Today’s pick was kind of a no-brainer since I recently got one of these.  First it started with the red spots on my leg when the fan blew the hot air out the side.  Then the laptop started shutting off from overheating.  Which, in theory, great feature.  I don’t want to do permanent damage to it.  But, it’s annoyingly helpful. So, I picked up one of these.  Now, it’s much more comfortable on my lap (hadn’t realized how hot this thing was really getting) and my computer and data are safer.  Thumbs definitely up for this low-cost fix.  Read More →

These picture posts are becoming commonplace.  Next thing you know, I’ll be uploading illustrations I’ve made in photoshop, like how to connect your printer. Yes, that was an awesome segue, thank you.  For Material Girl Monday, I’m going to talk to you about some of the tools I use to make my brand of magic.  So, picture the first: That’s my big comfy chair.  I’ve been alternately drawing and describing homes and writing character sketches (the big binder on the bottom, with the sheet protectors, the legal pad, the top notebook, and for good measure GMC) and line editing (another black binder and old reliable,Read More →

Bitch, Ok!  Just Say No. In my last writing post, I listed five ideas to write without sitting down and staring at that damned blinking cursor that smirks quietly at you from the top of the page.  However, those suggestions assumed you had extra time and / or money.  So the last five will focus on what you can do with a crazy life and making an average writer’s wage. (I also explained how I bastardized BICHOK into… Bitch, OK. I’m not proud of it.) Five More Ways Take a notebook and write a scene.  I don’t care about details or where they are or whoRead More →

No Bitch, Ok! For Me. There’s a great story behind why I made this list. Also, the whole Bitch, Ok! thing will make more sense. You can read it by expanding the section below or just go straight to the list. [dropdown_box expand_text=”The Story” show_more=”Read” show_less=”Lose” start=”hide”]I got a new car.  It has an MP3 player.  I missed that.  275 songs.  1 disc.  I heart you, technology. So, last week, for the first time (for some crazy reason) I was actually alone.  For several hours.  In my car.  With the Mp3s.  And the characters in my head.  In my imagination.  Except it’s not really quite your imaginationRead More →

I am going to share with you my greatest writing tool, the thing that keeps me sane in the crazy made-up world in my head.  Behold, the Scene Tracker.  (Please note: This is an excel file.  It was virus free when it left my computer, but because I don’t want any mean emails, etc., you are downloading at your own risk, I make no guarantees as to how it will affect your computer). Now that I’ve scared the crap out of you and you probably wouldn’t download it if I paid you, we’ll discuss it’s merits.  Here is an actual image of mine from myRead More →

I don’t care who you are, there’s some perverse pride in writing in a notebook like this. It says, loud and proud, though without actually speaking, “Yeah. I’m probably writing dirty sex scenes. You gotta problem with that?” Or something like that. Maybe that’s just me, your mileage my vary.Read More →