Timely Tuesday

February 9, 2010 · Filed under Timely Tuesdays · Tagged , ,

As a writer I always find ‘personality’ type of articles interesting. They help me develop character idiocies.  I found this article (about.com) on time management approaches.  

The Fireman – For you, every event is a crisis. You’re so busy putting out fires that you have no time to deal with anything else – especially the boring, mundane things such as time management. Tasks pile up around you while you rush from fire to fire all day.

Typically seen – Running to car.

The Over-Committer – Your problem is you can’t say ‘No’. All anyone has to do is ask, and you’ll chair another committee, take on another project, or organize yet another community event. You’re so busy you don’t even have time to write down all the things you do!

Typically seen – Hiding in rest room.

The Aquarian – There is such as thing as being too “laid-back” – especially when it starts interfering with your ability to finish tasks or bother to return phone calls. Getting to things when you get to them isn’t time management; it’s simple task avoidance.

Typically seen – Hanging out with feet on desk.

The Chatty Kathy – Born to socialize, you have astounding oral communication skills and can’t resist exercising them at every opportunity. Every interaction becomes a long drawn out conversation – especially if there’s an unpleasant task dawning that you’d like to put off.

Typically seen – Talking on cell phone.

The Perfectionist – You have a compulsion to cross all the “t’s” and dot all the “i’s”, preferably with elaborate whorls and curlicues. Exactitude is your watchword, and you feel that no rushed job can be a good job. Finishing tasks to your satisfaction is such a problem you need more time zones, not just more time.

Typically seen – Hunched over latest project.

Personally, I tend to be split between the Fire-man and over-committer.  So I’m typically seen putting fires out in the restroom. 

Which of the following time management “types” are you?

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Money Monday

February 8, 2010 · Filed under Money Monday · Tagged , ,

Instead of moving on to step #4, I thought I’d post something on budgets.  Suze Orman suggested going through 2 years of expenses making categories and establish amounts spent and work from there.  Like I said last week…yikes. 

First, it is all but impossible for me to do this.  Because there SO many things I have no paper trail for so I wouldn’t get a clear idea where my money is going.  I know this because I’ve tried to set up budgets using this method.  Per this…I should have a gazillion dollars left each month.

Second, then Ms. Orman says to ‘trim’ this numbers – trim to what?

So for those of you who are going through life in the same leaky boat as I am…here is a breakdown of percentages.  I have had much more success with this.  When my budget fails, it because of me personally not that I ran into unrealistic guidelines.

Typical Household Budget Percentages

33-38% Housing (59%-66% of this is on shelter – mortgage interest, property taxes, repairs, and rent, and other items)

15-19% Transportation (38-48 of this is vehicle purchase – 2 cars per household average)

13-14% Food Budget (55% at home, 45% away)

0-2% Alcohol

0-3% Tobacco and related products

0-2% Caffeine related products

4-5% On clothing and related services (drycleaning)

4.5 – 6% on out of pocket Health Care

9% Personal Insurance and Pensions (breakdown: 1% life and other personal insurance, 7.5% SS, .5% investment

5% Entertainment

2.5% Charitable Contributions

2% Reading and Education

1% Personal Care products and services

2% Miscellaneous

4% Credit Card, Consumer Loan Interest

Now that you know where your money is going…it’s time to start cutting.

 Easy? Not. Worth it? Doing the above will pay dividends in your life in many more ways than just dollars and cents. You will assure yourself a dignified and financially secure retirement. Do this well and you will also build a way for your kids and your grandkids to enjoy prosperous lives, and they will remember you with fondness and respect long after you’ve moved on to the other side. Now get started!

1. Stop using your credit cards.

2. Make a down and dirty budget right away. Don’t worry about it being right at first…you can perfect it over time. Just do it!

3. Cut back on your easy to identify, frivolous spending habits (3 dollar lattes, magazines, 450 extra satellite channels, etc.) If you’ve got some expensive habits you’ve wanted to quit for some time, now’s the time. For example, if you’re a hard-drinkin’, chain smokin’, coffee drinkin’ fool, you can reap a windfall of up to 7% or more of your income! Just cutting back to 2 drinks per day, only drinking coffee from home and quitting the cigarettes will net you a nice amount of extra cash and add years to your life! Refine your budget after eliminating what you can.

4. Build an emergency fund equal to 2% of your gross annual income. It should be a little hard to get to (like a separate checking account or mutual fund), but not too difficult (Certificate of Deposit.) Work this into your budget – it’s very important. You will not believe the amount of stress that will melt away when you do this.

