So, What are you Working On?

Pixabay

If you're a regular reader of this blog, you know that my top (work) priority flip flops in January, May, August and December. Beginning in January and August, my class planning and teaching responsibilities get top priority. In May and December, my writing projects get top billing, at least until the semester starts again. 

This summer I'm teaching a class, so June will be a mixed bag. It's a small class and one I've taught before, so I'm optimistic that if I establish good habits in May, I'll be able to continue them into June.

So far, so good, even if I did get off to a late start.

So, what am I working on? In terms of short-to-medium length pieces, I've got blogs here, over at Organizing by STYLE and CatholicMom.com and some articles, both online and in print. 

As for novels and book-length work, last summer's list looked something like this:

• Project #1 is a novel with a new cast of characters. Over the past year, with the help of my critique group, I've been tightening and revising and I am within twelve chapters of finishing this stage of the project, which gives it front burner status.

• Project #2 is an idea I've been toying with based on my Organizing by Style blog. Because it's time sensitive, it has risen to the top of the list. Stay tuned for details, which I hope to have available at my Christmas in July Facebook party.

• Project #3 is the third Marita/Angel/Charli book, for which I just might have come up with a title when I couldn't sleep last Friday night. We'll have to see if it sounds as good in the light of day as it did at 3 am. I promise new twists and developments...which is why it's taking me so long.

This summer, Project #1 is ready for its final revision, thanks to the input of my critique book. Unfortunately, Kelsey, Jake and company will end up moving to the back burner because Project #2 has moved from idea to book contract! Writing Organizing by STYLE: The Book (which will obviously need a jazzier title) will be top priority so I can meet my deadline with Our Sunday Visitor Books and the book can come out next spring. 

As for Project #3...take heart, fans of Marita/Angel and Charli. I'm more than 60,000 words and 25 chapters in, so this book is getting written...just slowly. As I've said before, these characters keep surprising me (especially Bets), so I think it will be worth the wait. 

Project #4 is also taking shape, but it won't be ready for quite some time. I have a new character in mind and am using a cool, new (to me) character development sheet I picked up at Ramona DeFelice Long's Pennwriters workshop, "Damsels, Dames and Darlings: Writing Realistic Women." I'm using it to shape my protagonist and perhaps another female character as well. Since this is my favorite part of the process and, since I have several other time-sensitive irons in the fire, you won't be seeing Genevieve for a while. 

And now...my daughter just called to see if I'm ready to go shopping. 

It's going to be a great summer!

Pixabay

Peeking Behind the Blogging Curtain

rawpixel via Pixabay

On Wednesdays, I blog in two places -- here and at Organizing by STYLE -- as well as posting a "STYLE Savvy" post at CatholicMom.com. While deadlines at CatholicMom.com protect me from my procrastination and tendency to overcommit, most Wednesdays I find myself scrambling to create content for both of my other blogs. I mumble and grumble and struggle to find topics, wondering whose great idea this was anyway.

Mine.

I've analyzed my blogging schedule on numerous occasions and I always end up in the same place. Though I don't like the frustration that arises from my last minute-itis, I like my blogging schedule. I especially like having Tuesdays and weekends off from blogging, which means two blogs on some other day of the week, which might as well be Wednesday.

Such is the writer life. We don't punch a clock. We don't collect a paycheck in the traditional sense (or at all sometimes). We're constantly fighting the same prioritizing woes as those who go to regular jobs at regular hours and often with less success because our working hours are flexible and the work that we do is invisible for so long. If a traditionally employed person doesn't show up for work, people notice. If a writer doesn't write, no one knows it except for the writer herself.

Unless she writes blogs. Then her audience notices.

I'm not complaining (well, maybe a little) because the truth is, I can't imagine not blogging. In addition to making me feel as though I'm actually making connections with other people, it has been one of the best writing exercises ever. And, when it's going well, it's fun, too.

One of my goals when I retired was to stop making my blog a hobby and to make it a commitment. The first step? Posting on a regular basis. As a result of this relentless practice for the last five years, I'm able to create larger (paying) pieces more quickly and easily. Because I've gotten into the habit of creating short pieces with fast turnaround on a regular basis, I'm less afraid of creating work that's imperfect. When you write fast on a regular basis, some of the work is going to be imperfect. In fact, when you write at all, some of the work is going to be imperfect. It's the nature of the beast.

So here I am, early on some Wednesdays, late on others, but committed to showing up. After all, that's what writers do.

I hope you enjoy the result.

Summer Writing, Gonna Have Me a Blast

Photo: ulleo via Pixabay

When I first started writing, it was easy to focus. I'd have one piece in progress -- first articles, then, later, books -- and when I had time to write, that was where I'd focus my attention.

