Jennifer Freitag's Blog, page 8

Here Is How to Achieve the Perfect Blog Experience

I want The Penslayer to be
a platform to help writers with their worka stage to showcase my writingan engaging communitybasically enjoyabletotally magical
That's where YOU come in, because without YOU, I wouldn't be here.  Close Pinterest for a sec and please take this survey.  (It has nothing to do with politics.)  I want to know what you need + how to better improve your experience here.  It's super fast and buckets of fun.  Ready?  Thank you!

10-step survey for The Penslayer

super brief edit / update: Lord willing i will be contracting with a blog designer + branding agent to overhaul my blog, so IT WILL NOT ALWAYS LOOK A MESS. thank you for sticking with me! <3

image via that site you just closed, pinterest

How to Never Lack for Profitable Blog Topics. Ever.

WHAT TALK OF.  HOW BLOG.  TOPICS EVEN?
Me, about a month ago.  
THE BURNING QUESTION: WHAT TO BLOG ABOUT?  I see countless bloggers of high repute churning out helpful content with a loyal following, and I stared at them wondering, "HOW YOU DO DAT."  I've got MAYBE a snippets post per month, assuming I've been diligent / had adequate inspiration on my novel during that time.  MAYBE an update post, assuming anything remotely interesting has happened to me in 30 days besides, "Hey, guys.  Yeah, haven't been writing much.  Please don't leave me."

BUT IT'S ACTUALLY EASY TO FIND TOPICS!

There are multiple ways to go about getting profitable blog topics to spin on your site.  Some I found more helpful than others, but I've used all these methods.  Now you can too!  Here are four blogs that I found two different ways.

1.  You, Me, & That Other Guy
The first thing I did was NOT the most productive, but it DID lead me to some very helpful sites that I am now following!  Look up your favourite bloggers and figure out who THEY follow.  It takes a little bit of sorting, but it's definitely worth it.  Find blogs that help fuel your topic imagination and FOLLOW THEM TOO!

SITES I FOLLOW THUSLY:

Paper Fury by Cait Drews: Australian cake/book-blogger extraordinaire - she's literally everywhere & her posts are a barrel of laughs / frequently hugely helpful.  Even though I'm not a book-blogger.  (p.s. her site is so pretty!)

Nellie & Co. by Amanda (Nellie is an elephant??):  Frequently INSIGHTFULLY helpful into the world of blogging, Instagramming, marketing, etc.  I definitely recommend following this purple blogger.



2.  Googling is a Legit Verb
Le me: log onto Pinterest.
Le me:  google "writing blog writers." (fingers crossed - which makes it difficult to type)
Le me: instantly overwhelmed by the sheer amount of search results.

EVERYBODY WHO IS ANYBODY SHARES THEIR ARTICLES ON PINTEREST.  (Except me because I'm lazy + haven't got around to that yet.)  I found this search method to be MUCH more productive.  10 out of 10, would recommend.

this is where you get blog posts with 100+ links to resourceful articlesthis is where you can pin/save/reference later, things you want to usethis is where the corporate hivemind inspiration is at

SITES I FOLLOW THUSLY:

Modern Mrs. Darcy by Anne: This blog is basically about ANYTHING, but I've already located numerous helpful/inspirational post material that have jump-started my creative blogging juices.  Win!

Designer Blogs Studio by too many people to list here: Yuss, this is technically a design/branding site, but its blog is hella helpful + they aspire to not only give you a beautiful blog/brand, but give you content inspiration FOR THAT BLOG.  //THANK YOU, NUMEROUS STAFF MEMBERS THEREOF.//



There must be a BILLION + ONE sites that can be hunted down via Pinterest, and I recommend this method because you can

find lots of contentpin for later if you don't have time to readchose which sites to follow at your leisure 
I mean, does it get any better than that?
probably
Now that you have no excuse for an empty blog, go forth + conquer!  Share this blog post with your friends!  Coerce them into following The Penslayer because obviously I have all the answers / know where to find them!

