Blog

I Write

Posted on by Katie Ganshert

I spent much of my childhood laying in bed, scratching unfinished stories into notepads. I’d read them to my parents. They’d listen and smile.

People would ask, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”

I’d hold my pencil to my chest and say, “A writer.”

But then I got older. And I read a short story written by one of my high school classmates. It was good. Really really good. It was the first time I remember thinking, “I can’t do that. I can’t write like her.”

People would ask, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”

I’d hide my pencil behind my back and say, “I’m not sure.”

I graduated and went to college. A place where being a published author was a cute kid’s dream, but not realistic as an adult.

People would ask, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”

I’d stare at the pencil on my desk and say, “Maybe a teacher.”

Then I went to Africa and words piled high in my chest. A great flood of words. A story that needed telling. So I picked up the pencil and let them spill onto the page. And afterward, I felt good. I felt like that little girl laying in her bed. A little girl with stories to find.

People would ask, “What will you do when you graduate?”

I’d blink at the pencil in my hand and say, “Oh. Right. I’m going to teach.”

But the stories wouldn’t leave. I had to get them out. So I did. I wrote them. I wrote them and wrote them and wrote them. When I told people what I was doing, I’d occasionally run into a curious look.

That’s….nice, their looks would say.

Those looks reminded me of that girl’s short story in high school. The one I wasn’t talented enough to write.

But the stories still came. Despite my fears. Despite my doubts. They came. And somewhere in the middle of all that writing, I stopped caring that I wasn’t the best. That this might not be realistic or practical. The joy of putting words on paper drowned all that other stuff out.

So now, when people ask, “What do you do now that you’re all grown up?”

I clutch my pencil to my chest and say, “I write.”

Let’s Talk: What stops you from chasing your dreams? What do you want to be when you grow up?removetweetmeme

A Social Media Plan

Posted on by Katie Ganshert



I don’t mind when you’re working on your writing. But when you’re Twittering or emailing, sometimes that bothers me.

These words came from my husband a couple months ago. A husband who is ridiculously supportive and excited about my writing career. A husband who would do the laundry, shop for groceries, and cook dinner all so I could have some extra time to write.

But when he came upstairs and I was busy getting my Tweet on, that bothered him.

You see, two months ago, writing to him, meant…..well, writing. Pounding out the words on my latest manuscript or marking up the pages in red pen.

Writing did not mean replying to people’s status updates.

And if I’m being honest, spending the precious little time I did have on social media always left me feeling guilty.

Until I met Kristen Lamb. Well….I didn’t actually meet her. I read her stuff. And she said, “If we are just goofing off and sending people farm animals, then yes, we are goofing off. But if we are blogging and spending time on Twitter and FB networking with other writers, published authors and people in the publishing industry, that is called marketing.”

Marketing.
 
But wait a minute. Marketing intimidates me. I don’t know how to market. But chatting on Twitter and connecting with others on Facebook? That’s fun. I like doing that stuff.
So is it really marketing?
 
Kristen would say yes. As long as we’re being intentional about it.
 
So here’s my question for you: How intentional are you when it comes to social media? Do you have a plan? Or are you just winging it?
 
Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for winging the less important things in life. But let’s not wing social media.
 
Because love it or hate it, social media is an integral part of being a successful author. It’s the way we connect with others, establish our brand, and learn more about the industry. Used intelligently, social media can be a huge ally.
 
This is what I explained to my husband. This is what I explained to my guilty conscience.  
 
Once I got that out of the way, I made a plan. Maybe you would like to make one too. In that case….
 
First things first. Repeat after me.
“This is part of being an author…..this is part of being an author….this is part of being an author….” Repeat until you start to believe it.

Second, carve out time.
We carve out time to write, right? Why not do the same for social media? It doesn’t have to be a huge time block, or even a medium-sized time block. But we should make purposeful time for it. We should make it a habit. And maybe, by giving social media its own slot, we will be less inclined to let it bleed into our writing time.

Third, write goals.
Twitter goals, blogging goals, FB goals, and any other type of social media goals. What do you hope to accomplish through each of these? How will you measure success? There’s not a right or a wrong answer to these, but how you answer them should affect how you use social media.

