Elizabeth Guizzetti's Blog, page 10

Cover Reveal: The Light Side of the Moon!

Coming Soon from 48Fourteen  in paperback and e-book! 

I am pleased to show the cover for The Light Side of the Moon! This stand-alone book focuses on what happened on Earth after the Kiposians came. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to do the cover illustration, while Lyndsay Johnson did the wonderful lettering design.

Summary:

Due to overpopulation, lack of natural resources, no public education, and a surplus of political bickering, Earth is a cesspool and our solar system’s colonies have failed. Nevertheless, outside our solar system, exploration has thrived.

Encouraged by the conquest of Kipos, idealistic dreamers look beyond Earth to build a utopia from the abandoned Lunar Colony Serenitatis. Industrialists reconstruct the colony, but struggle to turn a profit while encouraging scientific discovery.

Brimming with hope despite intense uncertainty and physical hardship, the impoverished Ella Sethdottier follows rumors of plentiful jobs on the moon. On roads fraught with danger, she discovers Earth is a bigger place than she ever imagined, but Serenitatis is little more than a prison colony. Ella forges unlikely friendships with corrupted androids and the quixotic prison doctor, Ian Whitlatch, who champions equality and rights for inmates. Amid corruption and nobility, tragedy and victory, the fate of the colony hangs precariously in the balance.

I need advice for The Light Side of the Moon!

Author buddies, folks who just love reading, and even people who go to author events, I need advice.

I’m trying to decide which chapter should be my free excerpt for conventions and appearances. It must be full of gut wrenching emotions, plus introduce Ellie. It must make people think “What to know what happens next?”

I want to know what you’d rather read?

Chapter 2:

4-year-old Ellie is watching her parents argue which culminates in her father attacking her mother and abandoning the family for a new planet.

Cons:

its incredibly violent and features a few swear words.
Ellie is not shown to be strong.

Pros:

I’ve read this chapter at events before and it always gets a “OMG, what happen’s next? What! I have to wait till the book comes out?” response.

or

Chapter 6:

Ellie, age 11, disobediently hanging outside with some corrupt androids while her brothers are at work. She goes back inside and finds her mother dead from the flu. She and her brothers must dispose of the body without getting caught.

Con:

its Chapter 6.
I’ve never read it in front of an audience, so I don’t know how people will react.
Ellie is not a “perfect child,” rather she is shown disobedient.

Pro:

Not violent, but sets up Ellie’s family’s poverty and the environment better.
It has androids!
Ellie obviously has a mind of her own.

Chapter 1, 3, 4, and 5 are from someone else’s POV. The back cover copy features Ellie as the protagonist. I must introduce Ellie and make people care about her.

If anyone wants to read the chapters, please message me or comment��and I’ll send them to you.

Elizabeth Guizzetti appearing at Issaquah Library AuthorFest

May 1 @ 6:00 am��–��9:00 pm��|��Free

In collaboration with Downtown Issaquah Association���s May ���Wine Walk���, the Issaquah Library and Pacific Northwest Writers Association are hosting the first annual ���Author Fest��� on��Friday, May 1st.

Activities will include:

Panel discussions with local authors!

6:00pm��panel will feature authors who write for kids: Lois Brandt, Dori Butler, & TJ (Tim) Spencer and Elizabeth Guizzetti

7:15pm��panel will feature authors who write for adults: Alan Bauer, Robert Dugoni, Mike Lawson, Pam Binder and Elizabeth Guizzetti. (I���m a double feature!)

Afterwards��there will be time for one-on-one author chats��and a chance to purchase an autographed copy!

Hope to see you there

Why I believe in diversity in science fiction: an answer to the counter-arguments.

A number of people in the science fiction community are screaming about diversity in books and films. Either they want to bring back the good ole days, or they want to see characters that look how the world looks now. It saddens me that this argument has gotten very nasty. The 2015 Hugo Award Nominations are just the visual tip of the anger iceberg.

I saw this on PinInterst, Originally found on yahighway.tumblr.com

Anyone who follows my blog knows how much I love StarTrek. I���m going to explain why I think diversity is important for the sci-fi community, but how there is room for all of our visions. I was a young teen with TNG and in highschool, early college with DS9. I loved those show���s wide open universe with all those planets and races. The meme is getting popular now, but I remember the first time I heard Whoopie Goldberg���s story about how she and Gene Rodenberry spoke about how before the original StarTrek there were no black people in sci-fi and how Lt. Uhura, played by Nichelle Nichols during 1966 to 1969, was a trailblazing role for African-Americans.

