Colby R. Rice's Blog, page 3

Are You Ready To Write Your First Novel?

It is often said that everyone has at least one great novel, book, or story inside them. Writing a book is also something that is on a bucket list of things someone wants to do before they die. You might think that you don’t have the right mindset to write a novel, but you’d be surprised. A lot of people find that once they get started the words simply flow across the page. 

Before we look at how to write your first novel, let’s explore why this could be a fantastic choice for you.

Why Should You Write A Novel?

Writing a novel is always going to take up a lot of your time so it’s worth considering why you should do this. The good news is that there are lots of benefits to writing your first novel. For instance, you could find that it’s a great way to deal with your thoughts and emotions. If you have a lot of thoughts in your head that you are ignoring, then it can be quite stressful. Writing a novel will help you deal with them far more effectively and ensure that they don’t cause you a lot of stress. Some people also find that writing a novel and escaping into a fantasy world is incredibly relaxing. 

Of course, the main benefit of writing a novel is to make money. You shouldn’t start a novel purely with the idea of earning money, but it’s a side hustle that could be worth exploring. People often think that it’s going to be difficult making money publishing a novel and this isn’t quite true. It’s easier than ever to publish a novel. Rather than waiting for the support of a literary agent, you can choose to self-publish. Self-publishing will mean that you don’t have to deal with the issue of being rejected. 

Getting Inspiration 

Now that you understand some of the clear benefits of writing a novel, you should think about how you can get inspiration for your first novel. If you speak to authors, they will tell you that you should be reading plenty of novels. For instance, you might be thinking about writing a fantasy novel. If so, then you should look at various good fantasy books to make sure you understand exactly the type of novels that readers like. As well as providing you with inspiration, this is also a great way to ensure that you don’t copy or imitate ideas that authors have already put on the page. 

When you are reading different novels, it could be worth writing some notes. The benefit of writing notes is that you will know what you have read and you won’t accidentally copy ideas when it comes to putting your own to the page. This can happen if you are not careful here. 

Another way to get inspiration is by thinking about the novels that were interesting to you when you were younger. It’s possible that you can reinvent and bring new life to some older ideas. 

Decide On A Plan

It’s also important to make sure that you are deciding on a plan when you are writing your novel. For instance, you might want to think about laying out the different chapters and sections. This is a smart choice if you are prone to writing yourself into a corner and struggling to reach compelling conclusions. When you are writing a plan, you should make sure that each planned chapter has a point. If there is a chapter that seems to go off on a tangent then you can think about removing this from your plan. 

You might be under the assumption that a great chapter needs to be hundreds and thousands of words. But this is not the case. If you keep your novel short and sweet then you are more likely to have a page-turner on your time. Pageturners are always going to be popular with audiences and readers because they – as the name suggests – keep them turning the page. 

If you are not sure how to write compelling stories, then you should think about taking a class. Writing is at least partially a talent but you can learn how to write great stories by signing up for a course. Some of these can be explored online and are run by successful teachers. 

Publication Choices 

Finally, you should think about how you are going to publish your novel once it’s finished. As mentioned, you can think about speaking to a literary agent or self-publishing. A lot of people believe that you can speak directly with a publisher. However, the reality is that most publishers will not accept unsolicited manuscripts. As such, you need to make sure that you do think about getting the support of a literary agent to rep you instead. 

The likelihood is that you will be rejected the first few times that you send your book to a literary agent. However, the general rule of thumb is that there isn’t anything wrong with your novel unless it has been rejected more than ten times. If this is the case, then you might want to think about reworking the novel and correcting some of the issues. 

Be aware that if you are struggling to get the right attention, self-publishing can still be a great option. You just need to explore the resources that will work for you such as Amazon. 

We hope this helps you understand some of the key steps that you need to take to ensure that you are ready to write your first novel. Remember, you can approach this as a hobby or as a business venture. Regardless, it could provide some fantastic benefits. You might find that this is the start of a brilliant new career or a way to deal with your various emotions and feelings. The hardest part will be figuring out what you want to write about and completing that first page. Once you have done this, you will be well on your way to completing your first full novel. 

