© Let's Go Anywhere

Mimi Wolske, December 2013

All Right Reserved

twisted the cool air

out of my curly hair

that morning on the bridge

over the Rio Grande

your camera given to

the others who would

snap a single shot

us together under

the sign

proof

we were there

other souvenirs

silver bracelet from you

a handmade sand tile

a complete pine cone

stand as totems

around me

day to day

proof

we were there

silenced

idle in a corner

set there

but you cannot

change

the storyline

with yesterdays

and tomorrows

no one puts Baby

in the corner

a book shamelessly bleeds

on the car CD player

as we cross the

Continental Divide

green glow

from the dash

bathes us

invites us

to stop

settled beside me

tucking wisps of my hair

behind my ear

turned upside down

held and loved

my face reddens

panting for air

something to drink

common ground found

in our blood

in our sound

I wake to open windows

unfamiliar blinds

humming air conditioner

and I know we did

something right

again

(what if I tell?)

DO YOU REMEMBER LIFE BEFORE FACEBOOK?

Believe it or not, there was a thing called living before people’s worlds became a cyber mental prison we have been led to believe is socializing—because that is how we are brainwashed.

The thing to remember before Facebook imprisons you, with their faux life and making you believe that you have tons of friends, is to KEEP your living, face-to-face friends and acquaintances. Do things with the REAL people; visit them; go places with them; celebrate with them; share sorrows and heartaches with them.

Some people will be, and have been, tricked into believing they have a new life via Facebook. What they have is a simulation of life…a simulation where Facebook plays God. What these people have is also a new kind of death, one that hasn’t been studied. Oh, the social part has been over-studied and maybe even analyzed. Maybe…how does one analyze a computer and a computer-concept of life?

How parallel is Facebook life to real life? It is not…not even on the socializing level. Oh, we can make new friends and new enemies will arise, but other than words there is not real interaction. Can you travel with them, ride with them, go to the theater with any of the friends via Facebook? Can you cook with them? Can they come to the hospital when you are there? Can you go to a party with them via Facebook?

No. We can only look out through the Facebook pane of glass that separates us from the REAL WORLD. And, if Facebook decides you have done something they do not like? They play god and deactivate you (it is their own god-like way of taking your social life away. You are dead to Facebook and to all those Facebook friends you thought you had.).

Imagine you sign in to the social network one day and your account is LOCKED or DISABLED.

Don’t even ask because no one at Facebook cares. They WILL NOT answer any questions you send them; they will not answer the phone if you find their number; and IF they decide they might answer an email you send them at their Facebook email, it will only be to direct you to their HELP page. Which, by the way, is no help at all.

I am a social creature. I like people and enjoy meeting people and making friends. Fortunately, while I loved Facebook for offering the possibility to reach people around the world, I kept my real friends. I made some new friends via this tool (and, that’s ALL IT IS) and some peers in the publishing and art world and because (and Facebook HAS NOTHING TO DO with this) these two worlds offer shows and conventions and local groups where I go and meet them in person.

There was a song the girls in Girl Scouts sang (maybe they do still) that everyone should know and remember. It goes: Make new friends but the keep the old…. Good advice. Make friends on these social networks, but keep your true friends. Why?

Our true friends and our new friends do not need a third party to intervene and determine how long we are able to keep in contact.

With over 5000 friends, over hundreds of followers on my Facebook page and on each of my subpages Facebook allowed (ENCOURAGED) me to create, one person got through Facebook’s security and sent me something Facebook didn’t like. I have no idea if Facebook played god with them and took away their life, but they played with me for two weeks, leading me to believe I could live…

But, Two Weeks Is Too Long To Be On Faux Life-Support From Facebook.

I have real friends and family. And, I have Google and Twitter…and my acquired FB friends have found me there and are “following” me; I’m following them, too. And, while I cannot interact via FB, Twitter can. People looking for me on FB find posts from Twitter.

