How to be Great at Working With Lists and Schedules

I'm a list maker, note taker, and office supply junkie. I can't resist Post-it notes and I'm always searching for the perfect pocket calendar. My goal is to find tools that will help organize my writing time.

Identify the Problem

I read every article I can on how to end procrastinating. Sounds like just another way to put off what I really should be doing - writing.
Here's some tips from an article posted in the Huffington Post.  The first suggestion to  identify the problem is the easy part. There is no doubt, I'm an A+ Procrastinator.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/02/end-procrastination-video_n_6249460.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000063

Restart Your Day

My favorite is #3 - Set day to restart at 2pm.
I like to roll out of bed in the morning and turn on my computer. Some days I jump right into my writing. Other mornings, I spend way too much time on social media. Here's where my procrastinating begins. It's all down hill from that point. I do everything but write.

With #3 in mind, I get all the things that bog down my writing schedule out of the way early. When I realize I've wasted too much time doing nothing productive, I shut off the computer and walk away. I take a bike ride, shop, or clean knowing that my day will restart again at 2pm. At 2pm it's all about my writing.

Making Lists

I love lists. Lists work for me because they help keep things moving. There is great satisfaction in seeing an item checked off. To help organize my list making and note taking, I use a great app - abcNotes. Instead of searching through piles of Post-its, these notes and lists are right on my iPad. If a thought hits while I'm watching TV all I have to do is reach for my iPad. It hasn't totally eliminated my addiction to Post-it notes, but I'm working on that. 

How do you organize? Are you a list maker and note taker?

Wishing you a New Year full of chocolate and productivity.

Christmas Wishes

by Janis Susan May/Janis Patterson

No, I’m not starting my 2015 Christmas list early. I’m still hung up on this past Christmas season, except that we really don’t have a Christmas season any more.

I can hear you gasping. No Christmas season? The stores fill with merchandise before Halloween, and the commercials earlier than that. Christmas trees bloom in parking lots before Thanksgiving. Christmas parties pile on and overlap each other like shingles. It probably won’t be long before Christmas and Back to School start stepping on each other’s toes.

That’s not what I am talking about. Merchandising campaigns are not a season. Christmas is supposed to be about loving and sharing and a celebration of family. (And yes, the religious celebration which is the reason for the season, but I’m not going to preach sectarianism or even doctrine.)

So what am I talking about? Now we have hysterical shopping, multiple parties, frenzied gift wrapping and, the culminating centerpiece, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Christmas Eve is anticipation; children determined to go to bed for once (or stay awake and see Santa) and Christmas Day itself is a tsunami of shredded gift wrap and ritualized overeating. Then it’s over. Nothing looks sadder than a Christmas tree, denuded of packages but with its lights still blazing bravely, on the day after Christmas. Within days the tree and the wreaths and the Santas and the creches disappear, packed away until the following year. When I was a child, many people only took down their Christmas decorations on January 6^th.

But shouldn’t Christmas be more? More than an extended shopping spree, more than a gift-fest, more than even a day of church services?

To me Christmas transcends its religious affiliations and sacred symbolism. It is a time of hope and love and family and peace. We’re losing that to a mountain of merchandizing and parties. Most religions have some sort of midwinter celebration, a time when the year turns and the days begin to lengthen, bringing back light and warmth and survival. The basic idea seems to be one of renewal, of a restart of the life cycle.

In earlier times there was a lengthy Christmas season. It started with the beginning of Advent around the first part of December and went on until Twelfth Night (sometimes called the Night of Three Kings) which by our calendar is January 6^th. When I lived in Mexico, they still kept this schedule. Christmas Day was a time of religious celebration and the exchanging of gifts was done on the 6^th of January, when traditionally the Three Wise Men brought gifts to the Christ Child. Incidentally, some of my Mexican friends are now caught between cultures with their children expecting bounty on both Christmas Day and the Night of Three Kings! The appeal of marketing wins again. 

