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LOA Blog Series Part 10: Becoming the Writer You Already Are

~ Kim Olgren ~ Leave a comment

Just joining the series? You can start with post one, here.

We have come to the end of this series on using the Law of Attraction in your writing life. The final lessons is simply this:

The most powerful LOA secret is to act as if you are already the writer you dream of being.

Embody the writer identity you want today: write regularly, submit your work, and treat yourself as a published author in mindset. LOA responds when you live as your future self. Perfectionism is irrelevant and unattainable, but growth happens in the process. It’s that process that will propel you toward your goals.

Try This:
Set a small “writer identity” challenge: write 500 words today, or query one agent. Feel your energy and the energy around you change as you step fully into that role.

You are already the writer you aspire to be. LOA is a tool that helps you step fully into that reality.

Wishing you the best on your writing journey. Feel free to share you thoughts in the comments.

LOA Blog Series Part 9: Real Writer Success Stories with LOA

~ Kim Olgren ~ Leave a comment

Just joining the series? You can start with post one, here.

Many authors credit visualization, affirmations, and mindset for their success. They didn’t just dream — they aligned their actions with their beliefs.

Examples:
Stephen King impaled all of his rejection letters on an iron nail he drove into a wall, which soon became an iron spike. This visual motivated him to keep going and made him into the prolific best-selling author he is today.

Jim Carrey, actor and comedian famously wrote himself a check for $10 million for “acting services rendered” early in his career, visualizing himself receiving that sum years before it actually happened for his role in Dumb and Dumber.

LOA isn’t wishful thinking; it’s a practice of living in alignment with your goals, but don’t take my word for it.

Try this:
Find and research one author whose success story inspires you. Identify the mindset strategies they used and adopt one for your own writing.

It worked for them, it can work for you — with aligned action. Tell us about what you found and how you’re going to use it in your own writing life. Sharing is caring. A rising tide raises all boats…and all that sort of thing. Let’s do this!

Monday Musings Part 5: Attracting Inspiration Instead of Chasing It

~ Kim Olgren ~ Leave a comment

Just finding the series? Start with post #1: Monday Musings: LOA for Writers

Sorry to be late this week, guys. Let’s get into it.
The law of Attraction teaches that what you’re open to, you receive. Trying to force ideas often backfires. Instead, create an environment where inspiration flows naturally. Quiet meditation, walks in nature, or freewriting exercises clear blocks.

Examples:

  • Keep an “idea notebook” for sparks that come unexpectedly.
  • Use freewriting to release pressure and allow ideas to surface.

Exercise:
Take a 10-minute walk outside and jot down the first 5 ideas that pop into your head. Don’t judge them — just receive.

Takeaway:
When you shift from chasing to receiving, ideas come effortlessly.

Monday Musings: Part 3: Affirmations to Overcome Writer’s Doubt (A.K.A. Imposter Syndrome)

~ Kim Olgren ~ Leave a comment


Find parts 1 and 2 here:
Monday Musings: LOA for Writers
Monday Musings: Part 2: Visualize Your Dream Writing Life

Imposter syndrome is every writer’s shadow. Self doubt is always just a thought away. Affirmations shine a light on the path forward. It’s not just woo-woo stuff. Affirmations are more than motivational phrases — they are tools for rewiring your beliefs. Repeating empowering statements primes your subconscious to accept them as truth.

Something like:

  • “I am a creative channel; stories flow through me effortlessly.”
  • “Readers are waiting for my words.”
  • “Opportunities for publication come to me naturally.”

Try this:
Write 3 personalized affirmations for yourself. Repeat them each morning and before writing sessions for thirty days. Feel the words as if they are already true and visualize what that would look like in detail. At the end of the thirty days, evaluate how these affirmation landed and whether they were effective. You may have to make adjustments to get the wording just right for you. Remember the universe is waiting for your command so it can bring it to you as fast as possible.

The stories you tell yourself set the stage for the stories you create. The choice is, and always has been, yours. There’s no such thing as “writer’s block” only blockages of flow, which affirmations can help you remove. Share your affirmations in the comments. Maybe you might have the magic spark that helps someone else get into creative flow.

Monday Musings: LOA for Writers

~ Kim Olgren ~ 7 Comments

The Law of Attraction for Writers — What It Is and Why It Matters

Many writers dream of seeing their name on a book cover, signing copies, finishing a manuscript, maybe even becoming a speaker. but doubt creeps in. What if the secret to manifesting that dream isn’t just hard work but aligning your mindset first? What would happen if you expected these things instead of dreaming of them?

