Guest author Tisha Morris, Feng Shui, Writing Space, Contests

My guest author today is Tisha Morris. Her book 27 Things to Feng Shui Your Home (Turner Publishing, 144 pages, ISBN: 9781596525672, $9.99) explores 27 ways to make changes in your home that will also have a direct impact on your life.

Tisha lives in Nashville, Tennessee, where she works as a certified life coach, energy healer, feng shui consultant, and yoga instructor. After ten years of practicing law, Tisha obtained a Fine Arts degree in Interior Design. She blends traditional feng shui techniques and interior design aesthetics with healing energy. The space undergoes a transformation and so do those who encounter it.

Tisha, how can writers use feng shui?

One of the best things about being a writer is that there is virtually no overhead. All you pretty much need is a computer and some discipline. However, it is for this reason that a designated office space is often overlooked for writers, not to mention a feng shui-ed office space.

Whether writing fiction or non-fiction, blogs or books, a writer spends her day pouring herself out, emotionally and intellectually, onto paper and into the world. It can be a very vulnerable place. This is one reason why having an office space is so important and, more specifically, having your own office space – a space that is yours and yours alone without distraction.

What can writers do to make their workspace conducive to writing?

Writers usually work from home, again, thanks to the low overhead. But, finding adequate office space comes with challenges. If square footage is an issue, then home offices become an afterthought only to find themselves sharing space with a guest room, kitchen table, or the corner of the living room. And so it takes some creative planning of a space to make a home office work for writers.

The first step is to select one location for your workspace. Ideally, this is a designated home office. But, it could be a sitting chair, your bed, or the kitchen table. Whatever the space, it is important that you make this your space. In other words, this is the place you go to write. Similar to meditation, when you use the same space, it will help you drop in quicker to the flow. Also, in doing so, you are making writing a priority.

Can you give writers one more tip?

Clear Clutter. It is imperative to have an uncluttered space when writing. Our mind is directly affected by our environment. So once you designate your workspace, then declutter it. If you designate a workspace that feels good to you, you will be more likely to write, enjoy writing, and be successful in your writing.

Hummmm. I definitely need to declutter, beginning with my desk.

Thanks, Tisha. I wish you much success with your book, 27 Things to Feng Shui Your Home. Today’s blog is part of a blog tour. Tuesday, June 01, 2010 a book review by Sarah Moore and an article on writing space feng shui will be posted in Writers in the Sky Newsletter http://writersinthesky.com/ezine/news-jun10.html.

Contests:

New journal: "Published four times annually, *The Pedestrian* celebrates the variety and wonder of life, inviting readers and writers to explore more attentively the ordinary, everyday facets of their experience. We invite them to walk through familiar territory as if first encountering it. These quarterly walks take an approach different from standard intellectual publications, which race through reports, analyses, and persuasion while too often presenting multifaceted lives in mere glosses and stock narratives. Instead, we propose a leisurely saunter through our quarterly topics, equipped with an eye for detail, an awareness of the overlooked, and an empathetic curiosity about the people and the things encountered." Will publish 8-12 essays per print issue. Pays: $25-$600 on acceptance. Check the site for more information about the quarterly issues (the next deadline is April 15, 2010, for an issue with the theme of "tools"). Also look for an
announcement about the quarterly contest (which offers a prize of $500 and does not appear to charge an entry fee). http://thepedestrian.org

The Strongest Start Novel Competition 2010
1st Place Winner Receives $500 and a $2,500 Publishing Package from CreateSpace.
Enter a writing competition to see who can craft the most compelling start to a novel. Whether you write Romance, Science Fiction, Romance, Non-fiction, or some other genre, the only criteria is that you write a start that will keep us reading.
Over $3,300 in Prizes and Awards.

Contest submission deadline: June 8, 2010.
For more information check out http://www.thenextbigwriter.com/competition/index.html