It's Been a Good Run

Did you know that Across the Board kicked off in October of 2014? And that I was part of the original group of authors? 

As I look back, it’s hard to believe I’ve been posting articles for ATB once a month for the past five years. But as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. 

My schedule these days has been consumed with my daughter’s two competitive sports (cheer and dance - which ARE sports, by the way) and her school cheer. She’s hit that teenager status, which means I’m also loaded up with a whole lot of teen angst and drama. If you’ve had to deal with any of this yourself, then you’ll understand my decision to call an end to my time here at ATB. What time I do have needs to be put toward getting my (finally) finished manuscript through the next steps. I’ve also been talked into trying my hand at writing articles for mostly on-line publications. Since there are only so many hours in the day, something had to give. 

I have to say that agreeing to be a part of this blog was one of the best decisions I’ve made. It gave me the chance to not only talk about writing and reading, but I’ve also met some amazing people. The group of authors here at ATB are top-notch and I’m grateful to have them as part of my writing tribe. And the reader in me is happy to have found some great new authors to enjoy!

As a close out, I’ll give you my top five posts from the past five years. 

#5 — Google Search: What if they…
#4 — Quality Control for Indie Authors
#3 — Google Search: What does it mean…
#2 — Winter Reading

And my #1 most read post here at Across the Board is…

5 Things No One Told Me About Being an Author


I will miss my time here at ATB, but I will be following all future posts. Can’t wait to see what this amazing group comes up with in the future!

All the best,
Carrie

Google Search: Writer Slang

I had intended to post Part 2 of my Zodiac Profiles for Writers, but I decided to stick with my assigned topic for this moth - a Google search. I’ll give you Part 2 next month.

As the mom of a newly minted teenager, I find I'm constantly trying to keep up. I’m the mom who monitors her phone whenever I feel the urge (she’s aware of this, by the way, and I tell her when I do a check - it’s a good way to keep her on her toes). I also follow her on all her social media. I also have to be added to any private stories she has on Snapchat. This means that occasionally I’m exposed to some slang terms that I’m too old to understand. I’m often looking up terms (and sometimes crying when I find out what the mean). This got me thinking - what kind of slang terms exist for writers? 

A Google search gave me the following suggestions:

A click on Writer Slang Name took me to https://urbanthesaurus.org/synonyms/writers and while there were some I was familiar with (like in the first picture below), there’s a whole world of terms I never knew existed. I selected just a few to share with you here today, but I urge you to go and explore on your own.

If you have a favorite writer slang term, feel free to drop it in the comments below - just don’t forget to tell us what it means!

~ Carrie 

Zodiac Profiles for Writers - Part 1

I’m one of those people who enjoys reading my horoscope. Do I believe it in? To an extent. I do believe in cosmic connections and that we can adapt and grow based on the energy surrounding us, but I don’t necessarily buy into the theory that the stars rule our every movement.

I also think most of the zodiac profiles and character trait descriptions are pretty accurate most of the time. As a result, I thought it’d be fun to look at the zodiac profiles for each of the signs and interpret them for the writers of the world. 

Genre: An Aries writer would stand out in the post-apocalyptic genre. These fearless leaders are used to forging the path for others, and that’s the primary expectation of the hero/heroine in a world desecrated by an unknown or unexplained event.

Writing Habits: An Aries writer wants to get the job done in a quick and effective manner, preferring to be the first to market. Details are not important as long as they can pull the reader along with their captivating, and often terrifying, story-line. Once a project is complete they may look back and notice holes that should have been patched, but there are no regrets. Just deflection and possible lessons learned that will feed into the next project.

Rules: Aries writers set the tone and foundation for which all rules are based upon.

Ideal Writing Location: The Aries writer should be in a central office, surrounded by intimidating artifacts. Bookshelves line the walls with reference materials. Even though they may be coated in dust from lack of use, they are necessary as they convey a sense of authority.

Genre: The steady and reliable Taurus is the ideal series writer. The topic can vary depending on specific interests, but they have the make-up to remain steadfast to their characters/stories across numerous volumes. 

Writing Habits: The Taurus writer knows which topic will be their cash cow, and they will remain dedicated to that endeavor until they’ve milked it for all its worth. They will utilize every rule and formula to their advantage, helping them crank out their work at a speed envied by most other writers. They are likely to be ‘that author’ that readers know they can turn to when they need a book they can count on.

Rules: They want someone to explain the rules to them, and help them ensure they have delivered appropriately.

Ideal Writing Location: A cozy cafe where the aromas and ambiance can help channel their focus onto their craft.

