Working Hard

Image of Work Vineyard via Snooth

I have been seriously neglecting my rewriting/editing duties and have decided to temporarily put my book on the back burner.  I am trying to spend as much real time with the kids as possible, doing things we like or just talking.

There is also the new site I’m working on, the one I’m (mostly) taking over as webmaster.  It has turned out to be a very time-consuming process to learn everything I need to know.  I’m about 2/3 of the way through what I need to read/watch/learn to get up to speed.  I’ve already begun cleaning the site up.  It’s a good site (I think), but I have been doing a little editing on it simply because the owner is not a native English speaker, so there are a few places that could be worded more clearly.  That’s to be expected.  I’ve added a few new articles/pieces he’s sent me to proof and add in, and I have a whole slew of reviews and articles to write that he has pre-planned, and some I think should be added.

I’m still writing for the Examiner.com.  I have a couple of articles I need to write in the next couple of days, or I won’t have enough content up there to keep things moving.  I’m also still writing for Associated Content and Helium as things come up that I am interested in writing about.

This is my second week at the library.  I’m enjoying it.  I basically sort and shelve books the whole time I’m there.  The only “problem” with the job is that every day I find a hundred more books I want to read, and I don’t have enough time to read the ones already on my list (or in my house!).

I also found out today that the house I wanted to rent, which was offered to someone else, is back on the rental market.  I emailed the agent and let him know we still want it.  I am hoping this is a good sign, and not just another tease.  “Oh, here’s the PERFECT house for your needs.  Oh, never mind, the owner doesn’t want you.”  I’m hoping we have a second chance at getting it.  I’m going tomorrow to look at our “backup” house again to remind myself of the setup and try to find things to love about it.  The fact that it has no dishwasher is a huge problem for me.  I hate doing dishes.  But then, that’s what kids are for, isn’t it?

Do you have any plans for the July 4th holiday (for my American friends)?

Have a good week!

 

Saturday Morning at the Ranch

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And by the ranch, I mean my house.  In Connecticut.  Which in no way resembles a ranch and is actually a cape.  But why split hairs?

I have been working hard at learning the ropes at the new site, and I’ve finally gotten through cleaning up the home page and all the secondary pages (the ones with links on the sidebar/contents list).  They look good, they are proofed a bit better.  I’m happy with how it looks, although in the future I might make some more changes, and I’m ready to move on to checking the other pages over and adding more content.  Once I have done that, I will link to the site so if you’re interested you can check it out.

Other than that, I have done a bit of article writing for the Examiner and for Associated Content.  Links to those are always on the “Published” page.  I keep that up-to-date so I, and anyone else who is interested, can find my work.

For now, I’m off to get ready to take M. to the Farmer’s Market, and possibly the Library Book Sale.  That may wait until tomorrow though, because I doubt she will understand that the actual library is closed and she can’t take out books today.  Tomorrow, my mom can watch her so I can shop in peace!

What are you doing this weekend?  Have anything fun planned?

 

Guest Post: Writer’s Block: Curing the Affliction – Technique #3

Image by K. Sawyer Photography via Flickr

I hope you’ve all been enjoying the guest posts in this series written by Clair Schwan.  I know I have.  He offers a wealth of great ideas, and I am always excited to try each one out when I finish reading the latest edition.  If you haven’t yet read his first two installments, be sure to do so.  You’ve missed out!

In this third installment of the series, I’m going to discuss how to use the third technique that I introduced in my introductory article on curing the affliction of writer’s block. The third technique that I recommend is to start with a “hit list” and then re-hit the list to multiply it.

Let’s see how it’s done.

This approach is similar to the drill down technique discussed in the first article in this series, but this time we’re going to mix up the subjects and try to get similar good results.

To do this, pretend that you need to write 30 articles for a general interest magazine that will accept just about anything under the sun, as long as you can write well about it. As an example, you might have the following six titles on your list.

1. How to lose weight without dieting
2. Training your dog to perform tricks – it’s easy when you know how
3. Learning a foreign language using the immersion method
4. Driving on snow and ice: 10 things you should know
5. Personal relationships – things your family never taught you
6. How to grow vegetables from seed

Of course, you’ll have 30 titles in your list, so you’ll have much more to work with, but for the purposes of example, I’ll only speak to these six.

In each of these titles, you can discern a genre. Once you identify it, you can apply it to the others on the list. If you look at item #1, it’s a “without” type post, so let’s see if we can apply that genre to the other five to generate new ideas for article titles.