Facebook won’t let me DEACTIVATE my one FB page. You have to be signed in to do that and they have LOCKED my page. No, I am not able to create a new page. I tried going around them by doing that…MY URL IS LOCKED FROM FACEBOOK.

What I have discovered is I spend more time on my writing and my painting than I do posting and looking up friends so I can post on their FB pages as well. I am a conscious being and I solve problems; I create alternative scenarios and the consequences of those. I am able to accomplish goals and maintain my self-awareness. I am REAL and I live because Facebook is a FALSE GOD and the life they took was not real.

Facebook Contact Information:

Facebook
156 University Ave.
Palo Alto, CA 94301-1605
Phone: 650-543-4800  (Facebook doesn’t offer phone support)
Fax: 650-543-4801

Website:	http://www.facebook.com
Facebook Help:	http://www.facebook.com/help/
E-mail:	info@facebook.com

MUSINGS: OUCH! YOU'RE HEAD HOPPING

OUCH! YOU'RE HEAD HOPPING

POV has the power to make your story come to life or to confuse readers to the point of tossing your book out the window…unless it’s an eBook. Then they’ll just RETURN it and impact your sales stats.

THERE IS NOTHING PURIST ABOUT POV

There was a time, way back when, head hopping didn’t exist. Or, at least there wasn’t a name for it. We were educated on HOW to be professional writers…on what was acceptable and what got our manuscript tossed into File 13 by publishers and agents alike. Even though there wasn’t a name for it, authors didn’t allow head hopping.

HEAD HOPPING IS NOT A GRAMMATICAL RULE THAT CANNOT BE BROKEN; IT IS A CONVENTION THAT HAS GROWN OVER THE YEARS. 

Today's readers, all readers, are more critical and intolerant of sloppy writing. They are investing their time and money in our stories and it’s the character’s voice they expect to hear as clearly as their own. It’s the character’s unique view of the world that keeps readers intrigued and persuades them to empathize. It’s the way we, as writers, masterfully conceal and reveal details that keeps the plots fresh and our readers turning the pages.

Savvy readers know it’s our use of narrative that determines whose viewpoint they’re in at any given moment. The term narration was defined for us as it is applied to the telling of action within a scene as opposed to the description of the setting or a dialogue between characters. However, there are also perception, introspection, and voice (i.e., the diction, style, and attitude of the narration) of the POV to be considered. But, those are necessary items saved for a future post. 

What I really want to present is the difference between writing separate scenes for each of our characters and the “unmanicured”, multiple-third person POV—the narration of a scene that switches from one character’s POV to another’s, indiscriminately shifting among them (this is called head-hopping). The latter is where most novice writers get confused, break POV rules, and lose their readers. And, head hopping has become a CARDINAL SIN in the publishing industry…even in the Indie and eBook publishing industry (because writing is still writing no matter where or how it is published).

It’s head-hopping in multiple third-person or limited third-person Point Of View run amok without a plan

What is head hopping exactly? It’s a lack of controlling the other viewpoint approaches. It's shifting from one POV to another without any discernible reason (which, by the way, makes the narrative chaotic…schizophrenic). It’s like being trapped on a bus with a driver who keeps changing lanes every few seconds. It trivializes the significance of being privy to the thought of the important characters. It confuses readers who expect that knowing the history and inner secrets of a character signifies that character is essential to the plot. It’s multiple third-person and limited third-person POV run amok without a plan, a purpose, or regard for the effect on our readers.

Create each POV passage as detailed as possible

Off the top of my head, I can think of only one book, (but, I know there are a few others) “Under the Dome” by Stephen King, where head hopping was effective because it was masterfully done. It was the scene of a shooting rampage that begins with the view point of the shooter. As the reader, we’re inside the character’s head and it’s not exactly my comfort level, nor the comfort zone of many other readers either. The character, a young man with a brain tumor, keeps looking at people he knows and thinking and swearing and then shooting them…dead. Just when some readers may have gotten too comfortable in the shooter’s head, King has a surprise for us. For one paragraph in that scene, he permits us to experience the thoughts and feelings of one of the young man’s victims, a woman…from the moment she sees the gun pointed at her to the point after she is shot and fades into a nothingness of a “non-afterlife”. Then, in the next paragraph we are back in the shooter’s head.

