Guest Author: Leeann Betts

Writing on a Deadline

Just when you think things can’t get any busier, they do—you have a deadline to produce a certain number of words by a certain date. Maybe you’re under contract for a book. Maybe it’s a magazine article, a devotional, or even a simple blog post like this one.

And yet that date looms like a guillotine over your head.

You sit at the computer and will the words to come. But they won’t.

Maybe if you watched some television, that might get the creative juices flowing. But it doesn’t.

Perhaps a walk around the block. An hour later you limp home after twisting an ankle stepping off the curb. Ice the swelling. Then heat. Then a nap. Then –

Wait a minute. What about that deadline.

Back to the computer. Sit in the chair. Stare at the screen.

Nothing.

Now what?

Now is the time to do what you should have done the first time you sat down.

Pray.

Yes, you read that correctly.

Pray.

This is my favorite version: Lord, give me ears to hear the words You dictate. Let me transcribe this story/blog article/devotional/poem for You. And thank You for letting me be the first person to hear these words. May Your words change me first, and then change others. Amen.

Not only is this prayer on target, it also reminds me who is the Boss. This prayer humbles me to my rightful position. And being a transcriber is biblical. Even the Apostle Paul says he had scribes who wrote for him.

That’s our job. That’s our goal. Write the only story worth telling, from the One who is the creator of story.

And by the way, once I have my priorities right, it’s not a deadline; it’s a lifeline.

About BROKE, BUSTED AND DISGUSTED

Wherever you find Carly Turnquist, trouble is sure to follow.

At least, that's what her husband Mike says.

Back in Bear Cove, Carly's best friend is being courted by a smarmy stranger, and Mike's latest client is unhappy with him.

When the client turns up dead and Mike is nowhere to be found, the police suspect him, and the video and paperwork they have that shows someone matching Mike's description maxed out their credit cards and cleaned out their bank accounts is compelling.

But Carly knows her husband couldn't kill anybody.

Could he?

About Leeann

Leeann Betts writes contemporary suspense, while her real-life persona, Donna Schlachter, pens historical suspense. She has released five titles in her cozy mystery series, By the Numbers. In addition, Leeann has written a devotional for accountants, bookkeepers, and financial folk, Counting the Days, and with her real-life persona, Donna Schlachter, has published a book on writing, Nuggets of Writing Gold, a compilation of essays, articles, and exercises on the craft. She publishes a free quarterly newsletter that includes a book review and articles on writing and books of interest to readers and writers. You can subscribe at www.LeeannBetts.com or follow Leeann at www.AllBettsAreOff.wordpress.com All books are available on Amazon.com in digital and print.

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