TEACHING AN OLD DOG NEW TRICKS

People say you can't teach an old dog new tricks and I don't believe it.

Well, I wouldn't say it about dogs because I had dogs and I would teach them new tricks almost every day. I would tell them to go fetch and after showing them a few times what I wanted them to do, they would...oh wait...they didn't go fetch, it was just me bringing back the branch or paper or the occasional stray dog.

My point is, you can't teach this old girl new tricks. I had to buy a new laptop....well I didn't have to buy a new one, I could have continued to use the one that would need to be angled on it's side in such a way to keep the plug firmly in place to charge it or risk losing all of my important data at the three hour mark. Instead I have a new Windows 8 laptop by +HP

Now, the huge screen, 17.5 inches; I fell in love with. The raised keyboard is another plus but the whole Windows8 application.....lets just say I have been close to tears, close to hysterics and now, close to a mental breakdown.

This moving screen is not good for someone like me, who is like a cat with shiny objects. Every time a new image appears, I fall into a trance like state; that is until another window comes 'alive'.

Then its the whole 'charms' that appear randomly on the side of the screen. They are suppose to help me find my way but all it succeeded in doing was confusing me.

Let's not even talk about how it took me over an hour to 'find' the desktop and then the 'find' my way back to all of the 'live' windows.

Who out there knew that computers no longer come with an owner's manual, well I sure as hell didn't and that was another two hour ordeal to figure out how to OPEN the manual online. Yes. I love my new laptop but can someone, anyone please show me how to navigate between the 'start' screen and the desktop without it taking me over an hour to do to so.

What's that...ohhhh, pretty pictures....ah, there's a new one scrolling right now....wait..there's another one.

See, I'll be here all day.

What's your excuse?

I recently guest blogged on a friends blog. Mr. Camacho asked me to present a blog for him and of course I jumped at the chance.

After posting to it, I realized that I had every excuse, well not all of the excuses, but most of them; not to write. I thought about it and then said, well why aren't you writing. And the simple answer is; because I'm so very busy.

Ok, well not real busy but busy enough that I can't dedicate a lot of time to writing. Now if you read his blog you saw that I'm the marketing director of Intrigue Publishing; and that is a serious job. I need to make sure that I am helping all the other authors out there.

Then there are the grandbabies. Five of them and one of them is a girl. So of course I need to spend time with them and teach the boys how to protect their girl cousin and teach my granddaughter how to be a diva. (side note: she just turned one and she is a diva; all by herself)
Then there is the football season; need I say more? I mean, really? Seriously? How can I concentrate on writing when there is so much to do.

Oh look, there is another distraction. I need to wash clothes, clean the house, go shopping, do homework (did I mention that I am a FULL TIME college student).
Whew, after all of that now its time for me to check 'my status' on Facebook, and then there is the mindless 'tweeting' that needs to be done. But wait, I need to 'connect' on LinkedIn.
Ah, now here is some time that I can just chill. To sit on the porch and look aimlessly at the clouds forming.
Oooohh, look it looks like a big pillow. Will you look at the time; I need to run to Lowes to get some fall flowers before the store closes, in 4 hours!

Wait...did you hear that? It's me, pumping my brakes. Everything I just said (typed) is an excuse. I had at least two good hours to work on my novel and I decided to sit on the porch and look at the sky.
Ok, well sometimes we call it "inspiration" today I call it, an excuse.

So I am going to just do it! I'm going to sit down in this chair and start working on my novel...that is right after I re-arrange my sitting room.

Ooops, I'm doing it again; aren't I? I promise, right after writing this blog, I'm going to start working on my novel....
check back here in two days and find out what I really did with my free time.

Royalty should have it's perks, Pt.2

Princess needed a day to compose herself, but she is here to finish her post. Please welcome her back.

Like I was saying before emotions overtook me,they moved me into a much smaller castle and then they finally decided that we needed to move on. And now finally, I have taken over my new castle. It is much bigger and has lots of hiding spaces.

They insist on trying to make me behave but after what they put me through, they are lucky that I haven't "stamped" the entire castle.