When I heard the story, it reminded me of being a kid and watching GI Joe, Thunder Cats, or almost every other show and wanting there to be more than one token girl or woman character. That���s when I realized ���the girl��� was a type, just like ���the black guy��� or whoever. And I didn���t want to write ���types,��� I wanted to write characters. I want to tell their stories. I still do.

StarTrek and Ms. Goldberg���s story encouraged me to always look at my ���cast��� and make sure that there was a fairly even split of men and women–and if there wasn���t, it needed to make sense why. That if there were ���colors��� of skin in my book���s universe that they are shown–and not just in the background. That sexual diversity was shown.

The cry for diversity rings loudly. Readers want characters that look like them, that they can relate to, but I don���t think anyone is really saying, ���Every protagonist��needs to look like me!��� Though��a few��vocal white, cis-gender, heterosexual males are certainly coming close to that.

I believe in listening to people, which means I also believe it is also important to answer the (sometimes-bitter) counter arguments with kindness and generosity of spirit.

Counter Argument #1: So you are saying that I shouldn���t write all white or all male books? Maybe that���s my vision!

People should write what they want to write. Just don���t be surprised when the market makes the final call. I would also add no matter what type of characters you write, you may find you end up with a different market than expected.

An example of a terrific all male cast is John Carpenter���s 1982 version of The Thing. They are twelve guys in a small science station in Antarctica so they are cut off from the world. Sexual diversity is not mentioned. However, there is some racial diversity in the cast with as Childs and as Nauls. All in all the cast did a great job.

So if for whatever reason, if a non-diverse cast works, go with it. I think your collection of work shows your heart more than a single work.

Counter Argument #2 Authors are just adding this stuff so they can be edgy.

Really, you think authors care about being edgy? I don���t speak for every author, but I care about writing characters that make readers care and I care about finding readers. That���s it.

Counter Argument #3: White people shouldn���t write/explore other cultures because either white people can���t understand it or it is cultural appropriation.

For me this one is insidious, because I want to be an ally to others. To listen and tell stories. How do I get around this? First of all, I admit I���m a white American, cisgender, and heterosexual. I���m mixed European ancestry, a large chunk of that being Italian. This means I grew up with white privilege. This means there are things that happen I will simply not understand, I own up to that.

Then I figure out what I do know. While I never feared the police would racial profile me, I know what if feels like to be afraid. While I don���t know what it is like for a homosexual young man to want to kiss a boy when all your life you are told you can only kiss girls, but I can imagine what that first kiss is like. Love, pain and isolation are part of the human condition.

By admitting my ignorance of certain aspects of culture and then using my own experiences, I can research with an open mind. We all have the Internet at our disposal and we can take the time to do interviews. So, authors, no matter what your background, don���t fear writing about other cultures, but its important to research and write from a place of respect. Don���t rush the details, don���t force teachable moments, just do the work.

Counter Argument #4: What���s the point of writing diversely, the cover artist is just going to make them white?

So far, I���ve always done my own covers, so this hasn���t been a problem for me, but authors have agents and lawyers for a reason.

Authors, make sure you have some authority in your cover. And if you don���t. Guess what we all have blogs. Use them, show your character sketch. Be proactive.

Fans, if you want diverse covers, write, tweet, email publishers.

And the Counter-Counter Sad Puppy Argument to #4.

Why can���t a book with a spaceship on the cover just be about space adventure? Why does it always have to be out race or feminism or���?

Science fiction authors have a long history about putting ���second stories��� into their worlds. George Orwell and Margret Atwood outwardly wrote/writes social science fiction, but Ray Bradbury, Robert Heinlein, Frank Herbert, and Joe Halderman also delved into issues with their stories. So I don���t know when these readers thought science fiction only focused on escapism. That being said, there are escapist stories. Just look for them. I���m sure a google search of ���escapist science fiction��� will give you somewhere to look. In the bookstore, ask the bookseller, don���t just look at the pretty picture on the cover, flip the book over and read the blurb. Open the book and glance at the first chapter. Online, Check out the reviews. Look at the sub genres.

Authors create worlds. Sometimes the author will delve deep into the political or sociological issues of that universe, other times, not so much. I personally love to delve into��issues with my writing, but not all my writing is about how I view the world.