(what even did we do before the internet i am such a 21st century person)
3.  And ONE MORE Thing
IF you are a blogger, you probably already follow blogs so PLEASE SHARE YOUR FAVOURITE RESOURCE BLOGS WITH ME / EVERYONE HERE.  You da bomb!  Also your resource bloggers will thank you because word-of-mouth marketing is pretty much the best.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR DRIVE TO SELF-IMPROVE!

Welcome to The Penslayer! Sorry for the mess. Order will be forthcoming. Meanwhile, add me to your list of blogs you love for more short + sweet, writing-related posts to help you on your way! Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest (!!) + Twitter. <3

half of these images via pinterest, the other half are obviously from their own blog sites

7 Mistakes Writers Make With Pregnancy + How to Easily Avoid Them

& I'M HERE TO SAVE YOU FROM MAKING THESE CLICHE MISTAKES
Are you tired of the pregnant-woman trope in media? Because YES I AM.  You get two indications that a woman is pregnant and they are always

enormous baby-bellysudden + excruciating contractions out of nowhere / the most inconvenient moment possible
That's it, people.  That's all you get.  Never fear, I am here!  As a legit mother, I am 100% qualified to bring you this material.  Buckle up.

1.  The Truth About the Timeline
GUESS WHAT.  There is more to pregnancy than a painfully obvious baby-belly, folks.  THAT doesn't show up until later in the game.  Pregnancy is divided into THREE TRIMESTERS, each consisting of THREE MONTHS.  The ginormous belly doesn't really become ginormous until the latter half of the second trimester.  Don't make the mistake of subconsciously thinking a huge belly is part + parcel of the whole nine yards months.

2.  There's No Other Way to Tell a Woman is Pregnant Besides Her Enormous Belly??
Au contraire!  A pregnant woman is NOT. NORMAL.  It is sometimes/often a fight to act like a normal, functioning, INDIVIDUAL human being WHILE GROWING ANOTHER HUMAN BEING INSIDE YOU.  Lettame break it down.

the first trimester is excruciatingly exhausting because you are building a baby + the baby's supporting environment. i mean SUPER TIRED. like, YOU HAVE NEVER EXPERIENCED THIS LEVEL OF TIRED BEFORE.the second trimester is (almost) normal; you regain functional levels of energy, your belly isn't too large to move yet.the third trimester hits you like a wall. your belly is a) enormous, b) heavy; YOU ARE SICK + TIRED OF BEING PREGNANT CAN WE GET THIS OVER WITH WHY DID I AGREE TO THIS.
3.  Think GOOSE.
Despite having been pregnant, I DID NOT REALIZE THIS UNTIL I WATCHED THE SHOW "BONES".  There is more to walking as a pregnant woman than putting up with that heavy baby-belly, and the telltale signs show up LONG BEFORE THE BUMP.  The pelvic area starts to loosen so it can allow for a tiny human to exit the baby-hole, and that loosening is actually VERY noticeable, once you realize it.  I saw a woman in her early pregnancy days, and knew she was pregnant not because of a bump, but because I could tell by the way she was walking.  DUDE.  THANK YOU, BONES.

4.  The Pamphlets Are Lying, Your Stomach is Not.
Everybody knows about "morning sickness."  But GUESS WHAT.  Morning sickness is NOT relegated to morning.  Huh uh.  I hate that.  Morning sickness

starts (usually) between 4-6 weekspeters off (hopefully) between 14-16 weeksdoes not switch off at 12:00 pmexacerbated by stress + hunger
5.  0 to 60 in Two Seconds...is Not Realistic.
You all know that IF there is a pregnant woman in a story, she WILL go into labour at the most climactic/inconvenient moment.  THIS IS NOT REALISTIC.

labour begins SLOWLY you might not even be sure you're IN labour for the first several hoursyou do NOT suddenly clutch your belly + wail as if your pelvic area were being torn off your bodylabour can take hours/days to take its course

NOTE: I can't tell you what it's like to have your water break because I was under epidural/well into labour when the doctor broke my water for me.  Couldn't feel it at all.  If you HAVE experienced your water break, please describe it in the comments for others!

