Beth Overmyer's Blog: The Blog of Beth Overmyer, page 39

Books Read in 2014

1. Insurgent
2. The Book Thief
3. The Help
4. Cell
5. A Monster Calls
6. The End
7. Wonder
8. All Shall Be Well; And All Shall Be Well; And All Manner of Things Shall Be Well
9. Past My Defenses
10. The Bankrupt Viscount
11. Glancing Through the Glimmer
12. The Way of Kings
13. Landline
14. Words of Radiance
15. A Love Worth Living
16. Thirteen Reasons Why
17. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
18. Stephen King's On Writing

Failing at Goals...or Not

Sometimes I wonder: "Why do I even BOTHER making new year resolutions? I'm probably going to fail after week three--if not before!" While this might be true, I still think it's important to try. But "resolution" is too heavy a word for me, so I'm just calling them...



"New Year's Goals"
But why is it important to have goals?
"If you fail to plan, you plan to fail."
Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.
- Tony Robbins

“If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.”-Albert Einstein

And how do we achieve goals when we've failed so many times before?
When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don't 
adjust the goals, adjust the action steps. 
- Confucius

If something's not working out the way you want it to, and you continue approaching it from the same angle and in the same way, of course you're going to keep failing.
So, vary your steps. If your goal last year was to write 1,000 words a day, but you only lasted for a week, look at your approach. 
Q: Did you get distracted by the Internet? A: Well, this time UNPLUG IT! 
Q: Were you undisciplined in your writing time? A: Then set aside a certain time when you know you won't be interrupted, get rid of all distractions, and see what else you can do differently.
Some great free software for writers with distraction issues is FocusWriter.

#
MY New Year's Goals:
1. Finish revisions on Scotch (a novella for--le gasp!--grown-ups)
2. Finish revisions on The Disorderlies
3. Finish writing draft one of Things Heard in a Graveyard (also for an older crowd)
4. Finish writing draft one of Murder in the Afternoon (yet another for those who are no longer kids)
5. Write two KILLER query letters ;-)
8. Write two TO-DIE-FOR synopses
___
What about YOU? What are your goals for 2015, and how do you plan to reach them?

On a Cold Winter's Night

What am I drinking?

Am I drinking...

A. Hot chocolate

B. Tea (with lots of sugar and milk!)

C. Coffee

D. Hot buttered rum

or

E. A gingerbread-scented candle from Swan Creek

Batman Does NOT Smell

Hooked you with that title? Oh, all right:
Jingle bells, Batman smellsRobin laid an eggBatman broke a wheelAnd Joker took ballet!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
(This year's tree)

Tradition!

My family has very few Christmas/holiday traditions...well, ones that have carried over into (my) adulthood. With seven deaths and some crap in the last year or so, things have changed. Dynamics change. You grow out of old things and into new things.



Why Have Traditions?
I mean, who cares? ...right? Maybe THIS guy...

I learned from my grandmother, who grew up in devastating war times, how important it is to keep with tradition and celebrate the holidays during tough times.- Marcus Samuelson
Okay, so I have you convinced that holiday traditions are good, yes? But what are some traditions I could start with MY family?" you ask.
So glad you stopped in!
1. Sleeping next to the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve2. Elf on the Shelf3. Read the Christmas story together4. Watch your favorite Christmas movies in a marathon5. Bake everyone's favorite cookies and decorate them together6. Give money to a trusted charity in each other's honor7. Open one gift on Christmas Eve (one family I know gave their daughter new PJs every Christmas Eve)8. Give an ornament to your loved one that has something to do with what happened during the year*9. Go caroling at a nursing home10. Volunteer
#
How about YOU? What are some of YOUR favorite traditions? Any new ones this year? 
I have a toddler niece and would love to hear ideas for special activities to do with her!
___*For example: When I was really into Harry Potter, my mom got me a Harry Potter ornament. When In a Pickle was published, she gave me an ornament with the cover art plastered across it.

Sure to Make You Go Grrr!

What day is today?


Note: This pic ^ is from a 2015 calendar, hence the 22nd of December. Pay not attention to that man behind the curtain!

Discussion: Santa?

Question for polite debate:

Is it right/okay to tell a child that Santa Claus is real?

If so, why?

If not, why?

Christmas/Writer Medley/General Silliness

Hark! Show don't tell!
(click-clack-type-tack)
Sweet endings smell.
(clickety-clickety)
Write bittersweet,
(tappety-tappety)
That's really neat.
(scritch-scratch-scritch-scratch!)

Silent as I type,
No talking while I write.
You're too loud,
My ears don't lie
About the racket.
Manuscript = Child
Murder your darlings,
Or suffer slushpile.
Rejections they come, do not wee-eep!
Put the pen down, get some sleep!

Up on the keyboard
Fingers type
Hope this time I get it right.
I before E, 'cept after C?
I can't remember; woe is me!
Oh, oh, no!
This prose blows!
Oh, oh, no!
This prose goes!
Up on the keyboard,
Clack! Clack! Clack!
This prose is a waking nap.

Today!

Today is the day the final Hobbit movie hits theatres! Let me know what you think of it; I'll probably wait for the DVD ;-)

TODAY
(Pretend that 7 is a 1...)
The Hobbit

One Day!

ONE DAY
(Saruman, duh! No? Hey, play nice!)
The Hobbit