Year End Review/2017 goals

I've watched a few of these MarieTV spots on YouTube, but I really liked this one for a year-end review process:

So here are my answers to her 3 questions:


1) What did I do, create, or experience this year that I'm really proud of: I am picking experiences here. I am proud of my continued dedication to my swim lessons.  Now, this may seem peculiar, but if you factor in how afraid of water - much less actual swimming - I had been in the past, you can see how sticking to the lessons for a year and a half now is quite the achievement. I really look forward to my lessons: the time in the pool, learning a new skill (I'm currently struggling with the dolphin move) and fine-tuning it until it's just about perfect, and frankly, doing something I thought I'd never do.

The other experience I'm proud of is my attendance at the EFA National Conference.  Again, it might seem weird to you outgoing types, but for this introvert to go into (what I perceived, anyway) a large group of strangers and make it a point to talk to new people - well, it was a big deal.

Dinner out in NYC

Cool book walls at the resturant

Me and Mary Norris, of The New Yorker

2) What mistakes did I make that taught me something?  What lessons did I learn that I can leverage? I'm not sure what I'd consider a mistake in 2016; I'm sure there was something I did wrong at least once. So I think I'm going to say my mistake (and not one isolated to 2016) is my tendency to think I can't do something...that I don't have the skills or the talent or the innate quality to be successful at whatever that particular "thing" is. But the truth is I can do things I think I can't (see above re:swimming).  I'm learning all the time...I just have to realize I can and I am, and feel confident that I even if I am a beginner or novice, every expert started just like me.

3) What am I willing to let go of? This one is a bit harder. I don't like to let go of things (just ask my husband!). But maybe I can let go of my disappointments (I really don't have to dwell on them, especially in the middle of the night!) when things don't go quite my way...or the way they have always gone. I need to let go of that negative attitude, that negative mindset, when it sneaks up on me.

So what about you? Can you take a few minutes an answer these 3 questions? Share in the comments (if you dare!).

I Hate April Fool's Day

As I was falling asleep last night, I thought about what I should write about for an April Fool's Day post.  After all, it is pretty much my most hated "holiday" ever.

And then I saw this.  So now I don't have to tell you about the awfulness of April Fool's Day; he can do it for me.

A Love Letter to Creative People

Just to give credit where credit is due, I am totally stealing this from my husband's Facebook post.

Here's a little love letter of encouragement to you creative types.  Even if it's geared towards painters, I put you authors in here as well.  Enjoy!

(If for some reason the video doesn't post, you can find it here)

The Black and White Truth of Story

Somewhere in my Internet travels, I clicked on a link (like we all do), and landed up here.  Apparently, someone had lots of time on their hands and wanted to make a point.  And I think they make it well.  The article talks about staging scenes for films, but I think there's a case to be made for staging scenes for books as well here.

Harrison Ford and Alfred Molina (yup, the same guy from Chocolat)

Now, I am not a huge fan of Raiders of the Lost Ark (I know, I know - I should be, but I missed the movie mania when I was 12 and therefore did not have it as a part of my cultural upbringing).  I've seen it, but it was probably ten or more years after it was released that I finally got around to seeing it.  And it might have even been on something like TNT, so it was all cut-up and "formatted for television." (Ick.  Not the best way to see any movie, especially one you haven't seen before.)

But I was absolutely mesmerized by the first ten minutes (that's all I allowed myself; otherwise I would have watched the whole thing instead of getting back to work).  Without dialogue, without color, and with a new soundtrack, your eyes are drawn in. I understood the drama; I could feel the heat of the jungle; I could see the dangers and feel the excitement.    

It made me think about how authors can use staging, not visually, but with description (yes, that dreaded "Show, don't Tell" mantra).  How those details can give the reader the truth of the story or how it can just seem like recycled plots.  How those mannerisms can make the reader identify with the character: believe what they believe, feel what they feel, find themselves in the character (even if at first glance the reader and character are complete opposites). 

So check out the link and if you've got the time and inclination, watch the whole film (yup, the entire movie in black and white and no dialogue).  See if you are drawn in; notice how the camera cuts away or draws out a scene.  (I noticed it took three minutes to actually see Harrison Ford's face! It felt like forever!) And think about how to create that tension and anticipation in your manuscript.

Something You Ought To Know

Gather around, children, for today's lesson.  It's something you ought to know about aught.

Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, there was the turn of the century.  Amazing things happened:

1900: Kodak Introduces $1 Brownie Cameras: The Brownie camera was the first hand-held camera that was cheap enough and simple enough for even children to use, making photography accessible to the masses. (Now we take pictures with our phones...it's so simple even a child can do it. And in return, the masses have given us photographic proof of the weirdness of people )

1901: First Nobel Prizes Awarded: A pacifist at heart and an inventor by nature, Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel was the inventor of dynamite. Not wanting to go down in history for creating such a deadly device, Nobel created a will that left the bulk of his fortune to the establishment of five prizes (physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, and peace). On December 10, 1901, five years after Alfred Nobel's death, the first five Nobel Prizes were awarded. (No relation to the Darwin Awards, but still kind of important.)

1902: The Teddy Bear Is Introduced. (I couldn't imagine my life without my teddy bear.)