I think the reason this works is that King followed the rule of not beginning and ending this scene from the POV of the person getting killed (which is another no-no in writing...well, honestly, how can a person who is dead end the scene?).

So, how do we know if there is head hopping in our MS?

Here’s a hint to help: multiple third-person POV means we write separate scenes from each of our character’s POV. If the scene has to be in omniscient POV, then limit and control the perspective of, say, two characters. Move into a character’s POV just as that character prepares to take action. Then, once the character is performing the action, there’s no need to be in his head. Let the readers see the action through the narration or the dialogue.

It’s at this point that perspective “shifts” back the omniscient and our readers are able to get a comprehensive view of the action. This is not done willy-nilly. This is used when a character has a unique perspective to offer. If head hopping occurs, it makes it difficult to create a sustained plot narrative or identifiable characters.

When head hopping happens in the middle of continuous action, it’s a serious problem

A second hint that can help is to create each POV passage as detailed as possible and conclude one character’s “part” before the scene viewpoint switches to another character. More than one version of the multiple characters’ reality is still being created, but using this “trick” allows our readers to finish the scene with an understanding of not only how each character’s perspective is unique but also how it contributes meaningfully to move the overall story forward (as in the Stephen King novel mentioned above).

Here’s a test to help determine if it is multiple third-person POV or head hopping appears in your MS. Can you read people’s minds? Can they read yours? Nope. Well, it’s the same for the characters in our stories. PROTAGONIST cannot know what ANTAGONIST is thinking, what s/he is planning, or how s/he feels. And, it works both ways. Choose a scene from your MS where you believe multiple-person POV is used. Pick up your highlighter and highlight every shift where one character knows what the other character knows, sees, hears, or feels.

Here’s another test…one closer to home. Print out a scene. Pick up your high-lighter and every time there is a shift in viewpoint, highlight it. Now, let’s start with the last shift. Can you state your purpose for that shift? No? If you cannot, then change back to the previous POV. Work backwards like this for each shift highlighted until you get to the beginning of you scene.

One last hint out of many I could post (but, I’ll save them for questions—if there are any). DID YOU KNOW that the longer your story stays in one POV, the more powerful the shift to another will be? A long passage in one POV allows your readers to get to know your character’s experience of reality (and so do you) and it gives the POV shift more importance because readers will know something happened to cause the change.

Hopping distances your readers from the close emotional connection with the central POV in the scene; it draws attention to the fact that the writing is an artifice; and it just sounds awkward unless masterfully pulled off.

IF you choose to use multiple or limited third-person POV, make sure each of your characters is different enough so readers can’t and do not confuse her/him with another character. Okay, this last falls more under character building/development than POV, but it is very important to remember. Each of your characters has original and distinct traits. They all come to the readers with different backgrounds, jobs or positions, ages, personalities, etc. Just interview them to learn how true this is (well, interviewing your characters could be a future musing).

As a member of a professional Indie group, Mimi Wolske evaluates books at indie writers’ requests. As a published, international author and  Indie Writer, a past ghostwriter and editor, and a speaker/trainer, she shares her information to help as many writers as she is able to reach. 

MUSINGS: INTERVIEW WITH KAMERON BROOK

There is a problem with this site and we apologize. To see the interview and comment for a chance to win a free copy of one of Kameron Brook’s books, please go to:

http://mimiandmona.wordpress.com/2013/07/25/blog-interview-with-kameron-brook-giveaway/

MIMI: I never met our guest and I admit I haven’t read anything she has written...but I plan to. This woman writes erotic stories and it was a friend and dedicated reader of this writer’s works who told me about her. Our guest’s list of short stories and novelettes includes: “Welcome to the Neighborhood”, “Dreams Really Do Come True”, “New Beginnings”, “Girls’ Night Out”, “Sinfully Delicious”, and the most recent novelette “Naughty Delights”.

