Calling All Historical Fiction Lovers

Everyone I know is sick of winter. Sick of cold. Sick of stupid snow and stupid drivers and stupid I-hate-changing-the-dumb-clock-ahead-an-hour. Yep. There's a lot of anger and rage out there, folks, but never fear. I have a cure to soothe even the most savage of beasts.

A BIG FAT GIVEAWAY!!!

Here's your chance to win one of ten fantastic historical fiction reads in a contest that runs from March 6-27.

Just click HERE to put your name in the hat. It's that simple. Good luck, little buddies. I hope one of my readers wins!

Canva

Got a few minutes to play? Looking to update your Facebook banner? Need to create a social media graphic? A presentation? A poster?

Then CANVA is the place for you!

One of Canva's community outreach specialists -- whatever that is -- reached out to little ol' moi, inviting me to check the site out then share it here on Writer Off the Leash. No, I don't go jumping off bridges just because someone asks me to, but (and I've always got a big but) I had some spare seconds, a burning curiosity, and a need for a fresh Facebook banner. So I did it. I toodled over there and played around, and here's what I came up with:

A Facebook Banner

A Social Media Graphic

A Blog Graphic

A Business Card


A Photo Collage

And those are just a few of the things you can do at Canva. Plus, it was super easy to use. No, really. As in super dooper. Next time you need some kind of graphic in your life, I highly recommend you give this place a whirl.

You Kiss Your Mother With That Mouth?

Psst. Hey buddy. Step a little closer so I don't have to speak too loudly. Blue-haired hunch-backed ladies might get their bloomers in a knot if they heard this conversation. Today we're talking about about swearing.

Recently I saw a movie that dropped "F" bombs as if it were D-Day. Really? Is that the current extent of creativity? Talk about pet words. Sheesh.

I admit a well-placed naughty word sometimes makes me smile. Is that sinful? Maybe. But let's set aside the swearing-is-wrong debate for the moment because there's another reason writers shouldn't use vulgarity.

It's lazy.

Popping in an F-this or F-that is easy and common. Coming up with a creative expletive is hard and will stick in a reader's mind much longer. And really, don't you want your story to linger in a reader's grey matter long after they've put the book down?

This morning I awoke to this comment on Facebook:

"I must hear "Sweet flying peacock!" ten times a day, 

ever since reading the Flannery and the oranges scene to Jonny last week. 

I think we have a new Griep fan in the making here."

Sure, I could've used S*#%! or F&^$! instead of sweet flying peacock, but would those words have had the same impact? Nope. 

So here's my challenge to you: think outside the box when it comes to exclamations this week, even in your everyday language. Go ahead. Surprise people. And feel free to share some of your favorite concoctions in the comment section.

Choose Your Friends Wisely

I didn't have a whole lot of friends when I was in junior high, except for a few big names . . . Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke. They were my buddies because I kept my nose stuck in a book during those awkward years, and science fiction was my chosen genre.

I did have one friend, though, that's remained with me since then. You might have heard of him, too.
Procrastination.

Every writer, shoot, everyone hangs out with this fella. Everyday. Our friend Procrastination gets the best of each of us at some time or another, so there's no sense feeling guilty about it. Go ahead. Yuk it up for awhile. Swap a few stories. Share a cup of java.

Then tell your friend it's time to leave. Think about it. You don't allow other friends to suck the time out of your entire day. This one shouldn't either.

Don't worry about offending the poor little buddy. You can always invite Procrastination back when you're finished writing.

Don't Be a Failure at Failing

"Success is stumbling from failure to failure 

with no loss of enthusiasm."

~ Winston Churchill

When I was a kid, I used to love doing connect-the-dot puzzles . . . except for when I failed and the picture ended up looking more like my knotted shoelaces than a cute puppy playing with a ball. No worries, though. I'd simply rip out the page and pretend that picture never existed, then go on to mess up the next page. It made for a pretty tattered book by the time I finished, but I loved every minute of it.

I haven't sat down with a puzzle like that in decades, but I don't need to. Life is a series of connect-the-dots, which is sometimes hard because the stupid little dots don't have numbers by them. As a result, failure is easy, especially for a writer. There are a bajillion different ways writers face defeat:

- a plot wrinkle that won't iron out

- a character arc falls flat

- you can't land an agent, editor, contract

- one-star reviews

- a self-esteem the size of a sesame seed

But whether you're a writer, a mom, a business exec, or a llama farmer in Wyoming, failure isn't a matter of if. It's when. You will fail and you will fail hard. It's part of the human condition. The question is how will you handle it when you fail? Decide now. Go ahead. Take a minute if you need to. I'll still be here.

It's an emotional thing to not succeed at something that's important to you, but I propose that the emotion doesn't have to be despair. Flip that coin over to determination. Eventually you'll figure out what works and what doesn't, and the payoff will be fantastic: deep satisfaction.

Blur

I am busy.
I choose to be.
I want to squeeze out of this time here on earth all that's possible for a body to accomplish.
To serve.
To encourage.
To help when and where needed.

-- But --

That doesn't mean my heart and soul must be frantic.

-- And --

That doesn't mean I should run ahead of God,
finding my own opportunities to be busy rather than those He's granted.

-- Still --

Still my spirit.
Quiet me at Your feet.
Remind me, frequently, to fall to my knees and adore.
Life is not an emergency.
It is a gift.

The Fifty-Two Seventeen Rule

I know. Sounds like a stupid made-up rule, right? Dirty trade secret: yes indeedy, sometimes I do make up stupid things and post them. But not this time. The 52/17 Rule is a bonafide concept that did not come from the back corner of my grey matter. It came from 99U, so you know it's the real deal. And no, I didn't make up that number either.

The premise of 52/17 is that humans weren't made to sit for eight hours a day working. Not only is this tough on the body, it takes its toll on productivity as well. Research shows that standing up and taking a frequent break improves productivity.

According to some research done by Julia Gifford and DeskTime, there was a clear pattern exhibited by the most productive employees. You know where I'm headed with this, right? You got it. The superstar workers put their nose to the grindstone for fifty-two minutes at a stretch, then took a seventeen minute break before getting back to it again.

Think if it in terms of sprinting. Those fifty-two minutes were spent in intense concentration, like a burst of running. That was rewarded by a break for seventeen. And no, rest does not mean trolling around on Facebook or getting sucked into email. It means give your brain a rest from the computer. Have a cup of tea. Take a stroll. Read a book.

Even if you don't have a full eight hours to devote to this little experiment, give it a whirl with the chunks of time you do have. At the very least, your eyeballs will thank you. Staring at a screen for hours on end is just a bad idea all around.