Kassandra Lamb's Blog, page 24
April 7, 2020
Need a New Career or Side-Gig? Announcing the Freelance Writer Bootcamp!
Hi, all! Gilian Baker here.
When I asked myself how I could best serve the global community during this national emergency, teaching others a skill they could use to provide security for their families was at the top of the list. While talking with a friend and fellow entrepreneur, I came up with the idea to create a 30 Day Freelance Writer Bootcamp to help those who love to write and have lost jobs or need a side gig to help support their families.
While other industries are slowing down or...
March 31, 2020
7 Tips for Handling Stress During Uncertain Times
by Gilian Baker
Our fast-paced modern life can keep our nervous system running on full-tilt. So, what happens when a global crisis like the Coronavirus comes at us from nowhere, changing our daily lives into something we cant recognize?
Photo by Josh Riemer on Unsplash Our nervous system ramps up even more, threatening to burn out or implode. Fear, uncertainty, and panic can leave us constantly living in a fight-or-flight state.
Not only is this dangerous for our overall health, but it...
March 25, 2020
What You’re Feeling May Very Well Be Grief
by Kassandra Lamb
A sign of the times grocery store in 2020 (photo by Breawycker CC-BY-SA 4.0 International Wikimedia Commons) My daughter-in-law posted the link to this article today. It really nails what a lot of us are feeling right now. We are grievingfor what has already changed, and for what may yet change in an uncertain future.
Please do read the whole articleit offers some helpful suggestions for copingbut I have to quote this part. It is so right on:
There is something powerful...
March 16, 2020
Stay Calm and Wash Your Hands
Photo by Max van den Oetelaar on Unsplash by Kassandra Lamb
We interrupt our regular blogging schedule This is not what I had planned to write about this week, but its an important reminder to stay calm. Not only for our mental health, but for our physical health as well.
Why is it important to stay calm? Because stress reduces the effectiveness of our immune systems. So stressing about getting sick can increase the chances of getting sick.
We humans have a variety of mental defense...
March 3, 2020
The Importance of Backstory (Or How the Brain Connects the Present to the Past)
by Kassandra Lamb
I’m over at Janice Hardy’s Fiction University today, talking about characters’ backstories, the human brain and implications for writers.
Here’s a teaser…First, a brief excerpt from my own backstory—I recently let go of someone whom I have loved dearly my entire life. I did so because he was acting in a way that was far too reminiscent of my dysfunctional family.
I spent many hours and beaucoup dollars in my youth on therapy, and it was successful. For a very long time...
February 24, 2020
IRL Mysteries: The Mystery Behind That Annoying Tamper-Resistant Packaging
by Kassandra Lamb
You know what I’m talking about – those frustrating, multiple layers of plastic, foil, paper, and/or cotton that keep you from the pill that will wipe out your headache, calm your anxiety or dry up your allergy-produced drippy nose.
Pills weren’t always distributed that way. Here’s the in-real-life (IRL) mystery behind tamper-resistant packaging, which is still unsolved to this day.
In 1982, seven people died mysteriously. Three were in one family, but the rest were...
February 17, 2020
An “Off” Week Goodie: Why Hugs Are Good For You
by Kassandra Lamb
I saw this article yesterday and wanted to share it.
Why Hugging Is The Most Beautiful Form Of Communication
Photo by C.Valdez on Unsplash I don’t know about the whole Chakra thing, but it is true about the cortisol levels going down and hugs encouraging the release of oxytocin.
The latter hormone makes us feel good, and also facilitates more social interaction.
In other words, the more we hug, the more we like being around people, and thus the more likely we are to...
February 10, 2020
Why Is the Divorce Rate So Low? (encore)
by Kassandra Lamb
No, that is not a typo in the title—I am asking why the divorce rate is so low. As I contemplate the approach of the 44th Valentine’s Day I will spend with my husband, I thought this was a fitting time to again offer up this post I originally wrote in 2012.
I am absolutely amazed that anybody makes it for 44 years, or longer even, without divorcing. Or committing homicide.
The Divorce Rate is Lower Than You Think
My mother and I going into the church before my wedding. I had...
January 28, 2020
An Introvert and an Extrovert Walk into a Bar…
by Gilian Baker
If an introvert and an extrovert walked into a bar, how could you tell them apart?
Easy! The introvert would quietly order a drink, wince at the noise level while she waited for the bartender, and then move to a remote table where she could watch the surrounding activity.
An extrovert would walk in and high-five the people she knew. She’d stop several times on her way to the bar to chat with acquaintances. Once she had her drink, she’d sit down in the middle of a table full...
January 20, 2020
Where The Research Takes Us: Weird Stuff We’ve Researched Lately
By the whole gang! Researching our stories has taken us to some rather unusual places recently. Here’s some of the weird stuff we’ve researched lately.
First up…K.B. Owen
Part of the fun of being a mystery writer is the research tidbits you discover. I’ve learned a lot of esoteric stuff in the course of trouping through the Library of Congress, writing to museum curators, and ordering/reading books such as a 19th century pamphlet on bomb-making by anarchist Johann Joseph Most (much to the...
