Posted on

Evernote – My New Favorite Writing Tool

Screenshot of this post in Evernote

Evernote kind of kicks rocks*; meaning it’s pretty dang cool.

Some of you may know this fact already, but I only discovered this powerful little tool back in November.

I have it on my phone, the tablet my husband bought me, and my laptop, and I use it all the time for my writing.

For instance, a lot of ideas hit me as I’m driving to work in the pre-dawn hours. I can either voice-record my idea du jour into the Evernote app on my phone or type it in on my trek through the parking lot once I get to work. (This is usually my preferred method since I keep my cellphone zipped up in my purse when I drive.)

Once I’m done typing a few lines about my idea, I save it to my “Blog Ideas” notebook and it syncs up to the “cloud” where it taps its fingers impatiently until I can sit down and work on it.

Then at lunch I fire up my tablet, open up that fledgling idea and type away, fleshing it out and turning it into the blog-post goodness you kindly read each week (all while trying not to drip salad dressing or sandwich crumbs onto the keyboard). Once the idea has been typed into full-blown blog post, I move it to my “Blog Post” notebook and hit done. Off it goes again to the cloud.

When I finally crawl to my computer at the end of the day, there’s that draft, waiting for me to spruce up and add HTML tags. After it’s copied and posted here, I tag my Evernote entry as “Posted” and I’m done!

It’s a nifty tool and it fit my “starving artist, parent of teenagers who eat and grow a lot” budget. Translation: It didn’t cost a red cent.

And it can do so much more. I’ve only discovered the basics of this tool. I’m still exploring all of the features, but it looks like you can store photos, scanned images, collaborate with others through “Shared” notebooks, and store your favorite websites with a click of a button or swipe of a finger.

I save interesting-looking freelance opportunities I find on the web this way so I can pull the link up later on my computer and send a proper inquiry.

I can’t wait to see what else I can do with this thing. When I have some free time. Whatever that is.

Have you used Evernote? If so, how? Or do you have another tool you love so much you talk about it to anyone who’ll listen?

Note: Evernote doesn’t know I exist and they didn’t ask me to write this glowing review. I wrote it because I like it and thought I’d share in case it can help other writers, artists, harried parents or people in general, out. If you’re interested in checking it out, you can find it here: http://www.evernote.com. As always, thank you for reading!

*For the origin of the term “Kicks Rocks” check out the belly-laugh creative genius that is http://www.neverendingnights.com.

Posted on

Check Out My Article on Easy Eats Magazine!

Picture of some of Judi B's gluten free bread.

That heartburn-inducing article I mentioned working on in “Kicking my Writing Fears in the Teeth” has been published! You can find it on the Easy Eats Magazine website titled “Judi B’s Gluten Free.”

Needless to say, I’m so excited I could do girlie squeals, which would have the three males in the house looking at me strangely.

Oh, who cares. I’ve had my first article published! I’m going to girlie squeal!

Then, I’m going to pull myself off of Cloud 9 and focus on the mundane stuff I have to get done today. Like oodles of laundry…

Check back later this week. I’m going to talk about two of the new (to me) tools I’ve discovered that make my writing tasks so much easier!

Photo Credit: Karen Bristow

Posted on

Kicking My Writing Fears in the Teeth

Some of the writing books I own. “Karen, where have you been?”

Okay, my ego would like to think you’ve been asking that. It’s all right, though, if you haven’t. But, to answer anyway …

I’ve been writing.

I decided to tackle that “Be more fearless in my writing” goal head on. Actually, I tackled it, stood up and kicked it in its squishy parts.

Then I closed my eyes, plugged my nose, and jumped into the dark, swirling waters of the writing deep end, taking on the thing that most terrifies me: Articles which require an interview.

Last month, after reading everything I could find on writing profile articles, and picking the brain of a co-worker, I wrote up a profile piece on a local business owner and submitted it to a magazine. I’m kind of hoping that the wonderful woman I interviewed couldn’t tell I was half-way to throwing up during the entire interview. I was that terrified.

See, I’m shy. Like, cross the street so I won’t have to talk to someone shy. So, I chose that type of writing to get out of the way first. Shades of Masochism, maybe? I figured that if I could get my personal writing boogeyman stuffed in a sack and buried under my stinky running shoes in the back of my closet, anything that came after would be easier.

I was right. Getting through it (and having the magazine editor love it) was strangely empowering. Since then, I’ve taken on how-to articles, web content and sales letters for another local business.

Plus studying. I’ve dug out the old text books from my writing classes and I’m re-reading them. And any other writing books I can get my hands on.

There’s a whole world of writing things for me to try, learn, and master. Now that I’ve started down the road of writing fearlessly, I can’t wait to see where it leads!

What writing projects are you tackling and how do you kick your fears to the curb?

Posted on

Outline This!

I have K.M Weiland and her book, “Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Way to Success,” to thank for my new found love of outlining, brainstorming and plotting in general.

I bought the digital version of this book a few months ago, after suddenly taking an interest in plotting, and finally cracked it open while on vacation over the holidays. In it, Ms. Weiland covers not only the benefits of her outlining process, such as preventing dead-end ideas, but also:

  • Different brainstorming and outlining methods
  • Developing your story’s premise
  • Developing your setting, characters, and conflict
  • How to develop and use backstory
  • Extended outlining
  • Reverse outlining
  • How to turn all of that into a story road-map

At the end of every chapter she includes interviews with established authors such as Larry Brooks, Jody Hedlund, and Dan L. Hays. In these interviews, the authors share their own methods for outlining and story preparation as well as the their thoughts on “pantsing” and when each technique comes in handy.