5. Pay off your debts – everything except mortgages. And don’t just move your revolving debt into a second or third mortgage – that’s bad. Pay them off using a rapid debt paydown system like the Debt Hammer?. Pay off any student loans (for future reference, these are a bad idea.) Pay off your car(s) too. If you’re not upside down on a car loan (your car is worth more than you owe) you can sell it and get a cheaper, paid for car. Throw a small (inexpensive but fun) party for yourself and your loved ones every time you pay off a debt.

6. Take all the money you WERE spending to pay off your non-mortgage debt and start putting it into those investment accounts you put on idle. Make sure you’re investing at least 10% of your gross income. If you followed steps 1-4 exactly, you should have lots of breathing room in your budget now. If this is true and you want to invest more than 10%, go ahead, but be sure to reward yourself too and live a little. Grow your emergency fund to a level you’re comfortable with (2 or more months of income is a good start.) If you have young kids and you want to send them to college, start putting money into a college fund of your choice for them, if you haven’t already. Throw a bigger party than usual when this is done.

7. Pay off your mortgage and throw your biggest party yet! You can start towards this by refinancing to a single fixed rate mortgage (your credit should be in pretty good shape having paid off all your other debts.) If it’s a 30 year mortage, pay more than your monthly payment to dramatically lower the amount of interest you give to the bank. If it’s a 15 year fixed – wow! That’s excellent!

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Money Monday

February 1, 2010 · Filed under Money Monday · Tagged , , , ,

Step 3 – Being Honest With Yourself…

This week’s step is the hardest yet it is one ANY financial program has – where is my money going? 

The opening starts out with a reality check.  “Throw away a three-dollar magazine you never got around to reading – easy.  Toss in the garbage five dollars’ worth of food that’s good bad – a possible cringe.  But rip up a five dollar bill and throw it away. ..not so easy.

The story she uses to illustrate this step, I really relate to.  As a person in control of our money. I keep a lot from my husband (which I’m working on and making great steps of improvement).  Not just the money spent on me or the kids but what our bills are.  This isn’t a reflection on my parents but my control freak side.  My husband gladly turned the money over to me when we were first married which I pounced on quicker than a hawk on a bunny.  But to say “hey, we’re broke,” would be to say…”hey, I can’t handle this – it’s out of my control.”

Per Ms. Orman – Most of us believe, or deceive ourselves into believing, that we need about 1,000 to 1,500 a month less to live as we are. To get a ‘reality check’ on your spending and income, Suze Orman suggests going through two years of expenses – yikes!  That’s a lot of paper and to be honest…I don’t keep those types of records.  And I have to wonder how many people that are facing major money issues do keep track of expenses like that.  So most I’ve read tell you track ALL expenses for a couple of months and go from there…factoring in things you know will be only year expenses (taxes, insurance, club renewals, etc).  Make to include those ‘small’ expenses – the example given is Friday Night Movies…$20 for tickets and popcorn over the course of the year is $1040. Proof the small things add up.

Then of course comes the where can we cut?  I’ve been amazed how much I have cut our food bill and eliminated waste buy going from family to two people cooking.  This has taken some adjustments, meals that were once money saving are now a waste, most soups I made.  Unless I have a family to give a most of it, we end up dumping it.  Things like lasagna, I still make only in small individual loaf pans which are frozen and eaten over the course of the following month.  Foods once too expensive are now sensible.  For example, pork chop hearts served with potato is cheaper than chicken noodle soup.  Unrealistic budget cuts, like unrealistic diets, never work, the author reminds us.  To say you’re going to eat nothing but boiled turnips isn’t the solution to your weight issue nor is planning on never spending money on clothes or entertainment.

One way to curve the aimless spending is to use ‘real’ money.  Doing this often makes you think ‘do I want to spend money on this?’  Instead of blindly throwing it in the cart and ‘swiping’ for it.  Now there will be things you have to spend money on that you don’t want to – i.e. a new roof.  I didn’t want to spend $3,100 on a new roof but since our old one leaked, I had to.

Another thing don’t let the line between have to and want to blur.  This is line that waves and curves at times for most people. 

Also be realistic and schedule money for replacement things like bath towels.  My husband and I received towels for a wedding gift…13 years later and we were still using the same towels.  When I broke down and purchased new ones we were amazed – they actually dried us instead of just chasing the water around.

Spend this week working on a realistic budget.  Covering the small, hidden, and unexpected costs.  Remember keep it real no boiled turnips for every meal. 

Next week we start the ‘how to manage your money and create more’ steps.

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Commercial Break:

January 28, 2010 · Filed under Uncategorized

My book – Treasure Hunt was released on Monday!  Woo Hoo! 