What to Consider When Expanding Your Business

Every business owner has dreams. Dreams of growing their company, making more money, and being able to have a better life for themselves and their family. However, when the time comes to take that leap into uncharted territory by expanding your business, there are many things you should consider first before taking that fateful step forward. In this blog post, we will share with you ten things to think about when expanding your company so you can make the best decision possible!

#1 Do market research

The first thing you need to think about is whether or not the market can support your expansion. Then, look at things like demographics, population statistics and data, etc. Next, you want to make sure that there are enough people who could potentially buy what you’re selling so that it’s a worthwhile investment on your part!

Make sure that the market is stable, has potential for growth, doesn’t have too much or not enough competition so that there’s room for you to play! You should also consider what makes you unique and different from other businesses in this area when it comes time to discuss expansion with your team/family members/investors.

#2 Find a larger office space if necessary

If your business is large enough to warrant the need for more space, you will have a few different options available to you. The first option is buying an office building/building your own offices on property that already belongs to the company (owned). This might mean finding land and actually pitching in with construction work, so it’s something worth considering! 

Another option would be renting new office space where you can move all of your employees into their new digs without having to worry about coming up with the money for renovations or anything like that. You can click here if you need any help with moving your offices, because moving a business can sometimes feel like a monumental task!

#3 Consider your cash flow

Before taking on any big project like expanding your business, you need to make sure that you have enough money coming in from all angles. This means making sure that current customers are happy with the service they receive and staying aware of what new technologies might help boost sales for your company!

It’s also essential to think about how much it will cost to expand – rent/lease out offices? Pay employees more or hire additional staff members? Buy equipment? etc. Make a detailed list, so there aren’t any unexpected costs along the way.

#4 Adapt your marketing strategy accordingly

Your marketing strategy should be a living, breathing thing that adapts to changes in the industry. However, you might have it set up right now – is there anything that could potentially change? For example, social media has really taken off since its beginnings, and many people use their smartphones as much (if not more) as computers these days! Think about how your company’s website or advertising campaign would look on a smartphone screen if this shift were to take place and adjust accordingly, so you’re still reaching customers effectively!

Also, consider your own personal goals for the future of your business when looking at expanding/adapting marketing strategies. Are there new things you’d like to try out with marketing efforts? If so, then take the time to plan out these changes or additions before taking on any new projects!

How To Set Up A Home Office That Is Both Comfortable And Productive

When it comes to working from home, there are numerous perks, not the least of which is a two-minute commute from bed to the coffee machine to work. However, while many people believe that working from home entails working on the sofa, in the backyard, or even from your bed, you may discover that you are most productive at home when you work at a professional workstation – a dedicated desk and chair. 

Here, we look at how to set up a home office that is both comfortable and productive – you will find that you never want to actually leave it!

Find the right space for your home office

For some people, this is something they have little or no control over. They only have one space for the home office, whether that is ideal or not. Others have a little more choice and flexibility. It is necessary to think imaginatively about your office when you are limited in space. If you do not mind packing up your office area before every meal, you can always use a section of the kitchen table as your office space as necessary. However, you may not find the idea of restarting your workspace after every meal appealing. In that situation, you may need to consider how you may make the most of the limited area you do have. In larger rooms, look for underutilized corners, large closets, and even beneath the stairs. With a little imagination, there are numerous areas that can be transformed into an office. 

When setting up your home office, think about who else will be using it and then choose the space and furniture to suit their needs. Will your children use the office for schoolwork as well, and will your partner be able to work from home as well? A partner desk setup is one where two people may work at the same desk at the same time, which is ideal for collaborative projects. 

Is it possible that clients are dropping by? While it is possible to meet with them in the living room, this may not always be the ideal option in every situation. Make sure you provide sitting and table space for your clients as well.

