Hello all!
Sorry this blog has been far too quiet lately. That whole sequence of "work on revisions, send revisions to beta, implement beta's changes, send revisions to Secret Agent Man, spend next two weeks terrified about revisions while re-watching episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer" takes up a surprising amount of brainpower.
So I am trying to distract myself. Sadly I am all out of Buffy episodes to watch, but there are other things! Planning my two WIPs. Looking at cute accessories on the internet. Stockpiling tasty-looking recipes. Entering this giveaway for THE NIGHTMARE AFFAIR by Mindee Arnett (and click the link to look at her awesomely creepy cover.) Watching this adorable video of debut author Susan Dennard receiving a copy of her book (okay, yes, that brings me back to publishing again, but in a good way!) Adding upcoming books to my Amazon Wist List, then trying to devise a method of time-travel so I can read them before everyone else. Job-hunting -- oh no, wait, now we're back at terror again.
But you get the idea! As realistic as I am about my chances in the publishing world, it's hard not to daydream - about what my cover would look like, or my first signing, or the fabulous outfits I would wear to BEA (of which I have several!) Sometimes those daydreams are good to have around. And other times, I just need to put them out of my mind. It's much better for my blood pressure.
What do you do when you need to distract yourself?
Showing posts with label non-writing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label non-writing. Show all posts
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Friday, October 14, 2011
Pay It Forward Blogfest
Matthew MacNish and Alex Cavanaugh are running the Pay It Forward Blogfest today, in which we plug three of our favorite places to hang out on the blogosphere. Now, there are almost too many to choose from, but I gave it my best go. Enjoy!
Katrina Lantz - Now, all of the ladies over at Operation Awesome are, well, awesome. (And if you don't follow Operation Awesome, you have a chance to rectify that before anyone notices. I wouldn't be where I am today without their Mystery Agent contests!) But Katrina in particular has been wonderfully welcoming since I started my blog, and I always look forward to her smart, insightful, and fun writing posts. Go follow her!
Tiffany Garner - Because after getting a sneak peek of her project at WriteOnCon, I am very much looking forward to saying I knew her when. :) And if you follow her, you can say that, too!
Casey McCormick at Literary Rambles - So once again, I am assuming that most of you follow this one, but it bears repeating. Literary Rambles was basically my best resource when I was querying my first MS, and I found the agent I'm working with now through the site. If you've written an MG or YA novel and you're looking for an agent, this blog is invaluable. Go read it!
Once I have pulled myself together a bit over here, I will make the rounds myself and take a look at all the wonderful blogs everyone else suggested!
Friday, September 30, 2011
Friday Cuteness
So! This week was just sort of blah. So many gloomy days in a row really saps a person's energy. But here in DC we are (finally!) having a beautiful fall day, the sun is shining, the air is dry and cool, and the traffic was light enough that I had time to pick up coffee on the way to work. Delicious, delicious iced coffee.
Either way, I think a lot of people had a bit of a tiring week. And to get through Friday, some of us might need a bit of a pick-me-up.
Well...
(Disclaimer: This is not my kitten. If this was my kitten, I would never get anything done, because I would just spend all my time playing with her.)
How was your week? Did you get much writing done? Did you find any adorable cat videos that you'd like to share?
Either way, I think a lot of people had a bit of a tiring week. And to get through Friday, some of us might need a bit of a pick-me-up.
Well...
(Disclaimer: This is not my kitten. If this was my kitten, I would never get anything done, because I would just spend all my time playing with her.)
How was your week? Did you get much writing done? Did you find any adorable cat videos that you'd like to share?
Friday, September 23, 2011
On time management
When I talk to many of the people I knew in my high school or college writing programs, many of them will say to me, "You're so lucky. I really want to write, but I can't find the time."
As an administrative assistant, a lot of what I do is scheduling. I take the things that my bosses want to do and I distill them into a controlled chaos. I try to make everything fit, even when it's not perfect - especially when it's not perfect. Sometimes I get lucky, and things work out. And the rest of the time I can often be heard saying things like "Did you have your heart set on eating that day?" or "How much do you hate that hotel?"
So I spend most of my weekdays doing that, and then I go home and attempt to be my own scheduler. I am generally much less successful.
I would like to take a moment to express my deepest admiration to those of you who have spouses and kids. Y'all have superpowers. Or barring that, Time Turners. As a 23-year-old single woman, I have very few responsibilities, but even I don't have enough hours in the day. I get off work at 5:30, I get home around 6:30, I make myself something quick for dinner, and then I get straight to revisions. Even though I've been out of college for more than a year, I feel like I'm still trying to nail down the rhythms of post-collegiate life, to varying levels of success.