The one with the spikey shoes is always making loud, annoying noises whenever I try and scratch up the carpet, so I stay clear of her. The one with the deep voice, he doesn't really care at all. So I go and give him the priviledge of petting me every now and again. The one with that likes to play with me the most, she's the push over. So I can do what I want with her. As long as I play with her ever so often, I can scratch until my heart is content. Wait..what's this. Oh No! The spikey heeled one has turned her against me. She is now making that same annoying noise!

She thinks I am going to let her continue to take my picture. I think not.

The fur-less ones are trying to stop me but I will win this battle. They just haven't seen 'all' of my work.

Finding Time

In my continuing effort to bring more people to my blog and to give other authors the chance to blog with me. Today I have turned over BSW to Ami Blackwelder. You may know her from her previous two blog posts but today she talks about finding that all elusive thing called Time. Sit back and enjoy and leave a comment at the end, she likes to hear back from you.

How many of us have lives that are so busy we rarely have time for ourselves? I mean the cook breakfast for your hubby-run to the car-drive the kids to school-work for money-clean the house-cook the dinner for the family, kinds of girls or guys out there.

          Seriously, I’m talking about the Superwoman and Superman in this world.

          Well, how do we find the time to do it all?

          I’d be the first to confess I was not the best at time management when I first graduated university. 

          No one tells you that the “real” world is not waiting for you and me. That it is a dog-eat-dog world and the first one to the finishing line might not give you a break.

          So, if you don’t become good at time management, cultivating those skills when you are younger, it will only become harder in time.

Write down what your day looks like on paper. Look it over with a cup of tea, or your favorite beverage. Put the time you start each activity and how long it takes you to do it. Is there a better way to do all of it? A faster way? If you feel overwhelmed, maybe there are certain tasks to do on a certain day and others to do on another? Break up the tasks. Doing everything is not possible, so do what you can and the rest later.

Make a ‘to do list’. This often helps me. I know I won’t forget what I need done and the weight of it somehow is released, because I no longer have to keep it in my head.

          I like to write days or times next to each ‘to do item’ and then tackle them one at a time. Writing down what you have to do and thinking over how to accomplish the tasks will not only make you feel better, you will be able to get a lot more done. Why? Because you are spending more time accomplishing and less time worrying. Before you know it, it will be done and you will have had no time to worry about getting it all done.

          Well, I hope that helps! But if you still need a distraction at night before you go to bed (or at work ;) please check out my books http://amiblackwelder.blogspot.com

MY TURN

Today I will feature new author, Nathan Seven Scott; author of "MY TURN: The Knight Affairs" which will be part of a trilogy.

Please help me welcome NathanSevenScott to my blog.

When I decided to write my debut novel My Turn: The Knight Affairs Trilogy, it was based on a dare. A dare to myself to see if I could commit to something and complete it within at least a years time.  Many people around me doubted that I could finish this seemingly daunting task, but I took a page from Obama and wrote "YES I CAN" on post-it notes and placed them in my bathroom, bedroom and on my desk at work.

My process was unique in it's design. I had amazing coaching from a writer named Khadijah. I was then reconnected to a very dear friend Karen Minors, Author of It Is What It Is. Karen challenged me by saying that my stories were like no other and that they needed to be told for a wider audience. Sure my stories were entertaining to those around me but people needed to read what exciting adventures I still had in store. Strangely enough once I had an outline, I found myself ready to go.

I suffered from laziness and writer's block for almost three months. I was so angry at myself for coming close to giving up until my writing coach pushed me to complete my work. She gave me a few suggestions and exercises and that amped me up to complete my book.

Thankfully, God blessed me with multiple talents such as the ability to do graphic design, video editing and a host of other things. Having these gifts allowed me to make an awesome trailer and an eye catching cover.

This is the first of three books and I have already embarked on a new series featuring a female protagonist. I have an exciting twist that will bring both words together taking me to another level in my media empire.

To take a look at my book trailer; please click here:My Turn book trailer

Becoming an author has changed my life and it's only the beginning.

If you want need coaching to produce YOUR BOOK, check out my website www.nathansevenscott.com or email me to find out more about my coaching services.  nathansevenscott@gmail.com