River of Thoughts

Christine Royse Niles — Changing the world one word at a time

A New Gift For You

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Being a writer can get overwhelming, can’t it?

I’m here to help. The Growing Writer’s Survival Kit offers you an ever-expanding set of tools to get through any roadblock you’re facing.

  • Looking to cut through the chaos? The Next Steps Planning Worksheet will help you through your next project.

  • Ready to launch your book? A Minimalist Guide to Book Launches will cut through the noise and get your work out there.

  • Feeling down? The Secret might encourage you when you hit one of those days when you just plain can’t keep going.

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Chasing After The Wind

by Christine | 12 Comments

I recently saw a list of the top five most popular posts on a productivity app’s blog. The posts themselves weren’t really anything stunning…what struck me was the story that the collection of them told. The five posts were titled: The big list of 100 tools, tips and tricks to work more efficiently online What multitasking does to our brains What happens to our brains when we exercise and how it makes us happier How much sleep do we really need to work productively? The science behind how your productivity is affected by what, how, and when you eat Individually, all […]

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Election Day

by Christine | 10 Comments

Tomorrow is Election Day in the United States. Tomorrow, for the very first time, Masha will cast her vote for President, for Governor, and for several other local races. You may have noticed that I stay pretty far away from politics here. That’s not a result of any strategy of appeasement, or any effort to passive-aggressively imply support for one side or the other based on certain beliefs I’ve shared or not shared here. It’s not from any failed effort to show direct support or opposition to any particular single issue. Honestly, the reason is that I’m conflicted. I have […]

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Writers Unite – Wrapup

by Christine | 10 Comments

Welcome to Fiction Friday. Every Friday I share with y’all a glimpse into the mind of Zach the Zombie and some of his friends. Zach will be back next week, but this week I’d like to share something unique. During the month of October, I participated in Writers Unite, a one-month challenge to focus not on platform or marketing, but on writing for the love of writing.  This tied in well with my career change, and it also coincided with the start of Andi Cumbo‘s online Short Story class.  Because of this beautiful coincidence, I chose to focus on improving as […]

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Six Secrets to Changing Your Life

by Christine | 16 Comments

Seth Godin posted this recently: Who you hang out with determines what you dream about and what you collide with. And the collisions and the dreams lead to your changes. And the changes are what you become. Change the outcome by changing your circle. Now, this is not a new idea. Smart people have been saying this since before the flood. So why is this so hard? The challenge is choosing your circle wisely. Excitement and thrill and fun are attractive, but they come at a very high cost. Choosing the people who will help lift you up and help you become […]

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When Grace Becomes Resistance

by Christine | 8 Comments

I am a creature of habit. I park the car in the same place at the airport. I sit in the same spot at church. I put the half and half in the door of the fridge, on the same shelf in the same spot. Facing the same way. I am borderline OCD. But these habits serve an important purpose. When I was young, I thought that routines were for lemmings, for the unthinking. But I’ve come to see them as the opposite. They free me to think about things that are far more important than remembering if I’ve brushed my teeth or […]

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