Top 5 Things to Make the Writing World a Better Place
(Past Top 5 posts HERE.)
First, a couple of housekeeping items:Still haven't heard from Dan, winner of the redundancy contest. He'll forfeit his prize if I don't have a way to get the prize to him by Saturday night.
Book signings for Chocolate Never Faileth (with FUDGE SAMPLES at both!):
TODAY (Friday, October 1)BYU Bookstore, 5-8 PM
TOMORROW (Saturday, October 2)Deseret Book Flagship store, SLC4:00 - 5:30 PM
Now for today's post:
Top 5 Things to Make MY Writing World a Better Place
Writer's Digest had someone list the "top 5 things to make THE writing world a better place" in their top 10 issue.
I'm already taking the number down to 5, so I can change the premise, too, right?
Things to make MY writing world a better place:
1. A crystal ball.Not knowing is probably the worst part of writing and publishing. Whether it's submitting and waiting to hear back for acceptance or rejection or trying to figure out which of your ideas would be most marketable, or a hundred other things, not knowing is simply the worst. If I had a little crystal ball to consult about what to write, what's the right place for it, and just the right moment to hit SEND, aaaah . . . life would be so much easier.
2. WordPerfect as the industry standard.I love, love, love WordPerfect. It's the best and most user-friendly word processor out there. If a techno-idiot (like yours truly) doesn't know how to do something, you can muddle you way through figuring it out. (I have done so many a time.)
Not so with Word. That program, I swear, is of the devil. The newer versions are getting better, but dang, it's hard to figure anything out with it, and it refuses to listen to you, thinking it's smarter than you are.
When I first started writing, everyone took WP files: magazines, newspapers, and even my publisher. Not anymore. Now I have both programs, and I've been forced to learn Word, at least, parts of it. I still use WP whenever I can, though.
Because it's not lame.
3. A housekeeper and cook.That person would also do grocery shopping and laundry. Man, having someone else deal with all that would free up so much time!
Pardon while I bask in the fantasy . . .
4. Have a body that needs 4 hours of sleep. Or 5 or 6.As it is, I have a body that, to really function, needs around 8 1/2 or 9 hours of sleep regularly. Lately it's been about 7 1/2. Not good. (REALLY not good . . .) People talk about waking up early to write, and I admire that.
I hope they don't think I'm a wimp, but in all honesty, getting up two hours early is NOT an option for me if I want any semblance of a life (or if my children want a mom). Fatigue is a migraine trigger for me. If I cut out two hours of sleep, I'd wake up early, write, then collapse, whimpering, in a fetal position for the rest of the day. (I'm already paying for getting only 7 1/2 hours). But dang, I love the idea of being able to stay up late and get up early to get SO MUCH DONE.
5. A reward machine.You know: I made my word count for the day/finished research on this article/completed an edit for a client/revised this chapter/sent out 3 queries. Immediately a truffle pops out. Or a coupon for a free massage. Or a ten dollar bill. There's always a reward, but you never know what.
I'd be so productive!
What would make your (writing or other) world a better place?
© 2010 Annette Lyon, all rights reserved
First, a couple of housekeeping items:Still haven't heard from Dan, winner of the redundancy contest. He'll forfeit his prize if I don't have a way to get the prize to him by Saturday night.
Book signings for Chocolate Never Faileth (with FUDGE SAMPLES at both!):
TODAY (Friday, October 1)BYU Bookstore, 5-8 PM
TOMORROW (Saturday, October 2)Deseret Book Flagship store, SLC4:00 - 5:30 PM
Now for today's post:
Top 5 Things to Make MY Writing World a Better Place
Writer's Digest had someone list the "top 5 things to make THE writing world a better place" in their top 10 issue.
I'm already taking the number down to 5, so I can change the premise, too, right?
Things to make MY writing world a better place:
1. A crystal ball.Not knowing is probably the worst part of writing and publishing. Whether it's submitting and waiting to hear back for acceptance or rejection or trying to figure out which of your ideas would be most marketable, or a hundred other things, not knowing is simply the worst. If I had a little crystal ball to consult about what to write, what's the right place for it, and just the right moment to hit SEND, aaaah . . . life would be so much easier.
2. WordPerfect as the industry standard.I love, love, love WordPerfect. It's the best and most user-friendly word processor out there. If a techno-idiot (like yours truly) doesn't know how to do something, you can muddle you way through figuring it out. (I have done so many a time.)
Not so with Word. That program, I swear, is of the devil. The newer versions are getting better, but dang, it's hard to figure anything out with it, and it refuses to listen to you, thinking it's smarter than you are.
When I first started writing, everyone took WP files: magazines, newspapers, and even my publisher. Not anymore. Now I have both programs, and I've been forced to learn Word, at least, parts of it. I still use WP whenever I can, though.
Because it's not lame.
3. A housekeeper and cook.That person would also do grocery shopping and laundry. Man, having someone else deal with all that would free up so much time!
Pardon while I bask in the fantasy . . .
4. Have a body that needs 4 hours of sleep. Or 5 or 6.As it is, I have a body that, to really function, needs around 8 1/2 or 9 hours of sleep regularly. Lately it's been about 7 1/2. Not good. (REALLY not good . . .) People talk about waking up early to write, and I admire that.
I hope they don't think I'm a wimp, but in all honesty, getting up two hours early is NOT an option for me if I want any semblance of a life (or if my children want a mom). Fatigue is a migraine trigger for me. If I cut out two hours of sleep, I'd wake up early, write, then collapse, whimpering, in a fetal position for the rest of the day. (I'm already paying for getting only 7 1/2 hours). But dang, I love the idea of being able to stay up late and get up early to get SO MUCH DONE.
5. A reward machine.You know: I made my word count for the day/finished research on this article/completed an edit for a client/revised this chapter/sent out 3 queries. Immediately a truffle pops out. Or a coupon for a free massage. Or a ten dollar bill. There's always a reward, but you never know what.
I'd be so productive!
What would make your (writing or other) world a better place?
© 2010 Annette Lyon, all rights reserved
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