LDSPMA

A Conversation with Cali Black

May 16, 2025 By LDSPMA Leave a Comment

Cali Black is an author, podcaster, speaker, and content creator who loves the scriptures. She received her bachelor’s degree in education at Brigham Young University in 2019. She started an Instagram account called Come Follow Me Study and has consistently shared spiritual thoughts, study resources, and helpful videos ever since, growing to over a hundred thousand followers. She co-hosts the popular podcast “One Minute Scripture Study” and has co-written four Amazon bestselling books—One Minute Scripture Study for each of the standard works.

In her interview with LDSPMA podcast host Connie Sokol, Cali credited her parents with her love of the scriptures. “Both of my parents have always been avid scripture readers. They always are in their scriptures. I think my dad’s a genius in gospel topics. He taught our early morning seminary class in California, and I got to learn even more from him. I wanted to be the person who knew the scriptures and could talk about them confidently.”

She decided to increase her understanding of the scriptures by serving a full-time mission. Both her parents had served, so she felt that was her natural path and was excited to go. But she got married instead.

Rather than waiting for a future mission call, Cali began studying the scriptures from that point on. “I’m gonna figure out how to understand the scriptures and love them and feel confident in them and be able to teach them without having the mission to jumpstart me in that area,” she said.

Connie said that the desire to understand the scriptures is key to unlocking their mysteries. Cali’s approach to understanding the scriptures is to link them to personal experiences with a story.

“I’ve trained my brain to have a story view. There are moments where my kids will say something and I’m like, well, there’s a post right there. That [experience] perfectly explained that gospel principle. I have those moments all the time, and I have a note on my phone . . . where I write down a quick summary of what happened, whether it’s in the moment . . . reflecting at the end of the day.

“I truly believe that when we stop and we reflect, that allows the Spirit to bring things to our remembrance.”

Connie asked Cali what led her to her current path.

“I taught for four years and had my daughter, and I wanted to keep teaching. This truly was a passion of mine. [But] I had the strongest feeling to quit my job. I didn’t want to quit my job. I could do this. I [could] be a mom. I [could] be a full-time teacher. [But] I could not escape that prompting. I had to do a lot of internal work . . . and to be okay with other people’s judgment of what I was doing.

“I was a great teacher and I loved what I did, and I loved being able to help kids and change their lives and make an impact. It was really hard for me to just be like, I’ve got to follow this prompting. If I love God above all else, I’ve gotta put my ego away. I’ve gotta listen to what He is telling me to do, and I’ve gotta trust. It was scary, but I did it.

“And then the Come, Follow Me program started.

“I was serving in Young Women at the time, and I [thought] I should send them an Instagram account [about Come, Follow Me] that they all can follow. The only accounts that came up were like family activities to teach your little kids, but that’s not what my Young Women needed.

“Immediately, the thought came to my mind, ‘You should start the account, fill the space, fill the need that you see.’

“It was terrifying. I was like, not me. But one of the scriptures I had been studying that week then came to my mind. It was Doctrine and Covenants section 58 verses 22 through 24, where it talks about how it is not meet that [the Lord]should command in all things, but be engaged in a good cause, and do many things of your own free will and bring to pass much righteousness.

“I felt like the Lord was saying, ‘Cali, I’m not telling you that you need to start this account. I’m telling you that you get to choose if you want to use your good influence to start a Come, Follow Me study account.’ And I said, ‘I’m gonna use my agency, and I’m gonna do it.’”

Cali says it started small, but then it snowballed. When COVID hit, people searched for online Come, Follow Me resources like never before. Cali feels that Come, Follow Me was inspired for situations like COVID where church members are unable to meet in person.

“During those first few months of COVID when everything just felt so big and scary and unknown, I really just dug into [the question], how can I use my words? We were studying the Book of Mormon that year. It was so good to share peace and to share joy because I have found over and over again that’s the real blessing of the gospel, right?”

During the pandemic, Cali began hosting a podcast and writing books about the scriptures with her friend Kristen Walker Smith. “I feel like a lot of our strengths are aligned,” Cali says about their partnership. “But then we also have our own unique voices behind that. We have our own ways of sharing our own perspectives.” Cali believes that she’s able to accomplish more working with Kristen.

Connie then asked Cali to share her thoughts about some of the obstacles she has faced while teaching about Come, Follow Me.

“Biggest thing, hands down, is I see people misunderstanding what Come, Follow Me is supposed to be,” Cali says. “It’s not meant to replace all the good things we’re already doing. It’s meant to keep the whole Church on the same reading schedule. That’s so much fun. It doesn’t have to be every day. It could be individually or with your family . . . or it could be once a week, or it could look like so many different things.

