craft or discover places to submit your work.

You can choose any four weeks between 10/29 and 12/22, and they don’t have to be consecutive. If you’ve got a conflict, we can work around it. I’m all about flexibility.

Cost is just $100 for the entire program.

If you need a jump start, I’d love to be that for you. If you need help clarifying goals, finding a market for your writing, fine-tuning, or even ugly editing, I’m your girl. And if what you really need is some encouragement and inspiration, I’m all in – that’s my brand and I’m excited to apply it one-on-one.

If you have questions about any of this, please fire away in the comments. If you’re asking, so are others. You can also email me at carasueachterberg@gmail.com or message me on Facebook (@CaraSueAchterberg).

But please don’t wait. I’m only offering Write Together at this price for my beta launch. In 2024, I hope to expand on this and be able to help more people reach their writing goals.

Hey, thanks for reading. I know you’ve got lots of options, so thanks for sharing a few of your minutes with me.

Honored,

Cara

My latest novel, Blind Turn is a mother-daughter story of forgiveness in the aftermath of a fatal texting and driving accident. Learn more about it and find out how to get your copy here.

If you’re curious about what else I’m up to, check out my website, CaraWrites.com.

If you’d like to subscribe to my occasional e-newsletter, click here.

And If you’re a dog lover, check out my other blog, Another Good Dog. And if you want to know what is really happening in the animal shelters in this country, visit, Who Will Let the Dogs Out.

I’d love to connect with you on Facebook, twitter, or Instagram, and I’m thrilled to get email from readers (and writers), you can reach me at carasueachterberg@gmail.com.

My book, 100 Dogs & Counting: One Woman, Ten Thousand Miles, and a Journey Into the Heart of Shelters and Rescues is available anywhere books are sold, but if you’d like some help finding it (or want to read some lovely reviews), click here.

Impact Hour

I listen to podcasts or audiobooks pretty much every day – while walking, doing puzzles, or driving (three activities I seem to spend a lot of time doing).

I’ve gotten addicted to a podcast called Primal Potential. I found it because I was trying to figure out how to lose the menopause/COVID/drinking-too-much-wine-weight that is not going away even though two out of those three causes have.

A Game of Inches

I was recently reminded of the value of taking little steps to achieve a big goal. If you’re a football fan, you are probably familiar with the phrase, “It’s a game of inches,” made popular by a screaming Al Pacino in the 1999 film, Any Given Sunday.

I truly believe that writing is also a game of inches. That’s how I wrote my very first novel. I had no idea what I was doing and it would be another ten years before that book actually became a published novel, but I started by simply telling myself to write a few paragraphs every day.

Writing a book seemed impossible, even writing a chapter, but a paragraph? I could do that.

Did You Make It?

It’s down to the wire now on my Goodreads goal. How about you- will you make it?

Last year, I upped my Goodreads goal number to 100 books this year. (and for those of you uninitiated, if you are on goodreads, you can set an annual goal and Goodreads will track your progress all year, letting you know if you’re on track to reach your goal).

I raised my goal this year because I wanted to challenge myself to read more and mess around on my phone less. I’ve still got six books to go, but I’ve got three weeks (and four books in progress) so it seems doable.