6.  It Isn't Over When the Fat Baby Sings.
Emotionally, you're definitely overwhelmingly joyful when the baby is born.  PHYSICALLY, you're in more pain than you ever were in the entire pregnancy.

you ache you hurtwalking is stiff and slowsitting down is incredibly uncomfortableusing the bathroom is EXTREMELY PAINFUL (thank God for stool-softeners, I'm not even kidding)
7.  The Baby Brings a Black Dog as a Pet.
Despite what the media is telling you, the joy of motherhood is not always unalloyed.  With the cataclysm of hormones and MORE physical adjustments (oh hey! milk!), you can experience depression.  This is COMMON.  So common that I find the sunshine-and-happiness shots of motherhood in films to be suspicious.

These are 7 things you need to know NOT TO DO when writing a pregnant or post-pregnancy character.  I'm sure I've missed some tropes: add them in the comments below!

Welcome to The Penslayer! Sorry for the mess. Order will be forthcoming. Meanwhile, add me to your list of blogs you love for more short + sweet, writing-related posts to help you on your way! Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, + Twitter.<3

image via...yeah, pinterest

How To Know When to Include Menstruation in Your Stories

Welcome to The Penslayer! Sorry for the mess.  Order will be forthcoming.   Meanwhile, add me to your list of blogs you love for more short + sweet, writing-related posts to help you on your way!  Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, + Twitter. <3

MENSTRUATION, i.e., the act of a woman's uterus shedding a month's worth of unused blood-lining, is not typically written about in novels.  Kind of strange, considering there are a BATOOKUS-TON of young adult female protagonists on the market these days.  Maybe they're all on the same cycle?  I don't know.  Could be.

ARGUMENTS AGAINST IT

First of all, ew!  |  Periods have never been taboo-talk in my family, so years ago I casually mentioned something about my period to an acquaintance.  My bad.  Judging from her shock, it is not such a free topic in her home.  This surprised me, because a) we're both young women, and b) therefore have periods.  Maybe I was wrong and she's a robot still trying to successfully integrate into society.  Oops.

This is super shocking, you guys.  |  Okay, yes, maybe if I went into detail - this is not your normal blood, guys: this is like, goopy, bomb-went-off, half-coagulated junk here - YEAH, that could be a real turn-off if I was reading this book.

We don't write people using the toilet, do we...?  |  So, you might ask, why write about a woman's period?

WHY YOU SHOULD WRITE IT

This is not the same as using the toilet.  |  A woman's period is more than just discharged blood.  It has a major physical and psychological impact on a woman, and both of those aspects heavily impact your character in a novel.  The monthly cycle is part of who we all are as women, something we bear, deal with, and overcome on a MONTHLY BASIS.  That makes us pretty awesome, considering.  Why deny that to your characters?  This is a human trait that has both oppressed and empowered women all across the world and through history.  WE CONQUER THIS.  SO SHOULD YOUR CHARACTERS.

WHY YOU SHOULDN'T GO THROWING UTERUSES ALL OVER YOUR PLOT

Let's not get carried away!  |  Maybe - MAYBE - there is a legitimate reason to have a character use the bathroom.  Otherwise, we just assume that they go between chapter breaks, you know?  It doesn't need press.  Likewise for periods.  Don't hurl them at your women for the mere sake of authenticity.

Periods need to improve/work with the plot.  |  If there is no point to having your character experience a period, DON'T PUT IT IN.  Personal anecdote: I chose to include menstruation in one of my manuscripts because it was a pivotal point to the plot.  (Still squeamish?  Look, I've already done it.  You're welcome!)

