Piper J. Drake's Blog, page 5
November 19, 2016
EMEPiper Ep 7: I’m Not Actually a Multitasker
I’ve got a lot to accomplish by the end of the year. Some days, it seems like I won’t get it all done unless I do some things simultaneously in order to have massively productive weekends.
But in reality, multi-tasking might not be the best idea.
So I’m talking about how I do get things done, when it isn’t the best idea to multi-task and when I actually do multi-task.
Highlights
A theoretical
I’m not a multi-tasker
Why it’s not actually good to be a multi-tasker
Why it looks like I’m multi-tasking
What I’m actually doing
When I actually do multi-task
Kanban and Trello
Shout-outs
Task Management and Kanban – Piper’s Blog
Trello.com
You can support EMEPiper and Piper’s other writing-related creative content at patreon.com/piperjdrake.
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November 18, 2016
EMEPiper Ep 6: When There are Too Many Things
Even when you know how to manage your time, life can happen and things can get in the way. This year I had a whole lot of life going on behind the scenes. Before I could course correct, I was way off track.
This is my confession and what I plan to do to get back to where I need to be.
Highlights:
Piper’s Confession
The Plan to get back on track
Trying something completely new – hypnotherapy?
Shout-outs
Mary Robinette Kowal
Beat procrastination with Andrew Johnson
You can support EMEPiper and Piper’s other writing-related creative content at patreon.com/piperjdrake.
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November 17, 2016
EMEPiper Ep 5: Time Management at Events Part 2
There’s a lot to cover when it comes to managing your time at conventions, which is why this is part 2 of time management at events.
For me, managing my time at conventions is a survival skill.
Highlights
My room is my sanctuary
Knowing where things are in this place, especially the bathrooms
Where to find sustenance
Read updated information from the convention
Planning in time for 2 unusual things: rest/recharge and unstructured social time
Looking back on the biggest events in my year
Things I could’ve done better
Things I’m doing next year
Shout-outs
RT Booklover’s Convention in Las Vegas, NV (Apr 12-17)
Barbara Vey’s Reader Appreciation Luncheon in Milwaukee, WI (Apr 29 ? May 1)
2016 Out of Excuses Writing Workshop and Retreat on The Independence of the Seas(Sep 20 ? 27)
You can support EMEPiper and Piper’s other writing-related creative content at patreon.com/piperjdrake.
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November 16, 2016
EMEPiper Ep 4: Time Management at Events Part 1
Why time management at events? It’s con season and for many, conventions or conferences become a blur of things to do, people to see, and it’s easy to lose the key reasons you attended when overwhelmed by the sheer craziness of it all. I love attending them, learning new things, meeting people, refreshing acquaintances. It can be intimidating and confusing. It can be an onslaught to the senses. And it can be amazing, when I manage my time to make the most of it.
Attending conventions and conferences is costly, both in terms of money invested to go and time taken away from writerly things to be there. In this podcast episode, I talk about how I manage my time to prepare and attend cons to make the best use of both my money invested and my time.
Highlights
I’ve got a lot of events in 2016
Questions I ask myself before deciding to go
Planning ahead: 6 months to a year
More Planning ahead: a few months
A few weeks in advance: do my clothes fit? Where’s the schedule?
I’ve arrived! It starts in the lobby.
Set up your room for convenience and comfort
Shout-outs
RT Booklover’s Convention in Las Vegas, NV (Apr 12-17)
Barbara Vey’s Reader Appreciation Luncheon in Milwaukee, WI (Apr 29 ? May 1)
SFWA Nebula Conference in Chicago as PJ Schnyder, IL (Saturday, May 14)
2016 Out of Excuses Writing Workshop and Retreat on The Independence of the Seas(Sep 20 ? 27)
You can support EMEPiper and Piper’s other writing-related creative content at patreon.com/piperjdrake.
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November 15, 2016
EMEPiper Ep 3: Prioritizing and Urgency
Prioritizing and urgency via deadlines are at the top of my mind as I kick off 2016’s run of #EMEPiper at the changeover from January to February.
Last year was full of deadlines, possibly the most challenging year for writing I’ve ever had. As a result, I’ve got five books releasing this year, as well as two or three short stories as PJ Schnyder.
For the coming year, I’ve got even more planned and I want to manage my time so I can do all the things, enjoying them along the way. There are going to be some tough choices ahead and a lot of prioritization.