Genre: The Gemini writer finds it difficult to stick to just one genre or type of writing project. They may also find happiness in blending multiple genres into one project. The key is to find a topic where they can channel their energy and emotions.

Writing Habits: They are constantly working on a larger project, such as a novel, while juggling a few smaller ones at the same time, such as blog posts. A scan of their computer might reveal several stalled projects that were abandoned when a new idea took hold. It may also reveal several versions of each project as they changed their mind multiple times on how to write it. Their web browser is likely to have a minimum of 20 tabs open at once as they multitask their way through the day. 

Rules: The Gemini writer will research all the rules, but only follow a few.

Ideal Writing Location: While a Gemini can write in just about any environment that promotes positive energy, they need to be cautious of writing in public locations — their social butterfly tendencies will need to be reigned in if they desire to get any work done.

Genre: A Cancer writer is likely to gravitate towards non-fiction. Whether a financial guide, a lifestyle blog, or a self-help book, these writers are often the experts in their field and have a lot of knowledge to share.

Writing Habits: Focus, focus, focus - that’s the Cancer writer’s mantra. Every topic is researched to the nth degree and efficiency is often sacrificed for accuracy. Nothing will be published until they can feel confident that 99.9999% of all errors are eradicated. 

Rules: The Cancer writer knows that rules are in place for a reason. And they know every single one of them.

Ideal Writing Location: A Cancer writer craves the comfort of their home, and they will be able to perform to their best ability by carving out a dedicated writing space that is neat and organized.

Genre: A Leo writer will flourish in the romance genre. Their heroes are likely to be strong and loyal to their fierce and feisty heroines. 

Writing Habits: They are driven to complete projects and jump right into the next one. If someone were to tell them they couldn’t write about something, they would do it anyway just to prove them wrong. The independent nature of the Leo writer would make a self-published venture a successful endeavor. 

Rules: Rules do not apply to these regal writers.

Ideal Writing Location: A Leo writer will feel most at home writing in public locations where they can be in the spotlight. Knowing people are watching them create greatness is all the fuel they need to drive a WIP to completion.

Genre: The Virgo writer’s desire to process information with meticulous detail would make for a powerful combination in the historical fiction genre. 

Writing Habits: No detail is too daunting in the life of a Virgo writer. They will take all the time necessary to get all the facts straight. They are content to take their time in completing a WIP to ensure it’s as accurate as possible. They are driven to help other writers and are often looked to for advice within the writing community.

Rules: Virgo writers not only know all the rules — across every genre and region, not just the ones that pertain to their topic — they also know how to interpret and process the rules better than anyone around them.

Ideal Writing Location: The most efficient place for Virgos to write is the library where they have access to research, research, and more research.



I’m a Gemini and I totally relate to the description above. (Let’s just ignore the fact that I wrote it for the moment…) Case in point - while writing this post I was also doing laundry, the dishes, researching for my next project, and shopping for supplies for the jewelry my daughter now has me making. And I definitely have more than 20 tabs open in my browser. That’s also why this post will be in two parts. With all my distractions, I only had time to profile half the signs. 

If you’re a writer with any of these signs, let me know in the comments how well I captured your writer persona!

~ Carrie

My Author-self is Actually a 13-year-old Drama Queen

In 7 short days I will have a teenager in the house. I’ve only got the one kid, and she only becomes a teenager once in her life, so we’re letting her have a ‘party’ party. I’m talking nearly 40 thirteen and fourteen year olds. Girls AND boys. So, yeah, I’m in the middle of party planning hell. My mind is consumed with all things teenagers. 

Which is why, yet again, my post is inspired by my kid. In the midst of all this party planning, I somehow came to the conclusion that my author personality is basically a 13-year-old girl. How? Well, I’ll give you 13 reasons . . .

My author-self:

1. Always makes the same mistakes over and over and over . . .
2. Never cleans up her messes without being told.
3. Is only productive when she wants to be, not when I need her to be.
4. Rolls her eyes whenever I think I have control of the situation.
5. Is insecure and into self-deprecation.
6. Is hormonal with mood swings from one extreme to the other.
7. Tries to sleep most of the day.
8. Thinks she will go viral overnight. Because, you know, that other author did.
9. Pays too much attention to what people are saying (or not saying) on social media.
10. Thinks listening to music and dancing around the house is the same as being productive.
11. Is hungry ALL. THE. DAMN. TIME.
12. Is more comfortable talking to people electronically than in person.
13. Is easily distracted.

