The Sticky Note of DOOM!

      The Sticky Note of Doom isn't really as bad as it sounds. I was just having trouble deciding what to call this post. I suppose I should back up and explain before talking about my sticky notes. My friends and I were trying to motivate ourselves during our community college days and one friend in particular came up with the idea of naming things to make them more awesome. With little imagination and a lot of things that needed awesome new names, one phrase came up more than any other and I bet you can guess which friend suggested it. So the ...blank... of DOOM became the title we gave anything that needed a pick me up. Because DOOM was so much cooler than anything else, at least in my friend's opinion.
    So the Sticky Note of Doom was born, so was the Binder of DOOM and the Cleaner of DOOM. There was just a lot of Doom going on, and it was awesome. The phrase has stuck with my circle of friends and will probably be around for a very long time.
     Now, back to what I had intended to talk about; the perks of being a writer, sticky notes... and all those little odds and ends that make writing, and editing, a blast.
    There is nothing I love so much as buying school supplies, as my desk drawers can attest! I am hooked. Luckily the shopping gods have set up a time that I can indulge in my obsession without breaking the bank; it's called BACK TO SCHOOL. Yes, I know. I am, technically, not in school, and I don't even have kids to justify my purchases to the cashier, but who cares?!?! I have ten notebooks for a dollar, pens to see me through the year and more sticky notes than anyone has every seen. I'll use them all too!! supplies are the best, and having the right stuff makes me feel accomplished and organize while working on my writing and subsequent drafts.
    I like typing on the computer, but I'd rather edit in hard copy. I get my manuscripts printed out at my local Staples. They even make it possible to submit your project on-line, which saves me from having to make an extra trip into town to drop off my Flash drive. Printing can be difficult, especially if you have some creative fonts, but there is nothing like see your work printed, double sided and spiral bound. The spiral binding only costs a few dollars and it helps keep the manuscript in order.
     I go through my draft, with my sticky notes and labels, to mark things like chapter headings, important events for quick reference, and any sections I have issues with, most recently trying to decide on the type of font for written letters and texts inside my fantasy novel. With these references I can look up a plot point a lot faster than having to flip through the whole thing.
    One time I used these new see-through sticky notes to keep track of how many days the Heroine's journey was taking. While you think your character is gone a week, you may have only talked about a few days or taken a month to get where you intended. My Heroine was visiting another continent and was supposed to stay for several months, but the original time-line was only a few weeks. The notations helped me keep my time-line straight.
    It's little things like spiral binding and see through sticky notes that help make writing so much easier. I enjoy all the little bits that help me organize my work and make editing fun.

What makes writing fun for you? Do you have a favorite pen? A must have card stock? A secluded spot where creativity lives? Do you have your own version of the Sticky Notes of Doom?

Clean Sweep

     Along with resolutions to be healthier, many start the new year with plans of becoming more organized. For me that means revamping and reevaluating the systems that I already have in place. My first step is to go through the papers I have been saving and trying to pare down to what I really need to keep. That includes the notes and sketches for story ideas. Organizing the many story files of ideas and drafts is no small task, not to mention the everyday paper that I collect.
     I have a lot of places I store things, boxes for this, holders for that, but still there was a pile of papers on my desk that never disappeared.
     My first step was to clear the piles and go through the boxes and holders. Then I looked at what I was holding on to and there was a lot of things that I didn't need; magazines, notebooks with only a page or two used, etc. There was a lot of paperwork that I had only glanced at, stuff that after a closer look was just junk. I shredded anything with personal information, kept a few documents and threw out everything else. Now I have a stack of now empty notebooks, those few pages were filed away with their corresponding stories.
     There was also some things that I needed to keep, but that didn't necessarily need to be where they were. Filing the papers away made it obvious that my next more is to go through the keep files, even those for previous years. The top of my closet is full of "To Keep" items. I wonder what treasures I'll find there, or how many bags of trash I will take out.
    With the bags of paper, there were bags of clothes. My family is big on donating what we no longer need. I went through my closet and removed everything that hadn't been worn for a while. It was easy to tell what I hadn't worn because earlier this year I made the switch from plastic to HGTV space saving, velvet covered hangers. As I wore items I put them on the new hangers, and everything left on the old hangers was up for the donate pile. Of course I left things, hoping to fit into them in the near future, and I am packing away those items I won't need as the weather turns warmer.
     Next is the rest of the house, culminating in the garage. A massive project that will take days to complete. I have to say that I am super excited already.
   
     I love the feeling after the deep cleaning, organizing, and donating are done. When the project is doing what you intended, there is a sense of space, freedom and possibilities. There is room to think.

What dose any of this have to do with writing? Other than organizing my files, nothing obvious, except that a clean and organized life means less stress over things, and more time to write.

New Year, New Me?

     While I can say that I jump on the band wagon of New Year's resolutions, I can not say I've ever had any luck with them. From the popular health and wieght loss mumbo jumbo to living happier, I find that if I plan to start something new, it's best to just get on with it rather than wait for some special date.
     I have all the best intension for myself and the new year, but we've all heard what happens with those. Life gets in the way, you fall off the wagon. I don't know about you but I need more motivation than the New Year hype can provide. That being said, my prep for some serious life change just happened to fall on, or around the new year.
    With new health insurance and some free time, I've started the health assessment process with my new carrier. Blood tests, check ups and diet changes. Due to family history I and my sister are going gluten free. We are not replacing our bread and pasta with gluten free options, only eating more green and cleaner foods. A food journal with www.myfitnesspal.com is very good for keeping track of what I am eating. It's not easy and my body is missing all the carbs...
     Along with diet changes, comes some exercise and moving towards being more active on a daily basis.
     While it might not make me happier to exercise, it will make me very happy to be healthier. After last year's health issues with family members, I am motivated to keep going, more so than ever before.
     The long and short of this post, it's never to late to be healthy.