Writing

Online Organization

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Computers and the Internet were supposed to make our lives easier and reduce the giant paper piles on our desks. Unfortunately, what has happened to most of us is that we’ve simply transferred our piles of paper to our computers in the way of files. For those of us who are savers we have files we never delete, emails we never delete. Instead of weeding out what we no longer need, we keep things in triplicate and create new categories and new folders to hold it all. We crossmatch and cross-post, and we never get rid of it.

In the last couple of years, I’ve managed to begin to get a hold of my online/on computer world and declutter it.

It’s not easy to let go of things; especially when we think we are saving it for a reason. Why do we keep blurry photos of our kids? There is something holy and wholly important about those things we’ve created. One person’s trash is another person’s treasure. The same holds for what we do on our computers – our writing, our art, our lives; pretty much.

I have found (although I’m always looking for new ones) some really good organizational tools, both online and through apps.

Many people who read my blogkeeping posts will already know that I do most of my work currently on my Kindle Fire with my keyboard. The one downfall of not having a mega-gig hard drive on my pc is not having a mega-gig hard drive. I really need a place to store my writing.

One way I store my writing is not to. If I post it here, I log in the word count in my blog planner (which is still on paper), and I either delete the “paper copy” or I upload it to Dropbox. WordPress already has my final copy, so as long as I tag and categorize properly, I can continue to refer to my posts and writing.

Dropbox is my first line of defense in the online organizational onslaught. Dropbox gives you space in the cloud that you can access from their app or an internet browser by signing in from any computer. You can get a paid account for more space, but whenever I hit my limit I get on my pc and transfer whatever I’m keeping to my hard drive.

Evernote. This is like that pile of scrap paper and post-it notes you keep on your desk or posted on your office cork-board/bulletin board. This is another app that you can use from the app on your smartphone, tablet, or from any desktop by signing in. There is also a paid premium account, but I’ve always gotten by with the free version.

I’m still on the paper version, but a good calendar app is worth getting. CalenGoo is one I used before my Fire came with one pre-loaded. In addition to that, I really like a list-making app. The one I use and the one I really love is 2Do.

Other apps that I use on my Fire (links are for Amazon, but all of these should also be found on Google Play and the Apple App Store) include:

Office Suite Pro
Adobe Acrobat
Pocket – this lets you save links – articles, videos, etc for watching later and OFFline.
Skype – great for communicating long distance/internationally for free. My family used this when my husband was in the Philippines on business and I’ve used it for my online groups.

A Print Plug-in for your tablet (I use Epson. A wireless printer was probably the best investment I’ve made in the last ten years.)

A Scanner Plug-in (I use MDScan, but I haven’t used it often enough to give a proper review.)

You’ll want some kind of email client. My Fire has one that keeps all of my various accounts on one client.

Obviously, you’ll want to figure out whichever social media apps you need by what you use. I will probably do a separate post on social media apps at another time.

These can be adapted to whatever your needs are, and most of them can be downloaded for free. Check out the paid options also; they might be better for professional needs.

As a writer, I’ve bought very few of these, and I almost never complain about them. I L-O-V-E love my Fire (which would be apparent to anyone who reads my page). I’ve done more writing and more posting in the last year than in the last several.

The organization keeps me on track and lets me write instead of constantly looking for things or keeping track of ideas.

Please add your own organizational apps in the comments and/or organizational tips that you find useful.

First Look

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First Look is a new page that I’m introducing for the New Year. I have tried in the last year to maintain a weekly theme that I write on or gather information about.

Every Sunday night or Monday morning, First Look will premiere as a page with the theme’s name, a writing prompt, question or suggestion, a photograph, and a quotation relating to the theme.

My first First Look is Get Organized. Click the link to visit the page. I will set up a way for feedback or you may use the email address in my FAQ (which will be completed next week).

Thank you everyone for your support as I grow as a writer.

kb

Choices

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I’m beginning my year by finishing some of my projects from the end of the last one. Right before Thanksgiving, I made my final list for the things that needed to get done  for the next three holidays and the end of the year: Gifts to buy, gifts to wrap, teachers’ gifts, mail carrier, hairdresser, my priest, baking, Thanksgiving dinner, Chanukah, latkes, Christmas dinner, Christmas Masses, school responsibilities, holiday cards, clean the house, grocery shopping, and oh yeah, I’ve got that retreat at the Dominican Center exactly between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Too many things to do. Something had to give. I needed this retreat. It was not only spiritual, it was a writing retreat. It was the very things I needed at this time of year, my everything, but did I really have the time for it?

Baking. I decided quite dramatically to skip baking this year. How would the holiday season go on without home baked goods for the teachers and Fr. J and F and the kids?

And then something happened.

It wasn’t that I didn’t care anymore, but…

I. Didn’t. Care. Anymore.

In a good way.

