Captain’s Log, Stardate 08.15.2005
Well, it’s my first official day as full-time writer. I spend a great time with God this morning, and I’m expecting a call from Marilyn to help her with some brainstorming. I love this feeling of being available to my writing friends. However, I have been warned by my Romance Diva friend Kristen Painter not to allow people to hijack my writing time, which is like my “work hours.” Sounds like good advice.
I am a red-handed robber.
Yup, I admit to thievery. At the Moonlight Madness Bazaar at RWA National, I picked up a packet of teas from the Grand Rapids Region chapter table and thought it was one of those freebies. When I got home later, I saw a “3” on the corner of the label and realized it had probably been on sale for $3. So I emailed GRR-RWA to apologize for my mistake and to ask who I can send my $3 to for the tea.
The VP of GRR-RWA sent a very gracious email:
Don't worry about the three dollars - just enjoy the tea and get some writing done! :) Goodness knows there's never enough time for that - at least not at my house!
Funny, that’s the same at my house, too. Anyway, I have been absolved by those wonderful ladies and I feel much better about it.
GRR-RWA is holding a fund-raiser for their first conference. They are selling two books: The "Everything Writing" Guide, and The “Dinner on a Deadline” Cookbook. I saw copies of these two books at their table at the Bazaar, and I thought both were great ideas.
The “Everything Writing” Guide is a series of articles on the whole gamut of writing topics, a kind of encyclopedia for the beginning writer. It’s a massive book and very thorough, plus it has the added bonus of all that information in one place, separated by category.
The “Dinner on a Deadline” Cookbook is just that--easy, quick recipes for any busy homemaker, whether you’re on deadline or not. One thing I discovered at RWA is that a large majority of the writers are mothers who have to feed their brood while writing in their free time (HA! What’s that?). This cookbook is geared for them, to help shorten the time in the kitchen so they have more time at the computer.
The books seem very reasonably priced, especially considering the prices of books by Writer’s Digest Book Club and the like. The “Everything Writing” Guide seemed very comprehensive and well worth the price, since it would take several Writer’s Digest books to be equivalent in terms of information.
Here’s the website to order the books:
I’m considering buying the cookbook myself, since I am now a full-time writer and my husband is not as lenient about my aversion to cooking. :)
Writing: Spent time with Marilyn brainstorming her theme/GMC, which was tons of fun. I’m also going to join the Christian PEN email loop to get more information about starting a job as a freelance editor. The good thing is that my husband already got a business license earlier this year when he was contracting.
Diet: Uh . . . Camy sneaks out of the room . . .
Comments
You know, I've started trying to discipline myself for that time when I can finally get back to being a full time writer and mom, I feel like I wasted a lot of the time I had when I was able to do that, so now I'm going to make sure I don't make that mistake twice. So I'll be eagerly watching how you combat it.
You can do it!!
love ya.