    

Please welcome the family-oriented, mother of 2, who is close to her own mother, the shy but with a thing for knee socks — Kameron Brook.

MONA:  Hi Kameron and thanks for agreeing to visit us today. Hey…what’s this knee sock thing you have going on and what does hubby say? Ever wear any of them to bed?

KAMERON: Wow, seriously how did you find out about my sock fetish? Yes, you heard right. I have a sock fetish. I think there's nothing sexier than a woman in knee or thigh high socks. Yes, I do go to bed in them often and when I say "bed", I mean that's part of my sexy-lets get it on- outfit. Dirk loves the look so much, he asks me all the time to wear them to bed with a tank, small panties, and of course my glasses. He loves the naughty librarian look and guess what.....SO DO I!

MIMI AND MONA:  <BIG SILLY GRINS> 

MIMI: Does anyone call you Kam?

KAMERON: Yes and I’m totally okay with it. Just don’t call me dear. For some reason, I’ve always disliked that endearment.

MIMI: Do you have any other nickname people use?

KAMERON: No, I’m just Kameron or Kam. J

MONA: Tell us about the moment you decided to become a writer. Was it an easy decision? Difficult decision?

KAMERON: About three years ago, I opened up my laptop and started writing. Dirk and I shared fantasies back and forth. We shared those in our notes and on our blog. After much encouragement from him and Facebook friends, I submitted “Girls Night Out”. It was a hit and I couldn’t have been happier.

MIMI: What is the most difficult part of being a co-author?

KAMERON: Dirk is a busy man so he has trouble finding time to sit down and work on his sections. After spending hours upon hours at his computer related job, sometimes the last thing he wants to do is type on it at night. I can’t really blame him there.

MIMI: How much planning and communication would you guess is involved?

KAMERON: We bounce ideas off each other all the time. Some ideas stay dormant and some we act upon. If you opened up any of our WIP’s, you would notice notes to each other throughtout the story. Ex. Remember that one time we did this…..wouldn’t it fit perfectly here?

MONA: Hey, Kameron, what kind of music do you like?

KAMERON: My playlist changes all the time. Just last month, I was rockin out to Billy Idol. This week, Usher is my man. The only types of music I don’t listen to is jazz, polka, or country.

MIMI: Do you listen to music while you write?

KAMERON: No, I actually turn on a comedic show or movie. I find laughter relaxing and it helps me focus.

MIMI: Why do you think people read erotica?

KAMERON: Maybe they want to live out their own fantasies. Maybe they are looking for inspirations for their own sex lives. For whatever reasons people chose to read it, I’m sure glad they do.

MONA: What do you think erotic fiction does for your readers?

KAMERON: I think it lets them escape into a world which maybe they haven’t entered yet or one that they have entered and it rehashes fond memories. At least I hope it raises good memories.

MIMI: What can you tell us about your ideal reader?

KAMERON: Anyone who likes to laugh, loves a steamy scene is our ideal reader. That’s at least half the world, right? J

MONA: Why do you think sex sells?

KAMERON: Because we are all sexual beings who enjoy getting kinky either by our own actions or through the actions of a character (s).

MIMI: How much does your own sexuality come into play when you are writing a book?

KAMERON: Every story we create has some truth to them. Either a scene(s) or the entire creation. We never divulge how much or which part. We want the reader to wonder.

MONA: What hangs on the wall above your bed?

KAMERON: A sign that reads, “Live, Laugh, Love”.

MIMI:  So, do any of your female characters have tattoos? If so, who, what is the tattoo, where is it located, and which book are we talking about?

