dare to plot

Today's Friday 4 U is writerly. The topic:

Outlining!

I think I am a plotter because I tend to ramble and take tangents and digress...Plotting keeps me in line. I have to plot or I will lose my way.

I recently commented on a post asking for outlining advice and thought it would be good to share and hear thoughts on it! This is my process...

Once a story idea hits and I have a general idea of it and the MC, I make notes, choose a beginning and an end, add characters, and develop back story for reference. Now I'm ready for the outline!

It's rough, no specifics, just bullet point ideas of scenes, things that could happen, choices, calamities, someone needs to die or leave suddenly at some point, a fight or break up, a tryst, etc. After I have a bunch of scenes, then I arrange them like a puzzle for a more solid outline - refer to this here, add an inference there, give a clue somewhere - and add connecting pieces as needed. Even then, when I start writing, new ideas can change my story's direction. Nothing is written in stone anymore! And pens are great for scribbling!

Even though we are all in different stages of the process, to stay alive, we must keep writing!

• published? keep writing!
• querying? keep writing!
• waiting for CPs? keep writing!

I am just about done with another round of edits and ready to send it to CPs. As I wait for editing crits, I will start outlining a second book to POP TRAVEL - I've been playing with the plot and came up with a name for it, SIMULATION. This also is my Celebrate the Small Things update!

For another angle on outlining, Dr Faerie Godmother, Rena recently hosted Elizabeth Seckman who talks about her process!

So what is your process? Do you outline? And where are you in your writing? Any shiny new ideas waiting to become stories? Do tell!

Have a nice MLK weekend!

Friday 4 U - new beginnings

Good January to you!
LG's beginnings fest was a big boost for me! Really enjoyed reading all the sparks!

So 2013. Today's topic is... Lazy Housewife Resolutions!

Does this happen to you? Every Nov/Dec the healthy habits I work on all year fly out the window! As we get older, it's much easier for pounds to be added than subtracted, plus three times less energy to exercise! I call that an unbalanced equation! No fair!

So when January comes, I make my same healthy resolutions like everyone else. This is going to be the year I get healthy and lose weight and yadda yadda yadda... The way to have a healthier life can be summed up in 4 steps which are stated over and over again in the articles of my fave healthy tip magazine, PREVENTION.

Eat more produce

Drink more water

Get more exercise

Get more sleep

 

Sounds easy enough, right? The trouble I have, and maybe you can relate, is how to go about this with a crazy, hectic schedule and zero motivation (other than a mirror).

 

Well, my chipper friend, M J Fifield, came up with a genius idea for executing a plan to reach lofty resolutions (though she probably doesn't realize how genius it is or that what she did is even a method!)

 

Break down huge, vague resolutions for the year into smaller, monthly goals or possibly weekly goals (like Shallee's The Healthy Writers Club)! This way you can put numbers on your goals. They aren't just abstract wishes. I know some of you already do this for writing, reporting monthly achievements. ROW80 is a group that encourages posting your weekly numbers. For me, weekly is too micro and gone in a flash! Monthly is manageable. Monthly is meeker. Monthly is marvellous!

 

So for the remainder of the month of January, I hope to:

• Eat 3-4 healthy dinners a week & no snacks after kids to bed 

TIPS:

Eat a fruit/veg before sweets/snacks

Single serving sizes make snacking on fruits & veggies easier - you can buy carrots that way, I also cut up celery & brocolli and put them in baggies, same for berries & cantalope - works well for kids' lunches too

Smaller snack/carb portions!!

• Drink at least one bottle of water daily

TIP:

Drink water before a meal, you feel full faster and eat less!

• Treadmill/gym/vigorous housework 3-4 days a week

TIP:

go with a friend, schedule an appointment - it's harder to break a date

• Go to bed by 11 pm...

When February comes around, we'll see how I did. How are you going to fulfill your resolutions? Do you have a plan? And don't quit - even if you have a bad day, there's always tomorrow! Good luck!

AAAACHOO! Gesundheit!

Gotten your flu shot yet? I am getting my kids done next week (little do they know). Tell me: how do you feel about flu shots? Ever had the flu? Blech! I'd rather have a stomach flu than the actual achy, week long miserable influenza flu. No, I'd rather have neither!

Ah, but here in the US, we are in the beginnings of cold & flu season, the only drawback to Fall =) Don't fret, Friday 4 U brings you some lovely LHW tips for October, to help stave off infections of all kinds! Plus a few Halloween ideas...