In closing,��I think there is room for all types of science fiction and all types of science fiction fans. I don���t need to like every single book to be a fan, nor do you. We can have conviction and still be respectful. Please remember, that we���re are a community and behind every avatar is a person wanting their voice to be heard.

A utopian vision of the future from a dystopian author

I was having trouble coming up with blogging ideas and some friends started throwing out ideas. Since��Other Systems��and the upcoming The Light Side of the Moon are��dystopian hard science fiction, a friend of mine challenged me to explain my vision of a utopia. Well, I accept that challenge, Sir.

He thought it would be hard.��I told him it���d be easy. ��I know what I believe. Once he sees this list, he might think I took him too seriously.

I will��describe my ideas honestly, however, I understand that not everyone will agree with me. You don���t have to. There are ideas that my entire family won’t agree with. Below are my opinions which were formed because I was born in a certain place and time, I was raised a certain way, and I love StarTrek. While many of the ideas I’m describing are in my science fiction work, this society I am describing is not in any of my books.

***

As an individual, you have the right to your person. No one owns anyone else. No matter who or how you are born, you have the right to choose your life in pursuit of your own happiness as long as it doesn���t hurt anyone else. Whether you were born man, woman, pangender, or agender, all were born equal and able to pursue your own happiness. Whether your skin is peach, tan, chocolate brown, or blue, no one is born better or worse.

As a species, humans will change our focus from consuming and gathering wealth to living as one���s authentic self, building something that matters, and helping our fellow humans.

We will live beside computers, androids, and other intellegent technologies, we will look toward the future.��

As we have domesticated animals for thousands of years, animals might still be kept as pets and livestock, but their lives would be treated with respect. Pets would be cared for with respect and dignity. Farm animals would live pleasant lives until they are harvested. Working animals (police and��service dogs) will be treated well and have places of honor upon their retirement.

Let���s look at some specifics.

Education:��From age 5, all children get to go a fully funded public school. Since this is my utopia, I am maxing class size at 10 students per 1 teacher. They will learn reading and writing in their home language, arithmetic, at least two foreign languages, art, music, science and technology.

Somewhere in adolescence the focus will shift from general knowledge towards career knowledge. All adults will have the opportunity to find gainful employment in a chosen field of study. This means ���Hey, I want to be an electrician?��� There is a FREE school for that with a workstudy program that���s paid with a LIVING WAGE.

Once finished, the school puts the student in touch with their local union and the union delegates job is to put me to work at a JOURNEY PERSON���s WAGE. They also make sure as technology changes there are opportunities to learn new tech. And as they advance in their careers they can make more money.

Wait! Free Education! Does this mean that somebody can cheat the system and go from educational track to educational track��without ever finding a real job? Yes. But I don���t think that would be the norm, because they could not succeed in any field if they didn���t take the next step to go on to journey person level.

What happens when a child is born?��In my utopia, each family will have 5 year of PAID Leave for childcare until child begins school.

What if someone is passionate about their work or just isn���t sure they���d be good at childcare?��Choose to take it as a credit to pay a nanny or pay Grandma. This can be for Moms or Dads. Or they can mix it up. Maybe, mom stays home for the first year, then dad stays home for the next, then they use the credit to pay for the nanny. It���s up to the family to decide.

What about technology changes during the time off?��Since education is free, parents��are able to get the education��they need to catch up!

What if someone is taken ill or otherwise has a health problem that doesn���t allow them to work?��In my utopia, medical care if free and they will be surrounded by members of their multigenerational home. If more care is needed, there is nursing establishments etc.

Safety Net for Families:��Baby won���t stop crying? Is your toddler bullying another kid at the playground? Are you just at your wits end with sibling rivalry? Is Grandpa is giving you advice that feels wrong? And you���ve read dozens of parenting blogs and everyone is saying something different?��In my utopia anyone can just call CPS. Don���t worry,��CPS��isn���t punitive; a social worker will set you up with a family counselor, help you locate a capable babysitter, local pediatrician, or whatever you need to be a better, more productive parent.��One thing the reader of this post will notice that I find a lot of wisdom in the old saying ���an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.��� If we can solve problems early,��we can cut crime and delinquency.��

Family Structure:��Most families, whether by blood, marriage, or friendship, will live in multigenerational homes.

