So You Want to be a Productive Writer?

My friend and co-writer Matthew Bowman has a whole list of suggestions on how to achieve this end here.

Personally coffee shop writing is my favorite secret weapon. It forces me to focus on writing like nothing else. And I'm not the only one who thinks so, as a google search for "Why do Writers like writing in Coffee Shops" brings up a host of related articles.

William Landay says...
Nancy Warren says...
The AbsoluteWrite Forum Members say...
What Jack Hight says...
Annie Stamell says...

And one of my beloved authors, Gail Carriger, talks about the Etiquette of Cafe Squatting


(Despite the fact that I am taking to a break to write this blog post, I've achieved about 1500 words so far today and have yet another hour of writing time left).

Wedding Planning - Timing and Guest Lists, God's got it all

I am so thankful that I have flexibility in my life to plan this wedding. Because let me tell you, I really wouldn't want to wait longer than 6 months to get married (I don't know how some of you do it!). Of course, I am 24 and my fiance is 27 I know that older brides and grooms are usually more ready and able to have a short courtship and engagement. We've already done our waiting!

Although, I'll be honest. With how everything is coming together it feels like we'd be completely ready for the wedding in November. But it'll be nice to have the extra holiday time for showers and such, and we're quite happy about our January 17th date. Our first date was January 17th, which also happens to be my parent's anniversary, so it's a special date for us. And it falls on a Friday, which was the day of the week we wanted anyhow, and every member of our bridal party and immediate family has told us they can make that date work.

And if we needed further confirmation... our first choice venue was open that day. We didn't know until we were in the process, but apparently it is VERY hard to get this location in the winter. God was working for us and we didn't even know it! It's a beautiful place with both the ceremony and reception taking place in the same building, which will be be awesome as no one will have to drive in a strange place on a dark snowy night to reach their dinner!

The big deal right now is figuring out just who those lucky navigation free people will be. Some parts of the guest list are so easy... others are hard. I was prepared for this, but still it's the only part of the process thus far that's caused me tears. A trusted adviser reminded me that God is the one choosing who is coming to my wedding, not me, and he'll give me peace about the decision that has his blessing. So if I'm uneasy about something, that's not what God wants!

Wise people are important to keep around during wedding planning. Parents are ideal, of course, but it's good to have other go-to advisers who aren't so emotionally wrapped up in everything too.

Flu is not cool.

Flu in August? Not cool, body, not cool at all.

At first I thought it was just a bad cold, but by Thursday I was unable to get out of bed and doing anything other than sleeping or eating hurt like heck. Writing anything between the pain and medicinal fog has been impossible. So I sort of vanished for a week.

I'm still not back to normal, but figured I should let y'all know where I'd gotten to.

Internet in the Annex... would it have changed things?

So something I was mulling over the other night... how would "The Diary of Anne Frank" been different if Facebook/Tumblr/Twitter been around? I don't meant that irreverently (I have nothing but deep respect and sorrow for their story), but simply how would a situation like that play out with different technology.

I mean, other than the obvious... that that type of persecution genocide (in Western Europe, at least) would not have gone as unnoticed and unchecked as long as it did. (Huzzah for the community journalist generation, bringing awareness everywhere).

Think about it, though. Life in the Annex with internet. Would it have been forbidden? One wrong post somewhere and they would have been found out... right? But in today's world people in hiding manage to use the internet all the time. They're usually on the move, however. Would eight people, trapped in one small space, have decided it was worth the risk? Would they have submitted to a life without even scanning the news sites? (Or getting craft and cooking ideas on Pinterest...)

Would they have set up a computer with all sorts of security on it so they wouldn't have been tracked? (it's not hard to set up a new IP).

Would they have created false online identities? Would they have had to browse in pairs to make sure no data was entered that gave away their location and real identities as Jews?

Would the Nazi's have taken over Facebook as they entered a country and forced the company to reveal religious affiliation? Would Facebook (and similar sites) been banned in such countries for refusing to cooporate?

Would Anne have kept an anonymous blog? Would she have filled her time with tumblr and online shows and pouring over Pinterest?