• "Wear a hat or you'll catch cold!" - debunked. You cannot catch a cold by being cold. However! When we are cold, we are more susceptible to invasion by germs. And heat leaves our body easiest from the head. So it is a good idea to wear a hat in cold weather!
• To keep germs away... You know to wash your hands/use sanitizer (which I overdid one year and now my skin is extra dry, peels all the time) Here are a few more sickness stoppers:
• When doing laundry, spray the dirty clothes baskets with disinfectant (Lysol) before putting clean clothes into them
• Sneeze or cough into the elbow, not the hand
• Keep sanitizer/wet ones handy - I have some in my purse and in the car
• Use rubber gloves for laundry and cleaning - this is age old, but it keeps me from having to wash my hands so much and keeps them from drying out so badly
• Sickie supplies - I try to have these items on hand all sick season long - crackers, bananas, Coke (the real thing!), tissues, tylenol and ibuprofen, Lysol or Oust and
• Coldeeze!!! I swear by this, take it as soon as you feel a cold coming on and it lasts less time and symptoms are milder.
• And when someone does get sick, quarantine them to one "sick" chair that can be sanitized when they get better - Clorox wipes and Lysol are awesome for that (with gloves!)
• Halloween!

• I transform the scarecrows in the yard into scary creatures with old masks and capes
• I love my skeleton - he gets dressed up or posed in precarious positions every year - this year he's hanging in a lighted web!
• Window clings and gels are so cute! In addition to windows, they can decorate mirrors, too! (they stick best to clean flat surfaces, but be careful, some gels can stain, esp red!)
• Been Boo'd yet? I always buy some cute things on sale after the holiday for next year's Boo-ing!
• Morph suits are the big thing this year - single color, full body suits to wear alone or with a costume, for more anonymity?...strange, but whatever.

As for exercise - nada besides work and housework. This week I was preparing for my little guy's big bday sleepover and some company coming...I'm pooped! Sorry, guys. I'll do better next week!

Writing a book - constantly learning

For this Friday 4 U, I'm sharing a Writing a Book entry:

Reference books are great for advice and examples and motivation. I am so excited to have my library of writing craft books grow! Now when I have questions, I have more places to turn and learn! Here is what I've got (thanks mostly to contests!):

• HOOKED by Les Edgerton,
• THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE by William Strunk Jr & EB White, and
• THE WRITER'S DIGEST GUIDE TO QUERY LETTERS by Wendy Burt-Thomas

and on my ipad I have picked up a few freebies:

• 70 Solutions to Common Writing Mistakes by Bob Mayer
• Deep Secrets of Successful Blogging by Chitika (30 experts)
• Ghost Writers in the Sky by Roland Yeomans
• Book Marketing Guide by Mark Coker

I need to get the Emotion Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi.

I also love when I get to sub for an English class. I have to share what I learned this week...Inspirations from a High School Language Arts class:

• THE LIVELY ART OF WRITING by Lucile Vaughn Payne - I found a class set of this awesome book which gives great pointers for writing papers, but also how to grab a reader and make your writing stand out. Here are two of the sections I particularly connected with in my current phase of editing:
• "Picture Frame Paragraphs" - we should visualize how we would paint a scene and describe it with vivid words and details, show not tell (heard that before?) In the first sentence of a paragraph it's okay to tell as long as the rest of the paragraph describes the scene, making the reader feel it and keeping their interest.
• "Making the Subject Perform" - have the subject, whether human or not, do something, make sound or movement into action verbs. action brings the reader a more direct experience.

Always looking for ways to improve my writing. Especially when receiving a rejection or two...

keeping in shape w/Shallee

I think exercise helps to deal with the stress of rejection as well. I haven't submitted in a while so no rejections here lately, but I read some IWSG posts of others getting a few. Rejections are like burrs, they prick at first, but then you pick em off, throw em away, and move on!

As for my exercise update this week, I slacked off a little and only exercised a couple of times. But I'm going to go vacuum my basement so I am counting that as a calorie burner!

What craft books do you recommend? And did you get your butt out of the chair to exercise this week?

Whatever you're working on have an inspirational weekend!

butt in chair syndrome

Keeping in Shape with Shallee!

Shallee has a great new program I'm joining, The Healthy Writers Club.

We write, therefore, we sit. Shallee is encouraging us to get our butts out of our chairs and get some exercise. A healthy body enhances a healthy mind! So on Fridays we share what activities we are doing in addition to meeting our writing goals. I love the encouragement of the blogosphere and now we can help each other with the biggest problem we face - weight gain! (get it, biggest?)

And in keeping with my Friday 4 U theme, I am sharing a LHW tip.

Knowing I am holding myself accountable to write about my exercise each week has inspired me to actually get some exercise! So I return to my multi-tasking, reward-motivating activity:

Treadmill blogging!

If I had to guess the number one excuse for not exercising, I'd say it was "I don't have time," (said in whiny voice). To save time, some people text and walk (no text while driving!!!) cycle and read or exercise with the tv on. Exercising in a class is very motivating. Walking and talking with a friend is the best, time flies by. Unfortunately, with the hectic schedule I have (you too, right?), fitting in an exercise class on a regular basis would be the final flaming sword thrown in to take down my juggling act. And finding 30 minutes of overlapping free time with a person I'd like to walk with - near impossible! That's why blogging has become such a wonderful part my life. I connect with you guys and get and give encouragement and feedback. Perfect timing for me cause it's whenever I have a few minutes!