Fourth, strategize. 
What steps can you take each day to accomplish these goals?

Fifth, observe, copy, but be yourself.
Look at authors who use social media effectively. See what they do that works and copy them. Only make sure you’re being you. Copy their methods, not their personality.

Sixth, read Kristen Lamb’s book
Are You There Blog? It’s Me, Writer. Truly, if you want to laugh out loud while learning how to take full advantage of social media and create a killer plan for yourself, then there is no substitute for reading Kristen’s book. I finished it in two days and I can’t even tell you how much I learned.

Let’s Talk: How intentional are you when it comes to social media? Any tips you want to share? Do your loved ones have a hard time understanding why you need to spend time Tweeting? removetweetmeme

Increasing Your Productivity

Posted on by Katie Ganshert

My students surprised me on Thursday. They made me a really touching power point and they all brought flowers (hence the picture). I about cried. It was the sweetest thing. Especially since they organized it on their own.

Anyway, I’m leaving.

I’m setting out on a new adventure.

Today is my last day in the classroom.

Maybe temporarily. Maybe permanently. Who knows. The fact is, when August rolls around and my coworkers and friends are getting back into the classroom, putting up bulletin boards and figuring out class lists, I won’t be joining them.

It’s bittersweet.

I’ll miss the students. I will really miss the students. Especially this year’s class. A class of writers and goofballs. Kids with quick smiles and contagious laughs. They wound their way into my heart in such a deep way.

But I won’t miss all the other stuff that comes with teaching.

And I absolutely won’t miss being away from home nine hours out of the day. I will love, love, love having more time being a wife, a mother, and a writer. I will love having more time, period.

However, the other day, my dad and I were having a conversation that made me pause. Reflect. We were talking about retirees and how they often feel like they have less time than they did when they worked. They experience a sort of where-has-this-day-gone phenomenon.

I’ve been thinking about that phenomenon. Stewing over it a bit. Trying to figure out how this could be. How could having more time make a person feel like they have less? Here’s what I came up with:

Sometimes, having more time makes us less disciplined. And being less disciplined affects the way we use our time.

Sometimes, having more time makes us take that time for granted. And taking our hours for granted affects how productively we use them.

This makes sense. I mean, as a full-time working mama who also writes, I had to squeeze the most out of every minute. I had to be diligent. Incredibly disciplined. Now, there will be that temptation. That temptation to sit back and say, “I’ve got all the time in the world. Why not relax?”

I don’t know about you, but I want to fight that temptation. I want to make sure I don’t find myself at home, getting less done than I did when I worked as a full-time teacher.

So I’ve come up with a game plan. Four things I plan to do to make the most of my time:

Protect the time I’ve always had.
Just because I don’t have to be somewhere, doesn’t mean I should get up later. My writing time has always been in the morning, before my son wakes up. I’m not going to change that now. My alarm clock will beep at the same time it always has.

Make and stick to a schedule.
I’m a fan of schedules. It’s the teacher in me. It’s the mother in me. It’s the control-freak in me. Whatever it is, I like them. Schedules offer a sense of security and bring order to the day. They ensure that there is a time to play, a time to nap. A time to clean, a time to cook. A time to read, a time to write. Anybody feel like they’re reading Ecclesiastes?

Write short and long term goals.
I’m also a fan of goal-setting. They give me purpose and focus. The biggest thing I’ve learned, when it comes to goals, is to physically write them down. Not just think them. But write them. So I’m going to buy a notebook and record all my goals in one place.

Assess and adjust.
Just like a good little teacher checks in with her students and adjusts her instruction as needed, I need to check in with myself and adjust my routine and habits as needed. How am I doing as a wife? As a mother? As a writer? Where am I dropping the ball? How can I improve?

I’m going to cling tightly to these four tips and hopefully, I won’t find myself saying, “Man, I should have all this extra time. So why does it feel like I have less?”

Let’s Talk: Do you find that the more time you have, the more lax you get about getting things done? Any tips for me or others who are making similar transitions?removetweetmeme