What I liked the most about the book was the fact that Ms. Weiland includes a tremendous amount of examples from her own work. This way you can see her process in action. Since I’m a “Learn by Example” sort of student (show me how to do something once or twice and I’ve got it down), her examples were probably the most helpful out of anything else in the book.

After reading only a few chapters, I opened up a brand new notebook, dusted off my work in progress, and started trying out the techniques taught in the book. Within a short period of time, I busted open another notebook because I’d filled up the first.

I finally solidified my premise, grasped the concept of “Character Arc” (my main character now has one) and created a villain that has more at stake than just “I want what the protagonist has because he has it and I don’t!” I also have a Theme! Something I’d never concerned myself with before.

Now that I’ve read through my digital copy of “Outlining Your Novel” a few times and filled my kindle with bookmarks, I plan on buying the hard copy to plant on my desk as well.

Feel free to share your favorite writing books below. I’m always looking for new books to add to my ever-growing library!

Posted on

New Goals for the New Year

Okay, so my New Year’s resolution post is a few days late. But since I just got back from a two week trip to England, I’ll give myself a pass. Just this once.

Before I dive into my list though, I have to issue a small disclaimer.

I don’t make actual resolutions anymore. My ability to keep them goes beyond sucktastic. I set goals instead. I find goals easier to meet.

Now, without further ado, I present:

My Goals for 2012!

Become More Fearless with My Writing

I’ve been a writing wimp until recently. Too timid to share my scribblings. Too scared to try new forms of writing. That’s not very smart for someone who’s dreamed of making a living via the written word. I’ve read, studied and even practiced many forms of writing. It’s time to buckle down now and put aside my worry of not being good enough. The more you write, the better you get.

Starting this blog back in November was Step One toward fearlessness. When my harsh critic of an inner editor said “See. That wasn’t so bad, was it?” I found myself encouraged and eager to try other, new forms of writing.

So, out with my old writing fears for 2012.

Health and Fitness

I believe I’ve mentioned a few times that, due to health reasons, I’ve recently switched to a gluten free diet. Well, it’s time for me to quit thinking of it as a “diet change” and start thinking of it in terms of a “lifestyle change”. I don’t do diets well. Mostly because I start to think about all of the stuff I can no longer have and depress myself. And then go off the diet.

While I haven’t blown my diet (on purpose) in the past two months, I need to refocus. I don’t want to just replace the gluteny junk I used to eat with its gluten free counterpart (which, in some cases, is even more unhealthy).

So, I’m re-thinking my food habits entirely and find myself excited by the prospect of trying to incorporate more whole, unprocessed foods and lean proteins rather than just substituting rice bread for wheat bread. (However, all bets are off if someone finally starts making a tasty gluten free Pop-Tart… What? We’ve all got our vices.)

It’s also time to reboot my fitness program again. Part of a healthy lifestyle is movement, right? While I’ve had to cancel my gym membership (see goal “Pay off Debt“), I still have my awesome P90x and my running shoes. Both of which are getting dusted off and used. It’s time to get, and stay, healthy.

Family Time

When they were younger, the kiddos and I used to pop in a movie or go out for dinner every other Friday night. It was great, though I did sit through many a snoozer of a kid’s movie. But as they got older they started getting involved with school activities, activities with friends, and so on and the every other Friday night Family Night fell by the wayside.

One of my goals this year is to bring that back. At least once a month. I know that teenagers have friends they want to see on Friday nights and they see me every night. But one Friday a month, we’re getting some quality time in whether it’s watching a movie, going out, or letting my kids laugh their backsides off as they school me and the Hubs on some first person shooter X-Box game.

Expand My Brain

I love learning. I could easily be a professional student for the rest of my life. This year there are a few things I plan on cracking open some books on.

  • Continue to study the craft of writing (that sort of goes without saying, but I felt like saying it anyway)
  • PHP
  • HTML5
  • CSS3

The HTML and CSS are two things that I want to improve my skills in. The PHP is a brand new language for me. I’m excited and can’t wait to get my hands on some books.

Pay off Debt

For the longest time, I was completely debt-free (except my mortgage). And that, my friends is a beautiful feeling. But, good or bad, nothing lasts forever and I had a few emergencies come up. Like my 15 year old air conditioner dying in the middle of a Florida Summer. Car engines going kerplunk.

While my debt isn’t atrocious by any standard, it still sucks and it’s my goal this year to take a huge chunk out of it. In order to make this happen, I’ve had to cut some fat out of my budget, like my gym membership. But I’m looking forward to the day when I can give myself the money I’m giving to some corporation every month.

Create a Fulfilling Life

In essence, that’s exactly what the goals above are working toward. Creating a balanced and fulfilling life for myself and my family. I want us to enjoy every minute we have with each other. I think that, right there, is the most important goal of all.

So there you have it. My short list of goals for 2012. What goals to you have? Feel free to share them with me in the comments.

And have a safe and happy 2012!

Be on the look out. I’ll be posting pictures of the family trip overseas soon!