“. . . I think people feel so much guilt and constraint over what Come, Follow Me should be, and instead, I love sharing this message of do what you want, do good things . . . [Do] Come, Follow Me whenever you’re able to, and connect with God, access personal revelation, whatever that looks like to you.”

In conclusion, Connie asked how things have changed for Cali since she began teaching the gospel on social media.

“I’ve developed my personal professional strengths. I love teaching, and so speaking and storytelling has become a huge passion of mine, and I feel like I’ve been able to practice that thousands and thousands of times. I absolutely love it. I’ve loved writing and being able to figure out how to take [a] spiritual prompting [I’ve received] and turn that into a good social media post is such a creative challenge for me. I absolutely love that challenge of trying to get what’s in my brain into other people’s brains through my words . . . I love what I’m doing right now, and I feel so content with it. And then I also look to the future and just think, man, I can’t wait to see what the Lord has in store. Whatever that path looks like, I’m super excited . . . My desires can align with the Lord’s desires for my life.”

This article is based on the Called to Create podcast featured during Season 3, Episode 1o. You can listen to the full podcast here.

Sprint Writing for the Win

May 2, 2025 By LDSPMA Leave a Comment

As a writer, I have so many stories I want to share with the world, but I also have time constraints. I’m a wife, a mother to ten, and a nana to thirteen. I currently serve as a seminary teacher, so I devote a lot of time to reading, researching, pondering, and preparing lessons. Then there’s personal scripture study, temple attendance, school activities, community service, sporting events, and family gatherings. And then I try to exercise, cook, do laundry, shop for groceries, and stay on top of cleaning my house. Some days, it feels like I need at least fifty hours to accomplish everything.

So, what’s to be done about all the stories I want to write? I have notebooks filled with ideas, bits of dialogue, characters, and plot pieces. Trying to find time to create worlds and fill them with realistic, compelling characters can feel daunting, if not impossible, with so many other things to do.

There is no one-size-fits-all for writing a novel—or any book, for that matter. We all must figure out what works for us. Once we do this, we can use our allotted time in the best way possible to produce the books that reside in our hearts and heads to fulfill our innate desires to share and create. As Elder Uchtdorf says, “The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. No matter our talents, education, backgrounds, or abilities, we each have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before.”

I like to have a general idea of the plot and characters in my novel before I start writing. I’m a planner because I feel it saves time when I sit down to write. Even with advance planning, I’ve sometimes found it difficult to meet my word count goal, especially when I’m running from one activity to another.

Sprinting

During PE back in the day, I would audibly groan when the teacher told us we’d be running, especially if we were racing. Running fast, or sprinting, never appealed to me. Though I enjoyed sports, running wasn’t my vibe—and still isn’t.

When I heard about sprint writing, I was intrigued. I’d never considered the idea of combining something I loved (writing) with something I loathed (sprinting).

Applying sprinting to writing required suspending my disbelief. Writing fast appealed to me abstractly, but concretely, I didn’t believe it was possible.

Until I tried it.

Once I discovered sprinting, everything changed. I found that some days I could get 3000 words or more in an hour, broken into blocks.

How Sprinting Works

The idea behind sprint writing is to write as many words as quickly as possible.

The first step is to determine the amount of time you want to sprint. I prefer twenty minutes because I feel like that is manageable—I can do anything for twenty minutes. Fifteen or thirty minutes may work better for you. Experiment until you find your magic number, but don’t go beyond thirty, or writing fatigue may set in before the timer goes off.

Next, set up a document or spreadsheet to track your sprints. Include the time of day, how many minutes you spent writing, word count, and running word count for the novel (it’s a great feeling to see the word count continue to increase). Knowing these details will help you see when you are most productive and can give you motivation to keep going. Try to plan your sprinting sessions for when you are most productive and your creativity is flowing.

Now it’s time to sit down and write. I like to do a little pre-writing so I know what scenes I’ll be working on. For me, this usually involves thinking about where I want the story to go for that particular writing session. I write a lot in my head while I do dishes, take a shower, fold laundry, or run errands. Sometimes I’ll jot down a few notes or even a paragraph before I start sprinting. If it’s been a few days, I’ll review the last couple of pages to get back in the flow of the story. If you are a discovery writer, skip this step or modify it.

Try to eliminate distractions. Consider leaving your phone in another room if it will distract you. Turn off the TV, use the bathroom, get a snack for your child, and make sure you’re in comfy clothes and do all you can to “get in the zone.”

