Today, in the spotlight, please welcome a fellow Knoxvillian, Knoxville Writing Guild Member, and A Journey of Words contributor...

M.R. Ward!

You have time to do anything.

But you don’t have time to do everything. [Click to Tweet]

The number one excuse for not doing something, achieving something, or completing something is always I don’t have time.

Time is one of the greatest levelers in existence. Everyone gets twenty-four hours per day, no matter what. How we choose to use those twenty-four hours is entirely up to us. I can spend every one of them writing, or I can spend every one of them eating chocolate popcorn while watching American Idol. Either way, the sun will set, and tomorrow will arrive.

I don’t have time syndrome takes two forms—each different, each making it difficult to get what you want out of life.

Let's have a round of applause for the man responsible for the A Journey of Words anthology. This guy is the real deal. He is a musician and the author of three novels, including Yours Truly, 2095​, which was nominated for a 2016 Hugo Award.

In addition to all this, he finds time to teach and encourage new writers. I am proud to have my piece included alongside his in A Journey of Words.

Without further ado...

Please welcome Jacklynn M Desmond!  Her story will be published alongside my own ("Bottom of the River") in A Journey of Words, a short story anthology featuring talented writers from all over the globe. The anthology will be available in paperback next month and is currently available in eBook format from Scout Media.

To reserve a signed copy, pre-order here or email me with the subject line "AJOW Pre-Order."

Please check out Jacklynn's Facebook page, and follow her writing journey!

From August 22 to October 27, I'll be featuring a different AJOW author each Monday and Thursday! This post will be updated with links to each author spotlight.

A bit about A Journey of Words:

For this review, I’m assuming you’re familiar with the desktop version of Scrivener. If not, check out my review of that program. Also, I’m working with an iPhone. I’d be interested to hear your experiences with the program on iPads!

Scrivenites have begged and pleaded for years. Give us a mobile app!

Well, the Literature and Latte powers that be have finally answered our prayers. Scrivener for iOS is here, and it’s exactly what you’d expect. Honestly, this is less of a review than it is an inside the app. Because there isn’t a lot to say about the functionality of the app I haven’t already talked about.

With that said, here are some screenshots to give you an idea of what we’re dealing with.

At the most recent Knoxville Writers’ Guild meeting, I had the pleasure of hearing screenwriter Lisa Soland speak about “What the Playwright Can Teach the Writer.” Lisa is fantastic, and I learned a lot from her. She had good tips—about writing and about life. One idea that stuck with me, though, came during her discussion of conveying meaning without explicitly saying the thing.

In other words, show don’t tell.

The example she used was from a play, in which the characters were discussing the garden, while actually discussing a miscarriage. (Sorry, I didn’t note the title.) Of course, as a fiction writer, my mind went to Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants.” If you haven’t read it, I seriously suggest it.

Lisa argued for providing information this way, rather than spelling it out. “We don’t say things,” she said. “That’s why we have therapists.”

I recently had the opportunity to “tour” Norris Dam. It was the first time the dam had been open to the public in fifteen years. I didn’t see too much of the inside—two turbines and a threatening-looking observation room—but I did get an up-close and personal view of water being released through bottom of the dam. Cue obligatory pictures.