Editor’s Desk

Give what you promise.

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I just finished a book, one I won’t name because I don’t want to be mean. The problem is that the book was really good, at least for the first half.  You could tell where the writer either had a deadline or just gave up. I hate that.

It happens sometimes when I play an online game or even in some movies where they changed directors/programmers or hit a deadline and shoved the product out the door. The 1999 remake of the classic 1963 horror movie The Haunting is a perfect example. The original is very suspenseful and keeps you wondering what is going on and who you can trust. The remake started off really good, but if you have seen the 1999 version there is a very clear moment when you can tell they said f’this and decided to go with special effects gimmicks. Too sad, as it ruined the movie! Nothing against special effects, I love a good effects movie and sometimes really bad ones. The thing is to give what you promise.

We have a contract with the people who buy our writing or our services. With writing, you either need to keep the pace or increase the pace, especially because it is hard enough to get people to do nice things and write good reviews. But nothing motivates a reader to write a bad review faster than being disappointed because you didn’t deliver what you promised.

What about you? Have you found any stories or movies where you can tell when someone gave up? Share!

Have a great day!

Paula

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A granddaughter’s thoughts on Texas

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Both my grandmothers were amazing women in their own right. Both had traveled long distance when they were young ladies and were very independent, especially considering the times they grew up in. It is no wonder that I named my daughter after them in hopes that their spirits would inspire her.

My dad’s mom, Yvonne came from Hemphill, Texas. It is a small town north-east of Houston, small at least when I visited there with her. It was much smaller when she was growing up. She would talk about home with all her brothers and sisters and all the neighbor kids playing together, and she made it sound like heaven.  I remember all the little bits of Texas she brought with her to Massachusetts. Thanks to her, I love grits with butter and a little salt and pepper.  She used to grow red chili peppers to hang for decoration, quite the rarity at that time and place. She would warn me not to eat them because they were too hot. I promised her I wouldn’t eat them but I didn’t say anything about feeding them to others. It turns out they were quite hot and I would loose a friend until we found someone else to eat one.

When I was just barely a teen we took a road trip down the east coast camping and went back to my Grandmother’s childhood home. It was amazing. I had never seen so much flat earth. We thought the driving was bad, especially for truckers, because we kept seeing long strips of tire on the road. Then my dad stopped and look closer and realized they were snakes that got run over. He never took off his boots after that, even sleeping.

I met family I didn’t know, and they were warm and welcoming. So were their neighbors. And strangers, if you could call someone that friendly a stranger. We did some tourist stuff, and, God, the steaks were amazing. But the best part for me was when I got to get up bright and early and go feed a bottle to a baby calf. I was covered in dirt and slobber soon enough, and it was awesome.

One of the things I thought was the strangest was how comfortable people there were with poisonous things like swimming in a river with water moccasins. The elders got together and talked about the last time it flooded, how they found three rattlesnakes in the chair I was sitting in.  Don’t get me started on fire ants. Or flying giant cockroaches.

Texans are tough, they are sweet, and strong, and wonderful. Family means a lot. We drifted apart after that trip, lost any touch when my grandmother passed.  But the events of this week makes think of all those people, all those Texans. So, from a granddaughter of a Texan, please keep yourself safe and I am sending as much sunshine from CA as I can and all my best thoughts.

Along with what money we can spare. Cause we are all part of the American family. And that’s what family does.

Google is matching any donations, but it does go to the Red Cross eventually.

Texas Monthly – Here Are Ways You Can Help People During Hurricane Harvey

Hurricane Harvey: Here’s How to Help

Have a good day, keep safe

Paula

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You can’t force success

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You may have heard about The Handbook For Mortals scandal, where they tried to scam the New York Times best-selling list.  I am not sure how they thought they would get away with it and not have people figure the situation out. It was pretty blatant.

Through out my career, I have had people ask me how to trick Google so they could be on top of the search engine.  First of all, thank you for thinking I am that smart. But because I am that smart, I tell the truth. It isn’t worth it and it can’t be done.  Why would you want to? I can see wanting to make sure your site is optimized the best it can be and I am so glad to help you with that. But as my wise old granny used to say “If it is too good to be true, follow the money.” What you want is your right audience to be able to find you. Including your searches.

I can get wanting to make money and be a success. Seriously, how cool would it be to make any best-selling list! Except if you scam the system, it isn’t really you on the list because of the quality of your work. You might make some money but everything lives forever on the internet, just ask Martin Skarelli who will be forever remembered as the pharma bro dude who was disrespectful to the Wu Tang Clan.  People who seem to have the tendency to act like this, who are looking for the quick and easy way, never seem to have enough self-control to stop when they should.