 

DeLaney Black Heart is the captain of The Gypsy Princess, the most feared pirate ship on the Cannequ seas, until recently. Her long standing enemy, Falken Sands, is making good on his threat to ruin her. She is in desperate need of a large bounty to soothe her crew and reclaim her title.

Raven Kinsley is a treasure hunter. He offers DeLaney the chance to redeem herself. Only their history is stopping DeLaney from jumping on the offer. Raven abandoned her a year earlier and disappeared.

Left with no other choice, DeLaney agrees to Raven’s commission. They begin their journey to claim the lost treasure of Midas, but soon trouble surrounds them. Raven and DeLaney combine forces to battle gryphons, the possessed Falken Sands, and other creatures.

DeLaney tries to convince herself what she feels for Raven is born out of battle, not love. Raven knows he loves DeLaney, but until an old enemy is beaten, he can’t make his claim on her heart.

As secrets are revealed, they realize this is more than a mere treasure hunt. It’s a battle for their lives.

An excerpt and purchase information: http://www.liquidsilverbooks.com/

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Read it Thursday

January 28, 2010 · Filed under Read it Thursday · Tagged , , ,

Nuala is descended from ancient witch folk, eternally bound to help others find love. But after the death of her husband, she harbors no such dreams for herself. Then she meets Sinjin, the Earl of Donnington, and feels something stir within her for the first time in centuries….

Handsome and scandalously tempting, Sinjin has never met a woman he couldn’t seduce. Yet from the moment he sees the stunning young widow, he knows he wants more than just one night of sin—and even the discovery of the dark secret they share won’t stop him from trying to possess her forever. But first he must free her from her immortal bondage, which means robbing her of her magic for all time….

She belongs to the Widow’s Club (a group of woman who have pledged never to remarry) and he belongs to the Forties, a confirmed bachelor’s club.  But that isn’t the only hurdle this hero and heroine face in Lord Of Sin, a paranormal historical.

 Our heroine, Nuala, is known Lady Charles in Society.  She is the wife of the late Lord Charles Parkhill and a descended from a long line of witches. Her powers are to be used to help others find love, but has been cursed since the day she used black magic.

Enter the Earl of Donnington.  When Sinjin shows up in her life again, a man capable of making her grow weak in the knees, her main goal is to avoid him.  Which Sinjin would okay with since he blames her for being a of his brother’s death.  But the Earl of Donnington finds this difficult since he wants her  - unlike any  woman before.

Things really heat up when in his pursuit of her, he learns dark secrets.  It soon becomes evident that Nuala can’t control her powers. Sinjin has made up his mind to vanquish her magical abilities so that they may have a chance at happiness, but doing so may cost more than he ever dreamed.

Susan Krinard developed a complete cast of secondary characters to aide Sinjin and Nuala in their love-hate relationship.  The plot is engaging filled with intrigue and enough rabbit holes to keep you guessing until the end where the whole truth is revealed.

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Writer’s Wednesday

January 27, 2010 · Filed under Writer's Wednesday · Tagged , , , , , , ,

Whose telling your current WIP?

Every writer has an opinion on point of view (POV).  There are those I call the purist, those who believe we can only use one pov per story, at the opposite end is the writer who includes everyone’s pov.  I feel pov needs to be determined by the writer and story. 

Personally, I will never write in the first person.  I don’t write like that.  Also, I will generally have at least two pov’s – the heroine and hero – depending on the genre up to three – the bad guy in my suspense.  I like to use the heroine and hero pov’s but that doesn’t mean every writer does. 

What is important – determine your pov at the beginning of your book and then stick with it!  No matter what.  I just finished a book which introduced a new pov in the last twenty pages.  It actually pulled from the tension, in my opinion, instead of adding to it.  I relate to this desire. In Treasure Hunt, I really wanted to use the ‘bad’ guy’s pov for the big fight scene.  But since we hadn’t visited his head before, I had to stick with what I had.  Sometimes, it requires a lot more effort to stay true to your selected pov but you’ll end up with a stronger scene.

The key to pov…..make it deep.  How do you do that?

Dev elope a unique voice for each POV.  No two people sound, think, or act alike.  Your pov should be as individual as the character it represents.  For instance, guys don’t look at things the same way as women.  Your hero probably would not notice things in a room your heroine would.  If he walks into a room and notices the color of the curtains, how many pillows are on the couch, and the little trinkets set around you need to give him a reason.  He’s a cop, etc.  Still even then his internal voice would be different than a woman’s.  For example, the curtains would be off white not eggshell.  Developing voice is key regardless of the number of pov’s or how often you switch. 

