CornerScribe

Archive for May, 2007

Here’s a note about crocheting blankets and afghans for children in need. I’m sure that knitting would be just as welcome.

If you’d prefer, many local organizations collect knitted/crocheted items for those in need.

Ahem…

The observant among you no doubt noticed the downtime. I’m not sure how long it lasted, but as you see, I’m back. Hosting usually works better when you 1. Pay with a good credit card and 2. Receive your email at an address that actually works. My husband saved the day on this one (thanks, hon!!). He found an old phone number on our bank statement, of all places. It turned out to be one of the staff’s home number (bet she loves that), and she helped me take care of it.

I also learned something else rather interesting; it’s possible to get a significant traffic boost by adding the word “sex” to your title. That wasn’t my intention with the last post. I just thought it was a funny quote. My visits have jumped about 20 percent since then.

I don’t know about you, but I find that troubling. Someone out there in internet-land is searching for “sex on a bicycle”? I don’t even want to think about it.

I’m also making my first attempt at lace knitting. It’s a shawl for my aunt, and so far, so good. It’s a pattern from page 114 of Hats Gloves Scarves(a recent gift from my secret pal). It’s a 30 stitch repeat scarf, and the pattern gives a narrow and wide version. However, neither was quite enough for a shawl, so I added an extra repeat. Otherwise, I haven’t altered the pattern (unless you count mistakes!)

I’m using a yarn I got from Knitpicks, that’s 70 percent wool and 30 percent silk. It’s actually sock weight, but it’s knitting up beautifully!

And finally, I’ve learned that I may end up being a real TV junkie after all. I don’t watch much television, but we usually have it on for background noise. Silence bugs me, but that’s another story. My husband (he’s been really handy lately) set up MythTV for me. For those unfamiliar with it, it’s similar to Tivo, except that it’s Opensource and free. We had an older computer, and he installed Ubuntu there (Linux). Then MythTV. It took some setup and tweaking, but it’s working like a charm now.

Right now, I’m watching Planet of the Apes. Get your hands off me, you damn dirty ape! Okay, so I really like the movie. I’ll be taping The Tick later tonight. Spoon!!

I don’t know about you, but I get inspired by all sorts of things, many of them downright weird.

I love to listen to people talk. I overheard one of my coworkers the other day, “It’s like having sex on a bicycle. You never forget.” As my husband put it, “That’s f-ed up. And down. And up. And down….” I bet you can get a story out of that.

Or the quote that kept running through my head last week. “This is my blog. There are many like it, but this one is mine.” Any fans of Full Metal Jacket out there? My husband loves the movie, which means I love the movie (whether I really do or not). Actually it’s pretty good, when I’m in the mood for that sort of thing.

Sometimes I think about the people I’ve known, the stories I tell. Like the time the dog tore out the arm of the couch when I was in the bathroom. Or the neighbor who tormented her, with complete disregard for his own safety. He once put his face only a couple inches from hers while I had her out on the leash.He didn’t seem to mind that I could barely hold her, or that she was snarling and completely enraged by his teasing. What an idiot he was!

Or how about the coworker who married a woman he’d seen in person off and on for a week; she worked at a resort where he was staying. After a few phone calls, he married her and set about trying to get her in the country. I couldn’t help but wonder about that.

Or my grandmother, the mother of nine children, about twenty years from oldest to youngest. And she happened to be one of the most patient people I’ve ever known. I guess she had to be.

Or our family friend, who totaled her husband’s car because she was sick of his drinking. Did I mention she used a hammer to total it? He sat in the house and watched, too afraid to try to stop her. I wouldn’t have tried to stop her either!

I bet you’ve got some stories that would make great stories as well.

So, what do you think? I was ready for a new theme (yeah, I get bored easily), and this one jumped out at me for being spring-y and fun.

As luck would have it, I also had to get WordPress upgraded in order to use the theme.

So, last night I turned in a ticket around 11:00 or so, medium priority, asking that the upgrade be done. I had an email this morning that it was ready. Not bad, huh?

Many of you may know that I’m a programmer, so the irony that I pay for this type of work probably isn’t lost on you. I enjoy programming, but it isn’t something that I want to delve into at home. When I’m writing, I want technology to be as invisible as possible, which means someone else does my blog maintenance.

The host I use is Open Source Host. They’re inexpensive, and the service is fantastic. No, I don’t own stock or anything like that. These guys are just good at what they do. They do your installs and upgrades as a part of the hosting plan, and even better, they’ll install whatever open source platform you want (blog, wiki, cms, etc.) Look at Open Source CMS for a list of what they offer.

If you’re thinking of moving your blog to another host (you don’t have to change domain names), then give these guys a look.