So what am I dithering about? Basically it is this : Christmas should be a season of joy, of peace, of fellowship and goodwill – things people can and should enjoy whatever their religion. While gifts are important, they and their attendant marketing should not be the sole focus of the season. I would like to see the Christmas season – with its joy and peace and all that – be extended from the beginning of Advent to Twelfth Night. Not more presents, nor more parties, just more good feeling and fellowship. We can only benefit. 

WHEN CHARACTERS ATTACK

Just finished the edits for my new release Bachelor.com, and sent them off to the editor - Yay me! Now onto the next project.


A good friend of mine told me that beginning a new book is easy.  You just stare at the computer screen until beads of blood form on your brow. Seemed logical, so I thought I would try.  Except what happened was that I channeled some on my characters.

Hero: "Hey, you know you left me in a jungle in Africa surrounded by mercenaries, don't you?"

Me: "I've been busy with the holidays."

Hero: "And look what you gave me - dehydration, broken bones, bug bites, not even a fruit cake to quell my hunger.  Nice gifts if you're working with the bad guy.  Hey, are you?"

Me: "You know I have to do that."

Antagonist: "She's very good at springing me on you."

Hero: "Where did he come from?"

Antagonist: "Grimm Protectors, and oh, I have the girl."

Heroine to the hero: "When am I getting rescued?"

Hero: "I'm in Africa. Where are you?"

Heroine: "New York."

Hero to me: "Are my miles points up to date? I'm going to need a plane."

Heroine: "I'm in a basement in New York with Snidely Whiplash. Someone get me out of here."

Antagonist: "It's Lucian Davelos, and it is a very nice basement."

Me: "Wait! You are all not even the same book."

Hero: "We're all in the same head, though, and if you would finish one book before you started another, everything would be fine."

Me: "It doesn't work like that for me. Sometimes I get a flash of brilliance and have to go with it."

Hero: "Like the time I was in a crashing plane one minute, and the next, I'm in stage with a guitar in my hand.

Me: "Relax, you lived didn't you?"

Hero: "I get the feeling that might be only until you get back to the book."

Me: "Maybe. I haven't thought about that much."

All three: "Get us out of here."

Me: "Okay. Stop talking and let me think. Hero pulls semi automatic out of his backpack and cleanly cuts down all the mercenaries. He jumps into one of the jeeps and speeds away to complete his mission in Tanzania."

Hero: "Well all right.  That's much better."


Me:  "Heroine uses the self-defense technique taught to her by her love interest...."

Hero: "I didn't teach her anything. We just met."

Me: "The love interest isn't you."

Heroine: "Good he isn't my type anyway."

Hero: "I resent that. I do believe I am the perfect romance hero - handsome, resourceful, good body with brains to match."

Heroine: "So that's why you were stuck in a jungle for three weeks?"

Hero: "You're in a basement with some guy in a black hat."

Antagonist: "We brilliant anti-heroes rarely wear hats any more."

Me: "May I finish?"

All three:  "By all means."

Me: "Heroine uses the techniques she learned to incapacitate her captor and gets away."

Heroine: "A bit cliché, but I can live with it until you get to the rewrite."

Antagonist: "Wouldn't I have a henchman that would hear her and stop her?"

Me: "Humm, that would be a nice plot point.  I may use that.  Thanks, Lucian,"

Antagonist: "My pleasure."

All three: "So now what?"

Me: "Not sure.  I left a secondary character inside a hidden base in Oregon.  I think I need to find out what happened to him."

Hero: "What? Not another book."

Me: "The start of one."

Hero: "Can we get back to my book?"

Me: "Okay."

Hero: "Wait  that isn't me."

Me: "Sigh.  It is today."








Kathryn Quick is the author of 19 books in contemporary romance, historical romance, urban fantasy with writing partner Patt Milhailoff, and non-fiction.  Her newest series Bachelors Three to be release by the Wild Rose Press begins with Bachelor.com, a geek to chic romantic comedy with life-changing consequences.

In Praise of the One Word New Year Resolution

by Victoria M. Johnson

Before I give you the secret to the one word resolution, lets take a sympathetic look at how difficult others make the task of setting annual New Year's resolutions :-)

The USA.gov website lists the thirteen most popular resolutions Americans make.  Number one is to lose weight, and number two is to volunteer to help others.  Click here to see the other popular resolutions in America.