I am not so naive to think that the system isn’t gamed because I totally think it is. But there is a difference between trying to get an advantage and thinking I am smarter than the world (which includes you!).  Because if I had to bet on which would win, I would take the world all the time (and you!).

Have a good day!

Paula

P.S. You never ever never want to piss off Google.

P.P.S. Yes, I have had someone tell me that they wanted their site to be the number one search result for all Google searches.

 

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Getting to know your world

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One of the things I love to do is go shopping at specialty markets, and Los Angeles has so many great places. The Mexican grocery store down the street carries real bologna, the kind with the red strip around it. My great aunt in Newfoundland used to fry pieces up for breakfast, so being able to do the same for my kids shares wonderful memories.  They also have a fantastic deli and bakery. Today I am going to a Chinese market and can’t wait to see what I find there.

Even if you live in a place where you don’t have many multicultural opportunities I bet there are still corners of your world that you haven’t seen, or people with interesting stories. Sometimes it is all about looking at the world with fresh eyes.

I love to explore and one of my favorite ways is to drive with a friend and take a couple of quarters and flip them to decide if I should take a left, right, or continue on my path at intersections. A lot of the time you end up in circles. But the best is when you end up someplace you never knew before. Kind of an analogy for life.

And that is the point. How can you write if you don’t have any life experiences? You don’t have to be a superhero, or travel beyond your town. It is all about appreciating the wonders around you and growing as a person. So today try looking at your world with new eyes and let me know what you see!

Have a great day!

Paula

Stuck in the middle with you.

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I am one of those sandwiched middle classians that is stuck hard between generations.  We have three kids in college, with one more we are trying to get into a certificate program. We are also dealing with more and more problems with my elderly in-laws and I am about to head for a family meeting to deal with some of those issues.

No matter what your political belief, (I do try to keep that out of this site) I think a lot of us feel very squeezed. Wages have been stagnant for a long time and the cost of life has been merrily growing. I think that is part of the reason why there is so much emotion behind the issues.

Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right, here I am…

That said, I count my blessings every day because I know there are a lot of people who have it way worse than I do.  I have been there. There was a time when 30 bucks was all I had after bills for gas and groceries for myself and my daughter. Even then I was blessed because at least I had a place to live and a car.

Times are tough for a lot of us.

Which means that if you are not getting paid to write, that becomes an “extra”. I am blessed again to be able to contribute to my family’s well-being by being able to work from home as a freelancer.  I do alright for myself. BUT if I am not working, I am not earning.

So after working to feed us, and dealing with the different family issues, and sometimes actually trying to get some sleep, a lot of “extras” get cut out. You have to, to keep sane.

There are some days when there is more fur on the floor than I am happy with. I also have a huge collection of crafts and Lego kits that I now affectionately call my retirement plan because they got caught up in the “extras”.  I used to struggle with having time to write. That so easily could be an “extra” and for a long time, it was. But then NaNoWriMo came along and I made a deal with my family. I would have November to write 50K words.

I started looking forward to every crazy November. So did my family. They would ask about what my idea for my story was and then what happened next. Eventually, I realized that they were happier when I wrote in November and so was I.

Writing is no longer an extra, it is self-care. I guess that can tell you a lot about how you feel about writing and if it is something you should invest time in. Even if it is to write a daily post.

Have a great day!

Paula

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The importance of backing up your life.

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I had a bit of an argument with my computer last night. It was naughty and not behaving the way it was suppose to and I was frustrated and tired. So I put it in time out for the night and rebooted it this morning. Usually works.

Being OG (Original Geek) and a software engineer, you could probably believe how many times I am called for help especially when something important is lost. A lot of the times I can recover at least some of the documents and files, even if the computer is dead. The best way though is when people are smart enough to have backups.

Everyone needs to back up their life, especially something that you pour yourself into like writing. It doesn’t matter the medium you use. Paper is just as vulnerable as software.

You may be saying to yourself right now “Ha, I am good at backing my files up.” But did you know you need to have layers of backup?

For example, say you are writing in MS Word. You kneed to set the program up to do automatic backups. If you are working in google docs, they automatically back the file up for you as does Scrivener. But then you need to back your computer up. What if your computer crashes and you don’t have my number? Or someone steals your notebook? Or the dog pees all over your papers?

There are a lot of good programs out there that you can use that will automatically back up your computers. The best ones will do one large backup and then only update the changes made. They run a little lighter on your machine so you don’t even realize they are there. I used to recommend Crashplan but they just announced that they are changing their model to more enterprise businesses so I will have to get back to you on what I will use next.

