Pamela D. Lloyd's Blog, page 2

Editing Writers

As a writing tutor at my local community college, I've learned a tremendous amount about how to help beginning writers discover what they have to say, as well as how to say it clearly. I hope some of that skill has found its way into my own writing and editing process, too.

But, I'm not planning on writing a long post tonight, It's been a big day, it's getting late, and I really should be off the computer and getting ready for tomorrow. So, I'm just going to point you to writerunboxed 's recent post Editing, Uhh! What Is It Good For? in which Tom Bentley discusses this process from the perspective of someone who has worked as both an editor and a writer.

Forming Good Habits

A few days ago, heleninwales mentioned that she uses HabitRPG to help keep her on track with getting things done. Knowing that I'm someone who enjoys games and finds the types of rewards found in games motivating, I have sometimes wondered if there was a way to apply those types of rewards to my real life. Well, it turns out that HabitRPG does just that; it helps people to apply game rewards, and penalties, to our real lives. And, it's customizable. You get to decide what activities are important to you, how important they are, and whether rewards or penalties apply. There are four lists for things you want to do: Habits, Dailies, To-Dos, and Rewards.

So, I signed up. And guess what, that very evening, I started seeing positive changes in my behavior. For one thing, getting off the interwebs early enough that I can get myself in bed at the time of my choosing has been an issue for me; too often I crawled in bed later than I wanted to, either shorting myself on sleep, or getting up later than was ideal. Just having a Habit identified (I've actually got three related Habits, getting to bed on time, getting up on time, and getting at least 8 hours of sleep) helped me to get myself to bed at my chosen time. I woke up early the next morning. Plus, I got more things done, in large part because they were on my Habits or Dailies lists, but also because getting up earlier helps me to be more effective.

I used to think I was a night owl, but I've been coming to recognize in recent years that that isn't really true of my actual experience. Sure, it's easy to stay up late—in fact, it's often hard not to—but I'm just not as efficient when I get up late. Go figure! Either my body has changed as I've aged, or I've been wrong about this for most of my life.

Back to HabitRPG. I'm still working up to To-Dos. I've assigned some things to the list, but haven't actually started working on any of them. This will happen, I'm sure. But, right now, I'm still working on just getting all the immediate items on my schedule done, and done on a new, earlier schedule. No more dawdling in bed in the mornings because I was up until the wee hours of the night. No more putting stuff that ought to be done every day off, just because I've spent too much time doing things I don't really need to do. Huzzah for a happier, more balanced life!

I'm also thinking about connecting tasks in HabitRPG to items in Trello, which I used to use regularly. Trello's interface is similar, in some ways, to HabitRPG's, but much more customizable and without the reward system. It's focus is on organization and keeping track of tasks.

The one thing lacking from all this is an integrated timer. For that, I'll probably use Reminderfox. Reminderfox is another application I've used for quite some time, but I haven't been leveraging its features to help me keep on top of everything. In fact, these days, I probably use the timer feature more than any other.

I'm hoping that with the help of these three apps, I can waste less time, be more effective, and get more done.



P.S. Just so you know, today when I logged into HabitRPG, there was a message that included mention of a Spread the Word Challenge. There are in-game rewards for writing a blog post or sharing on social media about HabitRPG. I don't expect to actually win, since the winners are based on "the most likes/notes/favorites/upvotes/etc." and I don't have the kind of web presence likely to result in a lot of this type of activity, but it just feels fair to let you know that I've entered.

Hi, Again

Hello. It's been a while. I'm trying to get back into the LJ habit, as I miss the interactiveness and in-depth conversations.

I Oppose Arizona House Bill 2379

Today, one of my friends, a librarian, asked for help from the community in defeating Arizona House Bill 2379. This bill would, according to the library director, slash funding to Arizona's system of county libraries. She recommended that we contact our state representatives, and provided a link to the Arizona State Legislator "How to Contact Member" page.

Since I live in Arizona District 3, my state legislators are Senator Olivia Cajero Bedford, Representative Sally Ann Gonzales, and Representative Macario Saldate IV, all democrats.

