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by Linda Gilden @LindaGilden Who doesn�t love a good quote? After all, why should we try to put into words something that someone else has eloquently said? As writers, we are always looking for and finding good quotes to strengthen our books and articles. Using someone else�s words brings credibility to our work. But when is it necessary to ask permission to use a sentence or two from someone else in our writing? Some of the top questions from writers on this subject are � �When do I need permission?� �I�m only quoting a little. Won�t that be good publicity for the other person?�  �The person who originally said this is dead. So anyone can quote him or her without permission, right?� Great questions. There are several factors that enter into the answers. One of those is fair use. But who determines fair use? Unfortunately, fair use is determined on a case-by-case basis by the courts, which makes it somewhat of a gray area for writers. However, knowing a few guidelines will help us ...

by Linda Gilden @LindaGilden As I rushed to a morning meeting, I asked for God�s direction and guidance to help keep my busy writer�s life in balance. I went over all the things that were important to me�meeting deadlines, celebrating family in every way possible, continuing to build relationships with friends making sure there was enough quiet time, doing laundry and cooking meals, sleeping occasionally, and the list could go on. I knew I was not giving God any new information. He had blessed me with every wonderful item on my list. And I knew He had equipped me with the means and mentality to handle them all. So why did I feel so frequently out of balance? In our conversation, I wondered if I could somehow relax my deadlines? I know God has called me to be a writer and deadlines are just part of it. I don�t know of any publishers who would be excited about doing away with deadlines or even relaxing them! Family. No question there. Time with family and serving them cannot be compromis...

Edie here. Today I want to give a shout out to Linda Gilden and her co-author, Linda Goldfarb. Their newest book,  LINKED Quick Guide to Personalities: Maximizing Life Connections One Link at a Time , just won first place in the Golden Scroll awards. I want to say, CONGRATULATION! Writers Have to be Jugglers by Linda Gilden @LindaGilden Even if writers maintain a strict schedule and finite office hours, part of almost every day will include juggling. Why? Many writers work at home. That means the household chores beckon. If you get up from your computer just long enough to start a load of laundry but pass an unmade bed on the way or just a few dishes that need to be put in the dishwasher, your few minutes to load and start the washing machine could turn into half an hour or more of housecleaning. If a tidy house is important to you, get up early enough to put things in order before you start your writing day. Or if you are able, hire a housekeeper to keep things in order while you ...

by Linda Gilden @LindaGilden When pondering one great writing idea what�s the best thing to do? Turn it into many ideas! Last month I talked about choosing ideas form the millions that are constantly circulating around us in Swimming in a Sea of Article Ideas . But once you �grab� one of those ideas and decide that will be your next writing topic, why not turn it into multiple articles. For the sake of simplicity, let�s start with the subject of dogs. You are a dog lover and as such have decided to write about dogs. That is a very broad subject, which is a very popular subject. But before you even start to write your article you must narrow it down a bit because you could never do the tremendous subject of dogs justice in about 1000 words. Before you start to write, take a few minutes to brainstorm dog topics. Think about it this way. What would be a good starting point to write about dogs? How about starting with an article about �Dogs, Man�s Best Friend�? That may take your thought i...

by Linda Gilden @LindaGilden Recently I attended a swim meet to watch some of the grandchildren. Chatting with a few friends between events, someone asked, �How do you find ideas to write about?� �Well,� I said, �it�s kind of like all the world is a swimming pool full of ideas and at any time all we have to do it look around and pick one.� �That may work for you,� my friend said. �But I can�t ever seem to find anything to write about.� As another event for the six and under swimmers began, I said to her, �Look at this event. Some of the swimmers are just three years old. They aren�t quite ready to swim an entire lap without a lot of encouragement. In the lanes where the youngest swimmers are, a teenager is also in the water several feet in front of the swimmer coaxing him or her on to the finish. The encourager never touches the swimmer but keeps the swimmer striving to get where the encourager is.� �That�s really sweet, but what does that have to do with finding ideas?� I looked at my...