Where Does Time Go?

Time really has been flying by! I had hoped to put more work into a chapter that I am writing for a book that I am co-authoring, but that is not to be. I realized, albeit a bit late, that I had set a goal last week to write the outline for the Christmas themed novel that I plan to write in September. (That will get done, becuase I need to have it edited before I can put it up on Create Space and Kindle.)  

I have the bones of the book in my head. It will take place all in one night, at a Christmas party. I intend to introduce my main character, and two or three supporting characters, as I have fond hopes that I can turn this into a series. 

I also hope to introduce a bit of the nuance between my characters, how they know each other, and just what they have the power to accomplish.  Cats - as well as a dog or two - will have prominent roles. This will be a vry loose outline, as I am not what coult be considered a "plotter" - one who creates a plot and then sticks to it. I am a "pantser" - someone who writes by the seat of their pants! My work goes with the flow - which is sometimes good and sometimes ... challenging. 

What this series is going to be like has changed drastically over the past two weeks - primarily because how it "could be" flew full blown into my head! I will be introducng the characters,  creating a light tension between certain characters, placing a few false clues, and letting the ending evolve. Well, I know what the ending is, but getting there is where the evolution comes from.

I would like to mention that I have just started writing a monthly newsletter aimed at writers, and am running a contest through the end of August. Anyone who signs up before the end of August will have their names tossed into a hat, with the winner receiving a copy of Barbara Berger's "Find and Follow Your INNER COMPASS". You can sign up for my newsletter here. (Look on the right hand side, under apps.)

(c) August 2017 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction prohibited without written consent of the author.

Time Traveler

 

As a writer, on any given day I feel like I am traveling through time. Sometimes into the future, sometimes into the past, with brief stays in the present. Why is that? This is what a writer's life looks like:

1. Your day begins. Coffee cup in hand, you check your daily calendar to see what needs to be done. If you are like me, your personal and professional "to do" list goes on the same page.

2. You check your e-mail, and respond to whatever needs a response.

3. You get a few small tasks done.

4. You get out any promotion that you need to get done.

5. You get your blogs out there. I have several blogs ... I schedule one a day to be written, and I keep them short.

6. You start on any research that you need to do. 

7. There is almost always a review to get out, or an "emergency/unexpected project" to be hammered out.

8. Time for more coffee ... and probably lunch.

9. Put some quality time into my WIP.

10. Go do my "day job" (which for me is an evening/night job).   

Somehow, this never gets old. Right now, along with most people, I am looking at options for replacing my RSS feed, as Google Reader is non-existent as of July 1st. I do have it switched to another reader, but I am seriously considering doing e-mail notifications only. G-mail recently gifted me with "categories" (determined by them!), which is probably something that I should have done anyway. So I can put the blogs that I follow into a specific category. 

I also need to put more time into learning Dragon Speak. Once I have that figured out, it will save me some time. i wonder if they have audio for that that I can run while I am sleeping? There are only 24 hours to a day (last time I looked, anyway).

I need to move my reviews to a thumb drive, to make space on my laptop.I also need to move downloads that I haven't had the time to read, some music, and who knows what else. I need to go through my downloads and delete items no longer needed, and through my docs to delete items relating to a business program that I recently decided to leave. 

Then there is the mystery that I am currently reading for relaxation ... I always have one of those going. This is how I am able to leave the day behind and get some sleep.

What can I say ... it's all good!

(c) 2013 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction in any venue prohibited without the written permission of the author. 

Where Did the Time Go?

 

Where does the time go? As authors, we like to think that we are in charge of our own time. That is seldom true, unless we publish independently. Even then we have deadlines ... self imposed deadlines that help us to stay professional, and not wander into the twilight zone of writing.

There are so many things that can claim the time of a writer. It is up to us to decide what is important, what is not, and where we want our time and focus to go. Social media is a very gray area ... how much  is going to bring us in readers/followers, and how much is overkill (or underkill, if we don't do it right)? How many pages do we need on Facebook? How many Twitter accounts do we need? How often should we tweet, and what should be say? Do we schedule our tweets to go out, or do we just send them out spontaneously? Do we play the #FF game? (I did, at first, and then dropped it.) 

Do we send out newsletters? Do our newsletters actually say anything? Are the newsletters converting into sales? How often do we publish a newsletter? How are we getting e-mail addresses for our newsletter? We need to do this in a manner that we reach people who are interested in our work, and will open the darn newsletter and read it! How often do we publish a book? Do we really need to publish more than one book a year? We are generally writing one book, promoting another book, and outlining a third book anyway. How thin can we stretch ourselves? 

Do we really need to go on blog tours? I mean, really! We write a guest post to fit into someone else's site. We keep track of the post, and respond to any comments made. Our face is put into focus for new readers, but how many are really going to convert into fans? Are we going to sell more books? Is this a good use of our time? For me, I have decided that no, it is not.

We don't need a ton of Twitter, Google + or Facebook followers. What we need are a few good followers that interact with us, like our material, and buy our books. It doesn't matter how many people "like" you  Facebook page. Look at how many of them are commenting on your posts, at how many of them are engaging with you. 

Blogging and blog hopping. I have several blogs on different topics. I send out one blog a week ... unless there is something that I really feel that I need to write about. 

What does this all boil down to? Whatever you do, do it with intent and purpose. If it doesn't look like it is working, and you have tried tweaking it ... let it go!

Take charge of your time!

(c) 2000 - 2013 Bonnie Cehovet