Over time, things became more complicated. It seemed that the less time I had to write, the more ideas I had to put on the page. And, when I sat down to work one thing, another one would pop up.

It's a good problem to have. Still, it can be a challenge to corral all these characters and ideas, and give each his or her due. You've heard the phrase, "it's like herding cats"?

Yeah. That.

And that is just where I find myself right now. The summer is just beginning and I have time to devote to my cats, er, characters, each of whom is clamoring for attention.

So, I did what any parent would do. I chose a favorite.

Just kidding.

I did what any writer would do. I prioritized.

And now I'm going public, because I hope that will keep me honest.

• Project #1 is a novel with a new cast of characters. Over the past year, with the help of my critique group, I've been tightening and revising and I am within twelve chapters of finishing this stage of the project, which gives it front burner status.

• Project #2 is an idea I've been toying with based on my Organizing by Style blog. Because it's time sensitive, it has risen to the top of the list. Stay tuned for details, which I hope to have available at my Christmas in July Facebook party.

• Project #3 is the third Marita/Angel/Charli book, for which I just might have come up with a title when I couldn't sleep last Friday night. We'll have to see if it sounds as good in the light of day as it did at 3 am. I promise new twists and developments...which is why it's taking me so long.

There's other stuff, too, but three major projects sounds like a full summer, so I'm going to let the others duke it out in the background. 

Meanwhile, if you have ideas about Marita, Angel and Charli (besides killing off Jim), please share them. One innocent reader comment sparked a plot twist that surprised even me. The characters are really taking over in this one, and Bets isn't the only one who's opinionated. 

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some writing to do. 

Getting Started

Geralt via Pixabay

As much as I love to write, some days, it's hard to get started. Other tasks swirl around in my head, insisting on their supreme importance. Some are necessary, others mere distractions, but both serve to throw up roadblocks, forcing me to assess my options and prioritize.

Take today, for example. I teach on Tuesdays and Thursdays, which means that Wednesday planning is important. Wednesday, however, is also my writing accountability day -- the day I meet a friend who is also a writer and we pull up a table at Starbucks and write. We also talk and waste time, of course, but we always get a lot accomplished.

In addition, I blog both here and on Organizing by STYLE on Wednesdays, so it's easy to use up all of my writing time just writing blogs.

It's a conundrum.

But, as anyone who has children knows, when they need attention, it's best for everyone if they are given that attention. They're happier (and emotionally healthier) when their needs are met and everyone around them benefits as well.

So, I opted to look at those pesky thoughts in the same way. A little attention here, a little attention there and a lot of attention to the main event. I set the timer on my phone, tackle each small task for a designated amount of time, and then dig into my writing with a clear conscience.

I still love my sprints, too, but some days, I just can't start there. When my focus is elsewhere, my writing goes nowhere except astray. Instead of starting off my day with a feeling of accomplishment, I start off feeling scattered and frustrated.

The longer I do this, the more I discover that every writer needs to have more than one tool in her toolbox. The thing that holds my toolbox together is accountability. Whether it's to myself, to my characters or to my writing peers, accountability keeps me on track, and helps me decide which tool to use on which day.

And for that, I am grateful.

Just a Little Bit Better

Wednesday is my two-post day -- the day I post both here and at Organizing by STYLE. Technically, it's a three-post day, if you count my STYLE Savvy post at CatholicMom.com, but, since that post has an earlier deadline, I'm less likely to feel the posting crunch there. 

Some Wednesdays, I get one--or both--posts done ahead of time. Through a wonderful confluence of time and creativity, I not only figure out what I want to write about before Wednesday rolls around, but I manage to write the post and set it to publish automatically.

Today is not one of those Wednesdays. Today, I'm writing both posts from scratch on Wednesday, grateful that I'm tackling them while it's still morning. And, as I was thinking through the possibilities, another sort of confluence occurred.

A theme. 

So today, I thought it might be fun to try something. Although my post here and my post over at Organizing by STYLE have different content, they have the same title. I hope, if you have a minute, you'll take the time to read both of them.

Happy Wednesday!

Each semester, my schedule changes. Consequently, I struggle to determine where my writing fits in, and it often takes me the better part of a semester to do so. Semesters like this one, when I'm teaching three classes, it barely fits into the small snippets of time between planning, teaching and grading.

I've long been part of a critique group, and that's a motivating factor, but late last month, I upped the accountability ante. A fellow writer and I are meeting once a week to just sit and write. We meet at my home away from home (Starbucks), snag a table, chat and work for at least an hour.