Who else has a 13-year-old drama queen/king as an author personality?

~ Carrie

VSCO Fiction

My daughter will turn 13 in about a month. Yikes. Pardon me a moment while I go chug a bottle of wine.

OK, I’m back.

One of the items on her birthday wish list is a newly decorated room. She said she wanted one that was more like a teenager’s room rather than a little girl’s room. The hubs and I understood her request and agreed that we’d start the process of changing up her room. She’s already picked the paint color (gray) and has sent me countless pictures on things she wants to incorporate into her new room (fairy lights, hanging chair, photo walls, etc.). Then last week I overheard the following conversation between her and her friend:

My kid: I’m getting a VSCO room!
Friend: No way! I’m so jealous!

I’m standing on the sidelines going, “What the hell is a VSCO room??” 

After a bit of research (including my favorite resource site - Urbandictionary.com) I’ve been able to determine that while VSCO is an app, it is also used to describe things that basically equate to perfection in a 13-year-old girl’s mind. It’s following a formula. And as a few of the Urban Dictionary posts pointed out, it’s essentially everything that’s basic. It’s like stripping away all your own individuality to copy thousands of others by hopping on some sort of trend - from how you decorate your room to how you dress. Now I understand some of her recent fashion requests and her sudden need for an expensive Hydro Flask water bottle . . . I suppose I can relate on some level - after all, I was all about the Swatch watch craze back in the day.

Anyway, this got me thinking about trends and formulas in fiction. Trends such as when 90% of mainstream books had to have ‘girl’ in the title after GONE GIRL was such a huge hit. As for formulas, they range from plots to characters to story lines. The formulas may vary by genre, but they exist in abundance. Why? 

Because it sells. 

It really is that simple. Many readers aren’t ready for an open reading lifestyle and prefer to stay in their comfortable and predicable reading boxes.So, yeah, I get it.

While I understand the need for some trends and formulas in fiction, I actually kind of hate them. As a reader, I get bored reading the same thing over and over again. And I really do hate predictability in books. There are times when an attempt is made to replicate a successful concept rather than copy it outright, but many times it doesn’t work for me. It feels forced and rushed (which makes sense, because if you’re going to jump on a trend bandwagon then you need to do so quickly before the wind shifts to something new). I did discover it wasn’t so bad when I started reading across genres. And I’ll be honest - there are the occasional times when I crave a sappy YA romance, so predictability helps when that urge arises. But I do enjoy it more when the author makes even minor detours from the standard formulas. 

As a writer, I don’t want to follow trends or formulas. I kinda wanna do what I want. Thankfully, being an Indie writer allows me to do just that. Although, I don’t hate on those who prefer to follow trends/formulas. Just don’t hate on me if I don’t read your stuff as a result. Oh, and if you’re determined to stick to writing with the trends, then make sure you’re up to speed on all things VSCO. The Urban Dictionary description of a VSCO boyfriend sounds like it was ripped straight from the pages of a contemporary YA romance novel, so you’re probably good there. However, your girl might need an upgrade with some Vans, scrunchies, and a Hydro Flask. 

What about you - are you into trends and formulas (either in reading or writing) or do you exist outside the boxes?

~ Carrie

Phobias That Impair Writing

Recently, a friend commented about a phobia he has—Trypophobia. I had never heard of this before, and then I saw someone else post about about it today. This got me thinking about all the weird phobias out there. Oh my word. How do people function?? Anywho, that got me thinking about what kind of phobias would be bad for writers. I’ve pulled some from this very helpful website and grouped them into three categories below (Mild, Harmful, and Cataclysmic) and given some tips on how to overcome them in the writing world. 


MILD: These phobias will make being a writer difficult, but you can overcome the challenges with a bit of strategic planning.

Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia - Fear of long words
— Just use really short words.

Papyrophobia - Fear of paper
— We live in the age of technology, so enroll in Kindle Unlimited and forget the paperback.

Scriptophobia - Fear of writing in public
— Make sure to set up a cozy place at home to write. I mean, not everyone wants to be one of those cool cafe writers anyway.

Nomatophobia - Fear of names
— This will take a lot of creativity for the novel writers out there. Names are kind of a necessity. Although, in my book SHATTERED ANGEL I do have a character without a name, so it can work with a bit of creativity. Maybe just write about animals?

Epistemophobia / Gnosiophobia - Fear of knowledge
— Non-fiction writers won’t get anywhere with this phobia. Sorry, but switch to fiction. While fiction writers also need to gain knowledge of their subject, fantasy or science fiction is always an option. Then everything can just be made up.

