Multi-Tasking

Generally, I'm terrible at multi-tasking, but I've found two things that I do well at the same time. Drive and listen to audible books.

I have about a 45 minute commute to work, give or take fifteen minutes depending on the weather. If I listen to the radio, I flip between channels, obsess over traffic and weather reports, and get frustrated with the driver in front of me driving too slow. Basically, I'm on the verge of road rage every time. So back in September, when I went to work four days a week, I signed up for Audible.com. I know you can get audible books from your library but this seemed easier.

So now I spend my commute time, which I have to do anyway, enjoying a good book. I don't mind being stuck in traffic or whether people are driving slow. It's all good.

I've chosen all kinds of books. YA, literary, chick-lit, classics, new adult. What I find is that I like listening to a literary book like, The Interestings or the Goldfinch, better than reading it. If I had to read it, it would be too easy to skip ahead. This way I listen to each sentence and fully appreciate how the story unfolds. I've listened to 11 books since September, ranging in length from 32 hours to 8 hours. That's a lot of commute time, plus I listen to the books when I go for walks or if they're really good right before bed. Helps me sleep.

The only cons against audible books as opposed to reading are that you don't see how the sentences are structured, and it is kind of lazy, but lazy listening is better than nothing at all.

How about you? Do you listen to audible books? If not, you really should.

Once More With Feeling

Hey there.

I know it's been almost two months since I last posted there are a few reasons for that.

1) I don't really have anything new to report on the writing front. Still chipping away at my current WIP, as though it were Mount Rushmore. I think it might take me that long to finish it.

2) I now work four days a week and don't have a lot of time to visit and comment on blogs and I really feel like, when blogging, that you should give when you receive.

3) Basically I'm a boring person. I don't have anything exciting to report. Basketball, soccer, more basketball. That is pretty much my life. I will try to be better.

Although I did come across this meme (is that what this is called?), that I thought was pretty awesome. Mostly because I'm so bad for doing this.

Next time on my blog: Why I love Audible Books so much

Tell Me When

I'm really bad at reading details. I'm a skimmer and that's burned me more than a few times in my life. Last week I was suppose to post on Stalking Prevention for the Tell Me When Blog Hop, to celebrate Stina Lindenblatt's new book. But I thought I was suppose to today, because today is when her book comes out.

So, better late than never:

When I was a teenager, we used to drive by the boys houses that we liked. We'd wonder if they were home, freak out if we saw them, and behave like giggly teenage girls, and then something happened that made me stop doing that. I saw a boy drive by my house. It was kind of creepy, and I realized what I was doing was just as creepy.

Although I suspect kids don't drive by each other's houses anymore, now they do it virtually.

Now I'm a parent of a girl who is about to be a teenager, which is scary as hell, especially when it comes to an online presence. I make sure I keep careful tabs on her facebook account. My kids are not allowed to have facebook unless I know they're passwords.

As parents it's our responsibility to monitor what our kids are doing online. Kids will always take risks. Studies reveal that 46% of teens surveyed would change their online behaviour if they knew their parents paid attention.

If you don't keep track of what's happening of your child's cyber life then you open them up to all kids of problems. Make sure nothing personal about them is posted, no school names, town they live in, email addresses.

In this day and age, parents need to be vigilant.

Make sure you check out Stina's book, Tell Me When, a NA story about a college freshman who struggles with the aftermath of being stalked and kidnapped during her senior year of high school.  

Happy New Year

Every time I say that, I think of Frosty the Snowman when he gets his magical hat put back on his head after being frozen or melted. And that's what I feel liked 2013 was for me. I was either frozen or melting on the floor.

It was a struggle, I won't go into details, but it was a year of working more, and doing everything else less. Then my oldest left for college and I realized everything happens really fast. Within six years all of my kids will be done high school, and I could have an empty nest. So I don't want to miss a thing. I will go to every basketball game, volleyball game, band concert, piano recital I can, but mostly basketball games. When your kids are young you can't see the light at the end of tunnel, but now that light is coming way too fast.

So that is my New Year's Resolution. Spend more quality time with my family.

Also to be a morning person so I can get more stuff done so I can spend time with my family, which will be much more difficult.

How about you? Any resolutions this year?

The Best YA Book of All Time

I have to admit that I read more YA books now than I did when I was a YA, so when I saw this advertised I found my interest peaked.

Entertainment Weekly is running a bracket game that asks the question: “What is the best young adult novel of all time."

They've lumped series of books together, so Harry Potter would be one entry and Catcher in the Rye or To Kill a Mockingbird are included even though they were written before YA was considered a category.

It should be an interesting contest: The Book Thief, The Fault in Our Stars, A Wrinkle in Time, Holes, so many to choose from both classics and more current.

The most interesting thing for me will be to see how many I've read.

The bracket starts today and runs until November 22, so take some time to vote.

How about you? Do you have an opinion about the best YA book of all time?

A Blank Page

We've all been there, staring at a blank page and drawing a complete blank. But sometimes opening up a blank page is exactly what I need, especially when I'm knee deep in revisions. I get all blurry eyed and can't find my way out of a scene that's just not working.

So, lots of times I open up a new document try to put those other words out of my mind and start from scratch. I figure if the words are important then they'll come back to me.

It really helps to have a fresh look.

How about you? What do you do when you're having problems fixing a a scene?

If you haven't already heard - Writers Helping Writers

I wanted to have this up yesterday, but was struck with a terrible head cold. Better late than never and since this goes all week, I'm not too late.

To celebrate their release of their books, The Positive Trait Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Attributes and The Negative Trait Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Flaws, Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi at Writers Helping Writers (formerly The Bookshelf Muse) are hosting a race. An amazing race to see how many writers we can get helping writers.

From October 21st until October 27th, Writers Helping Writers is having an OPEN CALL for all writers who need help. You can fill out a form, requesting help with anything they need. From critiques of queries, first 250 words to helping promote their books, and blogs. There's something for everyone.

A large group of Writers are waiting to help you with your submissions to see how many people they can help in a week. 

There's also giveaways every day. So go to Angela and Becca's new Writers Helping Writers website for all the details and take part this amazing opportunity.