Last night, as I looked over my end-of-semester to-do list, I started to get anxious about taking an hour out of the day to write. In just a couple of weeks, the semester will be over and I'll have much more time at my disposal.

But, because I'd made a commitment, I added it to today's to-do list. And today, as soon as I sat down at Starbucks, I felt the stress melt away as I prepared to finish blog posts and chat with my characters. 

Pixabay

We all need a nudge sometimes, even when we need to do something we like to do -- perhaps even especially then. It's easy to get sucked into the daily to-do lists and successfully push one set of tasks aside in order to accomplish another set that seems more important.

But, if I don't put my writing first, carving out a place for it in my schedule, how will it get done?

I'm still not writing as much as I'd like to, but thanks to my new accountability plan, my writing plan just got a little bit better.

Sprint Plus One

Pixabay

For two years now, I've been trying to sprint with Ramona each day. It's been a fabulous addition to my writing life, with the unexpected benefit of nurturing connections with other writers who are doing the same, and the very much anticipated benefit of squeezing more writing into a full schedule.

My sprints aren't as dedicated as Ramona's -- I'm not a morning person, so the early birds who sprint at 7AM have finished their sprints before I've even started mine. But, I check in late, after I've finished my hour, happy to be part of the group, and motivated by the thread that I know is there even if I haven't yet arrived.

Pixabay

In addition, I'm more loyal in the summer. During the school year, sprints sometimes get edged out by class planning and teaching, both of which require a portion of the same creative energy that I give to my writing. I'm working on finding my balance, but some days the sprints win and other days, it's the classroom stuff.

After spending the weekend at Pennwriters and being reminded that other writers clock their progress, so to speak, in terms of words, not time, I decided that maybe I needed to update my plan. I love my sprints and the sprint crew, so I'm not ready to jump ship.

Still, there are days that I write, but don't "count" my writing as a sprint because of the way I've defined the sprint itself. Blogs, for example, have never been a part of my sprint time, despite the fact that they make up a substantial chunk of my writing time.

After some deliberation, I've decided to combine my sprints with my previous word count system. I used to keep track of words written each day, but once I started sprinting, word counts fell by the wayside. Over at Organizing by STYLE, I'm constantly talking about celebrating small steps and tracking progress, no matter how small, yet, here at home, I was completely dismissing progress that occurred on an almost daily basis. Silly at best and self-defeating at worst, it constituted a flaw in my plan.

So, as so often happens after Pennwriters weekend, I have a new plan. Sprint? Absolutely. Word count? Yep, that too. After all, when a person writes five blogs a week, she ought to "count" them, right?

It's about time to practice what I preach.

freepik.com

Saturday Special: Parting Words and Good Stuff from HGTV

freepik.com

I've been writing about time management a lot  lately over at Organizing By STYLE, and at CatholicMom.com. Last Thursday's post in particular, along with the planning that preceded it, nudged me to take a look at my blogging habits. I've done so before, but now, with proof that blogging sometimes overshadows the other writing I want to do, it was time to look at my schedule with an eye toward change.

When I first spun the organization posts off  this blog and onto Organizing By STYLE, these Saturday posts were a great way to continuing sharing my love of organization here, as well as featuring people, places and articles that inspired me. Julie Morgenstern. Marcia Ramsland. A Perfect Mess.

Sometimes, though, it's time to focus on that L in STYLE and let it go. I've featured all my inspirations, along with quite a few fun finds I made along the way, which brings the organization- themed Saturday Specials on this blog to a natural conclusion.

So, for the moment, at least, I'm stepping away from Saturday posts. You can still find me here on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and at Organizing By STYLE on Wednesdays and (3 Keys) Thursdays. I've been posting a STYLE Savvy feature at CatholicMom.com, as well, also on Wednesdays.

Meanwhile, since HGTV got me inspired to walk down this road in the first place, it's only fitting that I conclude this feature with something from them. Over at CatholicMom.com, I've been writing about containers, and this HGTV feature on organizing mistakes to avoid fits perfectly into the Organizing by STYLE philosophy.

See you Monday.

Friday Freebie: Organizing Our Thoughts

In honor of the new year, I've been writing a lot about calendars and planners over at Organizing By STYLE. Whether your preference is the traditional paper planner or a high-tech electronic version, a planner is one of the simplest memory joggers there is.

I've reached the age where I'm in favor of pretty much anything that improves my memory -- whether it's writing things down or any of the other memory tricks in this article from Prevention.

I have to admit, though, that my favorite tip in this piece is the first one: take a break. What's yours?