And instead of just sitting, I thought I would put my legs to use while I blog. Waiting for those things to load is such a waste of time, why not put value into it on a treadmill! There's handles if I lose my balance, I can adjust difficulty levels of speed and inclination (ha!) and I get to listen to my music. It's such a stress reliever!

This week I was able to squeeze in 30 minutes of treadmill blogging 3X! I'm very proud of myself. And hope to continue. I have to, or I'll be spending a fortune buying the next size up! NO WAY!!! (next week: SHOWERCIZE)

*** FYI, I am hosting part of GUTGAA next week ***

*** So Monday I will have a flood of 25 posts for the SMALL PRESS PITCH ***

Enter if you are so inclined! It's been a totally awesome event!!!

cartoon you!

Making a cartoon you!

Believe it or not, I made this from shapes in powerpoint. The art of shape and clipart manipulation is just a matter of patience and practice – like all worthy endeavors!

Now I am going to break down my picture, to show you some ways to get creative with clipart!

Start with a head! And it doesn’t have to be perfectly round. Next are the features. Zooming in helps with the smaller features,

**tip, choose an object before zooming or it zooms into the center

or you can enlarge the shapes to see them better.

**tip, if you want to make a bunch of separate shapes bigger or smaller, group them so they stay put (under "Arrange").

For the eyes, I use white circles or ovals, colored circle irises to match my eyes, and black pupils – **tip, when choosing a color, play with the spectrum of custom colors.

The eyelids are chords and the eyebrows are arcs, outlined in a little darker shade.

**tip, the yellow squares help you choose the length of the curve.

The lashes are tiny arcs.

**tip, once you make one eye, group it and copy it and  flip it (under "Arrange").

The nose is a scribble, the mouth another arc. The neck is a rectangle, or a pentagon if your shirt will be a v-neck.

**tip, group after completing a step to make the next step easier.

The hair is the hardest…

I used the chord for the larger piece behind the head and lots of moon shapes for wisps and accents - I highlighted the shapes to show you...

**tip, you may have to play with the "bring to front" or "send to back" to get stubborn pieces to lay right, just like in real life!
And finally, the accessories.

My glasses are rounded rectangles, lines and an arc. The shirt is the “flowchart delay” shape.

**tip, to get a fancy fill, right click on the object, format picture, fill, click on clipart and type in what you are looking for, denim, pattern, flowers, etc.

To make any clipart into a blog-ready picture,

•make sure it is grouped

•right click, choose “Save as Picture”

•if you have a photoshop program, you can check it out and crop as needed.

These are basic, basic instructions - so if you have any questions you can leave them in the comments or email me. Or you could just ask for one =) taratylertalks at g mail dot com.

Friday 4 U

Welcome to Friday 4 U!

I love Fall! I think I might have mentioned that. But it's so refreshing after a hot, hot Summer. September (in the US) brings back the school groove, relieving cooler weather, and football! It's also the season where some folks start to decorate their yards. Do you put out a fall wreath? a scarecrow? hay bale? corn stalks? They are so fun! I love the huge pumpkins! And my scarecrows - 2 regular, one pumpkin head and one crow head. Decorating for seasons and holidays is something the Lazy Housewife here likes to do. And it doesn't take a lot of time!

So here are some LAZY HOUSEWIFE tips for September:

• OUTSIDE: for putting stakes into the ground is easier after it rains, you can also soften the ground with a hose. 
• And if your scarecrows are faded, like mine were, spray paint brings new life to them. just be sure to cover/tape parts you don't want colored.
• INSIDE: I decorate inside too - I <3 Michaels. A little fake Fall foliage goes a long way to Autumn up the main areas of the house. It makes me happy to see it!
• The easiest decorations are kid creations. I keep most of their artwork, storing it with other seasonal decor - it's fun for them to see what they did too.
• The Lazy Housewife is also the Thrifty Housewife - buy decorations for next year after the holiday/season, it's cheap!
• Owls are the rage this Fall! Here's a little pumpkin owl design for you =) I would just use felt or construction paper and pipe cleaners - fun little project for the kids - and make your own designs, monsters, cat, spider, etc 
• KIDS: And finally, do your kids have that adjustment period when school starts? Best thing for us to have is organization and patience. Mine struggle with homework, especially after a long day of school and sports. We distribute it if we can so they aren't overloaded. And we have supplies at the ready - homework folders for each kid, pencils, erasers, paper, etc. I just leave it all on our counter in a neat stack since we have to use it daily. And to make it easier in the morning, we try to get those backpacks ready to go the night before, notice I said try!

Well, that was fun! Do you have any tips for fall decor? Things you like to do in September? Homework motivation? Please share!