Set a timer (on your phone if you must) and write. Don’t edit or worry about details. Just write. Allow yourself to get as many words down as you can. Write whatever falls out of your brain without any judgment. Think of this as the “word vomit” step while your inner editor is bound and gagged in another room. Honestly, the words may not be great—some may even be awful—but you can always edit words on the page. You cannot edit empty space.

Once the timer goes off, stop writing. Get up, take a walk, do an errand, eat a snack, make a phone call, play a game with your child—whatever you need to do.

Repeat this process as often as you can throughout the day. I’ve found that three times is the sweet spot for me. I can generally write 1000 words in twenty minutes if I’m using the sprinting technique. However, I absolutely cannot write 3000 words if I sit and try to write for a solid hour. Go figure.

I’ve found that sprint writing has helped me focus on my writing and use my time much more wisely. As I’ve practiced sprinting, I’ve been able to strengthen my writing muscles, and the more I sprint, the more words I can write in my time block.

Here’s a recap:

Do some pre-writing if needed
Eliminate distractions
Set a timer for 20 minutes (or a time block you feel would work best)
Write, write, write—no editing and no judgment
When the timer goes off, go do something else
Repeat

Try it for a week or two and see if it helps you increase your word count. You might be surprised by how many more words you can write in a day. The trick is to find what works for you. Maybe sprinting won’t be your thing, but it sure is fun to try!

Rebecca Talley

Rebecca Talley is the mom of ten children and nana of thirteen of the world’s most adorable grandkids. She lives with her family and her husband, Del, in Houston, TX, where she tries to avoid the heat and humidity by living in the pool.

She has published thirteen novels/novellas, a children’s picture book, a chapter book, a writing resource guide, and numerous children’s stories and articles for both online and print magazines. When she isn’t writing, Rebecca likes to date her husband, play with her kids and grandkids, swim in the ocean, crochet, and dance to disco music while she cleans the house.

You can find Rebecca’s websites here and here.

May 6, 2025: “Substack: What Is It? How Does It Work? And Should You Be On It?”

April 29, 2025 By LDSPMA

With Jeremy Madsen

Watch the Recording

Substack started in 2017 and has grown steadily since then, reaching 35 million monthly active users in January 2025. But what is Substack, exactly? Is it a newsletter software? A blogging site? A paid-subscriptions manager? A podcast hosting software? A social media platform? (Spoiler: It’s all five). What is its revenue model? (Spoiler: It doesn’t involve ads. Hurray!) And most importantly: Should YOU be using it? (Not-a-spoiler: It depends.)

Bio: Jeremy P. Madsen has been active on Substack since August 2024, using it to serially launch his novel and audiobook podcast, The Pyromancer’s Scroll, as well as his author newsletter. Jeremy is also an administrative consultant for Berrett-Koehler Publishers and the operations manager for BK Authors, Inc., where he helps produce BookPlan, a 3-day online book marketing conference. From 2020 to 2024, Jeremy was the operations and conference manager for LDSPMA. He loves capes.

Links:

Substack: jeremypmadsen.substack.com

Social media:www.instagram.com/jeremypmadsen
www.facebook.com/jeremypmadsen
www.youtube.com/@jeremypmadsen

To Creative Middle-Aged Sisters in the Working World

April 18, 2025 By LDSPMA Leave a Comment

Middle-aged sisters, I see you.

You spent your young adult years getting an education and your adult years raising a family. If you’re like me, you’re not the least bit sorry you did, but maybe now you’re not feeling prepared for the next stage of adulting. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not suggesting the work you did before wasn’t serious. It was.

When children go to college, parents’ health is failing, and you have no idea how to re-enter a career that kept evolving after you left, you’re likely facing some new challenges. If your experience is anything like mine, you’re realizing the world wasn’t custom-made for you. It might’ve been a square-peg-in-a-round-hole situation in your twenties, but it’s another planet now.

I can’t tell you how to solve it all—that will depend on your goals. But I want you to recognize the skills you’ve picked up along the way. Here are some suggestions that helped me.

1. Say a Prayer, Study It Out, and Decide What Success Means to You

I re-entered the working world part-time while my kids were in school. I was blessed with a great boss and a good office culture. Years later, I moved into more responsibility and received more hours.

A few years after landing the highest-profile job of my life, I walked away. There were many reasons for that, but the two biggest were my desire to help my parents and to salvage my sanity. It was not easy trying to balance the needs of three generations. The decision to leave came after prayer and studying not just scriptures, but family budgets. The prayers brought me peace. The budget told me change was possible.