Some nights I'm much more productive than others. Sometimes my brain is on, sometimes it's off. It's certainly off by the time I'm done writing for the day. And then other things get ahead of me. The apartment's upkeep gets ahead of me. Laundry gets ahead of me. Comcast crashes again. My exercise regimen gets shot to hell. I abruptly remember that I need to allow some social time so my friends and family don't think I'm dead. That sort of thing.
The strange thing that happens with these busy days is that people get so overwhelmed with everything they have to do, they'll just leave all of it undone. They can't do everything, so they won't do anything. Some days I feel like that, and I know that weekdays are going to be haphazard. But that's why, on Fridays, I act as my own scheduler and I plan my weekend. Besides writing, what am I going to take care of? What two or three big things am I going to catch up on in my free time?
That simple method just makes everything feel more manageable, and getting non-writing things done lets me get so much more work done on writing. Productivity just creates so much energy and confidence. Instead of lying around and watching bad television all weekend, I feel like I can do anything. I can finish this tough rewrite! I can figure out what I want to do with this scene! I can go buy a shoe rack! (Don't judge. That's the best purchase I've ever made.)
So I tell my former classmates that I understand. It's hard enough to figure out how to function as an adult without adding writing to the mix. It's not an easy thing to settle into at all. But I'm learning how to be my own scheduler. I take the things I want to do and I distill them into a controlled chaos. I make everything fit, even when it's not perfect - especially when it's not perfect. And that's how I find the time to write.
I'm still trying to figure out where sleep fits into all this, though.
As an administrative assistant, a lot of what I do is scheduling. I take the things that my bosses want to do and I distill them into a controlled chaos. I try to make everything fit, even when it's not perfect - especially when it's not perfect. Sometimes I get lucky, and things work out. And the rest of the time I can often be heard saying things like "Did you have your heart set on eating that day?" or "How much do you hate that hotel?"
So I spend most of my weekdays doing that, and then I go home and attempt to be my own scheduler. I am generally much less successful.
I would like to take a moment to express my deepest admiration to those of you who have spouses and kids. Y'all have superpowers. Or barring that, Time Turners. As a 23-year-old single woman, I have very few responsibilities, but even I don't have enough hours in the day. I get off work at 5:30, I get home around 6:30, I make myself something quick for dinner, and then I get straight to revisions. Even though I've been out of college for more than a year, I feel like I'm still trying to nail down the rhythms of post-collegiate life, to varying levels of success.
Some nights I'm much more productive than others. Sometimes my brain is on, sometimes it's off. It's certainly off by the time I'm done writing for the day. And then other things get ahead of me. The apartment's upkeep gets ahead of me. Laundry gets ahead of me. Comcast crashes again. My exercise regimen gets shot to hell. I abruptly remember that I need to allow some social time so my friends and family don't think I'm dead. That sort of thing.
The strange thing that happens with these busy days is that people get so overwhelmed with everything they have to do, they'll just leave all of it undone. They can't do everything, so they won't do anything. Some days I feel like that, and I know that weekdays are going to be haphazard. But that's why, on Fridays, I act as my own scheduler and I plan my weekend. Besides writing, what am I going to take care of? What two or three big things am I going to catch up on in my free time?
That simple method just makes everything feel more manageable, and getting non-writing things done lets me get so much more work done on writing. Productivity just creates so much energy and confidence. Instead of lying around and watching bad television all weekend, I feel like I can do anything. I can finish this tough rewrite! I can figure out what I want to do with this scene! I can go buy a shoe rack! (Don't judge. That's the best purchase I've ever made.)
So I tell my former classmates that I understand. It's hard enough to figure out how to function as an adult without adding writing to the mix. It's not an easy thing to settle into at all. But I'm learning how to be my own scheduler. I take the things I want to do and I distill them into a controlled chaos. I make everything fit, even when it's not perfect - especially when it's not perfect. And that's how I find the time to write.
I'm still trying to figure out where sleep fits into all this, though.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Getting to know you
So it looks like I have a lot of new people around here! Welcome to my blog, guys! My name is Becky, and I'm ridiculous.
I thought I would hold another open thread today to let everyone get to know each other. So come on in, tell me about yourselves, and tell me a little about your WIP if you like! And if you have any questions for me, I'd be happy to answer them. :D
I thought I would hold another open thread today to let everyone get to know each other. So come on in, tell me about yourselves, and tell me a little about your WIP if you like! And if you have any questions for me, I'd be happy to answer them. :D
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Random Becky Facts
Eek. So I started writing this post hours ago, and then my entire morning sort of exploded. 'Tis much quieter now, and I have managed to get my hands on a calming mug of red milk tea. I am finally approaching a vaguely human state again, and I need a silly, lighthearted post more than ever!
I've been seeing the Ten Random Facts posts crop up here and there, and I thought it looked fun. Here's mine!
