Tuesday, November 19, 2013

THE OLD ADAGE IS TRUE

That adage that I heard growing up; Time is money...boy do I know it!

I don't ever seem to have enough of it. Time or Money. Take for instance this month. Every weekend of this month, I have had time and money issues.

The first weekend was spent in Texas; the next weekend was spent in Vegas and then the following weekend was spent in Philly. During the week before the weekend trips; well that was spent at work. Twelve hours a day on some days and then packing for another trip.

My life began to look like a game show, I'll call it, "What's the Weather Like Where You Are?"  (Hint: pay attention to the $ at the end of each paragraph)

I'll guess...what is 50 degrees for $200. Wrong! Texas was in the low 60's so that cute little spring dress that I had was replaced by a very cute brown pantsuit that I had to BUY once there. Then the time came to unpack, and pack again for Vegas. $$

Oh I'll guess What is 70 degrees for $200. Wrong! Damn it! Vegas was a very balmy 80 degrees.  So those long sleeve shirts that I packed had to be replaced. Off to the store I go to buy short sleeved t-shirts that would be cool enough during the day but keep me warm enough at night. Additional (jacket) purchase $$$

Now for the trip to Philly. I KNOW I will get this right. I will guess What is 60 degrees for $200. Wrong!

OK, so the expletives that came out of my mouth was far to much for this blog.

So there I am, in Philly with a long sleeve shirt and a fleece hoodie.  And that was it! I didn't wear jeans because I thought, hey; these black leggings will keep me warm enough. Wrong. I didn't wear a tank top under my shirt because this long sleeve shirt and hoodie will be enough. Wrong Again! and I didn't wear a top coat because; well let's face it; I was trying to be CUTE and you can't be cute with your outfit that you spent all of that TIME picking out; being covered up with some dumb coat. Lesson... $$$$

So here I am, sitting at my desk looking at all of my receipts of things that had to be bought because of all of the TIME I got the dumb weather wrong.

This weekend will be even busier because I have a formal gala to attend and we won't even talk about the amount of money that is being spent to prepare for this momentous event!

Oh, but let's not forget one thing. I bought back a COLD from Vegas so not only have I spent more money on clothing I am now spending money on cold medications. $$$$$$

Oh yes....Time is money and in my case...money is looking like the lost 'episode' of "Where did it go?"

Monday, November 11, 2013

IN THE BEGINNING, MIDDLE AND END...

Today while many of us have Veteran's Day off, I am spending my long weekend in Las Vegas. I couldn't let this moment pass without blogging. Oh, don't worry, these adventures will be a blog post later this month, with pictures. I wanted to talk a little bit about what is going on this month.

November is National Novel Writing Month, better known as Nanowrimo. If you don’t know what this is, it is the month of November dedicated to writers all over the hemisphere.

It challenges them to write a novel in 30 days.  Their website, http://nanowrimo.org gives you plenty of encouragement, tools, forums, blogs and contacts. They even have a place to find other Nano’ers near you to keep you motivated.

I have never participated because I have three books in progress but I do track my progress because I use this month to push me to finish up projects. Most of my projects end in November because I use the same concept.

For thirty days, I plop myself in my small office (pictured to right) and have my glass of wine beside me, my Ipod playing and I type until my hands get tired. Thirty days to finish up my novel is a great incentive. Now, this concept isn't for everyone but isn't the purpose of Nano Wrimo to encourage the author in us to get moving to finish our works in progress.

If you don’t finish your novel by November 30th,  don’t fret. Go over what you have done. You never know you may be  closer to finish than you think.

There is one rule that all authors should practice:  don’t edit your writing while you are writing.

That is the biggest reason we authors never finish. You need to write and write and write until your words don’t come. Then you begin the process of editing and rewriting. This is when you will find those things that don’t need to be in there but you will also find things that need to be added.

Use this National Novel Writing Month as your tool to finish up your novel.

Are you participating in Nanowrimo? Or are you using this as a tool to move you along in your writing?