Highlights
Why is Piper podcasting about time management?
Nifty friends with creative ideas, coordinating dates with writerly deadlines
Setting daily word count targets to hit the deadline
“Word count” and the publishing perspective
Rewire the brain: word count target vs. chapter target
NaNoWriMo and drafting, not editing
On contracts and pitching and writing the next book
Importance of deadlines, even self-imposed
Word counts and genre
Lessons Learned from Writerly Life: Don’t ignore publisher standards for word count
Time Management Trick: Plan Your Day and Prioritize the To Do
Shout-outs
Book Trailer ? The Diamond Conspiracy: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel
In their Own Worlds
NaNoWriMo
Scrivener
You can support EMEPiper and Piper’s other writing-related creative content at patreon.com/piperjdrake.
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November 14, 2016
EMEPiper Ep 2: Day Planners and Time Management
And it’s here, the second episode of Every Minute, Everywhere: Time Management for Authors with Piper J. Drake.
Confession: I’d intended to get this episode up in February. I had a major contractual deadline loom. The deadline became my highest priority and everything else fell by the wayside. This podcast included. Because the reality is that everything about being a writer is turning in your manuscript (or subsequent edits) to get your book published on time.
There’s a time management reality for you. Tough decision have to be made and we can’t necessarily get All The Things completed in the time we have.
Without further ado, I’m excited to share with you an interview with authors Robin Covington and Katee Robert on time management and using day planners to get organized for 2016.
Highlights:
Introductions: Robin Covington & Katee Robert
How did we hear about EC Planners?
Sticker & washi tape love
Tracking word count
What one thing would you recommend to an author trying to organize themselves for the year?
Stickers and stress management
Adaptability, multi-purpose potential in these planners
(request to Erin Condren to develop an Author’s Planner line)
Plotting, brainstorming, character sheets in the planner
Marketing and promotion: managing those timelines with the planner
Finding time to write
Looking approachable is a double-edged sword
Writerly wisdom from Katee and Robin
Because this interview took so long to go up, I contacted Robin and Katee asking them for an update on how they’re doing with organization in 2015?
From Robin?
I love using my ECLP and I’ve been able to easily modify it to fit my needs. I use the coil clips to attach printouts of my book Pinterest boards and my plot outlines when I’m writing a book and I’ve found stickers on Etsy that allow me to change the “morning, day, night” headings to “book, family, to do”. The best part of the planner for me is the two page month spread that shows me at a glance what I need to know.
From Katee?
I’ve finally got my planning method pretty much refined, and now I’m geeking out by working on my handwriting so the whole thing is pretty. Using the planner to keep track of both promotion and writing/editing has made it significantly easier to manage my time overall, and my productivity has gone way up.
Shout-outs:
Robin Covington ? robincovingtonromance.com
Katee Robert ? www.kateerobert.com
Erin Condren Life Planners ? www.erincondren.com
Cherry Adair’s Writer Bible ? www.cherryadair.com/Writer_Bible.html
Jamie Raintree Writing Progress spreadsheet ? jamieraintree.com/writing-progress-spreadsheet
Thanks to rj10328 for the sound byte “131659__bertrof__game-sound-intro-to-game_&_80921__justinbw__buttonchime02up_3.mp3”
Commentary from Matt “itsOrD” during the editing process:
“She’s a morning writer? She’s weird. Tell her she’s weird.”
You can support EMEPiper and Piper’s other writing-related creative content at patreon.com/piperjdrake.
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November 13, 2016
EMEPiper Ep 1: Introduction, SMART Goals, and Schedule
This is it! It’s my first episode of Every Minute, Everywhere. Time Management for Authors with Piper J. Drake kicking off this week of podcasts to celebrate EMEPiper’s new RSS feed and hosting home.
Highlights:
Introduction ? What (or who) am I?
Why am I podcasting?
The New Year and SMART Goals
?also scheduling
What’s in store for this podcast
This is just the beginning and my first foray into solo podcasting. I plan to improve as I go and I hope you’ll all enjoy #EMEPiper’s evolution.
You can support EMEPiper and Piper’s other writing-related creative content at patreon.com/piperjdrake.
