You probably already know about Adventures in Children's Publishing. After all, they have over a thousand followers. But I just found it and can't recommend it highly enough.
Not only does it offer an amazing collection of informative posts (character worksheets, check lists, and the like) and some great contests (today they are offering 13!! giveaways), but once a month, five lucky people get their first 1250 words posted for a month-long workshop, starting with a critique from contributors Martina and Lisa, as well as the other workshop participants and any other followers who want to comment.
I am fortunate to be one of the five this month (my entry is #5 here). I have to say that Martina and Lisa give some of the best critiques I've seen around. When I went through the other entries to add my comments, I found that Lisa and Martina already made my points, better than I ever could.
If you haven't found Adventures in Children's Publishing yet, go check them out. If you want to offer your comments to the workshop entries, I know I (and I'm sure the other participants) would be very grateful. But definitely check out the comments from Lisa and Martina (both on current entries and on the ones from March), because I learned so much just from reading their critiques.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Back away from the Internet connection!
When I'm writing, I am easily distracted. I'll be working a section and think, "Oh, I need info on Regency fireplaces to write this." So I'll stop in the middle of a sentence, do some research, and then check my email, check FB, check Blogger, read the news. And then thirty minutes are gone. Or sixty.
Many times I've wished there was some way to put a lock or a timer on my Internet connection, so that I couldn't access it at random. But alas, the only solution was to disconnect completely. Not an option, of course, because we must have Internet access sometimes. So I relied on my self control. Yeah, that didn't work to well.
In November we bought a new computer. We decided to get a desktop, since working on my laptop was giving me neck problems. We didn't want anything fancy, just something to run Word and the Internet. We found a great Black Friday deal: nice big screen, keyboard, mouse. You know, the basics.
When it arrived, we plugged it in, fired it up, marveled at the speed. And then we clicked on Explorer button. Nothing. Multiple clicks. Nothing. And then we realized: no modem.
Wha?? Is there a computer built today that doesn't have a modem? Yep. We bought it.
And you know what?
Best. Mistake. Ever.
We bought a USB modem, a tiny little thing that plugs into the front of the computer. Easy to use. And easy to hide. Now, I allow myself an hour in the morning to do my social media stuff. And then I unplug the modem and hide it. I retrieve it at lunchtime and give myself another hour. And hide it somewhere else. If I have to research something, I write it down and do it at the allotted hour.
Productivity returns!
What about you? Do you have to take drastic measures to stop yourself from wasting time?
Many times I've wished there was some way to put a lock or a timer on my Internet connection, so that I couldn't access it at random. But alas, the only solution was to disconnect completely. Not an option, of course, because we must have Internet access sometimes. So I relied on my self control. Yeah, that didn't work to well.
In November we bought a new computer. We decided to get a desktop, since working on my laptop was giving me neck problems. We didn't want anything fancy, just something to run Word and the Internet. We found a great Black Friday deal: nice big screen, keyboard, mouse. You know, the basics.
When it arrived, we plugged it in, fired it up, marveled at the speed. And then we clicked on Explorer button. Nothing. Multiple clicks. Nothing. And then we realized: no modem.
Wha?? Is there a computer built today that doesn't have a modem? Yep. We bought it.
And you know what?
Best. Mistake. Ever.
We bought a USB modem, a tiny little thing that plugs into the front of the computer. Easy to use. And easy to hide. Now, I allow myself an hour in the morning to do my social media stuff. And then I unplug the modem and hide it. I retrieve it at lunchtime and give myself another hour. And hide it somewhere else. If I have to research something, I write it down and do it at the allotted hour.
Productivity returns!
What about you? Do you have to take drastic measures to stop yourself from wasting time?
Thursday, March 17, 2011
A great contest... Go Enter!
Freelance Editor Cassandra Marshall is having her Spring Edit contest. The prize... a free substantial edit for a manuscript up to 100k words!
I. WANT. But I'm willing to share the chance with you!
Cassandra has just launched a new blog for her business, so head on over to Editor Cassandra now to read up on her services, check out her testimonials, and enter the contest.
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