Marriage:��as long both people are consenting adults, in my utopia, nobody cares who marries who. However all marriages will start with a trip to the premarital counseling which includes the family members the couple are living with and leaving. Families��will also discuss with mediators present distribution of wealth. If marriages need a tune up, marriage counseling is also available from CPS and other healthcare establishments.

Wait��� whose in charge then?��No one. Or it is decided within the family.

Personally, I have never met a married couple with an unequal relationship where at least one person did not resent the other. We are capable of love and respect and it is especially important in marriage. Divorce is hurtful to all involved.��In my utopia, divorces will become rare, because of mutual respect and the work done in advance.

Wait…Are you saying homosexuals get to raise children! Gasp!

Yes. As long as they raise that child with love,��tenderness, and care.

Elder Care:��The elderly will work as long as they can, perhaps changing jobs to something easier, then be given a living wage until death.

Hopefully, their living wage will be supplemented with extras from family or friends in their multi-generational home, but if not, nursing homes with a caring and well-educated staff will also be available.

Hospice care will fill everyone���s final days.

Health Care:��EVERYONE from birth to death gets universal free healthcare including nonjudgmental information on birth control and family planning.

What about Vaccinations?��In my utopia, they are required except for medical reasons.

Abortions?��In my utopia, they will be completely legal. (However my hope is with everyone having nonjudgmental family planning, they won���t be needed except in the most dire circumstances.)

How are doctors paid?��Handsomely by their medical establishment as their education and specialties dictate.

Anything else?��Yes, there will world-wide standardized forms in every language, so the average person can understand them and fill them out.��What, standardized forms! You can���t do that!�� Yes, I can. It���s my utopia, if you don���t like this you might want to skip the rest of this blog post.

Assuming you are still reading, here we go:

Exploration:��In order for us to continue to explore and evolve as humans, we need to map every centimeter of Earth and we need space travel. In order to be able to afford it, we need a world-wide government (or at least a world wide coalition)

Government:��The overall government will be broken up by regional districts so everyone feels represented. The government will serve the people. All adults vote and their votes matter.

To solve the problems we see in our current government, NO LOBBYEST GIFTS would be allowed. No free dinners. No free boats. Every campaign will be run on an itemized budget. It���s the age of computers! The IRS���s focus will shift from the individual taxpayer to corporate and campaign budgets.

Measurements:��The world would all be on the metric system (or another standardized system). The United States will stop holding out.

Infrastructure:��The world would make advancements in clean, renewable fuels from methane collection to solar power.

Computer and communication technology will be available to all.

Roads will be clear for society���s use. There would be many modes of transportation available.

Houses and Buildings would be clustered together with use in mind, with open green space for everyone���s use.�� Park lands would be consider sacred.

As my readers know, I’m pragmatic so let’s move on to��Crime:��Jail time and fines will be non-existent for misdemeanors���but community service based and focused on rehabilitation. Accidents will be dealt with by mediators and judges.

If it is such a big mistake that one must be removed from society (murder, rape, assault with the intent to kill, etc.) the person will serve jail time. Even in jail, the person would be treated with personal dignity to ensure this Correctional Officers would receive proper education and training. Prisoners will see their families as long as the families want to see them.

What about the family of a criminal?��In my utopia, no one pays for the crime, except the criminal. You and your family will be given the needed care to help rebuild trust.

Personal Weaponry:��People can have handguns and riffles, BUT must be licensed which includes gun safety courses for the entire household. Also every gun comes with a safety pin or some sort of biometrics reader and a camera on it. (That way only authorized people can fire it and the camera��can be used in case of��accident or murder.)

Civilian Police:��The police would only use nonlethal weapons and ALL police must have cameras that would be allowed in court. They would also not fear reprisals for entering therapy and have plenty of personal time.

Military:��It���s a sad fact that I believe we would always need some kind of defense system. In my utopia, however, we will not need anyone to protect a nation against another nation, because with a world government comes world peace. We can serve the goal of world peace with space travel and education. This military would work hand in hand with private corporations and government agencies in order to train soldiers to develop non-lethal weapons, and the building of infrastructure, and space exploration.

Distribution of Wealth:��A true progressive tax system would be installed to pay for the social benefits above. With standardized forms and computers to tabulate data, information is cheaper than ever before. The wealthy will pay more than the poor, and all debt forgivable.

Business Taxes:��Other than cost of business expenses, other tax relief for corporations will be non-existent.

Usury laws:��While some debt (business debt, mortgages) is a constant, usury laws will be in place to protect the poor. 1 – 5 % would be standard.