Make sure that you have the right equipment

When it comes to furnishing your home workspace with the furniture, equipment, technology, communications, and supplies that you will need to run your business, there are three key considerations to keep in mind: business requirements, personal comfort, and economic constraints. 

According to the type of business you own and operate, you may want to consider investing in a new computer. For example, if you want to conduct graphic-intensive work, such as web design, it may be advisable to invest in a computer with a faster processing speed and more RAM than you now have. It is also a good idea to make sure that you solve any issues that your computer has as soon as they appear. You can find out more about some of the problems and how to fix them here.

Choose a chair that is comfortable, has the appropriate height, and provides adequate back and arm support for the type of work you will be doing on your computer. If you want to put your feet up while working, keep a small footstool under your desk for comfort. Install a slide-out keyboard holder to raise the height of your computer keyboard to the appropriate level for easy and comfortable operation of the keyboard. Place your computer mouse in an easily accessible location, and utilize wrist rests to protect your wrists from strain.

Make sure that the lighting is adequate

It is quite easy to ignore the value of your work environment on your capacity to perform your job duties effectively. Lighting is frequently overlooked as a design consideration. In an ideal situation, you have enough indirect light to brighten your workspace, allowing you to readily read papers and view physical objects on your desk. Overhead illumination, such as that provided by a ceiling lamp, is usually the most effective. 

Indirect lighting refers to lights that are not directly in your field of vision or that are reflected off your monitor. When the sun is shining, for example, glare from an outside window behind or to the side of your workstation can cause a distorted image on your monitor screen. Natural light is fairly pleasant, but it should be diffused by shades or drapes so that it does not generate glare on the walls or ceiling.

Love Video Games? Try These Hobbies For Some IRL Fun!

Despite what parents and the older generation will say, having a love of video games isn’t a bad thing. Online gaming has many benefits as it is a way to meet new people and occupy your time if you’re feeling stressed. Still, you have to admit that being cooped up in your room for too long is not great for your health. Ideally, you want to spend some time outdoors or away from a screen. So, here’s a selection of hobbies that will let video game lovers enjoy some in-real-life fun. Each hobby is perfect for you as it gives you the same thrill of a video game, but minus a screen!

Airsoft

Airsoft is basically like playing a first-person shooter game in real life. For lovers of the Call of Duty franchise, this is an excellent hobby to take up. Effectively, you carry an airsoft spring pistol or rifle, and you run around trying to shoot the enemy team. There are plenty of airsoft arenas or companies out there that will set up these games for you and some friends. Or, you can buy your own kit and try to set one up yourself. In essence, small pellets are fired from the guns at the other people. It is safe when you wear the right protection, but it can sting slightly. Still, it’s nothing compared to paintball, so this is a less painful option for shooter game lovers!

Exploring

Do you love open-world video games that let you explore a whole new place as much as you like? The game that springs to mind here is The Witcher 3, which lets you traverse across many open plains and fields, exploring a world and enjoying the beauty of it. Well, you can literally do this in real life by getting some hiking shoes on and going exploring. Walk across the countryside, find a local forest to explore, or go hiking up a hill/mountain with friends. It’s a great way to be active while making it feel like you’re the main protagonist in an open-world video game!

Role-Playing Board Games

One of the beauties of gaming is that you often get to play a character and enjoy all the cool attributes they have. Another joy is that you get to spend time with friends that also enjoy playing games. So, role-playing board games – like Dungeons and Dragons – are the perfect IRL hobby to get the same thrill. Here, you get to play as a character and really get into the role, but there’s also the video game element of strategizing and playing your way through a story. Plus, you have friends with you to enjoy the fun; it’s basically a video game, just you aren’t staring at a screen and damaging your eyes!

To reiterate, there’s nothing wrong with playing video games! It’s just that you should take breaks now and then to give your eyes a rest, and to be a bit more active and sociable. So, these three hobbies are the perfect place to start as they give you things to do while still retaining some video game elements.