KAMERON: --

MONA: Can you give us 5 unrelated words that describe your main character, Donovan, from “Naughty Delights”?

KAMERON: Romantic, comical, chef, strong, and sexyasallgetout. Don’t bother looking up the last word in Webster. It’s totally a real word. Don’t believe me. Now, would I ever lie to you? On second thought, don’t answer that.

MIMI: Give us three "Good-to-Know" facts about you. C’mon…be creative. For example, what can you tell us about your first job? Or, fun details of your favorite way to unwind.

KAMERON: One, I am seriously freaked out by garden gnomes. Dirk loves to tease me about it. Recently, he bought a gnome candle and lit it. Freaked me the hell out! Two, I would rather eat a bowl of bussel sprouts than a M&M’s. No joke! Three, I’m still a cartoon junkie. You can’t go wrong with Looney Tunes or Scooby Doo.

MIMI: Kameron, what book or books, if any, or what authors (living or dead) would you name as influences and why?

KAMERON: I read daily and the ones I most frequent are: Kresley Cole, Lara Adrian, Pamela Palmer, Keri Arthur, Karen Moning, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Shayla Black, Lora Leigh, Jaci Burton and (drum roll please) James Patterson. Betcha didn’t see him coming!

MONA: If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?

KAMERON: The only person I can think of who inspres me to write and be a great writer is Dirk. He truly is my greatest champion!

(dirk)

MONA: What book are you reading now and what’s on your TBR list?

KAMERON: I am currently reading MacRieve by Kresley Cole. Next up will be Succubus Vengeance by G.E. Stills.

MIMI: Will you share something about yourself that no one knows?  Any secrets?

KAMERON: I have six toes on each foot……. Kidding.

MONA: So, what actor/actress would be a good mix with Elizabeth or Donovan of “Naughty Delights”?

KAMERON: Joe Manganiello would make a great Donovan or Jackson, best friend. Heck I just want him to play a role from one of my stories.

Let’s see, Elizabeth…… I chose – ME.

(Joe Manganiello)

Naughty Delights’ Donovan = Joe Manganiello

MIMI: What was the hardest thing for you to cut from you MS?

KAMERON: We tweaked down the menu board because if we didn’t, the passage would’ve been way too long and wordy.

MIMI: For those who do not know what the “menu board” is, could you give them an idea?

KAMERON: (Menu Board) We listened many sugary creations on the bakery board - our most favorite treats:  Hairy Balls - Donut Holes with Dark Chocolate Shavings and Peach Fuzz – Donut Holes with White Chocolate Shavings 

MONA: Let’s say Elizabeth (from “Naughty Delights”) has to have a password for something.  What would that password be?

KAMERON: 2hairyballs… HAHA!

MONA: HAHAHA!

MIMI: So, from that list of the stories you and your co-authors have written, and if we add in “Naughty Delights”, which one was your favorite?

KAMERON: “Naughty Delights” is most definitely my favorite story because I loved the menu board and the comic moments. Plus, I thought the epilogue was so tender.

MIMI: Which story carried your favorite character and what about that character do you like more than the others?

KAMERON: I like all my characters equally. Hey, I don’t chose favorites with my two kids so I can’t chose favorites here either. Sorry.

MONA: Since your books are short-story and novelette length, do your dedicated readers ever ask when you’re going to write a novella or maybe even a novel?

KAMERON: All the freaking time!!!!! Dirk and I have discussed writing a detective book but who knows what the future holds for us.

MIMI: Kameron, I just want to say what fun it was getting to know you. Thanks for taking time to share a bit about yourself (and for giving away a copy of Naughty Delights). I think you’re someone it would be interesting to know better.

KAMERON: Thank you so much for having me on today. I truly had a great time and I look forward to meeting your followers. Folks, good luck on the giveaway. I believe whomever wins the short story will walk away one happy camper. (Whether from laughing so hard or from the steamy nookie sections.) 

Please leave me a comment about the interview or about your favorite book by Kameron Brooks.