(Photo created with Canva)

Saturday Special: Keeping Track of Important Papers

Italian leather binders from this next.com

I'm not a big family history buff. My only brush with Ancestry.com or anything of its ilk came when my daughter had to do a family history project for school and I passed off the research to my husband, who's more interested in this sort of thing. I enjoyed seeing all the photos, but had little interest in the family tree, maybe because I knew starting a project like this could suck me into one more thing that ate away at my already minuscule tidbits of discretionary time.

Although today's Saturday Special is about keeping track of family history documents, I liked it because it speaks to the greater issue of style. When I taught Organizing by STYLE to elementary school kids, even they, at their young organizational age, had strong preferences for binders vs. folders, for many of the same reasons described in this piece.

How about you? Are you a binder person, a folder person, or, like many of my former students, and aficionado of the accordion file?

But I NEED it!

addicted2decorating.com via
42 Craft Projects That are Easy to Make & Sell

It wasn't until I started last week's blog that I realized my third R isn't a Let it Go! strategy at all, but rather an escape route -- and one to be used with caution. While both Recycling and Reselling result in getting things out of our house, Repurposing actually makes it less likely that we'll get rid of the item in question.

That's not always bad. If repurposing a beloved (or simply useful) item gives it new life or helps it earn its keep, then hanging on to it is actually a good thing.....as long as we follow a few simple guidelines.

• Repurposing implies purpose. It's right there in the name. Is the item in question being used, or is it merely taking up space? One or two decorative items that add personality to a space, or a collection that's housed in an aesthetically pleasing way is one thing. A pile-up of "I know I'll use this someday" is quite other.
• For items in limbo, designate a purpose. In our DIY, Pinterest-fueled society, it doesn't take much searching to come up with new uses for everything from empty soda bottles to old furniture. Here's where you have to be honest with yourself. Are you really going to do that project? If so, when? And where will the supplies "live" in the meantime?
• Be selective: You can't save it all, yet the reasons we have for keeping things vary according to both styles and personality. Sentimental people keep things because they make us smile when we look at them or bring back a special memory. The more practical among us save things that solve a storage problem or serve more than one purpose. Those who are frugal often keep a backlog of things they don't want to have to pay to replace. Whatever your reasons, you need to set a limit to how many of those things you can realistically hang on to.

Next week, we'll talk about some ways to make decisions about the things we can't quite get rid of. In the meantime, box up those things you need to hang onto by category (e.g., sentimental value, future projects, I think I'll use this someday, etc.). That will make things easier as we move forward (and no, I haven't changed my mind about "making" you dispose of beloved items).

Next week will also mark my last week posting on this topic in this location. As we move into the last letter of STYLE in June, and begin talking about Easy Upkeep, I'll be taking the discussion to my "Organizing By STYLE" blog, as a means of both archiving all these posts in one place and continuing the discussion. You can still find me here on Wednesdays, writing on a topic still to be determined. 

Want to hear about something specific? Leave me a comment below. I have some ideas for where I want to go from here, but am also open to suggestions.

Containers, Styles and Logical Homes: Where Did/Does/Should it Go??

pier1.com

Now that you've got the right stuff, it's time to put it to use in a way that will establish a working system. When it comes to matching containers to your personal and organizational styles, the goal is not only to choose the right containers, but also to develop new habits that make the most of what you do naturally.

Remember my bathroom bins? When we organize by STYLE, we work with our habits, instead of against them. Two simple concepts lie at the heart of working with those habits instead of against them.

photos-public-domain.com

We've already talked about the first one: the concept of a home for every item. A home is where something “lives.” While the containers we've been perfecting for a month are key to establishing home for our items, they're only half the equation.

In order to get from a pile of random containers to an organizational system, we need to master the concept of logical and consistent homes for all of our things. A logical home is one that:

• is close to where the item is most often used;
• is the right size for the item;
• takes into account how often the item needs to be accessed.

This is the reason we store food in the pantry, toys in the playroom and holiday decorations in the attic. It’s also the reason we don’t store a single pair of socks, for example, in an empty kitchen drawer. Too much space is wasted if we dedicate an entire drawer to a pair of socks, and, since we don’t usually get dressed in the kitchen, it makes no sense to store socks there. Location is just as important in storage as it is in real estate. 

Here are a few things to consider as you establish logical homes for your things:

• Store things that are used every day in places that are easy to access. 
• Choose a storage solution (container and location) that makes it as easy to put things away as it is to put them down. 
• Store things where you use them...or drop them...or naturally put them. 
• Store similar items together, and consider storing complementary items (things that go together or are used together) near each other as well. 

I'll have more on each of these next week. For now, take a look at some of those things you put down instead of away at your house and do a little strategizing. Do those items have homes? And if so, are they logical homes? Or, when you consider your personal and organizational styles, do they belong somewhere else?

freepik.com