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New Backend for EMEPiper
As we wrap up 2016 and head into 2017, I plan to put more effort into my podcasts–especially EMEPiper– with huge thanks to my Patrons at Patreon. We’ve achieved proof of concept and I am in this to create great content.
Episodes will be coming out more regularly and frequently. It’s important to have scalable hosting to support the podcasts so I’ll be moving Every Minute, Everywhere – Time Management for Authors with Piper J. Drake (aka EMEPiper) to LibSyn.
Here’s the new RSS feed:
http://emepiper.libsyn.com/rss
To kick off EMEPiper’s new home, I’m having a “week of podcasts” for EMEPiper starting November 14.
The week will begin with the archived episodes released earlier this year and wrap up with brand new episodes toward the end of the week. After the full week of episodes, a new episode of EMEPiper will come out once a month through the holidays and into 2017.
Sound good? Let’s do this.
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October 30, 2016
It’s a boy! Meet Corbin Drake
Meet Corbin Drake, our new 9 week old Pembroke Welsh Corgi.
Dogs have been an intrinsic part of my happiness since my childhood. My parents brought home various puppies over the years. The very first dog I owned, that looked to me, that I was responsible for, was a rescued Lab mix. She came to me in middle school.
Later, as an adult, I spent time with law enforcement K9s learning about their training and how important socialization was for them.
My home had a rescued Shetland Sheepdog, a retired Schutzhund trained German Shepherd Dog, and a retired military explosives detection dog. Each of these brilliant, beautiful personalities passed away of old age in the last few years.
It took time for me to mourn. And during that time, I struggled with my happiness. I have a day job career I love. I also love my writing. And still, there’s a hollow spot, waiting for a warm life. As I struggle with symptoms of depression, my partner and I decided it was time.
Corbin will be the first dog for Matthew J Drake and me as partners. He’s ours. Hopefully he’ll choose us as his. After all, humans can own a dog, but the choice to look to a human is the dog’s. Time will tell and for the time being, there’s a fur-baby in our home giving us laughter and smiles and maybe just a few emotional tears.
It’s time to write. And Corbin is sleeping next to me. My life is warm again.
* Note: Patrons of Piper’s Patreon received the news first. To find out more, visit https://www.patreon.com/piperjdrake.
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October 16, 2016
Chocolate Fudge cupcakes with Cookie Dough Filling Topped with Sea Salt Caramel
More stress baking happened this weekend. The result? Chocolate fudge cupcakes with cookie dough filling topped with chocolate frosting and caramel drizzle finished with a tiny sprinkle of sea salt.
This is more of a concept set of directions rather than a step-by-step recipe. I got the idea from multiple photos on Pinterest.
For now though, I’ll share with you the simple tricks of these great cupcakes.
Ingredients:
1 14oz can Sweetened Condensed Milk
Batch of favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
Batch of favorite Chocolate Cupcake Batter
Batch of favorite icing
Sea Salt, to taste
Preparation:
Remove label from unopened can of condensed milk. Fill a deep medium saucepan with water. Bring to the boil. Carefully place the can in the saucepan. Simmer, uncovered for 3 hours ensuring the level of water is always covering the can. Carefully remove can from heat and allow to cool completely before opening to use the caramel.
Meanwhile, prepare favorite cookie dough recipe. Refrigerate cookie dough for about an hour, until easy to work with and not sticky. Roll cookie dough into 24 small 1 to 1 1/2 inch balls. Freeze these for at least 30 min, longer if you want the cookie dough more raw in the center.
*Note: The more raw you want your cookie dough in the center, it is recommended you use an egg-free recipe. Since my cupcakes come out with the cookie dough baked as opposed to raw, I don’t worry about this as much.
Heat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit or temperature recommended for cupcake batter recipe. Prepare two 12 cupcake tins with cupcake liners.
Prepare favorite cupcake batter recipe.
Fill each cupcake cup approximately three quarters of the way full.
Remove cookie dough balls from freezer and carefully place one ball into each cup of batter. Allow to sit on top if you’d like the dough to be more in the center of the cupcake or press gently to the bottom of the cup.
Bake for the recommended time of the cupcake batter directions. Test with a toothpick for doneness (toothpick comes out clean when done).
Allow to cool thoroughly.
Top with your favorite chocolate icing, then carefully pipe or drizzle the caramel over the cupcakes. Finish with a fine sprinkle of sea salt.
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