Two Words: Spell Check

Politeness is the art of choosing among one's real thoughts. ~Abel Stevens

Okay ... I have a pet peeve. Actually, I have many (I'm a little neurotic, what can I say?), but I'll only address one today.

If you are an author (or maybe even if you aren't), the face you show the public is important. Lately, I've been doing quite a bit of social network promoting for LASR/WC. Our Facebook account has nearly 2000 "friends" on it, so I see a LOT of updates, primarily from authors.

I can't tell you how many of them are littered with grammar errors.

Not typos (we all make those now and then). Not "chat" speak (though I really hate seeing: "how r u?"). Flat out grammar errors that make the writer sound utterly ignorant. Wrong word use (I've seen: concur instead of conquer, for instance, as well as the usual suspects: there instead of they're, too instead of to, etc). I read one a few days ago I wish I'd kept to use as an example. Not only was it so poorly constructed as to make nearly no sense at all, but the spelling and grammar errors made my eyes bleed. Things like "deel" instead of "deal", etc.

Look, I know it's fairly informal, but I'm inclined to think that if you sound that ignorant publicly on a regular basis, then your writing isn't going to be stellar either. An editor, no matter how good, can't take a rotten apple and make a diamond. There's not enough pressure in the world.

If you know you have issues with spelling, then run your status through spell check (actually, if you use Firefox, it does that automatically). I realize it won't catch homonyms, but it will catch "deel" instead of "deal". It's a start.

I really think the internet has great power -- but it can be used for evil or for good. It's mind-boggling how many folks rant and rave on their statuses, spew hateful diatribes full of profanity as punctuation and don't think that's a problem.

Is it just me?

Sound in, folks... what do you think?

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In other news, I gave myself a lovely second degree burn on my left index finger last night. Note to self: make sure that you're both completely awake (even if it is 2 a.m.) AND that you turn on a light before trying to add wood to the wood stove. A stove that's running at 600 degrees really isn't something you want to tangle with.

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Your Personality is Somewhat Common (ISFJ)

Your personality type is stubborn, conservative, trustworthy, and caring. About 13% of all people have your personality, including 18% of all women and 7% of all men You are Introverted, Sensing, Feeling, and Judging.

How Rare Is Your Personality?

That pretty much pegged me... LOL...

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Timers

For disappearing acts, it's hard to beat what happens to the eight hours supposedly left after eight of sleep and eight of work. ~Doug Larson

So, yesterday I had a to-do list a mile long and decided to take a page out of Fly Lady's book: I used a timer.

15 minutes working on the website. 15 minutes to vacuum. 15 minutes on Twitter for LASR/WC. 15 minutes to fold laundry and put in another load. 15 minutes on the author chat for LASR/WC. 15 minutes to write ...

You get the idea.

I did discover that it takes longer than 15 minutes to clean pretty much anything. For my hardwood floors, I actually vacuum first and then Swiffer and it took me 30 minutes, even hurrying.

What I learned:

Having a timer helps keep me focused on the task at hand, whatever it is. It makes me more cognizant of time passing, and how easy it is to waste hours. It also gave me permission to "play" guilt free because I could set the timer for 5 minutes or 10 minutes -- a drop of time, really, and take a short mental health break.

I still didn't finish everything I wanted to finish, but I liked how it worked. I also work well under pressure and love a challenge, so having minutes ticking down really gave me incentive to GET IT DONE.

How do you try to organize your day?

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You Belong in NYC

You're a person on the go, and you need to be in a city that never sleeps. You enjoy being inspired by people who are as ambitious as you are. You're the type of person who works hard and plays hard. You need constant stimulation. Cultured and street smart, you can truly appreciate everything New York has to offer.

Are You LA or NYC?

While I'm not sure I'd like living in NYC, much of the reasoning behind their choice is spot on.

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**YAWN**

Insomnia is a gross feeder. It will nourish itself on any kind of thinking, including thinking about not thinking. ~Clifton Fadiman

Late today ... I swear, my sleep schedule is nuts. The past two days, I woke up at 3:30 a.m. and last night Dakota had tummy troubles, so I was up at 1:30, up at 2:30, up at 3:30 ... and then finally crashed and woke up at 5 a.m. feeling like I'd been hit by a truck.

I'm pooped. But napping during the day messes me up even more. With any luck, I'll get some uninterrupted sleep tonight!

So ... I have a love / hate relationship with my new wood stove. It's beautiful, it burns longer and more efficiently and it really heats the house! On the other hand, it's hard to light, and (for me anyway) it's either burning too cool (which causes creosote to build up in the chimney) or cranking so hot I'm terrified I'll burn down the house.

Running a wood stove isn't as simple as just throwing a log on the fire... physics is involved, and that wasn't my strong suit in school. I'm slowly learning, but I just hope I don't wreck the stove or burn down the house before I figure it all out.

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You Have Some Compassion

You truly want to be a compassionate person, but you often don't know where to start. When someone is upset or hurting, you want to do something. You feel at a loss when you can't help. Believe it or not, your empathy helps others quite a bit. Just being there is often enough. Try to listen more and act on your intuition. You have what it takes to be a very compassionate person - you just need to exercise it more.