The following four go together:

Allodoxaphobia - Fear of opinions
Catagelophobia - Fear of being ridiculed
Doxophobia - Fear of expressing opinions or of receiving praise
Gelotophobia - Fear of being laughed at
— Just make sure to not read any book reviews. The editor’s review could still be an issue as that one can’t be ignored. Just make sure he/she knows about the phobia ahead of time so they can sugar-coat their review as much as possible.

And another grouping:

Octophobia - Fear of the figure 8
Quadraphobia - fear of the number four
Quintaphobia - fear of the number five
Triskaidekaphobia - Fear of the number 13
— Authors with these phobias either need to be short story writers, or make these particular chapters really short. They can also be skipped all together. It might confuse readers, but who says conventional rules have to be followed all the time?


HARMFUL: These phobias will make being a writer really, REALLY difficult. Especially if you have a combination of two or more.

Bibliophobia - Fear of books
— This one can be overcome by only writing on-line articles.

Cyberphobia / Logizomechanophobia - Fear of computers or working on a computer
— I suppose there are a handful of people out there who still write with pen/pencil and paper, but the reality is that these days a computer is needed to get any real work done. Writers with this phobia should just write for fun.

Cenophobia or Centophobia / Ideophobia - Fear of new things or ideas
— The only choice for writers with this phobia is to rewrite old ideas. That works well for some, but it can get redundant for the readers really quick. My best recommendation for writers with this phobia is to become really knowledgeable on copyright law…

Atelophobia - Fear of imperfection
— Since nothing is ever perfect, this can be a big challenge. However, I assume people with this phobia become good at defining their own level of perfection. A writer with this phobia will have to be satisfied with only having one manuscript/story/article since they will spend a lifetime trying to perfect it before publication.

Ergophobia - Fear of work
— Writing is one of those careers that looks easy on the outside, but the reality is that it takes work. A lot of it. Unless a writer is some sort of writing savant who can crank out amazing books in a fraction of the time and are so good that they don’t have to market at all, good luck with that.

Athazagoraphobia - Fear of being forgotten or ignored or forgetting
— Let’s face it, only a select few authors make a big name for themselves. The rest of us are hoping that the people who loved (or even liked) one of our previous books will think to look up another book of ours. Many of us will be forgotten and ignored, unless we do the work to make them remember.

Phronemophobia - Fear of thinking
— This phobia probably straddles the line between this category and the next, but I suppose some might be able to glide right through a manuscript without any thinking. There just better be a darn good editor on the other end to do all the thinking.


CATACLYSMIC: Sorry, but if you have either of the following phobias you’ll need to find a new career.

Logophobia / Verbophobia - Fear of words
— Sorry, but no one can write without words.

Panophobia or Pantophobia - Fear of everything
— Those with this phobia have bigger issues than figuring out how to write. They first need to start by trying to figure out how to function in life.

I hope none of you writers out there experience any of these particular phobias, but if you do let us know how you have overcome them to let your writing career flourish. I’m glad to say I don’t experience any of these, but I might have a mild case of Entomophobia (a.k.a. a fear of insects). The case becomes near cataclysmic when it’s a cicada shell being shoved in my face (yes, just the shell can bring it on…), but we won’t talk about that. If you have a phobia let us know what it is in the comments!

~ Carrie

Back Jacket Hack-Job - Bird Box

I’m back with another Back Jacket Hack-Job. You know - the posts where we write up a bad back cover copy for a book. Hope you enjoy my latest hack at a book I recently read. I haven’t seen the Netflix version yet, but I hope to get to it eventually. Check it out if you haven’t already!

~ Carrie


BIRD BOX by Josh Malerman

Close your eyes.

I said, close your eyes.

Seriously, keep your eyes closed.

Last warning. CLOSE YOUR EYES!

What the hell? All you had to do was keep your eyes closed, but you just couldn’t do it. Now there’s no point of you buying this book. I hope reading this was worth it because it’s the last thing you will ever see.

Google Search: What does it mean…

I’m back with another Google Search segment. I grabbed this screen shot back in November after searching for something:

I don’t remember what I was searching for the meaning of, but I do know it wasn’t any of the Googlebot suggestions listed. It’s 4+ months since I got those search results, so I thought I’d start the same search string today to see what came up. Here’s what I got:

It’s slightly different, but it seems there are three things people are still trying to find the meaning of. It’s a good thing you have me to help you out. 


What does it mean when your poop is green?