DIMENSION, EDUCATION, GROWTH

Emotional connection.  |  When appropriate, the addition of a character's menstrual cycle lends depth and authenticity to the plot.  We become more acquainted with her.  We share her struggles.  We appreciate what she overcomes.  We grapple with her when this handicap becomes a physical barrier to her progress.

Understanding.  |  For those who are not women (hi, guys!), and aren't acquainted with this monthly monster that we deal with, this is us.  Yes, we are the weaker vessel, but being weaker doesn't equal WEAK.  Millions of women across the globe shoulder this burden every. single. month.  We want you to know this so that you can better understand the inscrutable creature - woman.

The champion.  |  In your novels, as in my manuscript, this becomes a personal demon which pays no allegiance to time, weather, circumstance, and convenience.  The girl has to take the punch when it comes - there is no ducking.  But the act of getting up after a blow is what we ALL love to see in our characters.

have you ever included menstruation in a novel? do you think you ever would?

image via *drumroll* pinterest

TL;DR | How To Focus Your Content + Win!

Those of you who have followed the Penslayer for AGES know that I CAN GET REALLY WORDY.  But on the internet, that is NOT a skill.  It's an almost sure-fire turn-off for readers.  So how do you cut to the chase and get readers to stick around?  Glad you asked!

"I KNOW MY NAME. GET ON WITH IT!"

If you have backstory, KEEP. IT. SHORT.  Do not repeat yourself unnecessarily, do not go into minute detail.  People WILL get to know you!  Especially if you keep things short + sweet and don't drive them away by a HUGE WALL OF TEXT OH MY LANDS RUN AWAY AIN'T NOBODY GOT TIME FO' DAT.  Your personality and history will evolve and grow on the readership as you blog.  Don't scare them off with text!

break it up + keep paragraphs short

Reading on the computer is GRUELING for the eyes.  Keep blocks of text to a minimum length without sacrificing content, so your readers will stick with you.  Break the post up into nice paragraphs - with headings!  We love headings.

do not. post. millions of pictures. of the same thing.

You've got a camera.  I get it.  It's cool.  But I do not want to scroll through over-large images of essentially the same damn image.  Not cool!  Show me one AWESOME picture that you took and I'm going to be coming back to your blog to see more awesome pictures (of different things).

don't hog the conversation

Chances are, if you (read: myself) do all the talking, no one is going to feel like that have room to chime in!  Uh, no thanks!  I know I want to hear what you have to say, so I'm gonna cut to the chase and have done and leave you time to chat!  That's what blogs are for!

are you guilty of this? yeah, I know I am. here's to better things! and shorter posts... 

image via pinterest. you saw that coming.

6 Reasons This is the Only Book You'll Need

Summer is NEARLY ON TOP OF US which means -
a) blazing temperaturesb) inability to go outsidec) blazing temperaturesd) lots of time to read books
In light thereof, allow me to introduce you to THE NEWEST PUBLISHED WORK by author MIRRIAM NEAL.

PAPER CROWNS

{Ginger has lived in seclusion, with only her aunt Malgarel and her blue cat, Halcyon, to keep her company. Her sheltered, idyllic life is turned upside-down when her home is attacked by messengers from the world of fae. Accompanied by Halcyon (who may or may not be more than just a cat), an irascible wysling named Azrael, and a loyal fire elemental named Salazar, Ginger ventures into the world of fae to bring a ruthless Queen to justice.}


If your summer weather is anything like mine, you're looking at lots of thundery summer storms crowding in on you, with plenty of opportunity to crack open this bad boy (girl??) and devour its 192 pages!  What does this book have to offer you?  Let's list the following:

faes? check.portal fiction? check.ruined idyllic life? check.mirriam's trademark sarcastic wit? also check.gorgeous cover art to grace your bookshelf? uh, check!the name "halcyon"? BOOM. check.
Now that you realize your life is basically a void without this, allow me to direct you to WHERE YOU CAN BUY IT.  Also, general informations about it and its author.  And what the author has done.  //WHAT HAVE YOU DONE.//

paper crowns + amazon  //  mirriam's blog  //  other publications by mirriam

MIRRIAM NEAL  is a twenty-two-year-old northwestern hipster living in atlanta, ga.  she writes hard-to-describe books in hard-to-describe genres, & illustrates things whenever she finds the time.  she aspires to live as faithfully & creatively as she can, & she hopes you do, too!

images owned by mirriam neal

Can You Unlock Your Novel With One Breakthrough Key?