Here is the text of the letter I sent to them:

Dear Senator Bedford and Representatives Gonzales and Saldate,I am writing to you today in support of all of the public library systems in the state of Arizona, and specifically for the Pima County Public Library system, and to urge you to oppose the passage of Arizona House Bill 2379. It's my understanding that passage of this bill would have disastrous consequences for our public libraries, reducing the funds for library services so severely that as many as twelve branches might close, hours and services at remaining branches be reduced, and library employees laid off.This would be a terrible disservice to the people of Pima County and to all Arizonans. Our libraries provide us with far more than the books, computer and internet access, homework and job help, English and GED classes, early childhood literacy programs, and other services that are part of their mandate, but also with a sense of community and hope. Our libraries represent the opportunity that knowledge and learning can bring, and are essential to building and maintaining a healthy, prosperous society.I hope that you will agree with me that it is extremely important that our libraries fill a vital and fundamental role in the well-being of Arizona, and that you will stand with the citizens of Arizona in ensuring that our libraries will continue to be fully funded.Respectfully,Pamela D. Lloyd
If you live in Arizona, I urge you to contact your representatives and to express your support for our public library system. You are welcome to use what I wrote, if you would prefer not to compose your own letter. Thank you.



This entry was originally posted on Dreamwidth at pameladlloyd. Feel free to respond at either location.

New Traditions

Genealogy, and genealogy blogs, tend to focus on the past. But, tonight, I'd like to share a bit of the present. For the last couple of years, I've been making calendars to help my stepson Fritz, who has Down's Syndrome, better understand how long he has to wait for important events, such as his birthday or Christmas. Fritzie loves his calendars and loves marking off the days, which he does with the help of a family member, usually his dad.

Here's this year's advent calendar:

What else are we doing this year? We're baking biscotti. Or, to be more accurate, my husband is baking biscotti with Fritzie's help, although I hope to be able to help with tomorrow's batch. He's made at least four different batches so far, in a variety of flavors, and we're all chiming in with suggestions for new flavor combinations. Tonight's batch is orange-almond. I managed to snag a taste from the small stack of imperfect cookies that won't be going back into the oven for their second baking, so I can attest to the fact that they're very yummy.

ETA: Crossposted from my genealogy blog at: http://search4rootsandbranches.blogspot.com/2013/12/new-traditions.html


This entry was originally posted on Dreamwidth at pameladlloyd. Feel free to respond at either location.

My First Guest Blog Post & Other Random Blogging News

I managed to announce this on most of my social networking sites, but not here. I was asked to do a guest blog post for a genealogy wiki, called WikiTree, and my first post went live on Tuesday. You can find Pamela's Perspective (Their name! I never thought to name it, somehow.) on the WikiTree blog. This is my first guest post for someone else's blog, so I was thrilled to be asked to participate.

You might also have seen my occasional mentions of posts on Searching for Roots and Branches. Searching for Roots and Branches is my journal of genealogical discovery, where I explore various aspects of genealogy, anything from a photo of an ancestor or other relative, to a biographical sketch, to a detailed examination of my research and proof process. This evening, instead of getting work done, I posted about a a sudden nostalgia I was feeling in An Unusual Lullaby: The Whiffenpoof Song. My husband tells me it's a weird post, but "in a good way." Go figure.

While I'm posting about blogging, perhaps I should mention that I also blog on Red Poulaine's Musings. This is a joint blog which my husband and I write. Red Poulaine's Musings started shortly after we opened an Etsy store, Red Poulaine, where we sell vintage postcards and photographs. In our item listings, we include a lot of historical information about the people featured in the images, the photographers who took the pictures, and other historical tidbits and trivia related to the paper ephemera we sell. (My genealogy work sometimes comes in handy when we're researching the people associated with the images, allowing us to share information not easily found elsewhere.) Our shop had readers! So, we decided to create a blog and give people who don't visit our shop a chance to read some of the historical work we do. Although almost every image we sell has a story associated with it, we don't manage to post as often to our blog as we post pictures in the shop. We wish we could, but there's only so much two busy people can manage. Still, we hope that the stories and history we share on our blog is interesting and fun for our readers.


This entry was originally posted on Dreamwidth at pameladlloyd. Feel free to respond at either location.

Who Are the Best Science Fiction Authors of the 21st Century?