I had the benefit of a supportive partner. I am so grateful for that. My experience raising a family on one income told me we could do it. When the children were small, I developed serious cooking and gardening skills. I didn’t know if we would have a lot of vacations and restaurant meals in our future, but we could still eat pasta in red sauce made from homegrown, vine-ripened tomatoes. We could enjoy the company of friends and ride our bikes through a lovely countryside.

2. Stop Using Other People’s Yardsticks to Measure Your Progress

I ended up starting my own business, leveraging contacts I already had. Soon, we were not feeling the pinch of a lost income anymore. I bought a new computer, spruced up the home office, paid my taxes, and took some trips. I was a solo entrepreneur for three years, and each year was more profitable than the one before.

I remember being in a room with other volunteer judges at my daughter’s high school debate tournament. A couple of them talked about their own businesses. I knew they might scoff at my little solo enterprise. They were making a lot more money than I was. Then I asked myself if I was happy. The answer was a definite “yes!” My work was serving my life goals, not the other way around. I was giving my parents some badly needed support. I still had the flexibility to judge a debate tournament and support my daughter’s school. I was having the kind of day I used to dream of.

Since then, my children have left the nest. My parents have passed on. Eventually, my biggest client (and former employer) wanted me to do some things that required a login—and a hire. I work for them now.

I still love what I do, and I’m still not rich. I just feel like I am . . . most days.

3. The Creative Life Might Need Some Boundaries Too

I wrote a book, but I was disappointed by its sales, especially when I calculated the return on the hourly investment. (One of the consequences of running my own business: I started calculating the value of my time.) I had friends who were able to make the author life work, but the rewards were unpredictable.

My first hurdle was getting over the feelings of failure. I couldn’t do everything I wanted with what I made as a novelist. My creative side contributed to my profession in public relations and marketing, and I wrote fiction in my off-hours. I comforted myself knowing that writing was a significant part of my work, and I was still being paid to do it.

Even so, I denied myself some things with a creative goal in mind. In my head, a dream vacation, an arts-focused experience, and a pedicure at that mysterious downtown salon were all reserved for the day I signed a book contract.

I realized I was holding my life hostage to things outside my control. I got the pedicure, started making vacation plans, and discovered that my love of writing still lived on. It is its own reward!

4. Give Yourself Some Credit—Mom Skills Are Real

Here is what I’d like to say to all the moms wondering where they fit in the working world: You’ve learned some valuable things. You just need to help the working world recognize them.

If you’ve persuaded your children to help in the garden, you know how to delegate and motivate a team. If you’ve operated on one income, you know how to budget. If you raised more than one child, you know the dangers of favoritism and the beauty of recognizing and developing individual talent. If you’ve ever tried to sort out the mystery of how the figurine on the mantlepiece broke, you know some lie-detection skills. If you’ve dedicated yourself to the mom thing for decades, you’ve definitely built up a work ethic.

So give yourself some credit. Give yourself a hug. Decide how you’ll measure success. Study your possibilities. Say a prayer.

And if it’s what you want to do, get yourself out there.

JoLynne J. Lyon

JoLynne J. Lyon is a storyteller for hire who specializes in finding the art in everyday life, making complex subjects understandable to the average person, helping others identify authentic stories that resonate with a target audience, and providing professional words and photos across print, web, radio and social media. Read more of her work on her blog, Mountain Lyon Notes.

April 22, 2025: “The Nuts and Bolts of a Podcast: The Benefits and Struggles of Creating and Producing a LDS Podcast in Today’s World”

April 8, 2025 By LDSPMA

With Scott Brandley & Alisha Coakley

Tuesday, April 22, 2025, 7:00-8:30 pm Mountain Time

Watch Recording

Scott Bio: Scott grew up in Southern Alberta, Canada, and made his way to Utah after serving a mission in Cape Town, South Africa. Not long after, he teamed up with his dad to launch an online business selling LDS products before shifting gears to co-found a successful software company. His wife, Darla, isn’t entirely convinced he actually works—but the paychecks seem real enough.

In 2014, Scott was called to serve as a Bishop in Ogden, a role he dedicated himself to for over five years. During that time, he felt inspired to write a book to help others strengthen their faith. These days, he teaches Gospel Doctrine, perfects his golf swing, and soaks up as much family time as possible with his wife and four kids.

Alisha Bio:

Alisha was born in Michigan, raised in Florida, and after some time in Utah and Nevada, finally planted roots in Texas! She’s a proud momma to three cute kiddos, three lazy cats, and one chicken of a dog—all of whom she adores “smothering with her mothering.”