1. As you may have guessed from the above, I am a bit of a tea fiend. But different kinds of tea serve different purposes! Fruit-flavored teas should be served with honey and lemon juice, sweet red or black teas should be served with milk, and you should never add anything to Japanese green tea. I have more loose-leaf tea in my apartment than I will ever be able to drink.
2. While I do the majority of my writing at home, I think the best place to write is 30,000 feet in the air! The best thing about writing on a plane is that there are no distractions, and I won't be tempted to go waste time on the internet. And on top of that, when I have a dying laptop battery on my hands, I don't spend nearly as much time obsessing over which word to use. The only problem is when the person in front of me reclines right into my laptop...
3. I took writing workshops for six straight years. I 'majored' in creative writing at an arts high school, which involved taking several classes in my 'arts area,' and then I took workshops for my first two years of college. I also did a summer course at the Sewanee Young Writers Conference in Tennessee, which was AWESOME.
4. I used to write a lot more poetry than fiction, even though I always wanted to be a novelist. Weirdly enough, the poetry that I wrote five years ago is way better than anything I can write now.
5. I am bilingual: English and Japanese. I lived in Tokyo for half a year, and I'm currently at a Japanese workplace. My reading/writing isn't that great, but in my defense, there are three different writing systems used simultaneously.
6. It is a great source of shame to me at the office that I am terrible at origami. I was so excited when I finally made something that looked vaguely bird-ish, and then my coworker looked at it and gave me the Japanese version of "What the hell is that?" Even my best crane looks like a mangled duck.
7. I. Love. Cooking. I don't cook as much now that I live by myself, but my college roommates and I used to prepare fabulous three-course meals together. The first thing I ever made was risotto, and I still love making it: there's something almost calming about all that stirring, and it's so easy to be creative and make the recipe totally different. Other things I love to make: mac and cheese, chilled cucumber soup, avgolemono, lentil stew, goat cheese and chive mashed potatoes, and Japanese curry.
8. One thing I really miss: theatre. I love being on stage, even if I don't get many opportunities anymore. I've gotten to play some really great characters, but I think I had the most fun playing Peter Pan when I was in fifth grade. They didn't hook me up to any wires for the flying scenes, much to my disappointment.
9. Some women have a shoe problem. I have a scarf problem. I have scarves in every freaking color of the wind, and I still leap to the cash register whenever I see a cute one. I'm getting better at curbing my impulses, though.
10. I love love love ghost stories, but I have absolutely zero interest in paranormal investigation or anything like that. I so do not want to know if those kinds of things exist. I would be a horrible protagonist in a horror movie, because if I moved into a haunted house, I would be out of there in the first fifteen minutes. Incidentally, the basement of the older building at work is supposedly haunted, but I have never stayed there long enough to see for myself.
And that's it for me! What are some random facts about you?
I've been seeing the Ten Random Facts posts crop up here and there, and I thought it looked fun. Here's mine!
1. As you may have guessed from the above, I am a bit of a tea fiend. But different kinds of tea serve different purposes! Fruit-flavored teas should be served with honey and lemon juice, sweet red or black teas should be served with milk, and you should never add anything to Japanese green tea. I have more loose-leaf tea in my apartment than I will ever be able to drink.
2. While I do the majority of my writing at home, I think the best place to write is 30,000 feet in the air! The best thing about writing on a plane is that there are no distractions, and I won't be tempted to go waste time on the internet. And on top of that, when I have a dying laptop battery on my hands, I don't spend nearly as much time obsessing over which word to use. The only problem is when the person in front of me reclines right into my laptop...
3. I took writing workshops for six straight years. I 'majored' in creative writing at an arts high school, which involved taking several classes in my 'arts area,' and then I took workshops for my first two years of college. I also did a summer course at the Sewanee Young Writers Conference in Tennessee, which was AWESOME.
4. I used to write a lot more poetry than fiction, even though I always wanted to be a novelist. Weirdly enough, the poetry that I wrote five years ago is way better than anything I can write now.
5. I am bilingual: English and Japanese. I lived in Tokyo for half a year, and I'm currently at a Japanese workplace. My reading/writing isn't that great, but in my defense, there are three different writing systems used simultaneously.
6. It is a great source of shame to me at the office that I am terrible at origami. I was so excited when I finally made something that looked vaguely bird-ish, and then my coworker looked at it and gave me the Japanese version of "What the hell is that?" Even my best crane looks like a mangled duck.
7. I. Love. Cooking. I don't cook as much now that I live by myself, but my college roommates and I used to prepare fabulous three-course meals together. The first thing I ever made was risotto, and I still love making it: there's something almost calming about all that stirring, and it's so easy to be creative and make the recipe totally different. Other things I love to make: mac and cheese, chilled cucumber soup, avgolemono, lentil stew, goat cheese and chive mashed potatoes, and Japanese curry.