But here is the really important important bit. You need to check to make sure your backups are actually working, and that you can get to them.  Before you need to.

Because it would be really horrible if your eight volume master writing that was going to make you famous completely dissipated into the either along with all your family photos.

Have a good day!

Paula

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If it was 1 pm yesterday I would be on time.

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I will let you in on a little secret that probably isn’t so secret. I actually write my posts the night before and schedule them for the next day. Editing is not my best skill and I need time between readings to let my brain reset. And then because I am a chicken, I make my wonderful husband read them. You will still probably find an error or two, alas.

It would be really nice to actually complete writing my posts a few days ahead of time, so I wouldn’t be such a hypocrite when I recommend that to my WordPress clients.  I hope to get there someday and at least I am honest about it.  So “best practices” would be to have all your posts done a week ahead of time but lets agree that sometimes best practices are just goals to reach for.  Or laugh at.

On the other hand, that then that leaves me with where I am tonight. Its late, I want to write my post, and I want to keep my goals but my bed is calling after a long day. So I am keeping it short and sweet and celebrating a win that I actually wrote something about nothing but still something. Baby steps.

What schedule to you keep for your writing and how do you manage disruptive days? Share and help us all!

Have a great today!

Paula

 

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“And everything under the sun is in tune But the sun is eclipsed by the moon”

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Today if you live in the (semi) United States you have an opportunity to witness a marvel of nature. While eclipses happen all the time, this is a rare one that most of this country gets to see at least part of. Are you going to watch?

What an amazing event for a writer to witness! The corona of the sun visible, the changes in the earth as the eclipse happens. Birds will go silent or sing their nighttime songs, waves of shadows will flow over the ground. So many events in our history have been triggered by cosmic changes! What fodder for an author!

When you are fully in the sunshine, it is sometimes difficult to see everything clearly. I will sometimes get caught up in the daydreams of fame and that I will be discovered and everyone will love my stories. J.K. Rowling eat your heart out! Of course that would mean that I actually had to finish something, publish it, hope people find it, and then we will see if anyone loves it. After all, who doesn’t dream of shining in the sun.

But it is when I am out of the spotlight and in the shade that I can be honest with myself. I don’t write to be famous. No lie, yeah it would be nice to make some money writing, but I write because I want to, because I LOVE my stories and the worlds I create. By writing down my ideas and stories, I get to spend more quality time with them, exploring and wrapping myself in my creations. You know you have a character in your stories that you wish were real and want to be besties with.

Hopefully, someday I will get over what is stopping me from finishing my stories and actually publish one. Maybe some people will like them, for sure some people won’t, and I doubt I will ever be as successful as Ms. Rowling. But I am happy. I know the real reason why I write, and I am doing just that.

So have a wonderful mystical (but safe) day!

Paula

PS The post title is from the Pink Floyd song Eclipse off the album Dark Side of The Moon.

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Author – know thyself!

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Knowing who you are can really help you as an author. This is not some new age granola thing.  It’s about ways to hack yourself into doing better.

For example I am not a morning person, ever. I need to finish my coffee at a slow relaxed pace before I can talk. Knowing this, I don’t schedule any work meetings until after I am settled. Maybe you are not blessed to be self employed like me. When I worked for corporate America, I would get up in time so I could have a half an hour to chillax, have my coffee and breakfast, and wake the hell up.

When it is time for me to really power work, I have invested in some noise canceling headphones and have a butt-kicking playlist that allows me to focus, especially since I am a poster child for adult ADHD.

Speaking of my inability to sit still, I have lots of unique pieces of jewelry that I can fidget with in meetings without looking like a loon.

The headphone trick, by the way, once allowed me to complete NaNoWriMo in the last three days when chaos took over the earlier part of the month.

It is also really important to know yourself, so you can tell when you are getting overwhelmed and stressed. We are so used to putting our self care aside and ignoring warning signs that we actually get used to operating on a constant stress level.

Quick trick from Mr. Paula who is a shrink: Right now, put your hands on your neck. Go ahead. I will wait.

Are your hands colder than your neck? Then you are stressed. When your body senses that you are stressed it pulls the heat from your extremities to your core.

Being in a constant state of stress means you are not able to give your best to yourself, others, and your writing.

There is a difference between stress and excitement. Doing NaNoWriMo in three days was actually exciting and fun. My family got into the spirit and were cheering me on. Doing that for every NaNoWriMo would stress me out. Because, as someone who is a pantser in writing, I am a plotter in life.