CEFJ #113 My Q2 2021 Creative Achievements Round Up! (7/21/21)

Ya girl is TIRED! But as I move into the new quarter, I look back on my achievements with pride and a feeling of closure. Despite our challenges with COVID, lots of amazing things have manifested during my Q2 for this year, and I can’t wait to share them with you! Check it out:

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

00:00 – Intro: Life is Beautiful… as usual (knock on wood! lol!)02:38 – Q2 was successful… but a LOT slower (thankfully) + Q1 Review06:20 – Surviving and Thriving During Our First Full Academic Year as Teacher (Me) and Student (My Daughter) in COVID13:44 – I GOT TWO PROMOTIONS AT MY JOB & SCHOOL!!16:16 – Designing a Brand New Theatre/TV/Film Program for My High School!25:20 – Self-care, Painting, Traveling (COVID-safe, course!), and My Birthday!27:50 – Eating Humble Pie and Drinking STFU Milk: My First Round of Rejections!30:40 – Applying to MORE Fellowships31:35 – My TV & Screenwriting Achievements and Awards!!37:37 – Celebrating, Acknowledge, and Appreciate Your Wins, No Matter How Small They May Seem!44:14 – The (Slow) Growth of My Writing Portfolio & Creative Projects for Q253:02 – Creative Uni Updates53:30 – What’s Coming Up for Q3 2021!1:00:31 – But Still, I Chill… because It Is SUMMER and NYC is OPEN!!1:01:07 – Contest, Fellowship, and Application Results that Are Coming Up during Q3!1:03:35 – Bye, Lovelies! Colby Signing Off.MY Q2 WINS & ACHIEVEMENTS:TEACHINGFINISHED OUR COVID SCHOOL YEAR WITH FLYING COLORS!!! Created a few new INCREDIBLE units for learning the business of film and television, and I re-focused on my day job with renewed vigor so that I could finish the year on a strong noteMY CAREER, MONEY, AND JOB PROSPECTS ARE POPPIN’!!! JOB TITLE’S BEEN UPGRADED!! Got offered a film teaching job at another school, but then my current school counter offered with an incredible offer and two promotions, so I took it. I am officially the Grade Level Chair for the 11th grade and I am also the Department Head for the entire Electives department. I also get to turn my Theatre program into a Theatre, Film, and Television program!Designed and submitted a 2021-2022 scope and sequence for the new Theatre, Film, and Television program and it’s DELICIOUS!!
TV WRITING CONTEST, OPPORTUNITIES, AND FELLOWSHIP APPLICATIONSApplied to 9 more TV writing programs, contests, and fellowships, including the Walt Disney ABC TV Writing ProgramREJECTIONS: I also got my first round of real rejections this month, too! I was rejected from the Circle of Confusion Writer Discovery Fellowship, the Mentorship Matters program, and the Sesame Street Writers’ Workshop. I was sad about these rejections, but definitely not deterred. I’ll have more time to prune and polish my current portfolio, add to my portfolio of scripts, hire a real industry script consultant and coach, and I’ll also have the opportunity to try again next year!
TV WRITING & SCREENWRITING AWARDS AND OFFERSWON A $2500 FELLOWSHIP TO WRITERS’ BOOTCAMP!!! (4/12)Got an incredible MAJOR offer to start developing WHEN IN ROHM for other industry opportunities (4/21)My script EZEKIEL won the Sci-fi & Fantasy Award at WriteMovies.com’s Science Fiction & Fantasy Award!! (6/11)My script EZEKIEL placed as a Quarterfinalist in the WriteMovies.com’s Spring 2021 Screenwriting Contest (7/2)My script WHEN IN ROHM placed as a Quarterfinalist in the WeScreenplay 2021 Diverse Voices Screenwriting Lab!! (6/15)My script WHEN IN ROHM made the Second Round of the Launch Pad Pilot Competition 2021 (7/2)Got offered an interview with the Director of the Write Movies Contests about my Grand Prize win in their Winter 2021 Contest!!!! It’ll stream LIVE on July 15 for all the world to see. Here’s the link about it: https://writemovies.com/july-15th-exclusive-interview-with-our-sci-fi-and-fantasy-award-winner/
TV WRITING & SCREENWRITING PORTFOLIORewritesFINISHED draft #2 of the EZEKIEL pilotFINISHED draft #3 of the WHEN IN ROHM pilotMy dramaturg, Claire Z, is amazing!!The Mandalorian TV spec scriptFINISH studying and breaking down episodes from THE MANDALORIAN seriesFINISH the skeleton outline for THE MANDALORIAN specWrote 3 pages for the MANDALORIAN first draft (4/18)Surrogate TV pilotContinued outlining Surrogate through Jeff Gordon’s Writer’s Bootcamp courseContinued writing rough draft of Surrogate through Jeff Gordon’s Writer’s Bootcamp courseAsylum TV pilotContinued outlining Asylum through Script Anatomy’s Televisionary courseWhen in Rohm featureWorked on the outline for the WHEN IN ROHM feature MY Q3 GOALS SHORTLIST: Finish several drafts of the WHEN IN ROHM special project w/ WriteMovies (sending a first solid draft due Aug 15)Publishing FRATERNITY, which is Book #4 of The Books of Ezekiel series Finishing the outline for HOLLOW POINT, which is Book #5 of The Books of Ezekiel seriesPublishing the paperback version of The Camille, Episode 1 (my femmepunk, cyberpunk, technothriller serial)Starting the audiobook production of The Camille, Episode 1Publishing the serial series version for WHEN IN ROHM on Kindle Vella: https://www.amazon.com/kindle-vella/p... of course, kicking off the brand new Theatre, Film, and TV program at my high school for my kids!