Okay, seriously — what’s with our fascination with poop? My cat even pointed this out in my last Google Search segment that she wrote for me. Are people really analyzing their poop this much? Your poop is probably green because you ate some sort of funky food. As long as you’re pooping, does it really matter? As the old saying goes, just sh*t and get off the pot!


What does it mean when your {right} eye twitches/jumps?

If you’re looking for the boring explanation, then your twitching eye is most likely a result of fatigue, staring at your computer screen for too long, being too hopped up on caffeine, or those evil allergies. I know my eye usually twitches when I’m tired. But as I said, that’s all boring. Apparently superstition is attached to the twitching eye. I knew about the itchy nose and the ringing ears, but I never knew you could be in for some good or bad news depending on which eye is twitching (right = good; left =bad). It’s a cool theory, but superstitions aren’t what they used to be. We now live in the age of technology where anyone can debunk any theory (or prove it - cause let’s face it, the Internet will pretty much tell you anything you want to hear) and superstitions don’t hold as much mysterious power as they used to. So what’s the real reason behind all that eye twitching? 

YOUR EYES ARE TELLING YOU THEY WANT TO READ A BOOK!


What does it mean when you dream about…

Even though one was about snakes and one was about a person, these searches are basically the same. I think the only thing more confusing to us humans than poop is what we dream about. I think deep down we’re all hoping we can find the meaning of life in those unfiltered moments when our eyes are closed and our subconscious is drifting. I actually do believe that we have the ability to tap into some extreme level of knowledge when our mind is free from the restraints of reality. Dreaming can be powerful. All my book ideas so far have come from dreaming. Reoccurring dreams are the most fascinating to me. Except the ones where I can’t find a bathroom, or the bathrooms I do find have something horribly wrong with them (grotesquely dirty, broken, surrounded by glass walls or no doors, etc.). Those dreams aren’t anything special. They just mean I really have to pee. Which requires me to get out of bed in the middle of the night. Sigh.

To sum up this post, if you want to understand your dreams my advice is to write it out. Even if you’re not a writer. You might be surprised where it takes you.

What are you looking for the meaning of these days?

~ Carrie

Interview with Myself

All right, so I’m cashing in my ‘Get Out of Jail Free’ card on this post. I was sick all last week and I’m just now starting to feel human again. Needless to say, I didn’t have a post ready let alone an interview. But no worries - I won’t leave you completely hanging. 

My daughter is 12 (and a half) and I’ve been encouraging her to work on her communication skills. If you have a kid, especially a (pre)teen, then you know how difficult it is to get them to actually speak words to people. They’d rather text or post an update to their story. Or if you’re really lucky, you get to have streaks. Um, whatever. I want my kid to get a job some day so I’ve been encouraging her to at least once in a while use the phone for its original purpose. That’s right, I want her to actually TALK to her friends. Even her boyfriend. 

In addition to getting her to talk on the phone, I went so far as to purchase a couple of games that she could pull out when she had friends over. Games that encourage talking to each other. They haven’t been used yet, but I have hope. Anyway, I’ve pulled five cards from each of these games as my interview questions for myself for this post. Enjoy!

From: The Game of Things… Humor in a Box!

Q1: THINGS… you would have done differently if you were Harry Potter. 
A1: I think I’d go big if I were to do something different as Harry Potter—like beg the Sorting Hat for Slytherin rather than Gryffindor.

Q2: THINGS… you hope will never be done by robots.
A2: I’d hate to see robots write books. Publishing, editing—all that’d be fine. They just shouldn’t be allowed to create the stories.

Q3: THINGS… that were not your fault.
A3: Nothing is ever my fault.

Q4: THINGS… that won’t stop.
A4: Distractions. And apparently my cough.

Q5: THINGS… you would like to say to contestants on The Bachelor.
A5: I would tell them it’s all fake, but that would be completely pointless. I suppose I’d tell them that it’s called ugly crying for a reason.


From: Chat Pack for Kids

Q6: What is the most unusual thing you’ve ever found?
A6: A large candle in my backyard.

Q7: Where do you think would be the most fun spot to have a treasure hunt with all your friends?
A7: A bookstore. Duh.

Q8: If you had to describe your personality in terms of a sound, which sound would be best?
A8: I’m a true Gemini, so that means I’ve got many faces to my personality. Based on that, I’d have to say a violin. It has many different sounds depending on how it’s played to match my moods.

Q9: If you were a teacher, what are three rules you would insist that your students obey?
A9: (1) Say one kind thing to each classmate every day. (2) Say one kind thing about yourself every day. (3) Every assignment must be turned in with chocolate. 