And my hands are always toasty warm.

What do you do to deal with stress or treat yourself?

Have a great day!

Paula

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What to do when you don’t know what to do.

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Sometimes you get discouraged and feel like you are not getting anywhere with your writing. Perhaps like the rest of us, life happens. It can be really easy to be discouraged by the events going on around you and then something else happens on top of it just because.

My best friend passed away a few years ago, her husband two years before that. She had three adult boys, great kids, who we were privileged to envelop into our family. Today we had to take my girlfriend’s old dog to the vets. It looks like cancer and now the young men need to say goodbye to another link to their mother.

Life is wonderful, life is hard.

The two statements are true at the same time. We are really sad and I am girding my loins to deal with the heartbreak that is to come and to figure out the best way to help these young men. But I get so much joy from having them in my life. My girlfriend lives on through them. We almost lost the dog before, right after she died. But I was damned if I was going to let that happen then. We managed to save the dog, Meghan, and she was able to help the boys for a few more years. They are in a much better place.

What does this have to do with writing? Because I honestly didn’t want to post. I am tired, and worn out and didn’t know what to write about or if I even felt it was worth it.

But I sat down and just started. Five minutes. I can do five minutes.  Then five minutes turned into a post.

I don’t know if anyone will read this. I just know that I need to do this for me. Perhaps someone will read it and they will need to do just five minutes or one more baby step until you make it until the next moment when life is wonderful.

Have a good day.

Paula

The care and feeding of a blog or social media.

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When a client comes to me and asks about starting a blog or what type of social media they should use, I give them what information they need for their particular situation but then I always add a caveat. “No matter what you choose, be prepared. It is like having a baby. You have to put a lot of time and effort into the regular care and feeding of it.”

Having a static site, where you have basic information is different. That is a place where you have the same information, such as your author bio and your book lists. But blogs and social media, by their nature, work best when they are regularly and consistently updated. Your fans and followers need to know what to expect.

With blog posts, I suggest that people start them and write regular posts but not publish them for a week or two. That gives you enough time for the thrill of the new task to wear off and authors can tell if this is something they want to keep on doing.  It can be really difficult to come up with new posts ideas after a while.  If you still want to blog after that, well then you have a supply of back up posts. You can use them when you have crazy days and not be up at 10 pm writing a post when you have to be up for work at 5:30 am for the next day. (I know, play me the worlds smallest violin!)

All of this being said, having a blog and engaging in social media is a wonderful benefit for authors and writers. You get to meet so many great people and learn so much from the experience. And of course, you can help spread the word about your projects.

While I am still finding my feet as a writer, I am an experienced software engineer as my day job. So in the coming weeks I will be writing some posts on how to deal with these technical issues. Feel free to pick my brain or suggest topics. Please also share any tips you have for dealing with your blogging or social media chores. Lets all help each other!

Have a great day!

Paula

 

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When did you know you were a writer?

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I wrote my first story in Mrs. Brosnan’s class in first grade. It was about Enormous the frog. He was an adventure frog and not a sissy frog but he rocked some serious red nail polish.  At least that is when my mother decided I was a writer. Hi mom.

For me being a story teller was second nature. I found that my imaginative skills were of great use in trying to get out of trouble, especially in High School when I missed a class. But being a great story telling is not the same as being a great writer.  Storytelling is easy and you make the rules up as you go along.

Writing is more. Much more.

Don’t get me wrong. Having a good story is really important, and I know of some great technical writers who just don’t do stories well. But a story is just the beginning of writing. You have to have good structure, good grammar,  good flow, and good grief!

So even though my mother might have faith in my ability as a writer, I am not sure. I have participated in NaNoWriMo for almost 10 years now but I haven’t come even close to finishing anything and to me, that is what will make me a writer. My final story doesn’t even need to be published, just finished.

How about you? When did you decide you were a writer?

Have a great day.

Paula

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Why it is good to be different but also very scary!

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I compare myself to more successful people all the time. I wish I could write as well as Niel Gaiman, write as humorously as Terry Pratchett, or as descriptively as Steven King. In some ways this is normal. We want to see if we match up and how good we are compared to other people.

There are so many problems in doing this. Comparing yourself to others is bad for you.

It was one of the reasons why it took me so long to take a chance on writing this blog. I would use the fact that I am not as whimsical, or funny, or grammatically correct and poised as other people. So I should wait until I get good enough.

The problem is there will always be someone you admire and think of as more qualified than you. It is a procrastination excuse based in fear.