MONA: You have an excerpt you want to share? Tell us why you chose this particular excerpt.

KAMERON: --

It’s grand opening day of Guilty Pleasures, and Donovan is there bright and early with his best friend Jackson. He came to show support to Jackson’s girl, Felicia and maybe grab a sugary treat. Little did he know he’d find something sweeter than anything offered on the menu board – the woman of his dreams. 

Excerpt:

This is it, Elizabeth thought as she pushed through the door to deliver a large batch of chocolate and vanilla sugar cookies to the display case. It was grand opening day for Guilty Pleasures, and she couldn’t be more excited or more nervous. Years of scrimping and saving had accumulated to this day. In a matter of minutes the bakery would be open for business, and their city would officially have their first taboo sweet shop.

Elizabeth took one final look around, making sure everything was perfect, when Felicia, her business partner and friend, appeared next to her, chomping on a fornication cookie.

Out of all the sugary creations crafted for the shop, Elizabeth and Felicia would agree these were the most fun to develop. They spent many wine-filled nights brainstorming and researching ideas for the inserts.

“What’s it say, babe?” Elizabeth asked, nodding toward the paper in Felicia’s hand.

Felicia laughed and read the naughty message, "Two heads are better than one, but three, now that’s what I call a party!" As she tucked the paper into her back pocket, she asked, “I forget. Was this yours or mine?”

“I actually think your man deserves credit for this one.” Grinning, Elizabeth grabbed the sampler plate off the counter and walked toward the front door, turning to take one final look around before the place filled up. She couldn't be any prouder of the decor in her little slice of heaven. She glanced to her left and smiled proudly as she admired the photos on the wall. 

The food photographer they had hired did a fantastic job capturing the beauty and sexiness of several corset cakes available for purchase. But the icing on the cake, so to speak, was the mural to the right of the entrance. A local artist painted "What Are Your Guilty Pleasures" but the letters were actually naked people in compromising naughty positions.

Felicia giggled. “Oh yeah, it’s all coming back to me now. We definitely drank way too much that night.”

Nodding in agreement, Elizabeth turned on the neon sign and opened the doors for business.

Already, a few eager customers were waiting by the window. They actually applauded when Elizabeth stepped out of the shop door. She greeted them with a smile and offered them their choice of iced cocks or boobs. She wasn’t surprised the guests blushed when they made their selection and bit into the cookie. She expected to witness many rosy cheeks in the hours ahead of them—giggles too.

As the streets began to fill up with people going to work, Elizabeth tried to coax even more passersby into the shop with her funny shout-outs such as: “I bet our peckers taste as good as your man’s. No wait, even better!” And, “Our breasts are fantastic and all natural.” All the while she held up a naughty treat.

After the bell dinged behind her a couple dozen times, she realized the humorous approach to draw in customers was working like a charm. Now with them inside, she had no doubt every person who’d entered the shop erected from her dreams would be a repeat customer. And with this thought, she knew the many dinners of Ramen noodles were well worth the discomfort it cost her over the years.

MIMI AND MONA:  Here is the contact information for Kameron Brook and Dirk Tyler and links to buy their novelettes.

Blog: http://www.dirkandkam.com
Facebook Author page: https://www.facebook.com/DirkandKam

Goodreads' links:

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5781386.Kameron_Brook

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5120666.Dirk_Tyler

Amazon Author Pages:

http://amazon.com/author/kameronbrook

http://www.amazon.com/Dirk-Tyler/e/B00A8IDHMC/

Apologies for the poor presentation of this interview -- this happens sometimes when the guests responses that are merged with the questions appear to blogger as "previously printed in another form".

The software used merges interviewers' questions with the guest's responses. The responses are Kameron Brook’s and were not added to, changed, or edited, and nothing was deleted from any response; not all questions received a response or were deleted by the person being interviewed.