Religion:��All the world���s religions would stop fighting over dogmatic differences and decide to act with respect of individual worship styles. If you believe God has something against pigs, don���t eat pork, but that doesn���t mean you can burn your neighbor���s pig farm.

Taxing of Religions:��If an individual church, house of worship, mosque, or temple turns a profit, and sits upon the profit then yes they should be taxed as a business. However these entities can forgo taxes by running as Non-Profit Charity and serving the needs of the people surrounding them.

Well that���s pretty much everything I thought of. Challenge complete. Achievement unlocked. ��This started as my dearest, yet pragmatic, dream for humanity, so please everyone be respectful.

Update on The Light Side of the Moon

As you can see from the title, this��post is just��to give folks a��The Light Side of the Moon update.

I know people are curious–I just received another Facebook message from a fan.

So last week, my publisher and I began��speaking��about a release date��and this morning, I��awoke to a message in my email with my edited manuscript!

I went over the edits of the first 5 chapters. Mostly,��I like her suggestions and have started to work on them. In the three editing passes of��Other Systems, I was told over and over again to add more detail, I think this time, I might’ve added a bit too much. As I like to say, “On to new and better mistakes.” Maybe my next book will be just right. :)

While I can’t tell anyone exactly when the book is coming out yet, I received one question I can answer:��The Light Side of the Moon��will be released in multiple E-book formats and paperback.

Draft #3 of the Grove is finished…but no, its not done.

Draft #3 of The Grove is finished, but��all that means is it is ready to be sent to my first reader. This first reader is NOT my publisher. She is a friend of mine who loves fantasy–especially urban fantasy–which is why she is the one who gets��to read it. She also has a good sense of humor about reading books before they go on to the next draft and then off to publisher.

When is it coming out? I have no idea. While everyone tells you to get your book out yesterday, if I try to write rushed ��I write a bunch of crap. Besides even if my first reader LOVES it, I still have to sell it.

Other Systems took seven drafts before it was sold.

I tried to do less with The Light Side of the Moon, but then it went through a full rewrite. It was accepted for publication, then during editing I was told to change��some more things. If I add those in, I did about seven drafts.

This is how I create a novel:

Step��1: My outline.

Now this is a loose story written in a fews day with��major scenes and plot points.

Step 2: My first draft which is very rough and fast. I do about a chapter or couple scenes a day. I don’t worry about grammar. I sometimes don’t even add description or do research. There was actually a��tag that said: LOOK UP HOW WICCANS CAST A CIRCLE. Another said, DESCRIBE THE SOUND OF THE SEA

Cape Lookout Oregon State Park is inspiration for The Grove

Draft Two is when I��do research and ��add it into the manuscript.��Dialogue becomes crisper. If the characters want to not cooperate with the plot this is where they will change things.

Draft Three is where I make sure the character’s motivation feels real. I also look for TELLING��spots such as:Oliver visibly relaxed��and change it to something like: Oliver flopped onto his velvet couch��and unbottoned his fly, allowing his soft belly to fall over his waistband. (No this is not a real line in the book, but I think its funny.)

The final part of Draft Three is a self��copy-edit so the reader isn’t disgusted and confused by mistakes. Now��I can give it to a first reader and get some feedback.

Draft Four is where I add the feedback and change the story as needed.

Draft Five is��a heavy self copy-edit. This is also where I am going to start sending it out. If I happen to get any more feedback I use it to make the manuscript even better.

And on it goes.

So that’s my process, how many drafts do you go through?

 

Why I did not enjoy Jupiter Ascending…but you might…

While most people this weekend are talking about 50 shades, thankfully that’s not in my genre, so I’m explaining why��Jupiter Ascending was not for me.

��stars as Jupiter Jones, a Russian immigrant and a��maid in Chicago who gets targeted by a ruthless family. Her��life takes an unexpected turn when the genetically enhanced mercenary��comes looking for her.��If you love pretty imagery, a fun science-fiction story with no��science, you might love this film. The spaceships and buildings are gorgeous.

I watched it with my husband and my neighbor. We are all science fiction fans. Dennis and I didn’t enjoy it, while our neighbor did.

It was a beautiful movie, mixing science fiction with fantasy elements very reminiscent of Dune. For Dennis and me, there was serious storytelling flaws.��I can’t suspend disbelief when��magic boots save the day.

Before someone claims they weren’t magic, allow me to explain with this quote from the film.