Are you, like me, trying to plot a new novel, and feeling uninspired and stymied at each turn?  Where are the characters going?  What are they going to do?  How will they interact?  What even is the POINT?
9 times out of 10, this is the story of every plot we've ever tried to course.  I know, right?  UGH.  Nothing makes you feel so competent as staring blankly at the empty plot you know you're meant to write.  But there's actually a remarkably easy way to get that ball rolling.  It's a super important catalyst for the plot - and most of us forget about it!

plot from the antagonist's point of view!

You want to know WHY your protagonists are struggling, WHAT they are up against, HOW the novel is going to pan out?  FIGURE OUT WHAT THE ANTAGONIST WANTS.  If everything were hunky-dory, there would be no plot!  If the antagonist didn't have a goal and drive, which the protagonists have to thwart, then what's the point?

You're probably not going to write the actually story from the antagonist's point of view, but get the ball rolling with a preliminary outline (mental or physical) from the driver's seat of the antagonist's brain.  Ye Olde Antagonist is the one who is going to inject purpose into the story - otherwise we could just all go to Maresgate and splash about on the seashore like Margaret WANTED to do...

why didn't I think of that sooner

I know, right?  You hear it and you think, "DUH.  That totally makes sense.  Why didn't I think of that before?"  I don't even remember where I got this idea, but I forgot it and then it came back to me in the middle of the night.  I legit got up and wrote it down for you guys because otherwise I WOULD HAVE FORGOTTEN AGAIN.  PHEW.  Okay.  Hopefully that will make my upcoming work a little easier to plot.

is your work giving you fits?  hack at it with this dead herring and see if it budges the plot!

image via pinterest. bet you didn't see that coming.

4 Life-Altering, Easy Ways to Show Bloggers Love

Sometimes I get REALLY BUMMED when I'm blogging.  Don't tell me you don't experience this too!  It's like I'm talking to thin air.  I research, I make a graphic, I schedule the optimal time to post, I write that post with my best spicy talk - and then...nothing.  Sometimes I get a comment, maybe two, but in general I think, "IS ANYONE EVEN LISTENING TO ME?"

I was sobbing (internally) about this to my husband, and he said, "Yeah, but think about all the blogs you read and never comment on.  They don't know you read their posts, but you did, and you liked them.  Probably people do the same for you.  You don't KNOW they're there, but they are."

Ouch.  Guilty as charged.  I read blog posts and never say a word.  I feel like my comment won't matter.  But on MY blog, comments DO matter to me - so I'll bet my comments matter to other bloggers.  So here is what //I// am going to do about it - and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU DO THE SAME!  Because everyone deserves love, community, support, + encouragement!

#1: leave a comment!

DUH.  Even if you're not sure what to say, something as simple as, "Hey, I loved this post!  Thank you for taking the time to write it for us," means THE WORLD to the blogger.  Take me: I could be spending time doing something tangibly useful, like washing dishes.  But no, I decided to spend time writing a post for you guys in the hopes that a) you'll like it, + b) it will be useful to you.  Was it?  Say so!  And not just to me - to all the blogs you read!

#2: "like" the links!

Did you come to the blog post through Facebook or Twitter, Pinterest or Instagram?  "Like" it!  IT TAKES ALMOST NO TIME AT ALL PERIOD.  What a simple, awesome way to let the blogger know, "Hey yo, I saw this and I liked it!"  Without that, the blogger has no idea!