Blog: Book Review of The Last Debutante

BOOK REVIEW: BOOKS THAT MAKE YOU 

WANT TO CLIMB THE WALLS

Let me start by saying I really do love me a good romance novel and I have really always enjoyed such novels by Julia London.

Until I bought The Last Debutante and about a quarter of the way through I was ready to climb the walls.

Here...let me explain.

This is the final book in the series, The Secrets of Hadley Green and that’s really a good thing.

Daria Babcock is the last debutante in all of Hadley Green – and she’s 21 years old—that’s practically on the shelf during the Regency era in England. How will she ever meet to titled lord who will want her.

As fate would have it, her grandmother is in Scotland and needs help. Her parents were going to go and leave Daria at home. But, Daria convinces them to let her and her friend Charity go. When they arrive, Charity finds a tour coach with a couple of elderly women and sends Daria on her way alone. Unhappy but resigned to find her grandmother, Daria takes the tour coach and gets dropped off, with her trunk and suitcase, on the middle of the road.

Too heavy to carry, she leaves the trunk in the road, and follows a path to find her grandmother’s cottage.

She finds the small cottage, and while her grandmother is nowhere to be found, when Daria opens the second bedroom door, she discovers a naked man in the bed. Then she learns he’s a highlander, but doesn’t learn his name is Jamie Campbell until later. He’s been shot. And Daria’s grandmother shot him!

Jamie gets rescued, but he takes Daria and holds her ransom because grandmother stole 1000 pounds from Jamie’s uncle (actually, from the Campbell Clan—and Jamie is laird of the clan).

Hmmm, is this beginning to sound familiar to you? Can you say “Outlander”?

Granted, Claire in The Outlander does a bit of time traveling from 1945 to the 18th century, which sets Diana Gabaldon's novel a step above most romance novels...well, and the fact that I think Gabaldon's novel can also be described as a work of detailed accounts of the era's Scottish clan life. Plus, Gabaldon's plot propelled by the time-travel thing.

I like Julia London’s romance novels, but I would have been a much happier if she’d been concerned enough to at least change the story line and the character’s names…Jamie, Hamish, Dougal, etc. I can’t imagine what she was thinking as she continued to write that the Campbell “laird wanted to marry the ‘Sassenach’ even though he knows he has to his clan.

View all my reviews at Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/6201603

Musings--Writing

In a single day, there are 1440 minutes.

I know...you really needed to know that. In a complex world where we are already busy busy as hell, it seems almost impossible to find time to write.

What if we think about writing as something other than a task, a job, a commitment? What if writing becomes a choice. You know, like cooking a meal instead of going out or passing through the Drive-Thru (I hate "thru" because it always reminds me of a sword being plunged "thru" some poor devil).

We have all heard that time is money. Well, maybe more to the point is our time is like money. We have only so much, right? So, let’s make decisions about how and where we are going to spend it.

If writing is a choice, then maybe we won't keep looking at our watch and wondering WHERE we're going to FIND the time. If writing is our choice, something we really want, won't me MAKE the time?

If you want to date that special person, won't you MAKE time in you busy schedule? If you want to go to a concert, won't you MAKE time in your busy evening?

When it is something we really want, won't we make the choice to be writers? Once we commit, then don't we want to MAKE time to write?

We don’t want to squeeze our writing between our other activities; heck, as busy with our lives as most of us are, we might not ever FIND time to get our writing done.

But, if it’s something we truly want, then we become proactive…we get creative and rework our schedules to meet our desire to write rather than trying to work writing into our schedules.

I'm a list maker...something my dad taught me to do before I was ten years old. Anyway, try creating a list of how your time is used. I did this; boy, was I surprised. Here are some of the items on my list.

1.  Unavoidable Tasks--this is where you might want to add your career/job/work.

2.  Necessary Tasks--well, obviously, you will not be giving up things like cooking meals, doing laundry, gardening and yard work, getting dressed, eating meals. After I got everything listed, I tried to figure out which of these task could be reassessed, rescheduled, or maybe combined with other tasks.