Statistic Brain is a website of statistics, percentages, rankings, and all things numbers.  They site that a mere 8% of people who make resolutions are successful in achieving them! People in their twenties have a 39% rate of success compared to people over 50 who achieve at 14% rate. 

And Forbes has a piece about making your New Year's resolutions stick. The author, Amy Morin, gives four keys to help.  I like number two: Believe You Can Do It, where she talks about reducing negative thinking. Click here to read her article.

According to Business Insider, there are even apps to help people accomplish New Year's resolutions. Each of the five apps they highlight are for a specific resolution such as wanting to reduce stress or learn a new language.  The idea is that whatever your resolution, you might find an app to help you achieve it.  Click here to read their piece.

I should say I'm not against writing a long list of resolutions or goals each year.  But I've found this one word method really kept me focused and centered.  It's a daily reminder--or however often you want to look at it--of what matters to you.  The one word does not cause stress.  There aren't lists of items to check off.  There's no guilt as the months progress.  There's no time required to read through lists, adjust goals, cross off items, or add new items.  The one word needn't require a "to do" rather the one word can invoke a "to be" where you can easily identify if you are or are not being this word. 

I learned about the one word approach at a New Year's brunch with a few dear writer friends at a time in my life when I was incredibly overwhelmed and I didn't have the energy to create a list of goals.  But I could resolve to be one word.  That was about all I could handle.  Now looking back I see that my one word goal was so simple that it was both achievable and inspiring.  The trick is selecting the one word that truly represents your most important goal. Here are some examples: productivity, organize, appreciate, balance, discover, fearless, flexible, and declutter.  Here's one I wish a friend of mine would adapt: No.  She says yes to everyone and has little time left for herself or her writing.  Writers might pick a word like: prioritize or diversify.  Last year my word was: submit.  It helped me focus on a weakness, which was to write and edit pieces, but never spend time researching markets or submitting my work.  And last year, with this one-word goal, I had the most submissions, rejections, and acceptances, in my career. My word for next year should be sleep, since I didn't get much of it.  Instead my word for next year is thrive.  When I'm presented with an invitation or opportunity I can ask myself, will this activity help me thrive?  Then I can decide if I want to accept it or not.  If you're one who enjoys writing several New Year's resolutions, go for it.  Then see if you can find one word that sums up the most important ones.  And tell us your word for the new year in the comments below.

Victoria M. Johnson knew by the time she was ten that she wanted to be a writer.  She loves telling stories and she's happiest when creating new characters and new plots.  Avalon Books and Montlake Romance published Victoria's fiction debut, The Doctor’s Dilemma, (A 2012 Bookseller’s Best double finalist).  Her other fiction book is a collection of romance short stories titled, The Substitute Bride, and a novella, Hot Hawaiian Christmas. She is also the writer and director of four short films and two micro documentaries.   Visit Victoria's website at http://VictoriaMJohnson.com for inspiration and tips and find her Amazon author page or connect with her on Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter.

Your Face is Gonna Stick Like That: Forming New GOOD Habits

by Sofie Couch

I am taking the liberty to dub this, 2015, “The Year of Good Habits”. Who says it’s the “year of good habits”? I do. It is my decree. There was no act of Congress, (and heaven knows they couldn't get it off the ground), so without further preamble... (drum roll, please)… “2015 is THE YEAR OF GOOD HABITS!!!!”

And look at me getting it off to a great start by writing my blog days before it’s due!

Woman Reading a Letter, Gerard ter Borch

I’ve been reading a lot about healthy habits, and one thing keeps recurring: it’s easier to start, than to stop. Do not let your face get stuck like that. So this is my focus. I hope, every month, to present to you, one healthy new habit, some hints on how to establish it, and a personal progress report. Nothing flashy. Baby steps. And we'll just see where we land by the end of the year.

And for the month of January, I'm promoting two new habits: HYDRATION and daily reading. What, you ask, does that have to do with Sweet Romantic Comedy - the stuff i write? Well, I plan to make reading a major ingredient in the secret sauce for successful habit formation.

