GUEST BLOGGER: Pamela Samuels Young

Finding Time To Write When You Have No Time

With the demands of work, family, church and community activities, you may think your goal of becoming a published author is a pipe dream. Well, you're wrong. I know from experience, that no matter how busy you are, you can find time to write if that is truly your goal.

Get into the habit of waking up early to squeeze in an hour or two of writing time. Stop complaining about the two to three hours you spend at the beauty shop and take your laptop or notepad along with you to work on your book. You can also use your lunch break to revise your manuscript and you can probably write a few pages while waiting for your kids at soccer practice. Buy an inexpensive tape recorder and instead of listening to the radio during your morning and evening commute, use the time to "talk through" your novel. With your family's support, you might even find an evening or two to run off to your local library or a nearby Starbucks for some writing time. Even if it's only an hour a week, use it.

Remember that you don't actually have to be writing to advance your novel. The next time you're in the shower or taking a neighborhood jog or walk on the treadmill, use the time to mull over the plot for your book. While you're waiting at the doctor's office or stuck in a grocery store line, do a little people-watching. Somebody is bound to resemble one of your characters. Jot down a few notes about their appearance. This is a great way to hone your character descriptions.

Try to make a commitment to write a set number of hours or pages per week. Whatever goal you set, just make sure it's realistic. Start out small and once you get into the flow of things, increase your goal. And if you fall short one week, don't beat yourself up. There's always next week. You'll have a finished novel in no time!

Pamela Samuels Young
http://www.pamelasamuelsyoung.com/

When attorney and best-selling author Pamela Samuels Young isn’t practicing law, you can usually find her penning her next legal thriller. Pamela’s fast-paced novels, Every Reasonable Doubt and In Firm Pursuit, have been described as “John Grisham with a sister’s twist!” Both books, published by Harlequin’s Kimani Press imprint, are Essence magazine bestsellers. In Firm Pursuit was honored by Romantic Times Book Reviews magazine as a nominee for Best African-American Novel of 2007. Urban Reviews.com also honored In Firm Pursuit as one of the “Best of the Best” for 2007. Her debut novel, Every Reasonable Doubt, was the first place winner in the Black Expressions Book Club’s Fiction Writing Contest. Murder on the Down Low, Pamela’s third novel, went on sale September 1, 2008. Her short story Setup is featured in the Sisters in Crime Anthology, LAndmarked for Murder. A desire to see engaging female and African-American attorneys depicted in today’s mainstream legal fiction motivated Pamela to start writing despite a busy legal career. Pamela is an in-house employment attorney for a large corporation in Southern California, an adjunct professor at the University of Redlands’ School of Business and the legal columnist for Global Woman magazine. She still finds time to serve on the Board of Directors of the Southern California Chapter of Mystery Writers of America. Pamela earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Southern California and her master’s degree in broadcasting from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.

After spending several years as a television news writer and associate producer, including stints at WXYZ-TV in Detroit and KCBS-TV in Los Angeles, Pamela took a break from the news business to serve as a Coro Foundation Fellow in St. Louis, Missouri. Pamela later returned to school and earned her law degree at UC Berkeley’s Boalt Hall School of Law. She practiced law at the Los Angeles office of O’Melveny & Meyers for several years and served as Employment Law Counsel for Raytheon Company. The Compton native served as legal consultant to the Showtime television series, Soul Food and is a frequent speaker on the topics of self-empowerment, diversity and pursuing your passion. Visit Pamela’s website at www.pamelasamuelsyoung.com.

Murder on the Down Low

A high-profile lawsuit erupts into chaos, revealing its place in a larger spree of violence in this scandalous tale of lust, lies, and vengeance. A brazen gunman is targeting prominent African American men on the streets of Los Angeles, and police are completely baffled.

At the same time, savvy big-firm attorney Vernetta Henderson and her outrageous sidekick, Special, lead the charge for revenge against a man whose deceit caused his fianceé's death. For Special, hauling the man into court and suing him for wrongful death just isn’t good enough. While she exacts her own brand of justice, a shocking revelation connects the contentious lawsuit and the puzzling murders.

ISBN-10: 0981562701
ISBN-13: 978-0981562704