One way to establish a voice is to set the mood of your character.  Take a scene and rewrite it three ways – as if everything about the scene infuriates your character, then as if it is breaking your characters’ heart, and then as if he/she is scared.  Do this for all your pov characters.  Find out how they will act differently from one other.  You should be able to read each scene from each character and instantly tell who it is without an introduction.  For example in the heartbreaking scene, the heroine may walk in crying where the hero walks in cursing.  This example is very cliché so another thing to work on is how they portray these typical situations in a unique way.

Next add dept to your POV.  Here is an exercise to use especially for those pivotal scenes.  Take the scene from your current WIP that you want to kick up and tell the same scene from someone else’s POV.  By seeing the same scene from someone else’s eyes you can see how your character looks – acts.  Even if your scene has your character alone, for this exercise rewrite from the POV of  the proverbial fly on the wall.  This will really make you concentrate on the characters action because the fly does not have mind reading ability so your characters action’s needs to portray the mood.  Take the observation and weave them into the scene.

You alone know how many or how few pov’s you need in your story.  But remember the more pov’s or the fewer pov’s doesn’t make a great book – the depth and voice of the pov’s does.

Recommended reading:

Mastering Point of View by Sherri Szeman.  This book shows you how to use pov to reveal or obscure your character’s movtivation and how to handle multiple povs by developing unique voices.

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Timely Tuesday

January 26, 2010 · Filed under Timely Tuesdays · Tagged , , ,

Today’s Timely Tuesday is another look at procrastination and how do I get around it? How can I make myself do all of the “important but not urgent” things I need to get done in my life, when it’s so easy to put them off and just kick back?

Here are the tactics I personally use to make it happen.

I don’t overwhelm myself with a to-do list. If you sat down and made a list of all of the little “important but not urgent” things that you need to do in your life, you’d have a monstrous list.

Give it a try right now in your head for the next minute. Just go through your life and think of all of the stuff that you’d like to get done – that’s important to get done – but it’s not urgent. The books and articles you’d like to read. The home and auto maintenance you’d like to get done. The financial tasks you ought to take care of. The people you should get in touch with.

The list will be painfully huge, and it’ll probably seem overwhelming.

Instead, I make a short list each day. Instead of deciding that list is overwhelming, I break it down. I tackle two or three or four of the items on that list every day.

Which ones? If they’re all important and not urgent, it doesn’t matter – I just tackle whatever’s at the top of the list. Sometimes, though, one item or another does take precedence – it’s something that needs to be done regularly.

I use Google Calendar (I use a small paper calendar to jot dates I need to remember from church etc then transfer to the computer when I get home) to plan the daily list in advance. I just add an all day event for a task that needs to be done and drag it around to whatever day I want to do it. If I have a thing I’d like to do, I just scroll ahead several days and stick it in on the first day that doesn’t have much going on.

The big advantage here is that it allows me to set up recurring events, for things like regular auto or home maintenance or health tasks like setting up a dentist appointment. These automatically appear in place on the day I ought to do them, so I can easily just shuffle stuff around it.

When that daily list is finished, I can kick back without guilt. So, each day I have three or four “important but not urgent” tasks that I should get done – an amount that isn’t overwhelming. I can get through them in a half an hour or an hour or so.

Once they’re done, I’m done. Sure, I have other “important but not urgent” tasks I should get to, but that’s what future days are for. I’ve taken care of what I’ve assigned myself today (which isn’t overwhelming), so I can kick back and play with my kids without feeling I’m letting something down. I know it’s all in place.

If it’s a big task, I break it down into little pieces. Big tasks are easy to postpone, so I break them down. I don’t have a task like “clean the house” or even “clean the office.” It’ll be something simple like “go through the bookshelf in my office.” I don’t do things like “fix my relationship with person X,” I instead do something like “write person X an email” or “give person X a phone call.”

Usually, at the end of such a task that’s just one part of a bigger puzzle, I immediately record the next step that needs to be done as another task. I fire up Google Calendar and jot it down immediately, putting it in place.

I keep a notepad and pen with me so I don’t forget those “important but not urgent” tasks when they come to me. “Important but not urgent” tasks pop into my head all the time. I just keep a notepad with me to jot them down as they come to mind. Once a day or so, I go through the things in my notepad and make sure they’re handled.

Sometimes, I’ll just do those things immediately. Other times, I’ll just toss it up on my calendar, adding another thing that needs to get done.

Always remember that procrastination is the mortal enemy of all of the “important but not urgent” things in your life, and often it’s those things that separate the people who get things done and succeed from those who fall behind.