The Law of Attraction (LOA) teaches that what you focus on expands. That means your thoughts, beliefs, and feelings influence the opportunities and creativity that flow into your life. In writing, LOA isn’t about wishful thinking — it’s about consciously shaping your mindset to create real results.

Examples Include:

  • Daydreaming a successful book launch primes your brain to recognize opportunities.
  • Positive self-talk like “I am capable of finishing this story” increases productivity.
  • Opening to letting the higher power, universe, or random parts of reality lining up.
  • Knowing that success is working hard to find you.

Try this:
Spend five minutes today writing down one scene you imagine finishing perfectly. Feel the satisfaction as if it’s real.

Your writing life starts in your mind. Master it there, and reality follows.

This is the first installment in a ten-part series of short, actionable things you can do to create a mindset that can help you achieve the writing life you’ve dreamed of. Each Monday a new post will drop with a new focus and a new lesson in positive flow for writers.

Dream on. You’ve got this!

Post Writers Conference Feels

~ Kim Olgren ~ Leave a comment

The one writers conference I make a point to attend every year (not just because I’m the president) has ended and I am emerging from my post-conference coma. Pikes Peak Writers Conference 2025 was difficult in some ways and absolutely amazing in others. We had some people with loved ones in hospice or who had lost loved ones in the time immediately before or during conference. They were such troopers and they found themselves surrounded by the love and support of 200+ peers even if those peers didn’t know what was going on because PPWC has something unique and amazing that you can’t get at any other conference. There is an open, friendly, and supportive atmosphere that permeates every corner of every space we occupy in the hotel.

As president, my primary goal is to shake the hand of every attendee and help them understand that we are there to help and no questions is silly. You know you’re fulfilling your mission when you get feedback like “The level of positive support from everyone is simply unreal – Kudos to you all!” and “I’ve never felt more seen and supported as a writer!”

The level of positive support from everyone is simply unreal–kudos to you all!
– PPWC2025 Attendee

“I’ve never felt more seen and supported as a writer!
– PPWC2025 Attendee

Our keynote speakers were simply fabulous. USA Today bestselling author Avery Flynn put all the feels into her Friday welcome lunch keynote. New York Times bestselling author John Gilstrap reminded us that life is too short to squander the gift and talent we’ve been given in his Saturday night banquet dinner keynote. David R. Slayton gave a moving keynote at the farewell lunch about what it means to be a writer. In addition, all of our keynotes and our featured writers, Ricaro Fayette of Reedsy and the charming, award-winning kids and teen author Alexandra Diaz participated in a lively trivia game about one another during Saturday lunch in the Featured Authors versus Keynote Speakers game show. I had the change to have a meal each with Ricardo and Alexandra. Ricardo is one of the founders of Reedsy. He’s a calm and soft-spoken guy with an easygoing nature and deep marketing knowledge. Alexandra’s boundless love for writing colored most of our conversation and it was glorious.

Thank you to the amazing people who put together and presented a total of over 60 workshops at this year’s conference. These workshops are labors of love. No honorarium could cover that. The initial feedback has been overwhelmingly warm and positive. One of my own workshops garnered the attention of a college-level writing teacher who wants to add some of my material to his classes. You can’t see it, but my jaw just dropped again just writing about it. Especially because it was my first workshop given at conference to an unexpectedly standing-room-only room for a very niche topic.

There was a very dramatic moment where I misplaced my clicker and I briefly spun out. But I made myself go down for breakfast because I wanted to check on someone I knew was having a difficult time and that gave me the reset to go back to room and immediately find it right where I had put it but couldn’t see before. Has that ever happened to you?

Thanks to all the PPW staff that works tirelessly behind the scenes. Your ability to stay calm in the face of any degree of problem, remain professional, and to pivot to find the best answer in a flash is amazing! It was a privilege to watch you work. Thank you to the Author, Author bookstore who runs our conference bookstore.

The staff at the DoubleTree hotel in Colorado Springs worked hard to make sure everyone at our event got what they needed. Not a small feat. Special shoutout to the front desk, banquet staff, and bartenders (especially when 200+ people descend on the bar for barcon on Saturday night). Shoutout to Annie, Frank, Christina, Oznur, Jose, Angelica, Melissa, Natalie, Promise, Karla, Santana, Anthony, Kathena, Kacee, Genesis, Amanda S, Eric, Josselyn, Sambiri, Caden, JJ, Juliana, Chazlin, “Martini” and anyone else whose name we didn’t manage to capture. Thanks for looking after us.