21 Days Myth

There are a lot of promoters out there of the "it takes 21 days to form a habit" school of thought. I was all set to promote the myth when some reading on the subject suggested that the 21 day method is great for side-bar articles in cheesey women's magazines, but doesn't come with a lot of peer-reviewed evidence. Instead, some other habit forming motifs began to come to light. Habits come about as a result of Quotas and Goals, Visualization/Planning, Looking Back v. Looking Forward, and Mindfulness. (All of this, I heavily paraphrased from http://www.sparringmind.com/good-habits/ as well as other sites and articles discussing habit formation.)

Quotas and Goals

They may seem, on the surface, like they're the same thing, but think of it as a size issue. Quotas are the baby steps that lead you to goals. Goals are the big picture. (My goal for this month is to drink a glass of water before and after every meal and two more besides  while simultaneously rewarding myself by reading a novel (or two or three) by one of my favorite Sweet Romantic Comedy Authors. My quota is to drink 8 glasses of water per day. More on quotas in a bit.)

Visualization/Planning

It's the reason those cola ads are so effective. You are shown a picture of an ice, cold glass of Xola. You hear the phfttt of the pop-top. You hear the glug, glug, glug. You see the Xola being poured from a can into a glass of ice - the sort of ice that's really fun to crunch. (Stop salivating.)

I have set up a special Pinterest page in which I'm posting the imagery for my monthly goal - reading and hydrating this month. I hope you enjoy it and feel free to follow any of my other pin-boards. (Gotta love Pinterest). It's all geared toward visualizing -  a cool mountain stream, your water conveyance of choice - glass, canteen, your own two hands... Turning on the kitchen tap and cold well water, a jug of filtered water if you live in a city. Ice or no ice? Which novel will I keep at the ready for reading while I drink my water?

Young Woman Reading a Letter, Jean Raoux

Planning - it's really important if that new habit requires more than turning on the tap. So if you like your water with a twist of lime, plan ahead and buy your limes, slice'em and stick'em in the freezer. No excuse for not having your glass of water with a little planning. Plot a course for always keeping a novel on hand as well. (I have more than a couple stored on my e-reader.)

Looking Back vs. Looking Forward

That's important in everything. It's like the difference between making a "to-do" list every day and feeling a failure when you don't accomplish everything on your list, rather than looking back over the course of your day and making a list of everything you did accomplish. Looking back creates a win-win situation. But doesn't this negate the aforementioned quotas? Well, kinda. Those quotas are a a suggestion, but I'm not gonna beat myself up over not getting in all 8 glasses.. Even if you forgot to drink your 8 glasses of water, you can look back over the course of the day and revel in your success in having consumed 6 glasses of water, swallowed a bunch at the pool, and the couple of gulps you got when you turned your face up in the shower. S'all good. And 64oz. of water per day is probably insufficient for a person of my, er, girth, so more is good. A glass before and after every meal is a quota. Eight glasses is my goal. Looking back allows me to celebrate what I actually accomplished.

Mindfulness

Girl and Boy with a Bladder, William Tate

This is the reward part of the habit. When you drink your glass of water, it helps to be mindful of what you're doing, how you're doing it, and all that the habit is doing for you. Hydrating improves the look of your skin, burns fat more efficiently, detoxifies your body, etc. It reinforces that habit as a positive thing that is worth repeating. Pretty soon, you begin to associate the habit with positive thoughts. And for me, drinking water is going to be further rewarded by reading a little bit of one of my favorite Sweet Romantic Comedy authors with each glass consumed. 

Progress Report:

I drank three glasses of water while writing this blog! And now that my quota is met, I'm going to reward myself by settling down with one of my favorite authors, a glass of water on the bedside table, and a very full... oops. Gotta run!

Reflections

Recent posts on holiday lights brings to mind an item I read in the newspaper. At that time, I found the column amusing, but now I'm not so sure. The Christmas lights do add to the beauty of holiday decorations and displays. However, all the additional light and intense focus on holiday traditions doesn't always bring happy results.