A young writer, whom I'll call Jaylin, recently asked me an interesting question: "Who are the best new science fiction writers of the decade?" Jaylin mused about the issue of literary versus genre fiction and their different writing goals, and we discussed the fact that there are some authors whose work crosses the great divide between these two. But, the focus of our conversation was really about what makes writing really good, and the difficulty of knowing which current and contemporary writers are likely to stand the test of time.

One thing that became very clear to me over the course of the conversation is that my awareness of what is current in science fiction, who our most respected authors are, is very outdated. So, I'm hoping that my readers (if I have any left) will help out by sharing their thoughts on the new and emerging writers of this century, by answering this question:

Who would you nominate to be on the list of the best science fiction authors of this century? Please explain, if you can, why they should be on this list.

Thank you!

This entry was originally posted on Dreamwidth at pameladlloyd. Feel free to respond at either location.

Alpheus McClelland Rote and Ella E. Ward, and their Children

I've published another post on my genealogy blog, this time about two of my great grandparents and their children:

Alpheus McClelland Rote and Ella E. Ward, and their Children

ETA: Looks like I missed yesterday's post: Mom Won Big Bucks in DAR-Sponsored Contest, Circa 1933.

This entry was originally posted on Dreamwidth at pameladlloyd. Feel free to respond at either location.

New Post on Searching for Roots and Branches

I keep meaning to share my posts on my genealogy blog (which, however irregular, has been my most active blog for quite some time now) to my Dreamwidth and LiveJournal blogs. Usually, I forget. Or, maybe that should be, I always forget. Right now, I can't remember if I've ever shared.

But, I remembered today. So, here goes.

Today's post over on Searching for Roots and Branches is Wishful Wednesday: I Wish I'd Met Grandpa Lloyd. There are lots of blogging prompts for genealogy bloggers, and sometimes I respond to them. This is one of those times. This post is a response to the Wishful Wednesday blogging prompt from Geneabloggers.



This entry was originally posted on Dreamwidth at pameladlloyd. Feel free to respond at either location.

The Willies

One of my stepsons was recently discussing his appreciation for the explanations of grammatical terms offered by The Word Detective. The website is the online version of a newspaper column by Evan Morris, for which he answers readers’ questions about grammar and the written word. Although I often explain the correct usage of of it's and its to students, it was the explanation for the history of why the current usage of it's and its that brought me to the page of column entries that includes Dr. Morris' advice concerning these words. However, once there, I couldn't resist reading the rest of the entries, the last of which was titled "A Visit from the Willies." In response to a question regarding the origin of the term "the willies," Dr. Morris responds:

By virtue of an eerie coincidence, I happened to be puzzling over the origin of "willies" just as your letter arrived (start the spooky music, please). The previous evening I had attended a performance by the American Ballet Theater of "Giselle." In the first act of the ballet, Giselle, a sturdy peasant girl, responds to a procession of unsuitable suitors by dancing herself to death. (I know, I know -- I didn't entirely understand this part myself).

 In Act Two, the now defunct but still remarkably sprightly Giselle meets up with a troupe of spectral Rockettes who haunt the nearby forest and are known as, guess what, the "willies." Together they dance around a good deal until the suitor Giselle really liked all along wanders by, whereupon the "willies" literally dance him into the ground, and the two lovers live, or don't live, happily ever after. I love culture, don't you?
  I have checked several reference works, and most agree that "the willies," meaning "the jitters" or "nervous apprehension," is of "unknown origin." One exception, my own parents' Morris Dictionary of Word and Phrase Origins, traces "the willies" to the slang expression "willie-boy," meaning "sissy" -- presumably the sort who would be prone to the "willies."
  That theory is far from impossible, but I think I may have found, thanks to my evening with "Giselle," a more likely source. The "willies" in the ballet take their name from the Serbo-Croatian word "vila" (in English, "wili" or "willi") meaning a wood-nymph or fairy, usually the spirit of a betrothed girl who died after being jilted by her lover. It seems entirely possible to me that "willi," the spirit or ghost, became the "willies," the feeling that something creepy is going on. Now, where's that spooky music I ordered?

I just love the various connections Dr. Morris makes in this response, in large part because the story of Giselle and the willies has so many fairy tale elements.

This entry was originally posted on Dreamwidth at pameladlloyd. Feel free to respond at either location.