creative writing – My Life in Paragraphs

Writing is not for Slackers

Writing is not for slackers. Even though I know lots of slacker writers. Myself, for instance.

At least lately.

The thing about writing, at least in this day and age, is that you don’t have to write. No one is making you write. There are very few real writing jobs.

Getting published is more challenging than ever. If you are serious about it, then you have to be working your ass off. Kind of literally, as it requires a lot of ‘butt in chair’ time.

And even if you do get published, odds are, you won’t make much. At least not enough to justify the time it takes to be published.

Unless you are one of the plethora of writers who also teach, edit, ghostwrite, and/or sell some kind of writing service.

Writing just because you love to? That’s fine. It’s probably why 95% of writers write.

There was a time, not that long ago, when you could write and make a little money. I remember writing articles and being paid $1200 for them! But that was before the internet swallowed up nearly all the print publications.

Back to my original point. If you want to make a living writing, you have to be willing to work hard, be your own task master, and, too often, write to the audience (or SEO).

I admire the people who are ‘writing’ for a living. I understand how much work and sacrifice it takes. They are redefining what it means to be a professional writer.

But what about the rest of us?

Here is my advice, for what it’s worth:

Write every day. Build your writing muscles. You will need their strength and their clarity.

Don’t worry too much about who will read it. Honesty placates when it thinks it’s being watched. You can’t speak truth if you are concerned about judgment.

Write from your brave heart. Don’t imitate. Don’t aim to please. Don’t worry about offending or being embarrassed or misunderstood. Those reactions are out of your control.

Use your words to make the world better. Speaking up takes courage. But it also joins hearts and comforts souls. Words can be powerful; they can lift up, and they can tear down. Use your words for good.

Use your words to find yourself. They can help you understand what you believe and what you want and who you are. Listen to your core. There is so much to learn from yourself if you let the words flow onto the page without censure.

As I said, writing is not for slackers.

I think this post may be a letter to myself. Maybe it’s a letter to you if you need to hear it.

cover of the book Live Intentionally: A daily journal for living on purpose

If you need some help clarifying your intentions –whether in your writing or your life- check out my new journal. It’s meant to be a guide, helping you clear your own path to the life you want.

Find it on Amazon in regular size and large size (for people who want more room to 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’re curious about what else I’m up to, check out my website, CaraWrites.com.

If you’d like to subscribe to my (sometimes) twice-monthly newsletter filled with book recommendations, more stories, one truly fabulous recipe, and positive thoughts, click 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 emails from readers (and writers). You can reach me at carasueachterberg@gmail.com.

My newest book is out! This one is a little different. It’s a journal (full of my writing, but inviting your writing) that shares the daily practice I’ve created over years of striving to live my days intentionally. Want to know more or get your copy? Click here.

Unlock Your Writing (and Living) Potential with Intentional Practices

Last night, I had the opportunity to speak to the Rocktown Writers Guild about what it means to write intentionally (and the TV news showed up).

I believe with all of me that if we don’t live with intention, we are missing out. Fumbling through our days on auto-pilot, reacting to what lands in our path or on our screens, is not a joyful life.

The same goes for our writing. If we don’t write with intention, our writing will not go anywhere, or at the very least, not go anywhere fast.

Are People Hearing What You’re Saying?

I’m getting a little annoyed.

Look, I love Grammarly as much as the next writer. I appreciate that it can keep me from mispelling words I have mental blocks on (like separate and congratulations), but I think it’s getting a bit uppity.

Or maybe just invasive.

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.

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.

PAUSE. BREATHE. Don’t Respond.

“PAUSE. BREATHE. Don’t Respond.”

This is a sticky note I have pasted to the top of my computer screen. I try to focus on it when I’m on zoom calls or when I read something on social media and feel the irrational urge to SCREAM AT PEOPLE (or cry).

Message from My Other Husband?

This morning, something magical happened. Maybe it was a coincidence, or maybe it was a sign. Or maybe it was a message. I’m still not certain exactly what it was. Nick thinks it was evidence of a husband I have in an alternate reality.

AI and Me (and You)

You may (or may not) have noticed that I’ve refrained from commenting or posting or engaging in discussion of AI. Initially, I just thanked my lucky stars that my kids are already grown and out of school, but secretly I really hoped this was a fad and it would go away.

It hasn’t.

Buy Me a Cup of Coffee

I only made it halfway through my Bird by Bird book club. The book sits on my desk now, taunting me. You didn’t finish, you didn’t finish, what a loser, once again, you didn’t finish. Not that, for one moment, I can imagine Anne Lamott would say that to me.

In fact, she mentions several times in the book that perfection is the oppressor. Not that only making it halfway is even remotely in the same country as perfection. Still.

The Cows Are Crying

The cows are crying. (not a sentence I ever imagined writing)

A few times a year, our little street echoes with the bellows and moans and outright wails of distressed cows. This means that one of our farmer neighbors has separated the mamas and babies, presumably so that the babies can go to be auctioned.

The sounds of the cows are heartbreaking. I doubt they know that their babies are likely destined for a slaughterhouse, but change on any level is hard.

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?