• Training your dog without frustration
• Learning a foreign language without a tutor
• Driving on snow and ice without fear and trepidation
• Personal relationships without the drama
• Growing vegetables from seed without soil

Let’s do something similar with item # 4 and see if we might apply this “number of things” genre to the other five articles on the list.

• Losing weight – the four most effective methods
• Training your dog – six tricks that every dog should know
• Learning a foreign language – the four most important languages to know
• Five things guys should never do when dating.
• The eight most popular vegetables to grow.

Notice that in the relationship title, I switched the theme from relationships to dating. It just naturally popped into my mind, so now I’ve introduced another theme to write about. That becomes another theme that I can re-hit with the eight genres to create additional articles.

So, what do we wind up with when we do this with our list of 30 titles? Let’s suppose that we have eight genres in our list of 30 articles. You’ll recognize the first two as we’ve already discussed them. The complete list might be:

1. Something without something else
2. Number of things
3. How to
4. Most popular
5. Things you never learned in school
6. Secrets revealed (I personally dislike this genre, but it’s popular and it gets attention)
7. Things to avoid
8. Places to visit

Now comes the hard part – it’s called math. If we started with 30 articles and we could only discern eight different genres among all 30 article themes, then that means for each of the eight genres, there are 30 applications for it; one in the original title, and 29 additional applications (assuming that you can take each genre and dream up how it might apply to the other titles on the list). So, that gives us 240 articles to write about from a list of 30.

When I rewrote the “relationship” title to make it “dating,” I was introducing another theme. If we could simply introduce one more theme for each of our original article titles (which would be a breeze), then we’ve provided another 30 themes to which we can apply the eight genres, thus adding another 240 article titles to make our total come to 480 articles.

Okay, so what started out as a simple assignment to think of 30 article titles has quickly expanded into a list of 240 different articles, simply because we created a hit list and then re-hit the list with the unique genres we discovered. By finding an additional theme in each of the article titles, and then reapplying the genres, we doubled that number to 480.

Even if you applied this technique in a much less structured way, you’d probably still end up at least tripling the number of articles on your original list. And you can’t think of anything to write about? I don’t believe it.

Clair Schwan is the managing editor of Self Reliance Works.com where he and his team of writers meet the challenge of regularly writing about nearly everything under the sun that is oriented towards self-reliance, including the many forms of human communication.

Related Article:  Guest Post: Writer’s Block: Curing the Affliction – Technique #2

 

Alphabetizing and hair dye.

I started my new job at the library today.  I’m working six hours a week as a page.  Mostly, that means I shelve books that have been returned or where in the wrong place.  It’s the perfect part-time job.  I get to work with books, I don’t have to do filing and library policy is that Pages aren’t allowed to answer patron questions, they must be referred to the librarians.  Which means, it’s not a customer service job.  I’m not in any way a lover of any customer service industries, so that is a good thing.

In upcoming news, the blog will be hosting a book tour next month featuring a review of the book on July 21st.  I don’t want to give away the details yet, but I’m looking forward to it.  The tour is sponsored by “Book Lovin’ Bitches.”

I have been steadily adding stories to my Examiner page, and learning the site software/format for the SciFi site I am taking over.  Once I’m up to speed I’ll list it here so anyone who’s interested can check it out.

We’re still looking for a house to rent.  There is one in town, sort of our “fall-back position,” but I keep hoping something else will open up.  There’s another that could be good, has the right number of bedrooms, and the rent asked just dropped to within our price range ($50 higher than I would like, but it was $250 higher).  Unfortunately, they don’t allow pets.  We have three cats, and I’m not willing to get rid of them.  The kids would be heartbroken, and the not-as-good house allows cats.  Kids and pets cause a lot of trade-offs, don’t they?  Still, I can’t say they’re not worth it.

S. and I dyed his hair Sunday night.  Originally, he was going to dye it black with blue streaks.  That meant I had to first bleach out the places we were streaking blue because his hair is a somewhat dark brown, then dye the rest black.  Once he saw how the blondish streaks looked with the black, he liked it as is and decided not to do the blue.  He said all his friends thought it looked cool, so he’s happy with it.  I did it for him so it wouldn’t end up a hot mess.  I’ve been dying my hair on and off, in various shades, since I was about 12.  He’s 14, so I wasn’t going to give him a hard time about it, but I didn’t want him trying to do it on his own.

Now, time to get back to work for a bit before bed.  I think I have a guest post for you all tomorrow, but I honestly can’t remember for sure right now, and my schedule is AAAALL the way in the other room. Check in tomorrow though, because I know there will be something good!

