• Hello Weekend! 5/22/20

    May 22, 2020

    A little update: this week was another productive one. I am STILL actively searching for a literary agent, while working on another manuscript and script. I have to admit that I prefer writing young adult stories, rather than writing a movie script, but scripts go much faster and are easier to write. Selling your writing work on the other hand can be a challenge.

    As for the agent search, it’s finding the right one who will support me and not spend all their time on Twitter ranting about politics. This is a red flag for me. I’m looking for someone who is focused on business.

    Speaking of focus. If it’s one thing I know I’m capable of, it’s completing my goals and tasks. While I write I use a few tools to help me stay organized. Here are some cool links I wanted to share.

    Taskade // Such a great organizational tool to help keep track of my to do list. I’m still a paper planner girl, but I love how I can create tasks for group or teams, as well as keep track of my goals on desktop. Play around with this tool and see how it can work for your needs. I’ve been using the free one which is great!

    Forest // I wanted a visual and fun timer to help me accomplish my writing goals. This is a fun app that you plant virtual trees with. The app allows you to set a timer, during which your virtual tree grows. As long as you keep the app open, your tree grows. Your tree will die if you exit the app. Yes, I’m the type of person who needs this kind of app to stay focused 🙂

    GoodNotes // I have an iPad Pro and love using this app to keep my digital notes/notebooks organized. I looked into the other apps, but prefer Goodnotes because of the notebook covers and the choice of papers. Here’s a great Youtube video, skip to 6:00 if you just want to see the GoodNotes app in action.

    New York Public Library Spotify list // We’ve all been in lock down during the pandemic of 2020, and it’s been quiet. Missing are the sights and sounds of the world. Since I was in New York City towards the end of December, this playlist allowed me to relive a part of my trip. It’s great for background white noise for editing too. I don’t know why but I need to have background noise when I’m writing or editing???

    I hope to share more digital finds with you in future posts. Let me know if you end up trying these!

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  • May’s Classic Literature

    May 8, 2020

    It’s hard to believe that we’re already in the middle of 2020. Where did time go? And by the way…how are you doing? So much has happened since March. The days seemed to have blurred together, especially in April, and now we’re into the first week of May. This can only mean that it’s time for May’s classic literature choice.

    For this month, I chose J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye. You can see from the photo that my copy of the book is well loved… and well read.

    May is mental health month too, and I felt inspired to draw attention to this. I realize this book contains some sexual innuendos and vulgar language, *edit…there are no F-words but the character does swear using words like hell, crap, damn, which can be sensitive to a few readers. The core theme of the book is why I chose it. Mental health is important, ever more so during this pandemic.

    In Catcher in the Rye, the main character is Holden Caulfield, who suffers from PTSD. He takes the reader on a journey, allowing us snippets of his life, his backstory, until we eventually discover why he is suffering.

    Every time I read this classic, I always find myself pondering about how difficult it is to be a youth growing up, especially today with the growing pressures they face from social media. Imagine if adults are feeling pressure from social media, group think mentality, social acceptance etc, then you can imagine how greater the pressure it is for young adults.

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