Passionate about serving others, staying busy, and bringing joy and beauty to the world, Alisha pours her energy into every role she takes on. She is the Owner and Operator of a historic event venue, Co-Host of the Latter-Day Lights Podcast, an aspiring author, a Temple Ordinance Worker, Self-Reliance Facilitator, and Compassionate Services Leader.

While her self-proclaimed “Shiny Syndrome” keeps things interesting, she’s determined to stay the course—striving every day to become the person Heavenly Father needs her to be.

Links:

www.latterdaylights.com

https://www.facebook.com/latterdaylights

Why You Don’t Want to Get Your Book Done Quickly

April 4, 2025 By LDSPMA Leave a Comment

As a coach, speaker, or business owner, you may have heard that being a bestselling author gives you credibility. After all, having a book helps you:

Get more speaking gigs
Have another revenue stream to support that platform (from online royalties or selling books at the back of the room after a speaking event)
Expand your audience tenfold through a lower-priced product (made available worldwide through online stores and libraries)
Increase your opportunities to pitch to media and do interviews on radio, TV, podcasts, etc.
Connect with clients and potential business partners by showing your expertise (and don’t forget: you can use your book as a gift!)

Strategies for Fast Book Production

So, how do you get a book out there quickly? There are lots of ways to approach this process.

Pick only one small, focused problem and offer the solution for it in fewer than 10,000 words.
Compile all of your blogs, PowerPoint presentations, etc., and roughly organize them around a few key ideas.
Turn your signature speech into a book.
Get together with other like-minded professionals and do a themed compilation book on your individual stories or on how you each solved a problem.

But stop a moment.

What Haven’t You Heard?

While I’m all for helping authors self-publish and build their platforms with quickly produced books, I have learned a thing or two coming from “behind the curtain” of traditional publishing that I think most new authors learn only in hindsight.

Traditional publishers understand the long-term results of good branding.

They won’t take a book that isn’t really compelling in each of these areas:

Well organized; each fresh idea builds momentum gracefully and powerfully, convincing the reader of the value and truth of the ideas being proposed (avoiding redundancy, confusing paragraphs, muddy arguments, etc.)
Full of emotionally impactful stories that concretely support the ideas the author is developing
A strong, unique hook that can get both media and a bookshelf browser’s attention despite all the competition from similar products
Good writing—not just mechanically clean writing (with correct grammar, punctuation, spelling, and lack of typos), but prose that captures the stories and ideas with powerful verbs, word economy, precision, and strong voice/compelling style

A publisher wants to make the deepest possible emotional impact on the broadest possible audience: impressed, moved, excited readers mean repeat buyers for future books, converted clients for the author (which means a bigger platform for future books), and excellent reviews and interview requests (which drive book sales). Publishers don’t want to rely on one-time marketing strategies to sell a single book in the short term. They are investing in something; they want long-term buying conversion to that author’s brand.

The quality of the book—from its well-edited guts to its cover to the marketing copy on the back (and even the type of paper it’s printed on)—is a publisher’s best chance to convey the brand experience that will convert readers.

Compromise for the Solution

So, yes, you can jump on the bandwagon and quickly slap your book together, have only one or two other people give you their thoughts, and hire a proofreader to find the typos (which is different from the type of editor who deals with the items in the good-branding list above, FYI).

And you can even sell a lot of books at the back of the room and pay for the kind of marketing that will make it a best seller in some Amazon category. But what’s after that? If someone attends your speech and then buys your signature-speech book, what increased value did you give them? Will they be that interested in the next thing you produce, or will they write you off as a one-hit wonder?

If you want to use your book to grow your business long-term, the smoothest path to success is to have a clear, firm, and impressive book-branding experience in place from the get-go. It will give them more value, more interest in you, and more loyalty as converted clients (and it will be more convincing to any business partners you’re courting). With a higher-quality book, you’ll truly convey the expertise you have.

Do Now

It’s never too late to up-level your branding. If you’ve already published a quick book, don’t sweat it. Let it continue to produce what results it can while you consider if you could take it to the next level. If you’re thinking maybe you should redo the cover or the marketing copy, find a professional in the book industry to help you. Find a good developmental editor (and a deep-line editor) to give you that professional edge. That’s the beauty of self-publishing, after all—you control everything.

If you’re still developing your book, how do you incorporate the lessons of traditional publishing into your plan for quickly producing your book?