Thank you to my amazing support group of one at home, my amazing husband, August, who brought me stuff I forgot; acted as chauffer, driving agents and editors back and forth from the airport, brought our dogs in for dog therapy on Saturday afternoon, and rearranged his tight schedule to help us out with a snafu at our storage unit. You are fantastic. I love you.

Next year’s conference is April 16-19. Saddle up and write with us! Keynote speakers include Mary Robinette Kowal, Marc Guggenheim, and Reavis Z. Wortham. Registration opens November 1, 2025! I’d love to see you there.

If you attended Pikes Peak Writers Conference 2025, please tell me about your experience in the comments. Thanks!

Op-ed: What to Do when Chaos Seems to Reign

~ Kim Olgren ~ Leave a comment

What’s happening in the US is a symptom of a bigger issue. Humans are, for the most part, selfish and warlike beings. Seriously, we are. Here me out.

Until we can figure out how to find the balance between humanitarianism, stewardship of our planet, and fulfillment of our individual dreams we will continue to careen toward ruin. We are fast-approaching the point of no return. I’m not trying to be an alarmist. I believe we can still pull out of the nose dive, but we need to act now and continue acting.

What are we supposed to do, you ask? Let’s break it down. Protests, phone calls, and emails are all well and good. We need to tell our leaders who represent us on a macro level what we will and won’t tolerate and what they should be working on; but we need to do more. Well, here’s some ideas. Let me know if you have more.

Humanitarianism

  • Be kind and Compassionate to your fellow humans.
  • One of my friends organizes a collection of hundreds of back-to-school packs for kids in need.
  • Another helps run a food pantry (one that has not qualification process, requires no ID, and never judges).
  • Or, maybe your work is on a smaller level like sharing your garden harvest with your neighbors, taking food to the person next door who is recently widowed or recovering from illness or surgery.
  • Find out which classroom supplies your kid’s’ teacher is short on and donate some.
  • Donate money to organization that help those in need like Care and Share or your local homeless shelters. Incidentally, food banks can use your money way better than the expired canned goods you just donated.

We should care for each other as we would ourselves. Machiavellian philosophy and practices have no place in the modern world. If we want to survive as a species we need to work together. That’s the way it’s always been. After all, we’re all just walking each other home.

Stewardship
Campers rule: Always pack out what you packed in and leave things better than you found them. It applies to little campsites and the entire planet. Think about it. It’s that simple.

Individual Dreams

We all have dreams and aspirations. Our dreams and aspirations are as varied as the humans who people the planet. Joseph Campbell said,

“Follow your bliss. If you do follow your bliss, you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while waiting for you, and the life you ought to be living is the one you are living. When you can see that, you begin to meet people who are in the field of your bliss, and they open the doors to you. I say, follow your bliss and don’t be afraid, and doors will open where you didn’t know they were going to be. If you follow your bliss, doors will open for you that wouldn’t have opened for anyone else.”

Dreams and aspirations are important. Don’t be afraid to manifest yours. Sure, you’ll probably stumble a few times. But there are great people on big stages and tiny ones making a difference in the world every day by living their dreams and doing what they love.

But what about the people out there that are hurting, in need, downtrodden? Those who have no resources?

My friends, I’ve been there. In some ways I’m still there and in some ways I’m not. Here’s the thing, you’ll find that the people in the most need are often the people who are fully willing to share what little they have. But here’s the thing, those hurting, in need, and downtrodden are the very ones we should be supporting. Let’s not let the current US administration and state of the world make us forget what’s really important. Meanwhile, to the rest of the planet, please give us some grace while we fix this stuff.

Love.

A New Pikes Peak Writers Anthology!

~ Kim Olgren ~ Leave a comment

I’m so happy and proud to introduce Pikes Peak Writers fourth anthology, The Other Side of the Mountain. I had the honor of being the project manager for this anthology. I had the pleasure or working with a bunch of talented writers, three editors with superb insight, a fabulous book cover designer, and a formatter whose attention to detail and responsiveness was above and beyond. Working with New York Times bestselling author, our marquee author, Jonathan Maberry was a special honor. I learned a lot from this guy.

And with that, I give you, The Other Side of the Mountain: Tales from the Pikes Peak Writers.

Mountains take many forms, from physical to metaphorical. Sooner or later and more often than not, we all come upon some kind of mountain. Maybe you’re an aviator facing an unusual test. Can you see the portal and do you know where it leads? Maybe you’re a hiker facing a monstrous decision. Maybe danger erupts during your mining expedition. Did someone say treasure? Are we all just walking each other home? Do you hear singing? Could healing come from facing your biggest fear? What is “The Pocket Lips” and how do you stop it? The answers to these questions and much more await you within these pages including an incredible, brand-new story by New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Maberry.  