You don’t know the doubts and struggles that many others have had on their way to becoming a successful writer. Maybe you haven’t had the practice or the time to put into your writing yet. Maybe your parents hated reading and never encouraged you. Maybe life happened. It happens to most of us. So by comparing yourself to the greats, you are being unfair to you. Who knows where you will go if you continue to work on your writing.

Another reason not to compare yourself to others is that they became successful because they are unique. If you try to imitate them, you are not being faithful to your own unique voice.

Aretha Franklin is amazing. She sings a cover of Bridge Over Trouble Waters that blows my mind every time I hear it. No one sings like her.

And that is the point. No one sings like her, or Bob Dylan, or Adele. That is why they are great.

So you do you. Because perhaps if you can’t find anyone who writes (or sings) like you, then you are on your way. Or you are William Hung. Either way, you are your own unique self.

Have a great day!

Paula

PS feel free to share any songs that help you through a Monday Morning!

 

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Am I the only one who has fantasized about living in a library and why do you write the genre you do?

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I love reading and I suspect most of you do too. It is all about the stories, right? Whether zombie apocalypse, plague, end-of-the-world-whatever, I am hauling my happy ass to a library! I would spend so much time reading everything and eating apples.

The act of reading is itself a pleasure. While I have genres I prefer to read, stick me someplace with only silly teen romances available and by golly I will read those suckers.

Dark confession time. I have read the Twilight series. My daughter swore to me that they were better than the movies.

She lies.

I couldn’t get Kristen Stewart’s voice out of my head for everyone one of Bella’s lines. It is still better than 50 Shades of Gray, just saying.

The point being, I am not tied to a particular type of book. But when I write, I stick to the fantasy genre. Because I am lazy and it is easier. Also I am trying to really improve the quality of my writing and not having to spend time worrying about the correct details helps.

Last NaNoWriMo I wrote a story based on La Carambada. A female Mexican bandit in 1870 who seriously kicked butt. This woman tried to save her French soldier lover from being killed and was betrayed by the governor. To get back at the government, she dressed like a man and took to robbing people and did it better than everyone else. To really rub in the humiliation in this machismo culture, she would bare her breasts so her victims knew they got beat up by a girl. She may have actually poisoned the officials who would not help her.

She needs a story told about her.

The problem is, that while I live in Southern California and I love the Mexican people and culture, there is no way I could do this story justice. Not in a way that it deserved.

Unless…

The story now takes place in a land that is loosely based on Europe during the 30 years war. Very loosely based. Now a young woman is trying to protect her fiancee and is betrayed by the lords of the land so in turn becomes a robbing-hood type character, fighting injustice and flashing her tatas.

No mess, no fuss. I love writing fantasy because there are no rules and anything goes.

So what about you? How did you pick the genre you like to write in?

Have a great day!

Paula

 

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All a matter of priorities… and being a little bit selfish.

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I talked about my fear of putting myself out there, and that was fun.

Actually, that is a lie, growth SUCKS.

But afterward, you feel much better.  Whether it’s muscles or emotions,  growth is worth the pain. That still doesn’t change the fact that it is hard. I am still nervous about posting, but each day gets easier and better. You are actually making it better. Stats don’t lie. So all is good, right?

Well, all except for the guilt.

Yep, because I don’t make any money off this site. It is a labor of love, something I want to do. For me. For you. For a dream. But there is always something else that needs to get done, nagging you.

Prozac or Prozie, our latest rescue.

There are those people who are always organized and have everything together and look polished even when cleaning the toilet (which of course is always sparkling) and while I joke about hating them, I admire them and know that I will never be like that. I have come to terms with my limitations, shall we say. I like playing in mud puddles too much and my hair will never behave!

But like most of you, I am the calm in the middle of a whirlwind. I love my house. I love my family. We joke about calling our house The Home for Lost Children, Wayward Kitties, and Silly Dogs.  Which doesn’t include the turtle or the bird. If you stop by, you will find fur on the floor, dishes may or may not be done, and I am not responsible for what chaos erupts while you are here, especially if there is a Red Sox game on.

But you will be welcomed, overfed, and someone will love you and make you feel better. As long as you are not allergic. Otherwise, we have Benadryl, (which used to be the name of our old lady dog, but I mean the pills, not the dog).

So what does this have to do with guilt? Everything.

The time I take to be here with you is thrilling, like a secret romance. The floors always need vacuuming, the garden always needs weeding, and I always have work projects. Don’t even mention the need for sleep.

I put that all aside to be here, and it is wonderful. I think we all need to be a little more selfish and take the time to nurture what makes us feel alive.

Have a good day, go do something nice for yourself.

Paula

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