Any smooth surface around these lights will give off reflections. There's no escape from the image of the gray haired woman staring back at you when you pass a store window or mirror. At first you think the image resembles your deceased mother. Perhaps you turn quickly to get a better glimpse of someone passing on the street behind you, but see no one familiar. You may dust a table or glance at a framed photo and see a reflection of the stranger again. She looks familiar, and yet she doesn't. But she is always there, peeping over your shoulder when you pass a light reflecting surface. When you can't find a favorite book or misplace your keys, you recall how your mother once did the same things.

The impression gets worse when you attempt to pass on family traditions.  Recipes can't be found, or attempts to cook your family favorites go awry. You're desperate to recreate memories from the past, yet your attempts fall short of your expectations.

All the while, that older woman appears behind you like a shadow, and you're certain she is always frowning. You're disappointed at what you consider your failure to rekindle traditions. Yet guests compliment your decorations. Others love the refreshments or ask your secret of creating such a wonderful holiday scent in your home.

But you can be certain not everyone likes the same thing, and that is true of writers and readers. Even the best of friends aren't going to like the same movies, music or books, and that is good news. Each person will notice something different. You may love the extra hint of sage in the holiday stuffing, while your family may love the moist/dry consistency. And you can bet that shadowy image is going to be there, and she will always forget some detail...

The good news is that all readers don't read your book to look for mistakes. Most people read purely for pleasure, and even that reflection in the mirror smiles some of the time.

Now...about those other reflections, the ones you assumed this post was about... Do you look back on the past year and make New Years' Resolutions? 

OUTSIDE INTERESTS AND REWARDING DISTRACTIONS

Last week when I finally finished and proofed my latest book, I asked my husband, not usually a fan of women’s fiction, but an excellent editor, to read it before I submitted it.  He’s not the first person to see the book so I wasn’t too worried about him liking it and looked forward to his usual critique.  He did like it a lot, or as much as he would a work of “women’s” fiction, but more interesting to me was his amusement at how I incorporated so many aspects of my life into the book. 

It seems that the world is divided into those who focus on a few things and do them really well and those who are interested in so many things that they can’t/don’t limit themselves.  Accordingly they do several things fine, but don’t excel as they might have if they’d narrowed their focus. 

A prime example from writing of someone who does nothing but write would be Janet Evanovich.  As those of you who have heard her speak know, her life is writing.  Although she lives in an extended family household with her husband, children and their spouses, writing is what she does all day long every day.  By her own account, she gets up in the morning and writes.  At the end of the day after dinner, she goes to bed thinking about what she is going to write the next day.  She has said publicly that she never reads.  Reading someone else’s work would interfere with her creative process. 

An example of someone with a more complicated and varied existence would be Eloise James who has also spoken at RWA conferences.  In addition to writing her regency romances, James is an English professor at Fordham University. Without needing to spell it out, Ms. James obviously must always be multi-tasking. Also evident is that she does both well.

My latest book took me three years to write.  I only know because I checked in my computer and saw that was how long it’s been stored. It’s clear that I need to pick up my writing pace if I want to have more books out there.  What’s interfering in that goal is my very complicated life that is entirely self-inflicted.  I am a retired Deputy Attorney General of New Jersey.  I retired so I could focus on my writing.  Two years into retirement I was appointed a law guardian, a lawyer for children, in New York.  The job doesn’t take as much time as being a DAG did, but it is a distraction. In addition, because I now live in Manhattan where I have access to a cornucopia of art, I have become a compulsive museum and gallery attender as well as an amateur painter.  This also sucks up time. 

It’s clear that I should spend more time in front of my computer. Should I also eliminate these other activities?  Is it possible that my legal work and my art obsession enhance my writing?  I like to think they do.  What I do certainly makes my life richer and therefore more interesting.  I believe protagonists gain from my experiences and knowledge though perhaps that belief is self-serving. 

Am I instead an extreme case of multi-tasking? Are there other writers out there who also need to write more, even at the expense of their many interests.

Deborah Nolan is the author of Suddenly Lily and Conflict of Interest published by Montlake Publishing and Second Act for Carrie Armstrong published by Desert Breeze Press which will soon be available in hardcopy through Amazon.