Jupiter Jones: Are those flying boots?��

Caine: They harness the force of gravity, redirecting it into differential equation slips so you can surf.��

Jupiter Jones: Yeah, I heard “gravity” and “surf”.��

Caine: Up is hard, Down is easy.��

Jupiter Jones: Thank you, wow!

Wow is right. Because they still worked when there wasn’t gravity around. And when Caine hands were tied, he was able to��burn through his bonds. Why would we assume that gravity = heat?

The film has the same issues with genetic modifications which is a major plot point which I won’t go into since I don’t want to give spoilers. Since it��basically boils down to magic with the only explanation that we couldn’t understand due to our technological infancy, I rolled my eyes.

In fact, I rolled my eyes several times through the 127 minutes.

 

One of my guilty pleasures: the Food Network!

I feel no remorse, but one of my guilty pleasures��is cooking and cooking shows. Chopped, Guy’s Grocery Games, Cutthroat Kitchen are some of my favorites.

Why? Maybe because when I was a kid I loved game shows. I still do, but now I like it better when cooking is involved rather than trivia.

It’s nice to focus on something that is not science fiction or fantasy.

I get ideas for meals. Though on most days, I only cook for two people, I dread the words that every home cook dreads: what’s for dinner? ��Of all my chores, meal planning, cooking and keeping the kitchen clean takes the most time. I love to cook, I hate not knowing what to cook. I also tend to learn cooking techniques: one of the best hints I got was from Alton Brown.”If you need to add liquid, don’t add water that just waters it down, add broth or cream or …”

However, the truth is I watch them because��I like watching people freak out.

Five Time Management Tools for Writers

Some days, you might ask yourself, “Why do I still feel like I can’t get everything done?” Or “Why can’t I get any writing done?”

I’m going to make the assumption that everyone who reads this blog post is on Earth. That means we all have 24 hours a day. Those hours are broken into minutes, those minutes are broken into seconds.

While I am not debating the realities of time dilation, we ��like to think time is relative. It’s not. We say time flies when you are having fun or drags when you’re not, but the truth is we all have 24 hours a day. And since I have become an adult, all time is moving too fast. Even Virgil agrees:��

I lose chunks of time during the day. I have a house to keep, dogs to walk, and meals to cook. I have a curriculum and the accompanying handouts to write for my summer art courses. I have artwork and novels to create. While no one, not even me,��cannot eliminate interruptions, we��get a say on how much time we��spend on them.

Here is how I keep myself productive:

1) Every Sunday night, I write weekly to do lists broken down by project. ��

If I don’t get something done by the end of the week, it gets moved to the top of next week’s list.�� And you will notice two items for the coming week.��Last week’s list looked like:

To do: 1/19 ��� 1/24��

Other Systems Universe

TLSotM Reedit

Mon: Chap 26
Tues: Chap 27
Wed: Chap 28
Thur: Chap 29
Fri: Chap 30 ��� 31
Friday: Print out TLSotM manuscript (I’ve jury duty this��week)

Short Stories

The PeaceKeeper

Add ghost of commander
Name dead soldier
Add screaming victim about the False King

Other

Dentist Wednesday Jan 21 @ 12
Page 2 Books ��� pick up cosigned books and check
Inventory
State and City Taxes

Websites/Social Media

Twitter Goal: 10,000 followers
Blog Post for Mon 1/26

2) Alarm! Alarm! Alarm!

When I am writing, I set an alarm on my phone so I remember to pick up my husband from work or run timed errands such as my dentist appointment.

3) Meal Plans

I keep a weekly meal plan on the kitchen calendar so cooking is easy.��

B: PancakesL: Hotdogs w Chips

D: Steak Kabobs
B: Quiche & Cros.

L: Work

D: Orange Chick

w Rice
B: Ham Scramble

L: Work

D: French Dips
B: Sand w/ham

L: Work

D: Tacos
B: Eggs & BaconL: Work

D: Quinoa Salad
B: Sand w/baconL: Work

D: Spaghetti & Meatballs
B: Biscuits & Gravy

L: Orzo Salad

D: Enchiladas

4) Scheduled Chores

I keep a schedule with��weekly, monthly, and quarterly rotational chores. Monday is laundry, Tuesday is vacuuming, etc.��

5) Deadlines!

I use major conventions to act as deadlines both for writing and marketing projects.

So that’s how I get projects done, how do you do it?