Get your content together quickly and, by all means, team up with the marketing power of other professionals if that makes sense for you; but in traditional publishing (where quality equals long-term success), that’s called a draft. It’s not what you go to press with.
Get lots of feedback—not from close friends, your mom, or a single mentor. Use whatever networks you have (including social media and/or the audience for any online courses you’ve created) to refine your ideas by beta testing them to see what gets engagement and interest. (You’ll want to find readers who are actually facing the problem for which you’re providing a solution.)
Hire a professional developmental editor—don’t just get a copyedit or proofread; these latter services are both types of professional editing, but they are final steps. A developmental editor is trained in developing ideas, making sure your book is well organized, and in helping the audience connect with your voice—in short, his/her job is to make sure the market you want to speak to is going to understand your message and be moved by it. If you’re writing a memoir (or a narrative-driven inspirational/how-to), find out if your nonfiction editor also has extensive training in story structure, thematic through-lines, character development, and so on.
When you go to self-publish, hire individuals or teams that have experience in the traditional publishing industry so you can apply that experience to producing a quality book—one that will look as good as what the traditional industry produces. For instance, you want a team who knows what makes a good cover and why. Is the marketing copy actually marketable (has a good hook, covers reader pain points and desires, is well-worded), or is it just a general summary of your content? Does the vendor insist your cover, tagline, and image tell a cohesive genre story and hook your ideal target market? (Most won’t.)

Sound Like This May Take a While?

Actually, we’re talking about adding just a couple of months to your timeline if you bring in professionals to help. In the grand scheme of things, adding two to three months to your release date isn’t much of a bump in the publish-quickly road. (If you have a pressing deadline that’s non-negotiable, just get what you have out and then up-level as soon as you can after that; you want the best version of your book available for bigger audiences as your business grows.)

If speed is your priority, or you’re really starved for time, you can even give your content to a ghostwriter who can spin gold from it, capture your voice, and have it all done within a couple of months.

Spun gold—that’s the kind of book that’ll have your readers coming back for more. That’s the kind of book a traditional publisher may consider picking up after you’ve made a self-pubbed success of it. That’s the kind of book that can be your legacy.

In short? Get it done fast, but get it done right.

This article was written by Angela Eschler and was republished in this condensed form with permission from Eschler Editing. To read the full version, click here.

What’s More Important: The Actor or the Show?

March 22, 2025 By LDSPMA Leave a Comment

Today’s article is courtesy of Rebecca Burnham of Summit Stages. You can learn more about this innovative organization by clicking here.

One of the things I find most challenging about building beloved community through musical theatre is the apparent conflict that inevitably arises between the interests of the show and the needs of the individual.

I don’t think it’s possible to put on a play that builds community unless you are intentional about prioritizing the people over the product. For example, if the product were the primary goal, auditions would be extremely competitive and only the very best actors would get cast. But if you’re building community, you’re going to give some parts to people who didn’t really shine in auditions but you know they need to be there and they have growth potential. You’re going to take a chance on actors from marginalized backgrounds who need extra, offstage support. You might put an exceptionally talented actor in a supportive role, where they can be an anchor for the entire cast. And then, when the crunch is on and a member of the cast is struggling in a way that may compromise your production, you are going to wonder if it’s time to prioritize the production over a specific individual.

This happened to me recently and I made the wrong decision. Grace got in the way before I could act, then I got another opportunity to choose better. And the results were beautiful. I want to tell you about it and what I’ve learned.

There Is a Way to Meet Everybody’s Needs

Among the community-building decisions we made when we cast Fiddler on the Roof was to include in our ensemble an AuDHD boy who is a newcomer to the stage. It was obvious in auditions that this was important to him, and it was equally apparent that he would need a little extra help to succeed. We put him in a role that we thought would come almost naturally to him, and we expected we’d be able to give him the extra help he needed. But we didn’t realize how big of a task we’d signed up for.

It wasn’t just his needs that were greater than we’d anticipated. So were the demands of this particular play, which is 1.5 times as long as a standard 2-hour show. Neither my co-director nor I were super familiar with the play (we’d signed onto the job with the understanding that we were doing a different show). The musical tracks provided by the licensor did not match any of the Broadway soundtracks, and we had to create our own rehearsal tracks in order to figure out choreography. We were working as hard as we could just to map choreography and pre-block the scenes before rehearsals, and then to smooth out the glitches during our run-throughs. There was so much going on with our cast of 51 that we just did not find time to work one-on-one with the boy in the ensemble that we’d known would need extra help. We saw some silliness onstage and heard reports about impulsive behavior offstage that needed to be managed. But we had some exceptional actors who were helping out with the offstage behaviors, so we directed the boy to tone down the onstage behavior and thought we had it covered.