I’m trying to chill this summer, but forewarning: with all my goals, this summer may have ZERO chill, lol! Still, I’m trying my best to relax and will at least work on my writing every day. Aiming for “structure” rather than “schedule” is truly the name of my summer chill game. I’ll let you guys know how it works out!

In the meantime, keep it indie, stay badass, and keep creating, lovelies! And most importantly? KEEP WRITING!

xo,
Colby

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Setting Up a Remote Business? Here Are Some Steps to Take!

At the moment, a huge number of businesses are switching to remote working. The coronavirus and Covid-19 pandemic has seen governments around the world encouraging people to spend as much time as possible at home, which has seen office workers and others who can work on a remote basis do so. Companies have found that this reduces operating costs and doesn’t negatively impact productivity. If you’re considering setting up your own business now, you may be considering doing so on a remote basis for similar reasons. Here are a few steps to take if you do decide to do this.

Maintain Your Privacy

It’s important to maintain your privacy when working from home. Here are a few ways to achieve this.

Address

It’s a requirement to provide customers with a business address. This will allow people to get in touch with you via post, as well as sending returns or exchanges. When you run a business from a brick and mortar store, this is simple. You can simply give the store address that everyone is aware of and that is freely available online anyway. However, when you work from home, you may find that the only address you have access to is your home address. You don’t want this to be publicly available. Instead, you can use a provider like https://physicaladdress.com/. They will provide you with a virtual address where people can send items and correspondence that will be redirected to you.

Phone Number

As with your address, you’re not going to want everyone having free access to your phone number. This could result in unwanted or prank calls. You also don’t want your business calls to be coming through to your personal phone around the clock. When you have a business number, you can turn the phone off outside of your working hours and disconnect from work during your time off. There are plenty of reasonable tariffs out there specifically aimed at businesses.

Email Address

You may have got the gist of this by now, but you should also have a business email address over a personal email address. This should have your business name within it, for example, yourname@yourbusiness.com. This will give a professional appearance and will give people confidence in contacting you. There are a number of professional providers out there who can achieve this for you.

Ensure You Have Sufficient Storage

Of course, when you operate from a tangible, commercial premise, this will provide you with space to store the goods you’re planning on selling. When you operate your business from home, you’re going to need to make sure that you have sufficient space to store the items until they’re sold, without compromising your own living space. All too many remote startups end up filling their personal spaces with stock, thinning the line between home and business and creating problems with others who live in the property. Instead, good storage options include loft space, unused garage space, unused spare rooms or professional storage facilities.

