How to write on your Ipad

Stacey Kade was asking me how to write on an Ipad, so I thought I would do a demonstration.  Olivia also wanted to help, so I hope we kept you entertained and informed!

Doing your research pays off

Sorry I haven't been posting as regularly.  Starting a new job is a little time consuming and I haven't really had any good writing news lately, so it's been kind of hard to talk about it.

But today I'm finally going to talk!  (And YES, I am relating to something with Olivia).

On the 15th the pediatrician gave me the go-ahead to start giving Olivia baby cereal.  I was so excited that I went to Wal-mart right after the appointment and picked up two differant kinds of cereal, bibs, spoons, and bowls.  I came home and put Olivia in her bumbo with her bib on, mixed the cereal up and she screamed.  There was no way she was going to eat it.

I was upset.  My husband tried to take pictures and record it, but all we got was a screaming baby.

So then I decided to try again, but before trying I did some research on the best way to get your baby to eat cereal.  I scoped out differant forums and Googled differant things, so by Wednesday I was ready to try again. 

Olivia was less grumpy because she didn't just have shots and after playing with the spoon with her for thirty minutes, when she went into her high chair this happened.

Research pays off!


What does this have to do with writing?

Uh...

No, seriously, it has a lot to do with writing.

We research to write elements of our story,

We research to find the right agents to query

What else do we research?  What happens if you don't research?  (Well for one you end up with a lot of rejections...or alot of wasted baby cereal)

Friday Five

I've been busy and haven't been posting as much as I should.  Between a new job, migraines, a sick baby, and querying my life has just been a little crazy.  So to keep in mind all of the good things that come out of the craziness, this Friday Five includes pictures and what I've learned from Olivia.

1.)  Smile Everyday

2.)Sometimes it's more important to sleep

3.) A book will be judged by it's cover, especially if that cover is bright and shiny.

4.)  If you want to get noticed, you have to make yourself noticeable.  Shout your name from the rooftops, wear silly clothes, and of course smile at every new person that you meet.

5.)  Whenever someone really upsets you or tries to put you down...just remember that we all came out of a woman's uterus, so we all started in the same place.

Happy Friday :)

Questions answered part II

Some of my questions didn't get answered in the last vlog, so Olivia elected to help me answer some more questions.

The Olivia Method

I sit at home with a 5 and a half week old all day, so how do I find any time to write or even to come up with ideas for my WIP?  The answer to that is the Olivia Method (patent pending...okay actually I'm too cheap to get a patent, so you can use this method for yourself!)

So how does this work?  How do I manage to have 3 WIP going at once and how do I even get the ideas?  Sleep deprivation and random daytime TV is a good way to come up with ideas, but here is how I put them in motion.

A sounding board-  Sometimes Olivia just likes to hear my voice, but how much do you really have to talk about with an infant?  This last week I started talking out loud to hear about ideas for my WIP.  By saying the ideas out loud I figured out what it actually sounded like and if the ideas actually made sense.  Olivia doesn't talk back (she does make 'Ah-goo' sounds and cries sometimes), but when she'll give me a concerned look it makes me re-think the idea or even come up with another idea.

Example:  I gave Olivia the idea for one of my WIP then she gave me her trademark 'concerned' look and I realized that I had no idea how it would end or even where the book would go.  By saying it out loud and thinking about it, I finally came up with an idea how to eventually wrap up the story and have series potential.

Late night feedings- Okay, so not everyone is going to wake up in the middle of the night to feed a child, but sometimes we all have those dreams that are so vivid they can spark an idea.  I'm able to get up after these dreams and ponder this idea.  Since I'm up for about half an hour, not doing anything but feeding Olivia, I have a lot of time to think about these dreams or even just think on ideas that I currently have.

How can you use this?:  When I do have these ideas in the middle of the night, I now try and take notes on my Ipad or write them down.  You may not get up in the middle of the night to write down your idea, but it could help to have a notebook by your bed to write down that idea and even take some down time to think about that idea the next day.

Write when you can- I used to have SO much time to write and edit.  Now I'm constantly playing with Olivia or feeding her or napping with her.  I've now learned to make the most of the time that I have to write.  Now I take those notes and ideas and plug them into my WIP. I don't have the time to have writer's block and even if I think an idea might not work, I plug it in anyways to get something written down while Olivia is entertained my her play mat for 10 minutes or Daddy has taken her for a little while to play.

Make reasonable goals- Just like with Olivia, I have to set reasonable writing goals.  I make little weekly goals of things I want to accomplish with her (i.e. have her sleep through the night, wean her off of supplementing, getting her in her crib, etc).  I can't expect to get all of these goals accomplished at once and neither should someone in their writing.  I've realized that I can't plug out an entire novel in a week and I should expect to accomplish my Olivia goals in a week either.  Things take time.  I've been making little writing goals and it helps to keep me writing, while still having time for my duaghter.

Have you used others to help with your writing goals?  Have you used any of the Olivia Method?  How the heck do mom's ever find time to write?