Ask the Author: Heidi Siefkas
Answered Questions (6)
Heidi Siefkas
Life's good times and good stories inspire me to write. I believe that every occasion in life can be classified as a good time or a good story. Most of the belly-aching stories weren't necessarily good times in the moment. However, those are the tales that we continue to tell around a campfire, bar, or Girls Night Out.
Heidi Siefkas
Write as often as you can.
Even if you can't write just right that second because of the kids, work, or your significant other, keep a collection of great topics, titles, or themes in your Smartphone or a small notebook. It is your to-write list.
My to-write list included both When All Balls Drop (September 2014) and With New Eyes (September 2015).
Even if you can't write just right that second because of the kids, work, or your significant other, keep a collection of great topics, titles, or themes in your Smartphone or a small notebook. It is your to-write list.
My to-write list included both When All Balls Drop (September 2014) and With New Eyes (September 2015).
Heidi Siefkas
The freedom to teach and inspire without walls.
Heidi Siefkas
Writer's block is a hurdle. Just like every one of life's hurdles, you must take a moment to get away, clear your mind, and rethink the situation. I use the take-away of my first book, Look Up, to deal with writer's block and my daily hiccups in life.
Look Up stems from the power of perspective and has two major components:
1) Be aware of your surroundings, appreciating the beauty as well as hazards. In essence, be in the moment and mindful.
2) Spin each situation positively. Although at first some circumstances appear negative, they are all opportunities. There are no wasted experiences. All wounds, hiccups, and hurdles turn into wisdom.
For writer's block, I look up and get away from my writing area. Typically, I do physical activity whether a hike, walk, or a ride in my kayak or SUP, which puts me in the moment, sweating, aching, and breathing fast. This gives me the perspective needed to continue writing. Some of my best writing has been developed on a spin bike or treadmill. Writer's block has an upside. It gets me active; plus, I gain perspective.
Look Up stems from the power of perspective and has two major components:
1) Be aware of your surroundings, appreciating the beauty as well as hazards. In essence, be in the moment and mindful.
2) Spin each situation positively. Although at first some circumstances appear negative, they are all opportunities. There are no wasted experiences. All wounds, hiccups, and hurdles turn into wisdom.
For writer's block, I look up and get away from my writing area. Typically, I do physical activity whether a hike, walk, or a ride in my kayak or SUP, which puts me in the moment, sweating, aching, and breathing fast. This gives me the perspective needed to continue writing. Some of my best writing has been developed on a spin bike or treadmill. Writer's block has an upside. It gets me active; plus, I gain perspective.
Heidi Siefkas
I’m currently rereading my journal entries from 2010-2011 for my sequel to When All Balls Drop. It will pick up where the first in the series left off. I will return to my roots in small-town Wisconsin. It will continue to South Florida where I started to rebuild my life. It includes a crucial therapeutic walkabout to South America. Its main theme describes the healing components of travel whether to a foreign place or somewhere as familiar as your hometown. The perspective gained from getting away completed my life change sparked by the tree in 2009.
I plan on releasing my next book in the fall of 2015. Until then, I will be promoting When All Balls Drop in Florida, Wisconsin, Kauai, and Massachusetts. You can check out my events on www.heidisiefkas.com and my Facebook page. Don’t worry! If you are in remote area, you can attend one of my virtual events.
I plan on releasing my next book in the fall of 2015. Until then, I will be promoting When All Balls Drop in Florida, Wisconsin, Kauai, and Massachusetts. You can check out my events on www.heidisiefkas.com and my Facebook page. Don’t worry! If you are in remote area, you can attend one of my virtual events.
Heidi Siefkas
In fall of 2009, I was visiting New York’s Hudson River Valley when in a split second, a thousand pound tree limb struck me, breaking my neck and leaving me unconscious for days. After neurosurgery and release from the hospital for a multiple month recovery far away from where home was at the time, South Florida, I also discovered my husband had been living a double life. If that wasn’t enough, I received a call from my employer forcing me to resign, thus losing my professional identity. It was a triple whammy of loss. During this time, I was writing in a journal. It was my therapy as well as walking. Through my writing and walking, I gradually reframed my circumstances. I decided that I had lost everything, but I had the opportunity redesign my life, having it all: health, love, and career. It was nearly a year and half after the accident while on a multiple week walkabout in South America when I decided to write When All Balls Drop.
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