I tried it on for size a couple of times, and made sure that my family knew my intentions. I would not be baking. Except…except for Santa; no cookies, no breads, no nuts, and no caramel. And believe it or not, I was okay with it. I really was.

Not only was this writing retreat exactly what I needed and wanted and longed for, I got more out of it than I expected or could have hoped for.

The quiet inspiration of the poem that prompted us. The prayers. The new friend(s). The peace. There was not a moment all weekend that did not speak to me and reward me for making this choice.

Over the weekend, I was introduced to an inspirational speaker, Rob Bell. His videos are very inspirational and thought-provoking and thoughtful. So much to think about and meditate on. One of those videos was Shells. Please follow the link – it is well worth your ten minutes.

Spoilers to follow: Listening to him talk about the shells and his son’s frustration at not being able to grasp the starfish because his hands were full of shells – well, that moment was like a hammer to my head. My eyes welled up with tears with the pronouncement, no the admission to myself that you can’t do everything. Even if you want to do it or it’s the good thing that you’ve been waiting to do, you can’t do it all.

Choices must be made, and the realization that my no baking mantra of the previous two weeks was more than selfish, it was more than for me, it was important. The revelation that I had made the right choice, and that I could do it again was overwhelming and freeing.

Writing Retreat Weekend, Day 2

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Outside
I took a quick walk around the front of the retreat center. It was a beautiful day, and I should have walked more than I did, but my legs have been giving me a lot of trouble this weekend. I’m not sure why, so with Christmas in just about two weeks, I had better play it safe.

The sun was bright, the sky that perfect blue. I had intended to wander down to this cross that was carved out of the tree stump, but they’ve removed all of the benches. I’m assuming that is to get the grounds ready for winter.

However, that didn’t stop me from checking this out and another tree stump on my way back up to the picnic table. I sat out there reading for a bit, and was so enthralled with what I was reading that the retreat director had to come out and get me for lunch!

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We continued our writing with courage and hope. There are so many things that I’m feeling. Talking to my tablemates and hearing different things from the video (Rob Bell – I believe you can look him up on You Tube) and the musical selections like Star Child by David Haas.

I’m hoping this weekend gives me the push and the anchor that gets me through the rest of the year.

Writing Retreat Weekend, Day 1

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Day 1 is really one session in the evening. We arrive after we have our own dinners, get our name tags, meet the retreat director, and get our first prompt: tenderness.

I have finally accepted the free-writing, stream of consciousness form as my go-to for a first draft. I’ve only been doing it for about three years; it’s about time I got used to it.

I spent twenty minutes writing about my daughter and pajamas and shopping in Target. I will share another time how that adds up to tenderness.

All of our prompts will be based on what M has written on the white board:

What is Christmas?

It is tenderness for the past
courage for the present
hope for the future
and that every path may lead to peace.

-Agnes M. Pharo

The Scripture read  in regards to this prompt was of the Visitation when pregnant Mary visits her pregnant cousin Elizabeth. Remember that Elizabeth is the mother of John the Baptist.

We are in a Dominican Retreat House, so there is definitely a spiritual tone to everything we do this weekend. To be honest, spirituality and writing are the two things that can be brought to anything else; to everything else.

I’m going to retire early – the rising bell rings at 7:45 in the morning. I’ve also want to get back to the First Book of the Macabees, which I’ve been reading today (it is Chanukah after all), and I’d like to finish it. I’m also in the middle of an historical account of four women soldiers/spies during the Civil War as well.

I’m not relaxed per se, but I’m also not thinking about what I need to do between now and Christmas Eve. I think I’ve got it handled. And if I don’t my elves at home will be happy to help me. I have confidence in them.

Tomorrow brings French toast for breakfast, two writing sessions, a walk around the grounds and Mass. There is a cross with a bench for meditation that I’d like to sit by with my journal. I also have my sketchbook and my colored pencils, so I may foray into a little drawing.

I’m alone on this side of the building, but I’m muddling through the anxiety. It’s a lovely room. It reminds me of the hostel in Manchester, England that I stayed at without the underlying prison cell feel. This room actually feels much more comfortable. There’s a bed, a gold upholstered chair that rocks – it reminds me of my Aunt Goldie’s house. There is also a desk and adjacent to the closet is a sink with towels and a mirror. Plenty of light and a Bible round out the place.

I feel good about this retreat weekend.

Nanowrimo and Blogwrimo

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Well, it’s that time of year again. Nanowrimo. NAtional NOvel WRiting MOnth. Every November, several hundreds of potential writers huddle around their writing implements and write. The goal is 50,000 words before November 30th. All new. Begin writing on November 1st, put your pencils (quills or keyboards) down, time’s up on November 30th and you should have the makings of a real novel, ready for the editing process.