Halfway through our run, it became evident that the problem was getting worse instead of better. We’d gotten to the point that we were worried about being able to provide a safe environment for our actors and the equipment, and we were at our wits’ end. My co-director and I held a quick consultation. We’d tried talking to him multiple times. So had the actress working directly with him. Obviously, it wasn’t connecting. We decided that for the sake of the show and the rest of our cast, he needed a firm talking to, some actual modeling of exactly what we needed from him, and an ultimatum to straighten up or withdraw from the production. We went to take him aside, but we couldn’t find him. He’d already left the building.

It was maybe twenty minutes later when I got a text from his mom, asking for help to recover an item he’d forgotten at the theatre. It suddenly came to me that I should tell her about the struggle we were having and ask for her ideas. She understood exactly what I was concerned about. She explained what was going on in terms of her son’s development and his meds. Then she offered to come backstage and run him through some breathing and grounding exercises that could help him cope. She even taught those exercises to the adult actress who works most closely with him so she could provide that support when the mom wasn’t able to be there.

Our next performance was almost flawless. I was so proud of the entire cast and crew, and especially of the boy who was now performing his part just like we’d envisioned it and honoring the space that other actors needed. And I was so, so grateful that we’d been forestalled from giving him the talking-to that would not have fixed the problem, but would have more likely ruined his experience and undermined his relationship with theatre.

Here are my takeaways:

I believe the economy of heaven is win-win. I believe it’s a myth that sometimes the individual has to be sacrificed in the interest of the production or the community. I believe that if we keep digging, we will be led to a solution that meets the needs of both. I want to clarify that sometimes, that solution may ask a lot of the individual and/or of the community, and achieving it will depend on everybody’s willingness. But if we’re all willing, we can find a way to meet everybody’s needs.
If we can’t find a way to meet everybody’s needs, it’s time to broaden the collaborative circle. There is somebody out there with exactly the expertise or insight we need. So, instead of sacrificing the individual or the community, I’m going to trust heaven to help me find them.
Next time, I plan to have a member of the production whose whole job is to identify individual needs and care for the community offstage. Stage directors can do a lot to impact cast culture, but they have too much on their plate to give due attention to the specific needs of the individuals and the community. So, if the driving purpose of my work in musical theatre is to build beloved community, I need a community director who can give their full attention to that.

Summit Stages aims to build a kinder, brighter world… one musical at a time. We’re going to do this in a way that thoroughly entertains and provides funds for our creators to achieve their dreams. But we aren’t all about the money or the entertainment. We’re about impacting lives and communities for good.

Rebecca Burnham

Rebecca Burnham writes a weekly newsletter about music and theatre that build Zion at SummitStages.org, where she is gathering a collaborative community of creators, producers, performers and playgoers to fill the world with musical theatre that lifts and unites. Her passion for the stage includes acting, directing, producing, and writing musicals which have been performed on various Canadian stages. A reforming veteran of the culture wars (as journalist, award-winning columnist, and pro-family activist), she’s now on a mission to build peace through connection across our divides and the skilful staging of shared stories.

Time Management Skills: Creating a Life of Order

March 7, 2025 By LDSPMA Leave a Comment

With the new year just underway, many creatives may be thinking of how they can improve in 2025. For some, that resolution may be to manage their time better.

As a self-employed content creator, I know firsthand how hard time management can be. Time is a limited resource, and it can be easy to feel overwhelmed by the number of tasks and to-dos. But time management doesn’t have to be a mighty dragon to fear.

Here are some lessons I’ve learned on my time-management journey that can help you on your quest.

Put God First

God is in the details. He will help us know where to focus our efforts if we put Him first. This definitely isn’t easy, as distractions run rampant, but if you make time for God, He’ll help you accomplish what matters most.

I grab my scriptures first thing in the morning instead of my phone. I may not always have time for in-depth scripture study, but I try to read at least a chapter if I can, a verse at the bare minimum. I have friends who read a chapter of the Book of Mormon before they do any work. Others kneel in their offices and say a prayer. However you decide to do it, spending time with Him helps make the rest of the day easier.

As President Benson said, “Men and women who turn their lives over to God will discover that He can make a lot more out of their lives than they can. He can deepen their joys, expand their vision, quicken their minds, strengthen their muscles, lift their spirits, multiply their blessings, increase their opportunities, comfort their souls, . . . and pour out peace” (Ensign December 1988, 4)

Putting God first will ultimately help you face your day with confidence and assurance that He is with you.