1903: Produced by Thomas Edison but directed and filmed by Edison Company employee Edwin S. Porter, the 12-minute-long silent film, The Great Train Robbery (1903), was the first narrative movie, one that told a story. The Great Train Robbery's popularity led directly to the opening up of permanent movie theaters and the possibility of a future film industry. (And that masterpiece led to such gems as Showgirls and Sex Lives of the Potato Men - and I'm happy to say I've avoided watching at least one of those.)

1904:  New York City Subway Opens (the city wouldn't be the same without it, would it?)

1905: Freud Publishes His Theory of Sexuality (I ain't touching that one with a ten-foot pole.)

1906: Kellogg's Starts Selling Corn Flakes (ever see The Road to Wellville?)

1907: First Electric Washing Machine (thank goodness we don't have to take the wash down to the river anymore!)

1908: Three Year-Old Pu Yi Becomes Emperor of China (proving that not only does a toddler rule the home, he can rule a country).

1909: Plastic Is Invented (and where would we be without plastic? I mean credit cards, of course.)



But something else happened, too.  It wasn't the 1880s or the 1890s anymore.  It was the 1900s now.  So a new word was needed to talk about the decade.  Okay, maybe not a new word (it's been around since 1821 at least), but one that probably didn't get used too often: aught. The aughts, plural :  the ten year period from 2000 through 2009, 1900 through 1909, etc. (Surprisingly enough, there are six other definitions for aught.)  

And now that we've gone through our own turn of the century, we get to revive the use of aught when we talk about those years between 2000 and 2009.  Can't you just hear some old-timey voice saying, "Back in aught eight, I danced in Beyonce's video for 'Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It),' so I know how to dance, you pipsqueak."

We're All Nerds

I am sure that you are a nerd.  I don't know what kind of nerd (math, chemistry, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Marvel, anime, Star Trek, Star Wars...the list is endless) you are, but I'm sure there's something you are nerdy about.

If you've never seen Wil Wheaton's response to a young girl who was having trouble at school because she was a nerd, here it is.  And it is awesome.

But that is not why I am posting today.  I am posting today to share this gem - Talk Nerdy to Me.  I was a little shocked at how many of these nerds I recognized (even if I don't share in the love of that particular thing.  I admit I have never seen Dr. Who, in any of the incarnations, although I've been thinking that I should.)

Enjoy! And celebrate your inner (or outer!) nerd!

The Writing's on the Wall

I have a list of Google Alerts that I use as a source for my tweets on Twitter; I have them for the keywords of book editor, authors, writers, and writing.  Some of the hits, unsurprisingly, are not what I am looking for or am even slightly interested in.  Say, for example this gem:

Although, sometimes there's some stuff about the entertainment business, which might catch my eye:

But one thing I see all the time is the overuse of this, either in the headline or in the body of the news article:

So I totally ignored this one:

But, through the magic of Facebook, I saw another link for it and WOW! This is a cool video. 

 If you want to read about it a bit more, try Rolling Stone and Bustle.

It's That Time Again

We are wrapping up Christmas presents and wrapping up the end of the year.  So that means it's that time again - time to review our past year and think about the next.

I wrote before about goal setting.  I made some simple goals for myself for 2013, and I'm happy to say that I followed through on all of my goals.  I made sure they were simple, even though they might have been things outside of my comfort zone.  I made sure they were measurable, quantifying how many of this and the timing of that.  And they were things I wanted to do for myself, professionally and personally.

Do you set goals for yourself, either for your personal life or your writing life?  Or have you never written down your goals?

Check out these articles on successful goal-setting and see if you are inspired to get going on your 2014 goals.

General Goal Setting Advice:
Really Simple Goal Setting

Beginner's Guide to Goal Setting

An Online App for Goal Setting: Lifetick

Goal Setting for Writers:
Setting Effective Writing Goals

Goal Setting for Writers

No Excuses: 15-Minute Goal Setting for Authors 

Goal Setting for Authors Who Don't Set Goals

Video:
Watch this twenty-minute video.  It might be a bit "out there" for someone looking for traditional goal-setting advice, but here's a line they talk about: Match your soul to your goals.   If you are looking for something a bit more spiritual, this might speak to you.

Bueller?...Bueller?...Bueller?

It may seem like I've skipped class (or, you know, posting on the blog) - well, because I kind of have.  I took a peek and it looks like the last time I checked in was for the Author Interview with Tom Bradley, Jr. (a great guy to follow on Twitter, by the way!).

So what exactly have I been doing, you may wonder?  Well, reading and editing mostly.  I've taken breaks to eat and sleep.  And yes, I will admit I may have spent some time on Twitter and Facebook. And Dudley continues to improve in his position as assistant (AKA get-your-butt-out-of-that-chair-and-walk-me).  But really, mostly reading and editing, followed by more reading and editing.  About 370,000 words worth of reading and editing in the last nineteen days: re-imagined fairy tales,  romance, mysteries, supernatural tales, superheroes, and fantasy tales.

I do have some real topics in my head, but for now I'll leave you with this thought:  you can learn just about anything from Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody."

Or, if quantum physics isn't your thing:

Or maybe you should have taken those ukelele lessons:
  

Who's That?

I've been seeing a trend lately.  And I can admit I have fallen prey to it as well.


When referring to people, use "who."
When referring to objects, things, or non-people, use "that."

The magician who started the show is known as an illusionist.
The illusion that made him famous was the apparent disappearance of the world's tallest hotel. 

When all else fails, remember - Who Are You?