I wanted to introduce and talk about a couple online writing tools (free!) that you might find useful too.

The first is Google Docs. This used to be Writely, so you may have seen that mentioned elsewhere online. Google docs is handy for keeping work available from anywhere. If I get a few minutes over lunch to write or edit, then Google Docs saves a lot of time and hassle.

You can even add Google Docs to your Google homepage.

One thing to be aware of… There seem to be some length limitations. I’ve noticed that all my novel doesn’t upload, so be careful with that. You might have to split the document if it’s large.

Another online tool I find really handy is a widget available for your Google homepage, Sticky Notes. It puts a small area on your page for notes, and I use that to jot down ideas when something comes to me at work. It lets me get the idea down somewhere and then get back to what I ought to be doing! (smile)

Sticky Notes is very good for short-term ideas, like blog and article ideas. I still carry (and use) my moleskine for jotting down story and novel ideas.

I know that ideas often come to me when I have the least opportunity to write, so it’s handy to have a way to get them down so I don’t forget. Yeah, like I’m forgetful….

What do you want from your writing? Do you dream of being a poet, curled up in front of a fireplace with your notebook? Or maybe teaching a group of young writers? Perhaps you’re like me and want to write novels for a living. You dream of sitting in your office, coffee at hand, pecking away at your keyboard, creating characters and worlds your readers are dying to read about.

Think about what you want for a few minutes. Will you quit your day job? Work at home? Will you have an office or continue working wherever you work now? What will your day be like? Will you sleep in, or will you rise early and greet the day at your computer?

Think hard about your ideal writing career. Make some notes, or write a journal entry about it. What will THE CALL be like, the one where an agent calls to say that yes, you’ve been published? Imagine how that’s going to feel, how excited you’ll be.

Now take a deep breath for one more question.

What have you done today to bring yourself closer to the writing dream you just imagined?

The truth of the matter is that the dream will remain only a dream unless we work to bring it about. I have to remind myself of this almost daily. It’s not enough to dream or plan, I have to do something to make it happen.

Do you have a novel languishing, crying out for your attention? Queries you’ve been meaning to mail? A poem or article to finish? Whatever it is, stop surfing (and reading this blog!!) and spend some time right now working on it. Don’t go to bed until you’ve done something to bring your dreams about.

And do it again tomorrow, and the next day, and so on.

If you’re like me, there’ll be days when you don’t manage to do anything, but over time, those days become fewer and fewer.

Wow, that was a bit worse than I expected. I had my wisdom tooth out Friday morning, and it took eight (yes, that’s 8!!) shots to get me numb. I felt okay afterwards, until the numbness started to wear off.

Ow!

I’ve been feeling rough all weekend, hence no blog entries. However, my mouth is now only mildly sore, and I’m ready to get underway again. Sorry for being away so long.

My husband made a comment the other night that’s had me thinking ever since. He said he was proud of me for getting so much done.

I guess I do get a lot done most days. I’m usually not home until six or seven in the evening. Then dinner and cleaning up the kitchen. Housework. Writing. Blogging. Laundry. I’ve been thinking about how I’ve changed over the last year.

For one thing, I’m more focused on what I want. I want to write for a living. Granted, that’s not an easy thing to do, but it’s not impossible either. If I want to do that, then I have to work at it. Common sense. I used to postpone writing, spend too much time on t.v., and assume that I’d get around to it “eventually.” I’ve worked hard to change that over the last year.

I’ve mentioned some of the productivity and organization sites I read. Among the ones that have helped the most are

1. flylady.  Yes, it’s a little cheesy, but if you give it a shot, it’ll work. I ran across the site because it was recommended in a writing book, for those who are considering going freelance. (Sorry, I can’t remember what book). She may focus on housework, decluttering, bills, etc., but the principles she talks about can apply to anything.
2. Steve Pavlina. He’s a little new-agey for me, but his principles are definitely on target. He has lots of articles on productivity, as well as other topics, so the site is well worth a visit. He has some good advice on building a high-traffic web site as well.
3. Getting Things Done. This one has done more for keeping me organized at work than at home, and I have to say that it’s great. Get the book first, and then spend some time reading the blogs and forums. You’ll gradually work into a system that works for you. I create a project and attach tasks to it. I don’t worry with contexts because at work, 90 percent of what I do is in front of a computer. No real need to track that.

So, what do I do differently now than a year ago?