These are just a couple of areas of focus. Hopefully, they’ll help you to get things started out on the right foot!

How Can I Reduce The Cost Of Medical Bills?

Many people find it difficult to budget for big unexpected costs like medical bills. This is particularly the case with writers, who often live on an irregular income. Even with health insurance in place, it’s still easy to be caught out by high deductibles or treatment costs that aren’t covered. Below are a few ways to reduce the cost of medical bills.

Choose the right health insurance plan

A good health insurance plan will cover the majority of your treatment. You should be careful of cheap plans that don’t cover you for basic or common procedures. A high deductible plan can also be dangerous – while you may pay low monthly rates, you’ll have to pay more out of your own pocket when it comes to actually making a claim. Always weigh up the costs with the coverage to make sure that you’re not paying a monthly fee for nothing.

Take time to shop around for treatment

Different clinics may charge different rates. While you may not have time to shop around for treatment in an emergency, it’s definitely something that you should do when it comes to planned treatment. Some people travel to other states or even other countries in order to reduce the cost of treatment. Even with the cost of flights factored in, you may still save money overall on expensive treatments like surgery by looking further afield (a $30,000 heart operation in the US could cost as little as $8,700 in India – and you’ll usually get the same level of care).

Know what you’re legally entitled to

A lot of people don’t realize that they’re entitled to financial support such as medicaid. Your state may even offer cheap and free treatment options based on your income. There’s also the possibility of seeking legal compensation when it comes to accidents and acts of medical practice. For instance, when you are rear ended in a car accident and develop an injury, you will likely be able to file a lawsuit to help cover treatment. Make sure that you’re getting the financial help that you deserve.

Know when to negotiate

Like many big expenses in life, it’s possible to negotiate the price. Treatment planned in advance can sometimes be lowered by offering to pay it in advance. In others cases, you can often still ask for discounts. Remember to go through your clinic’s billing department and not through your doctor – the doctors often aren’t the ones setting the prices and have little control over this area.

Look after your health

By far the best thing that you can do to reduce medical expenses is to lead a healthy lifestyle. Eating the right foods, doing exercise, not smoking and relieving stress could be enough to prevent the majority of common health conditions. As for avoiding injuries, wear protective equipment where necessary and don’t be too reckless. Looking after your health may not do much against genetic health problems, but it could still save you thousands on those lifestyle-affected health problems.

How Parents Can Nurture Their Child’s Love of Learning

Some parents have to really work hard to get their children to focus on their education. And that’s not all that surprising — in fact, that’s the experience that most parents have! However, some parents have a different experience. If you have a child that seems to love learning, then first, congratulations. And second, you may want to look into nurturing this love of learning. It’s a good idea to encourage your child in anything for which they show passion. But when it’s learning, it’s even more important. There is, of course, a strong correlation between level of education and future success. In this blog, we’ll offer some tips for ensuring that their love of learning becomes permanent.

Trips to the Museum

If your child loves learning, then why not take them to the centers of learning? Going to a museum doesn’t just provide a fun family day out; it also gives your child access to the best of the best. It actually doesn’t matter what type of museum you go to, however. It can be a small local museum or an internationally recognized one. The whole point is that you’re instilling a love of visiting places where the priority is on learning and growth. Art museums are especially good if your kids are young, too, since all they’ll need to do is look.

Fill the Home With Books

Of course, you can’t go to a museum every day. As such, it’s a good idea to focus on ensuring that your home offers a nurturing learning experience. There are plenty of ways to do this, but one of the best ways is to fill your home with books. Whenever your child is bored, they may just pick up a book and begin reading. Of course, it’s important that they’re books that your child can read (as opposed to something that’s too advanced). Educational books for teens will be a good option if your child is around 13/14, while slightly more simple books will be better if they’re younger. As with the museums, having books in the home will help to set the tone that learning is normal. 

