So most of Saturday was spent working on upgrading the computer. I had an older copy of Windows XP that came with the computer. It turned out to be an illegal copy. In the end we got a legit copy of Vista up and run, the difference is very obivious.
You might be wondering how this is amazing news well I am getting to that. We had just finished the format and the the 90 or so updates were flowing down in to my computer. I was finally able to check my e-mail for the first time in a day or so. A ton of emails about people having posted answers to a number if different Questions of the Week at the Modern Pagan. After those was an email with the subject - Congratuations -from a name I did recogize. Was I heir to the throne of some small country again, I wondered, already pulling out my wallet to enter my personal information as I clicked open.
To a mixture of disappointment and excitement I read the email. I was not a crown prince I learned with a heavy sigh. However I was a soon to be published author. This last bit of news had me floating four feet off the ground. I had submitted a piece of flash fiction I wrote to an anthology being put together entitled Best of 2009 #fridayflash Anthology. Some of you might remember the story Rescue Dogs posted here on September 11,2009. I pulled it down when I decided to submit it, so if you don't remember it you will have to wait for the book now.
At this point I don't have all details, in fact I don't have very many details at all. Rest assured as I learn more about how and when it is being released I will pass it along to everyone. In the mean time I will enjoy the rush of the acceptance and my first published story.
Nothing gets you wanting to write more then getting a email like this one.
Randilin
- Author
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Posted from my iTouch the newest type of wand
Monday, February 8, 2010
Amazing news
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Pagan Bloggers Network - Weekly Update
Welcome to the three newest members of the Pagan Bloggers Network.
Confessions of a Born Again Witch
http://confessionswitch.blogspot.com/
Arcadian SPirit
http://arcadianspirit.wordpress.com/
A College Witch's Experiences
http://collegewitchexperiences.blogspot.com
Friday, February 5, 2010
400th Post - WOOT!!!
WOW, I just finished writing my plan post for March Method and I noticed it was the 399th post. Which would make this one the 400th post in blog.
March Method - The Plan
Alright so I've been looking at my schedule and being trying to figure out what works best for my life and what time sot is the best fit. As a general rule I tend to go to bed during the week sometime between 11 and 12. The one thing that I can consistantly control is the time I go bed. I'd rather look at writing in the morning but there just isn't enough time between getting up and going to work on a regular basis. So the first part of my method is to set aside a set time each day so for me that time will be between 10 and 11. With only the exception of a couple nights this time will work great for me. On those nights I'll be able to get in that hour of writing afterwards.
The Project -
I'm really torn on this aspect, there are a couple of projects I really want to have the roughs done by May. I've also just gotten back a project from the editor and that needs to be gone over realtively quickly as well. The sooner it is done the soon I can get it in to the hands of some beta readers. So there are at least four projects to decide from for the month of March. The plan is to take one of them and make it the sole focus of the March Method. Considering that two of them have that May deadline I'm going to focus my effort on Driving for a Change a erotica story that should top out around 20k. After that I'll switch my focus back to Risen Steam. Both project should keep me happily busy for March and beyond. I can easily twitter and blog my word count updates before heading to bed or first thing in the morning to keep people informed.
Anyone else figured out their schedule yet?
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Thursday Thirteen
It seems like forever since I’ve written one of these but I was struck with the perfect idea for a Thursday 13 this morning. So I got all excited about writing one for next Thursday, only to get to work and realize that it was a Thursday and that I could right it for today. So here goes.
The 13 Apps on my iTouch
1) Lose It – You see people tracking calories and exercise in a lot of different ways in this steadily growing world. Lose it offers food and exercise tracking without an internet connection. The main alternative Feedburner does the same thing but is limited to internet searches. It also has a number of extra features that become available when you have net access. - FREE
2) To Do’s – My wife and I live life with to Do lists. It keeps us organized and often on track. To Do’s is a to do list maker with three levels of priority and an easy to use interface. - FREE
3) Quickoffice – Work on Office formatted word and Excel documents right on your iTouch. Do I really need to say more? I use this app on a daily basis for writing, tracking word count, and other projects that will in time end up in Word. – PAID and worth every penny.