Q10: What big ideas or dreams do you have right now that you would like to see come true someday?
A10: Right now it’s to get my forth book done and dusted. Yeah, it’s the same one I told you all last year I wanted done by May. Maybe I meant to say May of this year??

That’s all I’ve got for you today, folks. Sorry for the somewhat lame post, but it happens. 

Feel free to answer any of these questions yourself down in the comments!

~ Carrie

Winter Reading

I’m coming to you from Indiana (as usual), where in some areas the temperatures will be ‘dangerously cold’ this week (not as usual). We’re talking wind chills in the -30 to -40 range. Some of you reading this may be thinking that’s just a normal January day, but for us folks in Indiana, it’s not the norm. Luckily, I live in Southern Indiana, so while we are predicted to get some very cold weather we won’t get the worst of it. So I’ve got my arm warmers on - yes, they’re a thing and since my desk has a glass top they are WONDERFUL in this kind of weather - while I think about books I’ve read that are set in bitterly cold climates. After a scan through my Goodreads bookshelf, here are some books you can read while bundled under your warmest blankets and sipping some hot chocolate.

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

Lina is just like any other fifteen-year-old Lithuanian girl in 1941. She paints, she draws, she gets crushes on boys. Until one night when Soviet officers barge into her home, tearing her family from the comfortable life they've known. Separated from her father, forced onto a crowded and dirty train car, Lina, her mother, and her young brother slowly make their way north, crossing the Arctic Circle, to a work camp in the coldest reaches of Siberia. Here they are forced, under Stalin's orders, to dig for beets and fight for their lives under the cruelest of conditions.

Lina finds solace in her art, meticulously--and at great risk--documenting events by drawing, hoping these messages will make their way to her father's prison camp to let him know they are still alive. It is a long and harrowing journey, spanning years and covering 6,500 miles, but it is through incredible strength, love, and hope that Lina ultimately survives. Between Shades of Gray is a novel that will steal your breath and capture your heart.


While some of my favorite books have been historical fiction, it’s not my preferred genre to read. I’d been seeing good things about this book for a while but was hesitant to read it because I had been reading quite a few historical fiction books. But I went ahead and took the {polar} plunge and I’m glad I did. It really is a beautiful book with characters to love.


Where’d You Go, Bernadette By Maria Semple

Bernadette Fox has vanished.

When her daughter Bee claims a family trip to Antarctica as a reward for perfect grades, Bernadette, a fiercely intelligent shut-in, throws herself into preparations for the trip. But worn down by years of trying to live the Seattle life she never wanted, Ms. Fox is on the brink of a meltdown. And after a school fundraiser goes disastrously awry at her hands, she disappears, leaving her family to pick up the pieces--which is exactly what Bee does, weaving together an elaborate web of emails, invoices, and school memos that reveals a secret past Bernadette has been hiding for decades. Where'd You Go Bernadette is an ingenious and unabashedly entertaining novel about a family coming to terms with who they are and the power of a daughter's love for her mother.


This book was a pleasant surprise. I rarely laugh out loud while reading, but this book took me there a few times. Sure not much of the book is set in the blistery climate of Antarctica, but you won’t care because it’s such a fun and entertaining book. It just might help you forget that you are stuck in subzero weather for a while. 


Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah

Meredith and Nina Whitson are as different as sisters can be. One stayed at home to raise her children and manage the family apple orchard: the other followed a dream and traveled the world to become a famous photojournalist. But when their beloved father falls ill, Meredith and Nina find themselves together again, standing alongside their cold, disapproving mother, Anya, who even now, offers no comfort to her daughters. As children, the only connection between them was the Russian fairy tale Anya sometimes told the girls at night. On his deathbed, their father extracts a promise from the women in his life: the fairy tale will be told one last time - and all the way to the end. Thus begins an unexpected journey into the truth of Anya's life in war-torn Leningrad, more than five decades ago. Alternating between the past and present, Meredith and Nina will finally hear the singular, harrowing story of their mother's life, and what they learn is a secret so terrible and terrifying that it will shake the very foundation of their family and change who they believe they are. 


I often enjoy reading Kristin Hannah’s books and have read several in the past. This was another I was hesitant to read due to the historical fiction classification, but in my opinion it’s not heavy on the historical fiction side. Really, it was more about the relationship between a mother and her two daughters. The stories of the mother’s life in Russia will make you happy the Indiana windchill will only be -30/-40. It might also shed some light on the whole “gotta go and buy all the milk and bread before the storm hits” mentality. 


