by Kasia | Apr 19, 2015 | Reading, Writing
I love reading but lately I haven’t been doing enough of it. It’s not that I don’t have time, it’s that I haven’t been making enough time for it. Once upon a time I’d get through several books each week, now I’m lucky to get through a few month. But slowly that’s changing. Here are a few books currently on my bookshelf:
Self-Printed: The Sane Person’s Guide to Self Publishing by Catherine R Howard
I’m actually re-reading this one for information, motivation and a kick in the butt. There’s so much information about self-publishing, including the marketing, the business, and failure and success that a once through read is not enough. The book has everything you need to know, it’s like having someone hold your hand throughout the entire process. Love it. Thank you Catherine Ryan Howard for writing this one. It’s a must read for any serious writer looking into self-publishing, or self-printing their book(s). * * * * *
20 Must Ask Questions For Every Property Investor by Margaret Lomas
I could talk personal finance and that includes property investing all day long and not get bored. So I started a personal finance blog. I’ve been educating myself on investing for over a decade now. Got my feet wet a while back and am looking forward to doing so more. I like Lomas’s strategy and the information she packs in her books. There’s no ‘get rich quick gimmick’ with her, instead it’s all about creating a portfolio of quality properties that will provide a combination of growth and cash-flow to help you reach your financial aspirations. Since we’re looking at purchasing an investment property, I though it was worth re-reading this one again. If you’re looking for an investment property, those 20 questions will help you pick a winner. * * * *
Again by Tess Gerritsen
Rizzoli and Isle’s make a great team and Tess Gerritsen’s books just keep getting better and better. Set partially in Bostwana and partially in Boston, from hunters in the wild to those in your own backyard, Gerritsen keeps you guessing till the very end. I don’t think I’ve read a book by Tess Gerritsen that I haven’t enjoyed. [ 5 * * * * * ]
The Wolf in Winter by John Connolly
John Connolly has a talent for grabbing his readers and keeping them turning the pages when they know they should turn out the light and go to sleep. I almost missed my station reading this in the train on my way home from work. The Wolf in Winter does not disappoint. A town called Prosperous has a deep dark secret, and when a girl goes missing her homeless father commits suicide, Charlie Parker, a private detective, is drawn in to investigate what really lies beneath the town. I enjoy reading Connolly however sometimes I find that his backstory and descriptions are lengthy, they do seem to work effectively in his stories. * * * * *
by Kasia | Apr 18, 2015 | Writing
Once upon a time, I can’t remember when but it would have been more than a decade ago, I read that a writer should write about a million words before attempting to get published. Yes, one million words. Sounds like a lot but if you break it down it is only 2800 words per day for one year.
Some might call it a writer’s apprenticeship. Have you ever come across this?
I have to wonder, how many words have I written? I’ve thrown out about half a dozen manuscripts over the past fifteen years, I’ve written on numerous blogs, plus the free writing, journals, article and much more. There’s bound to be a few million there.
Now that I’m older and wiser, I think it’s mostly a load of baloney. While I don’t think you should publish the first thing you write, I don’t think you have to wait till you’ve written a certain amount of words.
A writer’s apprenticeship never ends. If we want to continually become better writers we never stop learning about the craft, we constantly work on expanding our vocabulary, we play around with sentence structure, we are never-ending apprentices in a growing community.
That means, you hit publish when you’re ready.
I recently read an interview in Writer’s Digest (May/June 2015) with Susan Mallery, where she says it’s as important to study the craft of writing once you’re published as it was when you were dreaming of being published, she says, “I’m a huge believer in studying craft, and still study craft.” Susan Mallery has written over 150 books. I think it might be worth listening to her advice if you want to be a great writer, and more importantly a writer that readers love to read.
So whether you’re on your first book, your twentieth or your hundredth, there’s likely something that you can still learn. It’s your responsibility as a writer to continue learning, to persevere with the writer’s apprenticeship for as long as you wish to continue writing.
What do you think? Does a writer’s apprenticeship ever end?
by Kasia | Mar 30, 2015 | Writing
I am a writer first. A blogger second. A marketer somewhere down the bottom of the list. But I’m working on it. I’m also a mum, an employee, a wife, a chef for the family, a student, a weekend athlete. Just like you, I have many roles, and many activities that require my attention. One thing that I have learnt from all these roles is how to manage my time so that everything gets done. My house mightn’t sparkle every day – actually, it resembles a playground at the moment – but I am good at getting things done without breaking out in excuses. You don’t find time, you make time for what’s important to you. Here are my three top tips on getting things done.