3.  Tasks That Make Me Feel Good -- hey, I was not about to give up any of these...there are not that many, but they are things I really like.

4.  Tasks I Think I Should Do/Obligations--this is where I included my volunteer work but I discovered that there were tasks I assumed that I could hand off to others; e.g., picking up the kids toys and clothes. But there were also things I did that really did not need to be done. I offer my obsession for ironing sheets. Totally unnecessary but a task I took on when I thought I had time. Now, I can just fold them and put them in the linen closet and use that time for writing.

5.  Tasks That Take An Inordinate Amount Of Time--I found I was losing time from distractions--interruptions I permitted when I performing a task...interruptions that could have waited. If someone can't find a sock or the keys, I don't stop what I'm doing any longer. I let them search and offer suggestions while continuing what I am working on.

6.  Time Spent Reading, Surfing The Net, Playing Computer Games Or Games With Family, Etc.--This is a HUGE one for me and I will not say that all or even most of them are time wasters. To me, time with my family doing anything and time reading or necessary tasks. The others, well, those were my time wasters. I do not watch much TV, but there is another time waster. We do not need to be entertained when we could entertain our selves by doing something we really want to do--WRITE.

7.  Errands--Holy Cow!! I never realized how much of a drain on my time there was by making repeated trips in the same day. I didn’t consider that a trip to the grocery store involved a 15-minute drive each way…well, that was an hour of my time if I made 2 trips. That’s when I created lists for everything, not just groceries—like dropping off or picking up dry cleaning or anything I may have promised to drop off to a friend or neighbor, a list for office need, etc. That way, I was able to combine the lists and do the errands and make only one trip in the car. I also decided that if, the day AFTER I did all of my errands, someone said, “Mom, I need such-and-such,” I say I’d get it on my next trip or point them in the direction of the store.

And this is where I taught others to respect my time. It is also the point where I decided I did not need to answer the phone every time it rang. In fact, I unplug it sometimes just so I will not be disturbed. And, when I'm in my office writing, I have a little pillow I hang on the door knob that says, "Shhh, Novel In Progress"--it's a more pleasant reminder to anyone on the other side than my being interrupted and saying something like, "I don't have time", "No, you cannot go, watch TV, play on the computer, what-ever", "Unless you're bleeding, handle it yourself". Well, you get the picture. We need to insist family members respect our need for time to write.

There are a couple of other things I do and I offer them here only as suggestions for anyone who wants to take one or more up.

1.  I keep a notebook (NOT the popular electronic one...a spiral notebook full of real paper) in my car along with a pen. When I go anywhere for an appointment, I take it with me because I never know how long I'm going to have to wait. Hey, 10 minutes here and there (that could turn into half and hour) don't need to be wasted waiting. Right?

2.  I also keep tablets and pens at various locations around the house and when an idea or a thought about something I want to include in my WIP (Work In Progress), I don't have to go searching for something to write it down on and possibly forget what that idea was before I find a tablet and pen. I keep one next to the bed so that if I wake up from a dream and want to write anything part of it down...honest, I really do that.

3.  You'll find I travel with pens and tablets, also. Even if it's only a short trip to the mall--where I know I'll find a table to sit and have an iced drink or maybe something to eat and watch people...and I always see someone interesting or I might overhear an interesting conversation. Or, when I take a vacation, well, look at all the free time between activities when we get back to the hotel room or back to our cabin on the lake. 

4.  Maybe you could keep a special tablet at work and when you go on a break or take time for lunch, you could make time to write about a particular emotion, or an unusual encounter, or maybe a description of a particularly interesting character you happened to meet, or maybe work on your own manuscript.

If you decide you are going to MAKE time to write, don't hold off until tomorrow or until the kids are grown and gone, or until you retire. Begin claiming time for yourself today. 

WRITE ON! -- sorry, I just had to say that.