The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

Alaska, 1920: a brutal place to homestead, and especially tough for recent arrivals Jack and Mabel. Childless, they are drifting apart - he breaking under the weight of the work of the farm; she crumbling from loneliness and despair. In a moment of levity during the season's first snowfall, they build a child out of snow. The next morning the snow child is gone - but they glimpse a young, blonde-haired girl running through the trees. 

This little girl, who calls herself Faina, seems to be a child of the woods. She hunts with a red fox at her side, skims lightly across the snow, and somehow survives alone in the Alaskan wilderness. As Jack and Mabel struggle to understand this child who could have stepped from the pages of a fairy tale, they come to love her as their own daughter. But in this beautiful, violent place, things are rarely as they appear, and what they eventually learn about Faina will transform all of them.


I actually don’t remember how long ago I read this book, but that hasn’t kept if from being one of my favorites. I loved how this book kept me on the line between reality and fantasy throughout the entire novel. It’s actually the inspiration for the character Ren in my current WIP. My hope is to have the readers wondering the entire time, “Is she real or not?” 


The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult 

Fourteen-year-old Trixie Stone is in love for the first time. She's also the light of her father, Daniel's life -- a straight-A student; a pretty, popular freshman in high school; a girl who's always seen her father as a hero. That is, until her world is turned upside down with a single act of violence. Suddenly everything Trixie has believed about her family -- and herself -- seems to be a lie. Could the boyfriend who once made Trixie wild with happiness have been the one to end her childhood forever? She says that he is, and that is all it takes to make Daniel, a seemingly mild-mannered comic book artist with a secret tumultuous past he has hidden even from his family, venture to hell and back to protect his daughter.

With The Tenth Circle, Jodi Picoult offers her most powerful chronicle yet as she explores the unbreakable bond between parent and child, and questions whether you can reinvent yourself in the course of a lifetime -- or if your mistakes are carried forever.

I read this book more than 10 years ago and I’ll admit I don’t remember much about how it made me feel - other than cold. Because, you know, Alaska. {burr} I might have to give this one another read sometime. I do know it wasn’t my favorite Picoult book, but it’s Picoult so you really can’t go wrong. 


What are some of the blistering cold books on your bookshelves?

~ Carrie

Writer’s Resolutions {with Loopholes}

It’s New Year’s Eve and you all know what that means — it’s time for our last minute New Year’s Resolutions! My personal opinion on New Year’s Resolutions is that they’re not really designed to help you reach your goals. Mostly they are put in place to make you feel bad about what you didn’t do this past year and give you things to beat yourself up for not doing next year. As a result, I don’t set New Year’s Resolutions. I know not everyone is like me {gasp} and will insist on setting at least one resolution. Being the helpful gal that I am, I decided to give you four popular New Year’s Resolutions for writers AND corresponding loopholes to help ensure you don’t fall into that trap of just making yourself feel bad for not accomplishing your resolutions for yet another year.

Resolution 1: I will write every day!
Loophole 1: Every day, open your WIP and write one word. If you know you can’t open it tomorrow, work ahead and write two words. That’s it. You’re done. 

Resolution 2: I will finish my current WIP!
Loophole 2: Most writers refer to their current manuscript as their current WIP. However, WIP is actually a pretty generic term. If you’re struggling to finish that mammoth 100k novel, quickly start a 500 word essay. BOOM — you now have a new WIP that’s feasible. 

Resolution 3: I will win NaNoWrMo this year! 
Loophole 3: This one was a bit tougher to get a loophole in place, but I worked it out. Just tell people that NaNoWrMo stands for National NOT Writing Month. Now winning NaNoWrMo will be easy peasy lemon squeezy.

Resolution 4: I will set SMART goals!
Loophole 4: For those who might not know, SMART in goal setting stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. So here’s your SMART goal for accomplishing all your 2019 Resolutions: I will write 1.5 words per day in my current WIP, except during the month of November. In November I will write 0 words per day. There — you now have a SMART goal to finish that 500 word essay in 2019! And since you’re guaranteed to achieve all your resolutions for the year, you can cruise through 2019 feeling great about yourself :D

Of course, if you actually want to get any work done then I suppose that last resolution on setting SMART goals is the most important. And remember not to beat yourself up if you fall off track. Just pick yourself back up, dust yourself off, rest those SMART goals, and get back to work.

Anyone have a New Year’s Resolution they’d like to share?

Happy New Year, everybody!