1 – Just do it
I’m sure this has been regurgitated time and time again but it’s still true. When you have something that requires doing, you just do it. Don’t think about, don’t dwell on it, don’t let your worries overwhelm you. Just do what needs to be done whether it’s brainstorming the next scene of your novel, going for a run, cooking dinner, or sprucing up your CV to get a better job. Just do it. Think about it later, once you’re half way through the task at hand at the earliest.
For about two months I was umming and errring whether to send my fiction manuscript to an editor. Finally, I stopped procrastinating and just did it. I Googled a few editors, emailed them requesting a quote and sample edit, and then decided on the one I wanted to use, polished up my manuscript a little bit more, and emailed it off. It really wasn’t as difficult as I made it out to be.
I’ve found that if I overthink things they are less likely to get done. If I get on with them then I’m more likely to have a super-duper productive day and all before the clock strikes 12, no, no turning into a pumpkin here, my brain slows. That’s 12 noon not 12 midnight by the way.
When it comes to little things I have a strategy: if it takes less than two minutes to do, just do it right now and move on. Don’t put it off. Things like putting on the washing, cleaning up the kitchen, sending an email, clearing the table, etc, take minutes if not seconds. Stop the clatter preventing you from doing the more important things like writing the article, finishing an important action scene or sending off that query. If it takes less than two minutes, don’t put it off for later.
2 – Plan ahead
Some people are seat-of-your-pants writers while others need to plan ahead before they sit down and put pen to paper. I fall somewhere in between. If I rely on the muse then there’s no planning involve. Unfortunately, relying on the muse is well, not very reliable.
I’ve found that planning in my down times – on the train, during my lunch break, while I’m cooking dinner, in the waiting room, in bed before I go to sleep, or while I’m watching My Kitchen Rules, I can brainstorm and outline ideas so that they are ready to go when I sit down to write. It means I’m more productive in the limited time I have, which at the moment falls while baby J is napping, when hubby comes home from work and can take over the parenting reigns, or on the train on my way to work.
3 – Don’t stop
Once you’re writing, keep at it. Don’t stop to edit until you have finished your writing quota for the day or your writing time is up. You’ll be amazed at how much more you can write. Once you’re done, then you can put on your editors hat and critique to your heart’s content. I find putting on a timer and challenging yourself to write as much as possible in a limited amount of time helps. Fifteen minute spurts seem to be the most effective.
What are your productivity hacks?
by Kasia | Mar 15, 2015 | Reading, Writing
Curiosity is a writer’s asset. Asking questions, being nosy, pushing boundaries. Writers need to that. They need to be curious to be able to write interesting and fresh stories. There’s only so much you can get out of your own experience. The rest you have to be willing to ask for.
I was a curious kid. Maybe a little bit too curious. A little self destructive too. Fortunately, I came to my senses and grew out of it. Regardless, there have always been three constants in my life: my love of reading, a passion for writing, and a desire to be fit and strong.
I was one of those kids who loved a good book. The library was one of my favourite places to visit. Once a fortnight I’d check the maximum capacity of books, I think it was like ten at the time. The books varied from Sweet Valley High and Nancy Drew (I was young) to Hare Krishna and the KGB (I was curious). I’d read every day, before school, at lunchtime and before bed. Reading had become ingrained in my personality.
Reading helped build my passion for writing. When I read R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps series, I had an urge to write horror stories about vampires, zombies and haunted houses. Then, I loved action packed spy stories with a little bit of romance. I was intrigued on subjects of national security, religions of the world, human science experiments, terrorism, spies, the Cold War, and the psychology behind society’s deadliest individuals. Once upon a time I wanted to work as a forensic pathologist, a criminal psychologist, and a defence attorney. How in the world did I end up with a Business degree and working with numbers?
The good thing about becoming a writer is you can be all those things and so much more. You can be anyone and be anywhere. You can create another world. You can research and learn about different aspects of society, culture, the good, the bad, the ordinary and the extraordinary. You can continuously quench your thirst for knowledge on any topic.
A writer is an everlasting student.
My day job may be working with numbers but I can still be a writer. Writing opens up doors, it’s allowed me to be involved in personal finance, investing, health and fitness, travel and fiction. You can check out The Wholesome Investor where I share my knowledge and research and hope to join forces with other passionate people in the future. I don’t profess to know it all, in fact, with each day I realise I know less and less.
I am an everlasting student.
How about you? Do you have a thirst for knowledge? What drives you to write?
20 Must Ask Questions For Every Property Investor by Margaret Lomas