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Money Monday

January 25, 2010 · Filed under Money Monday · Tagged , , ,

Step 2:  Facing your fears and creating new truths.

                The goal of this chapter was to show your fears and how to confront them then replace them with new, positive truths.   Fears left unchecked grow and overtake our thinking, our actions, and eventually our life. 

Take the fear of not having enough to cover the bills this month and let it wander around by itself, unchecked….It grows to the fear of not having enough in general…Which stretches into having nothing or somehow losing everything. …end result – fear of being worthless, being nothing.  That’s a long way from not quite being able to pay all the bills this month.  Face the fear, keep it under control.  So some bills will be late this month, it can’t be helped, things happen.  Now the fear is manageable.

To create new truths, the key is believing, really believing, that we can control our money. 

This week’s exercises were:

                What are you afraid of?

                  Examples:

                                -  I’m afraid I’m going to be a bag lady

                                – I’m afraid I won’t be able to support my family

                                – If something goes wrong at work, what other job could I possible get?               

                                – I feel that I can’t keep up

                                Etc.

                Creating new truths:

                  Examples:

                                – I have more money than I will ever need.

                                – I am in control of all of my affairs

                                – I am putting at least $200 a month into savings.

My fears – if I had money I was somehow being selfish.  Denying my kids.   I rarely had a gift to open at Christmas.  My kids and husband did, I would sit Christmas morning watching everyone open their presents.  All the time telling my self – “See, I’m not as selfish as my mom and dad.”  I’m sure we could have afforded for me to have a gift but I always told my husband the money was gone.  Whenever I did buy something for myself I hid it.  Never wanted to acknowledge I spent money on me – no way that would be selfish. 

For example, this past week when I went to Target to pick up a toaster over – a planned purchase – I saw a cute sweater that would be great for work on clearance for $3.75.  I bought it…then came home and hid it.  Can you believe it?  I didn’t my husband to see I spent $3.75!  I made myself go and get and show it to him. 

My fear – I will become selfish.

New truth – I will follow our budget which includes money to purchase things I need/want.  It is okay to occasional spend on myself.

So what are some money fears that are keeping you from enjoying your life?

Have a thrifty week!

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Day off Friday

January 22, 2010 · Filed under Uncategorized

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Read it Thursday

January 21, 2010 · Filed under Read it Thursday · Tagged , , ,

Burning Wild by Christine Feehan

Born into a world of twisted monsters, Jake Bannaconni is shaped and molded into a cold, revenge driven man.  Honed in the fires of hell, he controls his world and rules with an iron hand.  He has everything and anything money can buy.  He’s ruthless, merciless and considered a man to leave alone.  His hidden legacy, that of a shapeshifter, makes him doubly dangerous in the corporate world. 

Emma Reynolds is a woman who knows how to love and love well.  When their two worlds collide, Jake’s plans for a complete take over, may just come tumbling down. 
This book is one of Christine Feehan’s best efforts. While she skimmed over the first two years of the Emmy and Jake’s acquaintance, she still developed a strong non-sexual relationship.  This is the total opposite of her usual plot development which has the hero and heroine starting with sex and working from there. Actually, you’re over a 100 pages in before the first sex scene. 

In place of sex there was A LOT of action. Without all the filler sexual material, Ms. Feehan excels at describing the emotionalism in this book. A very refreshing change.

I did have a hard time accepting a pregnant woman would move in with a stranger, then allow him to be name father after knowing for only 8 months. But that was the only thing I lifted my eyebrows about.  

Emmy Reynolds, the heroine, was very passive in the beginning, although I believe that was adequately explained by the extreme trauma she had just experienced. She was essentially in shock. And she did eventually come out of it, although you have to understand she is the kind of woman who loves to cook and clean, etc. Definitely not a career woman by choice, which I liked, although if that were me (living in a mansion with two kids and somebody else paying the bills) I most certainly would NOT say I didn’t need a maid. If someone else wants to mop my floors – woo hoo!

The hero, Jake Bannaconni, is a tormented person who suffered disturbing abuse as a child. This isn’t implied but adequately explained and realistic in the first chapters so the fact he is extremely manipulative does make him a creep. The change in him was slow and very gradual-and I wouldn’t have accepted anything faster. At the beginning I supposed I both felt sorry for him and hated him, but by the middle it was wonderful to see him growing as a person. I thought his character development was perfect.

The reasons I liked this book so well were
1. good plot
2. lots of action
3. enjoyed the secondary characters
While it’s a hot read for the cold winter months, it offers so much more

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