4) TweetDeck – It is an amped up version of Twitter that lets you control and monitor you Twitter account. You can post, you can follow conversations, track mentions and Direct messages with easy. - FREE
5) Facebook – Alright Face book is crack I admit it. But with the Itouch app it lets me connect right too it from anywhere I can get a connection. - FREE
6) BlogPressLite – This app connects right into my blog and lets me write posts away from my computer, away from even an internet connection. It allows you to save what you write as a draft and publish when a connection becomes available. The only thing about it that I don’t like about it is the fact you don’t seem to be able to add in things like links. You might be able to code straight in as HTML I’ve never really tried too. - FREE
7) Stanza – Ebook reader you can download books directly to it, although the method was a little twisted the reader does work really nice in the end. It includes access to a number of free collections and a lot of paid ones as well. Wait a minute wasn’t this one of the big selling features for the iPad? - FREE
8) Dictionary – Dictionary.com at your finger tips with extra’s available if you have an internet connection. I’ll often use it as a spelling tool if I’m working on something. As an added bonus it also has a Thesaurus associated with it. - FREE
9) Name Shake – One of the hardest things for me is coming up with names on the spot. For most people not sure a big problem however if you are running a role-play game or writing a book this suddenly becomes a much bigger issue. - PAID
10) N.O.V.A. – It has been described as HALO for the iTouch and in a lot of ways I wouldn’t say it is far off. A fun game and well worth the ten dollar price tag. - PAID
11) iBomber – The finest free game I’ve found to date. You are the bomber and pilot of what feels and looks like a world war two bomber. It is a simple tilt game to steer and a single button to drop bombs. There are various bomb upgrades to be found and a variety of different targets. I’ve beaten it but it is still keeping a spot on my iTouch. - FREE
12) Background – a wide array of free background. I’ve downloaded a couple and haven’t even scratched the surface of the options available. - FREE
13) Pocket God – take control of the little people that live in our iTouches rules there lives, kill them, or just make them do things. It is a silly little game that entertains me from time to time. - PAID
On and I think it plays music and other types of sound files.
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Tuesday, February 2, 2010
March Method
-Kelly L. Stone in an interview in Writer’s Digest, Feb. 2010
Alright it is official I am declaring March to be March Method Month. Every writing book you read, any podcast you listen too, and pretty much any author you speak with all say one main thing on the topic of writing - If you want to be a writer you need to write. It sounds like a pretty simple thing to do but for whatever reason life stands up and gets in the way. I say it’s time to stand up and fight back against life and its little tricks that keep you from really establishing your method!
So here is the plan take this month and figure out what your method is. Will you write better in the morning or the evening? Can you write at home or do you have to go out? Whatever time works best for you, you need to stake out that time as yours. Let your family your friends whatever know and then use it. Fight back anytime they try to take or steal the time that you’ve claimed.
Now that you have claimed it is time to decide what you are going to do with it. Most of us work best under some kind of deadline. The pressure of that Sword of Damocles hanging over our heads spurs us on to write like we never have before. This is goal is going to be different for everyone but it needs to be something measureable. You might look to word count, page count, short story count like I said it’s different for everyone. But know what it is and tell people so you are accountable to yourself and to them
The last step in this whole thing is to keep everyone informed. Make a commitment to post to your blog, to twitter, to do whatever you can to keep people informed of your progress. If you have a few minutes to spare it would be nice if you’d stop by and encourage others in their own journey as well.
Remember life isn’t all about us there has to be a certain amount of give or take. You can’t claim the whole evening every night. You need to encourage others in your life to stake out their time. Not only will it be better for them it will also help them see the value you receive from claiming your time and be less likely to mess with it.
It’s that simple you stake out a time, you commit to a project/goal, you do it, and you tell us how it’s going. There you have it, the March Method. I challenge all of you to comment saying you are taking part and then make it happen. Stop by tomorrow to read my about my March Method. You can also stop by through out the month and read various articles about forming habits.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Pagan Blogger's Network - Update
Welcome to the newest members of the Pagan Bloggers Network. Some of them are long standing blogs looking to expand their readers others are brand new with only a single post. Stop by and check them out give them a visit, comment maybe even share some linky love.
Rainbow Medicine Lodge
www.rainbowmedicinelodge.net
Minty's Mumblings
http://mintys-mumblings.blogspot.com/
A Pagan without a path
http://pathlesspagan.blogspot.com/.
A girl called Woo
agirlcalledwoo.blogspot.com
Randomness with the Whiting's
http://thewhitings-sugarwhiting.blogspot.com/
What the Blog
http://bohemiancottagewitch.blogspot.com
Eat My Pagan A$$
http://www.eatmypaganass.com
Cat in the Moon
http://cat-in-the-moon.blogspot.com
Cat in the Pumpkin Moon
http://catinthepumpkinmoon.blogspot.com
Spell Bynders
http://spellbynders.blogspot.com//
A Witch's Muse
http://awitchsmuse.blogspot.com/
Crafty Goddess
www.thecraftygoddess.blogspot.com
The Witching Hour
http://thewitchinghourapproaches.wordpress.com
Thanks to all the new visitors and I hope you all enjoy the network
Randilin