1. Worst first. I’m not sure where this idea came from. Maybe it was mine? When I think about what I need to get done in the evenings, I do the least attractive task first. This leaves the fun stuff as a sort of reward after I do the crappy jobs. So, the litter box gets done before the laundry, which gets done before the writing, and so on.
2. Most important first. If I don’t have time to do everything I need (or want) to do, then I do the most important ones first. That seems obvious, but you’d be surprised how many times I haven’t done that. Yes, writing falls in the “most important” category.
3. “You can do anything for 15 minutes.” That little flylady-ism is very true, and very helpful. When I feel that I just can’t get started, I promise myself that 15 minutes is all I have to do. Sometimes, I feel like going on, and sometimes I don’t. If not, I quit at 15 minutes; no beating myself up allowed.
4. More focus. I think more about what I want and if I’m doing what I need to do to get it. I occasionally take some time and think about my goals and evaluate if I’m spending my time in the best way. Am I spending enough time on my major goals (writing for a living), or am I getting bogged down with smaller things?
5. Multitask. No, I don’t write while jogging or brush my teeth and knit at the same time. I do use “down” time for other things though. Since my husband and I drive to work together, he drives and I knit. I knit or read or blog while watching television. I grab writing time between loads of laundry. I used to think I had to have large blocks of time to really accomplish something, but I’ve learned to use small chunks, and I make real progress on my work.
6. Relax. I think taking time to relax is just as important to being productive as working is. I do my very best to leave my work at work, and I think that makes me more productive at home and at the office. I take time to do things I enjoy EVERY DAY. I think women are particularly guilty of putting their own needs last. If you don’t take care of yourself, you won’t have the energy to do for others.

I hope some of these ideas are helpful. Maybe this is true of every generation, but I think people are busier today than they’ve ever been, so it just makes sense to learn to make good use of your time.

I’ve been thinking a lot about writing, especially for those like me who write across different areas. It’s hard to balance fiction, blogging, and non-fiction. To make it more difficult, the writing I enjoy the least (non-fiction) is the only one that actually brings in any money. The blog actually costs me to host and to maintain the domain name.

My goal is to publish my fiction (and, presumably, make some money from that). I find it hard to balance my writing time. It’s easier, and sometimes more rewarding, to do a quick blog entry or article instead of slogging my way through editing the novel. I don’t want to sound like I don’t enjoy the novel, I do, but the novel certainly is more in the delayed gratification category.

What kinds of things do you do to balance your writing life? I’ve tossed some ideas out below. They’re things I’ve tried, and they might work for you.

1. Write first. This works relatively well for me. At the very least, I get some fiction writing time. On the downside, it makes working on the novel seem more a chore and less something to look forward to.

2. Set goals. This works a little better. I do NaNoWriMo every year, and the sheer audacity of it keeps me writing, and I’ve gotten two decent rough drafts in the bargain. I stumble when it comes to follow-through (editing).

3. Divide into small chunks. This works very well for me. I’ve managed to work my way through the editing of the novel so far by taking it one step at a time. I set a goal to work on 5-10 pages at a time, and I’m making steady progress.

4. Focus on one thing at a time. One thing I tend to do is get overwhelmed. I need to edit, proofread, check the timeline, check for inconsistencies, and it’s easy to feel that there’s so much to do it can never get done. I’ve focused this time on looking at each scene and how it fits into the plot overall. Does the scene work? Does it belong at all? Does it end well? Do I see any major inconsistencies? By focusing on the work as a whole and how each scene fits into it, I’ve been able to stay focused on the editing at hand and make progress.

5. No magic bullets. You may have a favorite way of editing, or a favorite piece of software you use. I’ve tried several different ones, and while some are pretty good, I haven’t found anything that doesn’t end up distracting me from the work at hand. I’m better off with my word processor.

On this editing pass, I’m making the following notes.

• What is the subject of the scene? Very briefly describe what’s happening.
• What is the major conflict? Is there one?
• General notes (anything that I want to remember to check or change)
• How does it end? Does the ending work? Should it be merged with another scene.

For example, notes from one of my scenes may look like this.

• Summary: After a sermon, Fred returns to his dressing room to find his son, who has been dead two weeks, waiting.
• Conflict: Major conflict is Fred trying to absorb the situation, trying to come to terms with what’s happening. Conflict is rather weak.
• Notes: Scene is a bit short.
• Ending: Ends with Fred realizing it’s not precisely Jeremy at all. Should the scene continue? Is the ending a cop-out?

I’ll post an example of my editing in the next day or two so you can see what kind of things I’m doing. Maybe it can save you some headaches.

My husband got me a spindle and some roving for my birthday. As if I weren’t already addicted enough to knitting!

I spun a little white roving my secret pal sent. Any guesses as to why it’s not in any pictures? Yep, I made a mess of it. Toward the end I was getting a pretty consistent twist, but the singles are way, way too big! I definitely need more practice.

Here’s the roving he bought me. Aren’t they pretty?