Encourage Creativity

A lot of parents try to quash their child’s creativity. But this, of course, is not the smart approach. Your child might be smart, but it’ll be their creativity that makes them stand out from the crowd. Engaging in creative activities and giving your child the freedom to play around and create things will encourage them to think in this way.

Ask Questions 

It’s easy to become a little bit annoyed at all the questions that children can ask, but if you can overcome that brief moment of annoyance, then you’ll find that it’s actually a highly worthwhile activity. One good approach is to turn the tables, and instead of fielding questions from your child, you can ask them questions. It’ll help to take their grain of curiosity and see what they can come up with. Make it a daily occurrence if possible! 

Seven Hobbies That Can Get You Addicted To DIY

If you’re looking to become a more capable and handy person around the home, the kind that can make all kinds of repairs and even restyle it at your own whim, then DIY is a skill that’s essential to learn. A lot of people learn DIY by taking on several small jobs, building up their knowledge piecemeal at a time. However, you can become even more competent and proactive by focusing your time on some hobbies that can not only help you style and fix your home as you please but get a lot more confident in getting hands-on with all manner of challenges.

Crafting

The most basic place to start is with getting your hands on some simple crafts. From making wreaths for the front door to creating vignettes to serve as the focal point of a room, crafts are the simplest way to get used to using your hands and making your own additions to the home. What’s more, they’re all temporary, meaning it’s easy to try again if you don’t like the results at first. Most of them use materials that are incredibly easy to find as well and, as you get more experienced, you can attempt more and more complex crafts that can be complemented with the skills developed in the other hobbies mentioned here.

Handicraft

This is the term typically used to cover a range of fabric-based crafts, such as sewing, knitting, and crocheting. Sewing is typically the most practical when it comes to both home and clothing repair applications, but all of them have their benefits. For one, they’re great for training hand-eye coordination, as well as developing observation skills, learning patterns of movement, and then applying them with your own hands. Starting with a beginner’s sewing kit, you can easily start to learn the basics of sewing two fabrics together and, as time goes on, you can even learn to DIY your own bedsheets, your own curtains, and much more. Of course, with knitting, you can even create them from scratch.

Woodworking

The range of things that can be repaired with the right handicraft skills is high. However, the range of things that can be made, repaired, or altered with woodworking skills is nearly infinite. Even today, many household products and fixtures are made with wood. As such, you should start to look at the basic woodworking skills that you can learn to make you well equipped for all manner of repairs, improvements, and alterations. Chiseling, planing, cutting woods, and the like are all separate skills, but they come together to offer a practical understanding of wood, how to shape it, and how to make sure that all the wooden fixtures and furnishings in your home can stay stable and reliable for much longer than they might otherwise.

Glassworking

Though not a skill that is as widely learned as woodworking, glassworking helps you develop technical competency just as much and can be used in all manner of applications. Being able to install and fit your own glass panes is a challenging task, but there are many different decorate things that you can do, as well, especially if you know where to buy stained glass. There are plenty of different decorative items you can pursue with stained glass, such as mosaics, fused glassware, glass molds, and more. And stained glass is only one of the types of glassworking that you can take part in. Glass is always seen as a luxurious and glassy material to decorate with, so learning to do it yourself can help you inject a lot of your own style into the home.

Gardening

Though it might not be seen as much of a DIY pursuit as working with wood or with fabrics, taking care of the garden is still very much a skill that most homeowners should seek to develop at some point. Being able to maintain a simple schedule of maintenance, learning to weed, and care for grass in the most efficient ways and the like can all help make your exterior much easier to care for. However, if you want to push yourself, you can even get into landscaping projects, like creating raised beds, erecting retainer walls, and installing your own irrigation systems into your garden to shape it even more to your preferences.