#3: share the link on your favourite social media platforms!

Did you know that WORD OF MOUTH marketing is the BEST FORM?  YUSS!  Do you love your bloggers?  Share the posts you like!  Spread that love!  Throw it like confetti!  I can tell you right here + right now, there is nothing that leaves me so peachy as to see that someone liked my post SO MUCH, they went ahead and SHARED IT WITH THEIR FRIENDS.  Angelic singing!  Praise the Lord!  Hallelujah!

#4:  rate their work on amazon + goodreads!

Are you a reader following an author-blogger?  Maybe you're not good at writing reviews (pick me! here in the front row!), but that's okay!  It's really important for their work to be rated, so just jump into Amazon or Goodreads and leave a rating.  That's all it takes!  Blam - you're done!

those are my top-four tips for encouraging bloggers + letting them know they're loved. got anymore suggestions?  i refer you back to #1: leave them in a comment! <3

image via oh i don't know pinterest

Confidence | How Pinterest Can Help + It's Free!

When I started out blogging, I was in my late teens and I had no idea who I was.  I didn't even realize I had no idea who I was.  I just started blogging about my writing and general topics that interested me.  I was stiff and starched and spoke from what I thought was an ivory tower (it was kind of a mole hill).  Ugh!  Who wants to be friends with THAT?

Fast forward to the last six months.  In that space of time I've a) discovered my ideal makeup look, b) discovered my wardrobe look, c) shaken off some of the erudite dust of my blog and become a lot more open and confident with the whole kit and caboodle.  AND I NEVER THOUGHT I EVER WOULD.  But here I am.

"Okay, that's nice, Jenny, but HOW YOU DO DAT."  Oh, I'm glad you asked.  

listen to your preferences!

I recently started an exercise on Pinterest in which I pin JUST the items that really say "JENNY."  Then I look over them and ask myself, "What are the unifying threads here?"  Turns out, they tend to be BLACK + WHITE + GOLD + CHAMPAGNE colours; also, minimalism with clean lines and tasteful pops of elegance.  That's me.  I've finally begun to discover ME!  DO YOU KNOW HOW FREEING THAT IS?  It's the bee's knees!

"OKAY.  We hear you, Jenny, but I like a LOT of stuff.  What if they're all mismatched and DON'T have a unifying thread?"  I've got the answer to that, too.

 edit! edit! edit!

You have to learn to edit yourself.  Like you, I like lots of things!  But when it comes to style and aesthetic, I've learned to be CRITICAL and edit out what DOESN'T match.  No shade thrown on anything else, I'm just here to be a holistic, unified entity - especially online!

here's how pinterest can help!

Start a new board.  This board is YOU.  Hunt down only the images which really speak to YOU.  Cosy bookshop settings?  Vintage lace?  Steaming cups of coffee?  Muted, neutral colours?  And edit! edit! edit!  Pretty soon you're going to see a similarity in the variety of the images you pin.  Pretty soon you're going to know just what to look for.  Pretty soon, you're going to have a clearer image of who YOU are!

drown out the noise

A lot of self-doubt comes from the constant buffeting we take from other people and their images of themselves.  We're tossed about, trying to be one of them, and ourselves, all at the same time - and we just end up not knowing who we really are!  So shut off the noise.  Focus on yourself.  Once you know who YOU are, you're not going to feel that pressure nearly so badly.  You get your self-confidence, you get your own voice, you become a stronger person.  You become you.