This works for some people. I’ve done it twice officially, and for the first two weeks, I went like gangbusters. Eventually, I slowed down, but we all have our paces and our non-writing lives to put up with. In my case, I have a family with three children and my blog and church responsibilities, and even with an extraordinary amount of help from my husband, it can still be a handful to get the incentive to just sit down and write.

Hence, why today I am at the library where there is no television and no bag of Doritos calling my name.

I hesitate to sign up for Nanowrimo officially this year. One of the benefits of signing up are the weekly emails I would get from published writers with their own versions of hang in there. They are less intimidating and more inspiring and some days that’s all you need to get on the writing train.

My Nanowrimo this year is me working two times a week on my books. I have one on my home buying experience – very bad, and one on my visit to Wales and what Wales is to me – very good. Guess which one I’d rather work on? This fall, beginning this month, I’m going to carve out periods of my day where all I do are those two books. Thoughts, outlines, quotations, research. Some of that I may share here as book excerpts.

Another goal for November is to redesign my weekly format here. For example, I think I’m going to make Thursday Travels a regular weekly feature. I am going to have weekly features M-F, possibly adding odds and ends on the weekend. Please, please let me know what you like and how you feel about the format. If you’re not reading, I’m not doing my job, ad I’m willing to accept feedback and suggestions to make this site better.

Vocabulary is something else. You may notice that I usually refer to this as a site rather than a blog. I’m more comfortable in this Word Press format, but I’m trying to make this more of a website, a go-to place. I try to have pages for information and topics like my Crisis Intervention Page, my Photo Credits page, and a new page I’m opening up for my Books Read and Movies Watched. There are many things I want to do with my time here, and one of those is becoming a resource. After years of people coming to me to find out where kids eat free or how to make that smiley face on a text, I think I might create that kind of a resource here, especially for the things that I love and that I love to share like traveling, my spiritual journey and writing.

I’m also including more of my own photographs as well.

This fall season has been phenomenal for family viewing and fandom communion (in a non-religious sense). My two main shows, The Walking Dead and Supernatural are in supreme shape. I’m loving every episode and I have meta coming out of my ears. This will benefit those of you who like the fandom posts. I will probably add a weekly fandom feature, possibly more than once a week if the shows warrant it. I’m also working on some reviews of those lesser known shows like iZombie and Major Crimes. If you love fandom stuff or don’t like it as much as me, I still want to know how you feel so I can include all my readers into the most posts.

All in all, I’m hoping to make a site that people enjoy coming to and sharing.

Link: Wil Wheaton: You Can’t Pay Your Rent with the Unique Platform and Reach our Site Provides

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Link: Wil Wheaton: You Can’t Pay Your Rent with the Unique Platform and Reach our Site Provides

I have actually learned more about writing professionally from Wil Wheaton than from any other individual source. He speaks on my level and he speaks honestly. He introduced me to POD (print on demand), and being my own best marketer. He’s led the way in new media and I’ve watched him traverse the new social media and show how to benefit from it, and is as close to a mentor as I could find in someone I’ve never met. I am full of respect for him, especially when he tells new writers how to be better writers and business people.

If you’re a writer and you’re not following him, you should.

Writing vs. Posting

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I have been writing on three posts somewhat simultaneously. I start one, move to the next one, stick a thought here or there, save, and continue. When I went on my pilgrimage, the third came to life. Now, I’ve started a fourth that seems to have taken over.

As many of you know, I usually write on my Kindle; my finger and Swype. For something that takes a little more thought and words I use my keyboard. But then there are those doozys. The ones that go over 700 words just in the head space, and I know that I need something a little bigger: my laptop.

For the fourth wip (work(s) in progress), I need to watch a four+ minute video for my analysis; my meta. I can’t really watch a video of that quality and type notes in a first draft format without my laptop. I’ve been watching, and writing, saving to my dropbox to edit on my Kindle, lather, rinse, repeat.

For the third wip, I typed my handwritten notes with the kindle keyboard, dropbox’d it, and continued in the laptop.

The combined word count so far for three and four is well over 2500 words. Truth be told, they’re closer to 3K and nowhere near finished.

I really, really want to post them both.

Like right now.

But they’re just not ready for prime time, and sitting here listening to my fandom playlist, I was reminded that whatever name I give myself – writer, author, blogger – at no point have I ever said I’m a poster.

Posting is the publication, the end result of the work; the time put in, the research, watching the damn videos, adding the damn links, checking the damn facts, honing the opinion, the WRITING.

WRITING.

However long it takes from thought to page to post, it goes nowhere without the writing. So, if the first one takes five months, and the second one takes three months, and the third two or three weeks, and the fourth one and a half months, no matter. No worries.

The writing is the thing.

And the thing is the most important thing.

The thing is the writing.