Upcycling

Though not really an independent discipline all on its own, tending to rely on different creative processes, such as upholstering, painting, and some woodworking, learning to upcycle can be a great hobby to pursue. It helps you practice many of the above-mentioned skills, for one, but it also teaches you to get used to applying those skills in a practical manner, using existing furniture to create new and improved furniture. There are plenty of places to find upcycling projects that you can try, ranging in various difficulties. As you get more used to working with physical furniture rather than just raw materials, you can also get a lot more confident in making DIY fixes to the various furnishings and fixtures in your own home, as well.

Pottery

Pottery might not be as practical a skill, on the face of it, like gardening or woodworking or upcycling. After all, few of us have too many items in the home made by way pottery. However, it can be a great way to get an understanding of how to make and repair ceramics (though repair is typically much more difficult.) What’s more, pottery is a relaxing pursuit, one that doesn’t require as much in the way of tools or vigorous movements as glass or woodworking. It’s great for improving your motor skills and hand-eye coordination, like most crafts, but is also a very creative artform, as well. You can make and create pottery projects of all kinds with even a beginner’s pottery wheel.

Learning the hobbies above won’t make you a DIY dynamo overnight. They can, however, help you grow to be more competent, confident, and make it much easier to learn future DIY skills in the future.

CEFJ #112 My Q1 2021 Creative Achievements Round Up! + Winning My First Screenwriting Contest!! (4/1/21)

This quarter has been insane, high-speed, and exhausting… but it’s also been amazing, exhilarating, and rewarding!! Ya girl is out here winning, and I’m so incredibly stoked that I can’t contain myself, lol! Check out the podcast for what I’ve been up to lately, but for those of you who just want to get straight to the tea, here’s a short list:

MY Q1 WINS & ACHIEVEMENTS:

Finished and polished TWO PILOTS!Submitted to 40+ screenwriting / TV writing opportunities, labs, and fellowships!WHEN IN ROHM won the GRAND PRIZE in the WINTER 2021 SCREENWRITING CONTEST at writemovies.com!!! AAAAHHH!!!!!WHEN IN ROHM was ranked in the 91st percentile for the first round of the WeScreenplay Diverse Voices ContestI won a $1000 scholarship to the Writers Bootcamp’s “Basic Training” program via their African American Perspectives Fellowship (describe the project I pitched)EZEKIEL placed as a Quarterfinalist (amongst 4,300) scripts in the 2021 Screencraft Screenplay Fellowship Contest!EZEKIEL was ranked in the 69th percentile in the WeScreenplay Diverse Voices Contest. Was featured on the women’s history panel for the high school I teach at and discussed my novel writing, screenwriting, and directing!!

MY Q2 GOALS SHORTLIST:

– re-edit, shore up, and re-polish my EZEKIEL pilot
– finish up my animation pilot (PI SLEUTHS)
– write and polish 2 more NEW pilots
– write and polish 1 spec script (THE MANDALORIAN)
– apply to the last remaining screenwriting & TV writing contests for Q2
– apply to the major TV writing fellowships (May)
– FINISH Jen Grisanti’s “How to Write a TV Pilot that Sells: Finding Story” course
– FINISH Jen Grisanti’s “Storywise Teleseminar” course

CONTESTS I’LL HAVE UPDATES ON BY MY Q2 ROUND UP (JUNE 30):

Sesame Street Writers WorkshopCircle of Confusion Mentorship MattersFilm Independent LabSustainable Arts Foundation Semi-finalist, Finalist, and Winner news for the 2021 Screencraft Screenwriting Fellowship Quarterfinalist and Semifinalist news for the 2021 ScreenCraft True Story & Public Domain CompetitionQuarterfinalist and Semifinalist news for the 2021 WeScreenplay Diverse Voices ContestQuarterfinalist news for the Script Pipeline TV Writing Contest for both scripts

It’s so refreshing to see what can happen when you keep your dreams front of you and your nose on the grindstone. Please wish me luck as I shoot off into Q2!! Can’t wait to update you on my progress in July!

In the meantime, keep it indie, stay badass, and keep creating, lovelies! And most importantly? KEEP WRITING!

xo,
Colby

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