8. One thing I really miss: theatre. I love being on stage, even if I don't get many opportunities anymore. I've gotten to play some really great characters, but I think I had the most fun playing Peter Pan when I was in fifth grade. They didn't hook me up to any wires for the flying scenes, much to my disappointment.
9. Some women have a shoe problem. I have a scarf problem. I have scarves in every freaking color of the wind, and I still leap to the cash register whenever I see a cute one. I'm getting better at curbing my impulses, though.
10. I love love love ghost stories, but I have absolutely zero interest in paranormal investigation or anything like that. I so do not want to know if those kinds of things exist. I would be a horrible protagonist in a horror movie, because if I moved into a haunted house, I would be out of there in the first fifteen minutes. Incidentally, the basement of the older building at work is supposedly haunted, but I have never stayed there long enough to see for myself.
And that's it for me! What are some random facts about you?
Friday, August 26, 2011
This is a disaster
This week is a disaster - quite literally! Not only did I get shaken up by my first earthquake on Tuesday, but this weekend, as I live in the DC Metro area, I will be in the path of Hurricane Irene.
My parents live in Florida, where I also went to high school, so this is nothing new. This will actually be my fifth named storm: I've been through Charlie, Frances, Jeanne, and Fay. I ended up losing power for EIGHT DAYS during Frances. And during one of those storms, either Frances or Jeanne, I was leaning against the glass-paneled door to get some light for reading... and then a tree fell on the house right behind me. (The windows didn't break, but damn that scared me!)
Some of my fellow East Coasters here probably haven't been though a hurricane before. I'm sure most of you are reading up on emergency preparations and evacuation routes. Agent extraordinaire Kathleen Ortiz tweeted some great tips, which I recommend you read. But if you're looking for some more tips on how to get through the storm, you've come to the right place!
- Clean out your bathtub and fill it with water. If the power goes out, you're going to need it! This also may provide you with additional hilarity if your cat gets too curious and falls in, like mine did during Fay.
- Keep an eye on weather updates and such even after the storm is over. Some serious thunderstorms and tornadoes can trail along the outer bands.
- For those of you with gas stoves, stock up on dinners you can cook on the stove top, and buy a lighter if you don't have one yet. Gas stoves can be lit even if the power goes out. If your stove is electric, PB&Js are your best friend.
- Use up as many perishables as possible tonight and tomorrow morning. It's an excuse to cook yourself a nice meal. Try not to open the fridge once the power goes out.
- Get your activities involving electricity out of the way while you can! Conserve the battery power on your laptop, iPod, phone, etc. Have an electricity-free activity at the ready, like knitting or a huge pile of books. And have a notebook and pen on hand, naturally.
- Have something comforting on hand. Storms are incredibly stressful. I plan to load up on some nice, non-perishable snacks. Also, wine. The wine is very important.
- And most importantly, stay indoors whenever you can. Be careful. And even if the storm only deals you a glancing blow, you will have been prepared.
Stay safe, everyone!
My parents live in Florida, where I also went to high school, so this is nothing new. This will actually be my fifth named storm: I've been through Charlie, Frances, Jeanne, and Fay. I ended up losing power for EIGHT DAYS during Frances. And during one of those storms, either Frances or Jeanne, I was leaning against the glass-paneled door to get some light for reading... and then a tree fell on the house right behind me. (The windows didn't break, but damn that scared me!)
Some of my fellow East Coasters here probably haven't been though a hurricane before. I'm sure most of you are reading up on emergency preparations and evacuation routes. Agent extraordinaire Kathleen Ortiz tweeted some great tips, which I recommend you read. But if you're looking for some more tips on how to get through the storm, you've come to the right place!
- Clean out your bathtub and fill it with water. If the power goes out, you're going to need it! This also may provide you with additional hilarity if your cat gets too curious and falls in, like mine did during Fay.
- Keep an eye on weather updates and such even after the storm is over. Some serious thunderstorms and tornadoes can trail along the outer bands.
- For those of you with gas stoves, stock up on dinners you can cook on the stove top, and buy a lighter if you don't have one yet. Gas stoves can be lit even if the power goes out. If your stove is electric, PB&Js are your best friend.
- Use up as many perishables as possible tonight and tomorrow morning. It's an excuse to cook yourself a nice meal. Try not to open the fridge once the power goes out.
- Get your activities involving electricity out of the way while you can! Conserve the battery power on your laptop, iPod, phone, etc. Have an electricity-free activity at the ready, like knitting or a huge pile of books. And have a notebook and pen on hand, naturally.
- Have something comforting on hand. Storms are incredibly stressful. I plan to load up on some nice, non-perishable snacks. Also, wine. The wine is very important.
- And most importantly, stay indoors whenever you can. Be careful. And even if the storm only deals you a glancing blow, you will have been prepared.
Stay safe, everyone!
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