Okay, got it?  Now go forth and start your boards!  SHARE YOUR BOARDS!  I want to learn who you are!  I want to see you discover yourselves because YOU ARE AMAZING!

all images via pinterest because where else

Less Zen More Will | The Remarkable Ease of Efficiency

For those of us who have the opportunity, and can't function in high-volume settings like Starbucks, we get to work from home.  Avoiding the daily grind? Yuss!  Being your own boss?  Huzzah!  But it's not all fun and games because you STILL HAVE TO GET YOUR WORK DONE.  I'm sure a lot of people look at those of us who work from home and either see us schlubbing in our pajamas, or glitzy in pristine white settings and tiny zen water features burbling on our desks.  Well, okay, that's some of us, but hopefully that's not MOST of us.  Pristine white setting, yeah, I'd go in for that.  Probably some of you would prefer the pajamas.  But let's aim somewhere in the middle and figure out

how to effectively work from home

1. Setting is important but NOT AS IMPORTANT AS YOU MIGHT THINK.
Yes, but no.  Put down your iPhone and walk away from the expertly arranged flat-lay you want to make.  Your job right now is writing.  Do you know how photogenic writing is?  It isn't.  Stop.  Sit down.  Open up your document.  Write.

It's definitely nice to be comfortable when you're working; it helps focus your mind on the craft, especially not having to worry about being hungry/thirsty/cold/hot/tired/ugly/greasy/bleh.  Pick a place that fits the criteria best.  Don't go into it hungry.  Grab something to drink.  Get ready - and write.

2. Admit your weaknesses and make allowances for them.
Watching a Carly Cristman video the other day (because I do "waste" time on Youtube), she mentioned that she's going to want to check Facebook/Instagram/Twitter/Pinterest.  WE LIKE TO CHECK OUR SITES.  And it can be a huge time-waster if we let it.  She recommended allowing yourself a small amount of time every large chunk of time to check one of your sites.  IT DOESN'T TAKE LONG TO CHECK YOUR SITE, PEOPLE; TRUST ME, THE REST OF THE TIME YOU'RE JUST DAWDLING.  Take a five-minute break every hour (maybe, doesn't have to be even as long as five minutes because YOU PROLLY DON'T EVEN NEED THAT LONG, but whatever), then get back to work.

3. Doing research?  Make progress.
This is my biggest struggle, honest to goodness.  Although I love reading, it makes me sleepy.  Looking down or up at a book for any length of time is painful.  I don't like sitting still. I DON'T MAKE A LOT OF PROGRESS.  But I still have to buckle down and work.  I have to go read that book for research, even if I fall asleep while doing so and drop it on my head.  (My favourite time to read is in the evening when I'm going to bed and I've got a sheet mask on my face, because you can't really sit up or the mask will fall off, you have to lie down and hold the book on your chest/knees/belly-button area...long story short, I'm stuck there for at least half an hour and I get some reading done.)

4. As much as you can, don't schlub.
If you feel like crap, if you look like crap, your work is going to be crap too.  Have a nice date with your work and look the part.  Put on your nice (comfortable) clothes.  If you wear makeup, go ahead and put it on.  Rise to the occasion!  Look great!  Feel great!  Make great art!

5. Never underestimate the seductive power of caffeine.
"Maybe I'll cut back on my caffeine and just have one cup of tea - " NO.  Unless you are seriously abusing caffeine and need an intervention, don't play with your synapses while you are trying to get writing done.  Drink that tea.  Brew that coffee.  Be hipster.  (But don't waste your time taking pictures of it.)

Bonus tip: The only way to get the thing done is to do it.
This may seem obvious, but it's not that easy.  There will be days when everything in you says, "NO.  I do NOT want to do it.  I want to go to BED."  Pick me, right here in the front row.  And there are days when I have to sit down, open up my document, and just MAKE MYSELF DO IT.  It's not comfortable, it's not nice, but the only way to get the thing done is to do it.  Maybe that means not even opening up the internet.  Maybe that means not even touching my phone.  Whatever it is, I recognize that, sometimes, I just have to push-push-PUSH and do it.

those are my top-five (+ one) tips for getting work done from home. lots of people have TONS of great advice out there, so please share yours! what do you do to get stuff DONE?

image via pinterest because i am not a photographer