Have you ever dyed your hair?  Was it a color found in nature?

 

Monday Writing Challenge

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Good morning all!  I can’t believe how busy everything is right now.  I am loving it, and feeling completely overwhelmed at the sheer volume of “do this today” things on my to do list.  So I’m thinking of mandating a temporary increase in the number of hours in the day from 24 to 36.  It’s the only way I can see clear to getting things done and still having time to eat and sleep.  Who’s with me?

With that in mind, here’s one part of my to do list that I enjoy.  The Monday Writing Challenge.  So here is today’s prompt.  As always, feel free to send it to me via email/post it in comments (if it fits) if you want.  If you do email it to me, let me know if it’s ok to share here, or just for my own reading pleasure.

The boy walked through the park with the dog.  Then they saw something that made the boy pause.  The dog tugged at the leash, trying to get closer.

Have a great day!

 

We still miss you.

Patrick Sean Nangle - April 14, 1971 - June 16, 2009

Today is the 5-year anniversary of my brother-in-law’s very unexpected death from complications of Legionnaire’s Disease.  Before that, I didn’t even know that still existed.  My son, who was very close to his uncle, was 9.  My daughter was 6.  Their father and I were still married.

My brother-in-law was a wonderful person.  He had his faults, as we all do, but he was one of the kindest, gentlest souls I’ve ever known.  He struggled with mental illness, which sometimes made his life unmanageable, but when he was not being pulled under by it, he was the most thoughtful people ever.

He was interested in Buddhism, and tried to follow its practices as much as possible.  He tried never to intentionally or unintentionally hurt anyone.

He gave the best presents.  He never had much money, but he instead spent time thinking of the perfect gift for the people on his list.  Frequently it was something that the receiver wouldn’t have thought of on their own, but suited them perfectly.  The one year he did have some extra money, he spent all of it on Christmas presents for his family.  He spoiled my kids with fun, but also educational, toys.  My husband (his brother) was out of work then, and he knew we were struggling, so he bought us gift cards (yes, multiple) to the local grocery store.

He also had a great sense of humor.  He could get people laughing with the things he said and did, and to this day one of us will hear or see something funny and think “He would have LOVED that.”

Despite having a wealth of problems of his own, he was always there to listen to anyone who needed a friend.  I wish he was here still to help my son through his teen years.  I still think no one else could have been as helpful to S.

So Pat, I don’t know if I believe that there’s a Heaven, or what happens after we die, but if you are still out there somewhere and you’re paying attention, know that there isn’t a day that goes by that you don’t enter my thoughts, even now.  S. and H. miss you.  I know their dad misses you terribly.  I don’t have to still be married to him to know that.  I hope you are enjoying yourself, wherever you are.  You deserve it.  Your life here was far from easy, and I hope if there is something after we die (and I hope there is) that you are spending it drumming in a band, reading great books, playing all the best games pre-release, and doing everything else you enjoyed or would have if life hadn’t held you back. You were the best of us.

 

 

Guest Post: Writing Tips

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When it comes to writing, the muse can be as elusive as profitable work. There are many methods and tips available, and as many approaches as there are words in the English language. It is important to find things that work for you and that are proven. Here are some proven writing tips that can help you find a little spark or get a fresh outlook.

Practice

The idea of writing practice is pretty much a cliché by now, but doing it correctly really does help. Posting on blogs gives you practice with no real pressure and gives you more experience writing naturally. This can help when you are trying to integrate conversations in an article or book, and it keeps your fingers moving. It is important for certain parts of what you write to be second nature, and this helps get the words flowing.

Try posting on forums that interest you. It keeps you in practice, and on subjects that interest you.   Another approach to practice is to post on forums that interest you, but that you do not know much about. Read and catch up on a forum for a few days and see how things work. If you observe, you will be researching without pressure, and it can become more natural. It will give you an inside track into communicating with people who are more familiar with the subject as well.

You can practice by chronicling your day, or transcribing a favorite movie or television show. These are simple ways to work different aspects of writing into your approach and help to make them second nature.

Stay Relevant

English is a living, breathing language that is constantly changing, so stay up to date. Familiarize yourself with the Associated Press Style Guide. It is inexpensive and allows you to keep your finger on the pulse of what is going on with pop culture terms, as well as what is correct while writing. Even if you do not use the Associated Press style, it can still keep you up to date and inform you of new and correct spellings.