Would they have used Miep's Amazon account to order stuff that would be shipped to Miep's house and later smuggled over?

Would the Internet have made life more bearable, or would it have betrayed them sooner?

Thoughts on Peter Capaldi

If you thought the new doctor looked familiar, this is why...

Ironically it is the same episode that Karen Gillian made her first Who appearance on. Which reminds me, this is grand old Doctor Who tradition for finding the best actors. Both Martha and Amy were on the show before being cast as regular companions. And in a country as small as England, if you rule out everyone who has already been on the show, it shrinks the pool considerably.

Of course, Capaldi did have a fairly significant role in Doctor Who's sister show, Torchwood, being one of the main characters of Season 3. However that was far enough removed from the Doctor himself that I think it will be okay. Perhaps they'll find an explanation as well...? Anyhow, he was brilliant as Frobisher on that show.

I know there are naysayers out there. But that's nothing to worry about. Remember back when Matt Smith's casting was hated? Seems hilarious in retrospect, but people were really mad about it... (it's tradition with a new doctor for fierce loyalty to the old one to emerge).

I watched the live announcement and the moment I saw his face I thought "Oh good, they went with an older actor!" This is more in tune with Classic Who which they've been alluding too all year. It also makes a strong contrast between Smith and Capaldi, and allows them to expand on the grandfatherly vibe Eleven has been giving Clara (when he wasn't oddly flirting with her...).

I'm also very excited to see how he interacts with Alex Kingston's River Song. We have no guarentees that she's returning, but I think she's met more than one other Doctor when she meets Twelve in "Silence in the Library" and I get the sense that she and Capaldi would be a smashing pair.

First Peek at "The Chronicles of the Ruahim"

Matthew Bowman wrote a short story that we passed out at the Minnesota Catholic Home Educator's Conference this spring. It was a big hit, so he wrote another one to tease the second book in the series - the one I'm currently hard at work on! It's pretty fun. He took a scene I wrote and told it from a different perspective, and you learn some very interesting things...

Anyhow, I just got the print format files and had to print them out and show you right away!

How can you get one? Regina Doman, Publisher and Editor (and Senior Author on Book #1) and Matthew Bowman (Editor and Head Series Writer) will be passing these out at the Catholic Marketing Network Tradeshow/Catholic Writers Conference. You can also read it if you are a member of the Fairy Tale Novel Forum, but you won't get the pretty hard copy unless you go out to the conference!

If you look closely at the back under "The Mermaid and the Unicorn" you can spot my name - or at least the one I'll be publishing under after I get married!!!

Caulking the Cracks

I am going to apologize to anyone right now who is waiting for a response from me for any reason, on anything. I'm doing well holding everything together, but I just know things are going to slip through cracks. Please do feel free to remind me if you're concerned I've forgotten something important! (Like your birthday... although Facebook helps with that!)

Business is kicking up. I have to hire another assistant since one of mine is leaving due to life changes. I'm going to miss her, but thankfully I'll still get to see lots of her since she is going to be one of my bridesmaids! Still, it'll take some doing to find a seamstress as skilled as her to take her place!

I'm also figuring out how to use Microsoft Excel and all of its functions. It's been a bit of a headache to set up but in the long run I think it will make financial managing much easier. You'd be surprised how many days my assistants are sewing while I'm stuck at the computer. Oh well, I get satisfaction from numbers that add up right and putting everything in the correct column.

Then I continue writing. I have a pretty regular weekly writing date with some friends, so that helps but I'm afraid it's not going to be enough to make the early 2014 deadline my editors are talking about. So I'll have to work more of that in. I did have a lovely time last Friday inputting all of the dates in a special Google calendar. Now I can see visually when everything happens in the plot!

And of course the Wedding. I'm excited about it and it is coming together well, but there are moments when I'm a little overwhelmed. I asked my fiance the other night if eloping was an option. He said our friends would get so mad, they'd spend the gift money on a bounty hunter instead to track us down. I laughed pretty hard at that one!

And tomorrow my future mother and sister-in-law are coming over so it's housecleaning time!!!