Prioritize

Once you’ve sat down with the Lord, it’s time to look at your to-do list. What is the most urgent thing that needs to get done today? Is it to send one specific email? Plan a meeting? Work on that editing, writing, or creative project that’s due soon?

Brian Tracy coined the phrase “eat the frog” as a cure for procrastination. “Eat the frog” means that the thing you’re most dreading is the thing you should do first. That frog might be a sticky email you don’t want to write, a massive project that’s taking too long, or a phone call you keep putting off. These frogs might be things that take more energy, brain power, or negotiation skills, which makes them daunting. But when you eat them first, you’ll get a boost of dopamine from accomplishing a hard task that will see you through the rest of your day. Your plate will be lighter once the frog is gone.

As part of prioritizing, it is also important to identify tasks that are not urgent. Things come up—they always do. It might be a last-minute doctor’s visit, a chat with a friend, or a child needing cuddles. You’ll find that your lower priorities will get shuffled around from day to day. Every day has different needs. Eat the frog first so that if the less-urgent things need to get dropped, they can.

Do Things When You’re Motivated

Some days, you may not feel like getting out of bed, much less working. Other days, you may have mental or physical health challenges that make work appear as demanding as climbing Mt. Everest. I’ve had days when I’ve stared at my pile of to-dos and felt completely unmotivated to do any work due to the weather, my health, or my emotional state. It’s okay to take occasional break days for your mental or physical health.

But when the motivation comes fast and thick, that’s the time to work. When I’m motivated, I get more done than just the frog—I clear my inbox, send emails that I’ve been neglecting, and get more chapters written or edited. These days make up for the break days when I need to reset.

Sometimes all you have to do to get motivated is start with one small task, such as scheduling a Facebook post or drafting an email. Whatever that small task might be, if you set a timer for ten minutes and just start, you’ll often find that more motivation will come.

Use What Works for You

There are a bazillion apps, tools, and tricks that can help you manage your time. The number of available options can be intimidating. But all you need to do is find what works for you. Maybe try an online website like Asana or Zoho to help you organize your tasks. Maybe use pen-and-paper planners. Or maybe experiment with a combination of both online and offline tools.

I’ve fallen in love with sticky notes and paper planners. There’s something oddly satisfying about checking things off. While the piles of sticky notes on my desk seem excessive some days, for me, sticky notes are easy to organize. I simply keep what is necessary in a specific place, and I discard what isn’t necessary at the end of the day.

Consistency is key; you’ll use what you like, so find what works for you.

Find Accountability Partners

Another helpful resource is accountability partners. Video-calling a friend while you work can actually be tremendously motivating.

Last fall, I was struggling revising one of my books. Between my jobs and other life concerns, revising just wasn’t happening. It spiraled to the point where I wasn’t sure I’d ever finish the book. A friend suggested finding an accountability partner, so I reached out to several friends and scheduled hour-long sessions to write together. To my surprise, weekly writing sessions helped me stay motivated, and I finished up my revisions. I still meet with several of them every week to work on projects because having someone right there on a video call makes it a lot harder to procrastinate!

LDSPMA is a great way to find friends to encourage you in your pursuits. If you want to find an accountability partner, our social media is a great place to start.

Give Yourself Grace

Time management is tricky, especially when you oversee your own schedule. Trust me, I’ve been there. Procrastination is very real, and it can be difficult to overcome. Sometimes we’re going to fall short. And that’s okay.

The trick is to keep trying. And rely on the Lord when you fall short. Repentance simply means change, which includes changing our habits. None of us are perfect; we’re all trying to be a little better each day.

As you work on taming the time management dragon, remember that you can do anything you set your mind to. You may struggle from time to time, but that’s okay. Don’t give up. Time management, like anything, is a skill. And it can be mastered—one day at a time.

KaTrina Jackson

KaTrina Jackson loves penguins, cross-stitching, chocolate, and piano music, and spends much of each day trying to fit those loves in around her jobs as a freelance editor and as a project manager for Eschler Editing. She graduated with a degree in editing and publishing from Brigham Young University because she couldn’t get enough stories in her life. She’s also a member of three different writing groups, attends and teaches at multiple writing conferences yearly, volunteers with LDSPMA and has since 2021, and is currently working on publishing her first novel. When she’s not writing, editing, or reading, she can be found practicing yoga, teaching piano lessons or performing with her husband, or watching Disney movies while working on a cross-stitch project. She and her husband live in Olathe, Kansas.