Reading is another way to stay relevant. Anytime you have downtime, pick up a magazine and read it. Go to a news website and find articles that interest you. Every time you read, you retain information as well as learn new words. For a writer, reading whenever you can is like trying new dishes is to a chef.

Bad Habits

With the way social media and texting have taken over our communications, short hand and poor grammar are no longer the exception to the rule. Articles and news reports need to be turned around and released so fast there are errors everywhere. Hardly an article is published even on the biggest, most respected sites that do not have some sort of glaring error. Do not let this affect your approach. Stay diligent in all of your practices when it comes to writing and proofing. It may save you a bit of time to blog and leave errors, but at what cost? There are rules to grammar and writing for a reason; they are a universal way for us all to write so we can all be understood. Of course, these are flexible in most cases, but if you write for fun, or for a living, it is a good idea to keep with good practices.

Hopefully these tips will help with whatever writing you do. There are common themes that show up in these tips: pressure and reading. When you have practiced without pressure, you are prepared when an opportunity to write under a tight deadline presents itself.

Diane Johnson (no relation to the owner of this blog) writes about a number of her interests including shopping, continuing education (http://www.classesandcareers.net/), and traveling.

 

 

 

What ARE you doing?

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Good question.   The answer, right now, is losing my mind.

Ok, not really, but sometimes it feels that way.  Here is what has gone on in the last week, work-wise:

1.  I took a job at the local library as a page.  (I may have mentioned this, and I’m pretty sure I tweeted about it.)  I am only working 6 hours a week, and the pay isn’t much, but I love libraries in general and mine in particular.  Plus, if I’m there twice a week to work, maybe my books won’t always be overdue!

2) I’ve arranged a fairly good schedule of guest bloggers for Wednesdays this month, and two weeks each month to follow. I’d like to do it every Wednesday, but I don’t know if I’ll have enough material for that just now.

3) I started writing on Examiner.com as the “Mansfield Parenting and Family 101 Examiner.”  Basically, I report on anything and everything local that could interest or affect parents and kids.  My town isn’t exactly action central, but between local events and stories, and state or national news that is important to my town in some way, I seem to be doing ok.  It’s a pay-per-click job, but I can see what I’m earning daily, and as long as it keeps increasing, I’m happy.  Plus, if it’s worth it, I can apply for another Examiner slot after I’ve been writing for them for a bit.

4)  I have been ghost-writing book reviews for a site for a couple of months.  It was an Elance find, and I enjoy it.  I like the person who owns the site, at least what I know of him in our brief interactions, and he has been pleased with my writing.  He recently asked me to take over the site (he’ll retain ownership, there will be a split on profits that is to my liking) and run the whole thing.  I thought about it, asked a bunch of questions, asked a couple more, and said yes.  Right now, I’m trying to learn how the site works (the system he uses, how to upload to this particular site) and taking a crash course in keywords, SEO, Google and various other necessary things.  I’m not a big fan of orientations, I’m more of a jump in and start kind of girl, but this is necessary so we both know what we’re doing.  As he puts it, we need to be speaking the same language–using the system he set the site up with–which is especially important since he’s from Denmark, and I’m not.  He does speak very good English, which is great because I know not a word of Danish.

That has all happened in the last week.  It has been crazy, and fun, and maddening, and exciting all at once.

I’m still packing, still trying to sell the house, still trying to rent something so we have a place to go when it does sell, and I’m still a mom.  Shocking, I know, but it’s sort of a one-way, no refunds, all sales final kind of thing.

So that’s my story Morning Glory.  What’s yours?

 

Monday Writing Challenge

Credit: Claudio Lerici

Tell a story about this picture.  Send it to me if you want to share, and let me know if I can post it or not.

 

Notice anything different?

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I have officially changed the name of this blog from “Don’t Eat the Pancakes” to “Fameless Ramblings.”

When I started this blog, I intended to mainly write about my life with my kids.  The title referenced a kind of inside joke between my kids and myself, and sounded (at the time) quirky enough to be interesting.  Now, while I do occasionally include posts about them, that is not its sole focus.  The title has become just an obscure grouping of words meaning nothing to the bulk of my readers.

Fameless Ramblings has been the web address used for this blog since it started.  I like the way it sounds and, at least in my mind, sounds more like the name of a writer’s blog, not a “mommy blogger.”  (A term, by the way, that I don’t use in the sometimes derogatory and condescending way as some do.  I love “mommy blogs.”  I’m a mommy.  Just because a blog isn’t about something much more “serious” or business-related doesn’t mean it isn’t well-written and enjoyable.)

So there you have it. What do you think of the new name?