Come take a walk on The Other Side of the Mountain. We promise you’ll return safely…ish.

Special thanks to:
Deborah Brewer – Editor
Sam Knight – Editor
Eric Stallsworth – Copy Editor
Joshua Clark – Cover Design
Pam McCutcheon – Interior Design

Visit the Pikes Peak Writers website to find out more about this and PPW’s previous three anthologies.

Cowboy Caviar? Yes Please!

~ Kim Olgren ~ Leave a comment

This is not a food blog, but I do, on occasion, post something I find particularly useful or yummy. Cowboy caviar fits the bill. It’s fast, easy, versatile, and most important of all, tasty!

Look at all that color! Do you know what lots of color means? That’s right! Nutrition! Plus you get a major protein boost. Here’s the basic recipe:

Ingredients
1 15oz can black beans (drained and rinsed)
1 15oz can blackeyed peas (drained and rinsed)
1 15oz can sweet corn (drained and rinsed)
1 red pepper (chopped)
1 orange pepper (chopped)
1/2 red onion (chopped)

For Dressing
1/4 cup chopped cilantro (or Italian parsley if cilantro isn’t your thing)
1tsp chili powder
1tsp garlic powder (I use dried minced garlic)
1/4tsp pepper
A Pinch of salt
1/3 cup good Italian dressing (I use Ken’s Steakhouse)

Optional ingredients could be chopped tomato, chopped avocado, chopped olives, it’s kind of like pasta salad because the beans don’t carry much flavor on their own but are fabulous when mixed with other things. If you want a little more heat add a pinch of cayenne or to your taste. You do you.

Instructions
Does that seem like a lot of ingredients? Don’t worry, this comes together in a snap. In measuring cup or small bowl, whisk together dressing ingredients and set aside. Have a milk frother? It’ll work splendidly on emulsifying a salad dressing.

Let your can opener know it’s going to get a little workout, open your canned goods, drain and rinse them, and dump them into a big bowl. Chop up your peppers, onion, and anything else you’ve added to a size that roughly matches the beans and corn. Give everything a good, but gentle toss.

Whisk your dressing one last time and pour over mixture. Gently toss again until you’re satisfied everything has been covered.

You can serve this immediately but I prefer to let it marinate in the fridge for an hour or so. Serve with sturdy, tasty corn chips. It’s dip, it’s a meal, it’s yummy! Enjoy!

Sneak Peek!

~ Kim Olgren ~ Leave a comment

You were thinking it’s something earth-shattering you could take to social media with, but it’s not “earth-shattering” (what does that really mean anyway). It is, however, great news and something I’d happily let you take to social media with.

Today I posted the cover reveal for a project I’ve been working on for two years for Pikes Peak Writers. Shadowing my predecessor, Kathie Scrimgeour, in the first and taking over as the project manager in the second. Today I posted a cover sneak peak of the fourth of the Pikes Peak Writers Anthologies on our social media channels. Cover designer Joshua Clark did and outstanding job with our cover along with highlighting the authors of the short stories and a special Monk Addison file by none other than amazing Jonathan Maberry.

Edited by the fabulously talented team of James Sams, an accomplished anthology publisher in his own right; Deborah Brewer, on anthology editorial team since the first PPW anthology with an eye on everything; and Eric Stallsworth, award-winning speculative fiction writer, with an eye for detail any copyeditor would envy; these editors helped our authors make their stories the best they could be.

All of our staff and authors are members of Pikes Peak Writers. The purpose of the anthology is two-fold, to give PPW members a place to shine and to help members who are new writers learn about the submission and publishing process in a safe and trusted environment, including some of the bumps and skips they may run into along the way. We are proud of all our anthology authors and look forward to seeing more great work from them in the future. We also commend all the writers who submitted for their courage. It’s a scary thing, putting your creations out into the world. Don’t stop!

A Little about Pikes Peak Writers

Pikes Peak Writers is an all-volunteer writers organization led by an all-volunteer board of directors on which I humbly serve as president in addition to a number of volunteer positions I currently cover. We are committed to helping writers grow and thrive through education, outreach, and community as stated in our mission statement. The Anthology is just one of the many ways we fulfill that mission. We also host several events on a monthly basis, run a regular writing blog, and put on a conference every spring. If you’re a writer, I would encourage you to check our PPW. I’m not just the president, I’m a member!

To learn more about membership and our monthly events visit our website at pikespeakwriters.org and to learn more about and register for our annual conference coming up May 2-4 please visit conference.pikespeakwriters.org.

Stay tuned for a future post with the full cover reveal and a list of our contributing authors!