How Compassionate Are You?

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Thoughts On My Writing

"Writing is an exploration. You start from nothing and learn as you go." - E.L. Doctorow

I was contemplating the writing I want to get done this year. It's not *that* much, really, and if I apply myself, I should be able to.

*Queen and Assassin (my fantasy): Finish by 1/31 -- it's at 30k words right now, and nearly finished (maybe another 5 - 10k to go), so I should make it.

*Now and Forever ("Kitchen Matches" sequel): Finish by 4/30 -- it's about 18k words right now. I'd planned for it to be around 20k, but that's not going to happen! There's a lot more to go, storywise, so I think I'm more like about half done.

*A Jewel for Geoff ("One Love for Liv" sequel): Finish by 12/31 -- this will be at least 55k, and since I have to redo the entire thing, this is the "iffy-est" goal on my list.

*Drive Me Crazy (another "Kitchen Matches" story -- technically the sequel to "Now and Forever" even though I started it first): Finish by 8/31 -- it's at about 15k and more than half done, so I should be good.

At least two "short" short stories (15k words or fewer) -- possibly "Perilous Love" or "Beautiful Blossom", both of which are started and *sort of* outlined.

If I have time, I'd like to complete "A Change of Tune" (the sequel to "A Change of Heart"), also started, but not outlined.

Since all of those except "Geoff" are novellas, I don't think that's unreasonable.

I wish I was like Dru -- who mentioned yesterday that she prefers to get around 5 hours of sleep a day ... that would give me 3 extra hours of up-time daily!!

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You Are Easygoing

Your friends would all agree that you have a pleasant personality. You're easy to get along with. You appreciate people from all walks of life. You especially like colorful, quirky folks. You are mostly a flexible person, but you can be unpredictably stubborn at times. You always need to stick to your routine. If you end up deviating from your plan, you aren't as dependable as you'd like to be.

The Pasta Test

About 50/50 -- I'm neither flexible nor particularly easy-going but otherwise it pretty well fits.

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Monday, Monday ....

You've got a lot of choices. If getting out of bed in the morning is a chore and you're not smiling on a regular basis, try another choice. ~Steven D. Woodhull

Normally I'd be hooting and hollering about it being Monday. Monday means "back to normal" at my house, and I love my routine. Especially after having two weeks of DH home (ergo absolutely NO routine whatsoever).

But ...

DH was called for jury duty. So, it's not routine here. Granted, he'll be heading out this morning at the same time, but even so ... it's not routine.

I really get stressed out when I don't have a script of sorts to follow. I can deal with it for a while, but then I just get amazingly irritable. I could tell that I hit my wall yesterday. I was Ms. Cranky! Of course, having only about four hours of sleep might have contributed. I also do not do well on very little sleep.

I've been worried about getting up early again starting this week. We "closed" LASR/WC for two weeks (in the past, we've noticed a distinct drop in visits around Christmas, and so don't think it's fair to authors to spotlight or interview them then -- they don't get enough bang for their buck) so I didn't have to get up to load pages onto the site. I've been a lazy slug, laying around until 6:30 or so every morning.

However, my body has apparently taken care of that worry for me. Both yesterday and today I woke up at 3:30 a.m. This morning wasn't bad, since I'd gone to be early last night, but I'm not sure I'm ready for this to become a habit.

In any case, DD is doing school today and DH is leaving the house (even if it's not for his usual number of hours) so I should be feeling moderately settled.

Praise be for Monday!

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You Seek Comfort

You are whimsical and a total free spirit. You enjoy things while they last and try not to get attached. People love that you have a down to earth side to you. You're often the reality check for other's dreams. You are a creature of habit. You relish all of the routines in your life. You work best when you're inspired. You can't just work mindlessly. Your work has to have meaning.

What Does Your Kitchen Say About You?

HAHAHAHAHA... this cracked me up (see the part about relishing routine?). I'm not particularly whimsical, but otherwise this fits to a "T".

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Zzzzzzzzzzzzz......

I'm far too tired to be coherent, so for today, I leave you with this:



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Happy 2011!

The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul and a new nose; new feet, a new backbone, new ears, and new eyes. Unless a particular man made New Year resolutions, he would make no resolutions. Unless a man starts afresh about things, he will certainly do nothing effective. ~G.K. Chesterton



I have made resolutions. Many are private, but one I will share here:

WRITE.

I resolve to write and to submit work this year. I *will* get a contract for something somewhere reputable if it's the last thing I do.

What's something you're resolving to do this year? Or, are you resolving to not resolve anything?

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You Appreciate Diversity

You are cosmopolitan, but you don't make a show if it. You are proud of your taste, but you keep that pride to yourself. You are responsible and restrained. You've gotten far in your life from being disciplined. Right now, you value your own needs most. You believe it's time to take care of yourself. You are bright and curious about the world. You feel like you're in a bit of a rut, and you're looking for a little something more out of life.

What Does Your New Year's Eve Say About You?

Aside from the fact that I'm SO not cosmopolitan, this is pretty close.

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