~ Carrie

Making the Switch

For the last four years, all of my writing has been done in Word. I came from the corporate world so it was familiar to me. As a whole, I like it and I’ve learned how to use certain formatting techniques to make final edits for both e-book and paperback a little easier. Once I was well into this writing gig, I started hearing about writing programs, such as Scrivener. I was intrigued, but I was comfortable with what I knew. I didn’t want to waste time learning a new platform—and what if it made it more difficult to get my books into their final forms? But, I’m a sucker for a good program and so it stayed on my mind. I figured I’d make the switch after I finished my current manuscript so I wouldn’t have to transition in the middle of a project. 

Well, Christmas came early.

No—I haven’t finished the manuscript yet for that book I told you I’d finish by the end of May. But I did finally get a new laptop. I didn’t realize just how much the old one was holding me back. I kinda feel the way I did back when we made the switch from dial-up to WiFi. Oh, hello, Productivity. I’ve missed you.

I figured since I have a new laptop, I might as well go ahead and download Scrivener. Even though I haven’t finished that epic manuscript yet, I plan to learn how to use it through other projects. Such as this blog post. I’ve always written all my blog posts in Word first and then copied them over to the website to post. I did this because my Internet would often crash at random times and I didn’t want to lose all my work. The other reason is I like to keep a record of all my writing and back it up to my external drive. Anyway, I converted my Word document for this blog into a Scrivener project. This is my first use outside of the tutorial, but my first impression is:

One of the things I’m loving so far is that I can split each topic into a document. And each document is sorted into the year that I wrote them. I can now easily go back and see what I’ve written about before. I often look back over my topics to make sure I’m not just regurgitating the same ideas over and over again. Previously, in Word I’d have to scroll through to find the titles. It was doable, but not efficient. And I like efficiency. Some of you are probably yelling at me through your computer screen/phone telling me that I could just filter down to my posts on the blog itself. Yeah, I could, and I have. But remember my computer problem mentioned above? My connectivity was so poor and sporadic that I got used to working off-line until the last possible moment. Now I don’t have to worry about it. It’s all listed on the left side of this screen.

In the screen shot you can see that I also insert notes to myself in my post draft telling me where to insert graphics. Another thing Scrivener allows me to do is drop images or other document types down in the ‘Research’ section. I’m not yet sure if I’ll use that feature for my blog posts, but who knows. At least I can do it if I want to. 

Another thing I think I’m going to love about Scrivener is the way I’ll be able to keep track of ideas for future blog posts. Back up in that screen shot, you can see I created a section called ‘Future Ideas’. I sometimes write a post I won’t need right away. Like I did for my next BJHJ, which won’t be scheduled until sometime in 2019. I had an idea and didn’t want to lose it, so I went ahead and wrote the post now. I don’t know when Steve will put it on my schedule, so here in Scrivener it can sit nice and safe in the ‘Future Ideas’ category until I know. Then I’ll slot it into the 2019 category when my time is up. I sometimes also draft out other ideas that I don’t know if I want to make a topic or not. I’ll keep a draft of the post or outline until I decide. Again, I’m loving Scrivener for helping me keep it all organized. 

Now, my big challenge is do I want to group all my blogs into this one Scrivener project, or do I want to create one for each blog? I see pros and cons for each. There is no wrong answer, and the cool thing is I can play around with it and try it both ways to see what works best for me. 

Oh, and I should mention that the conversion from Word into Scrivener and splitting each post into a new document was super easy. 

Now I’m off to see how easy it is to transfer this document into Blogger. If you see a well formatted post then you know it went off without a hitch :D 

~ Carrie

Getting Organized

Remember this post back in April? The one where I said I’d be done with my current WIP by the end of May? You may not be surprised to hear I didn’t make that goal. And exactly what I feared would happen did—we’re almost to the end of the year and I’m still not done.

Sigh.

There’s a whole host of reasons it’s still hanging over me, but the bottom line is I haven’t made it a priority. In fact, I haven’t made my writing a priority. Outside of my regular posts here on Across the Board, I can’t remember the last time I posted to my personal blog. And that’s okay because I quit my very well paid, secure job to spend time with my daughter and run our household. Writing was supposed to be the thing that kept me busy when I had nothing else to do. Well, the last few years I’ve had a lot of other things to focus on. Writing got pushed to the background.

Now I’m ready to bring it back to the front. I was ready in April, but what I quickly learned was that it had been so long since writing was my focus I didn’t know how to get organized around it.

Recently, my daughter started talking about bullet journals. She was annoying me with trying to find her a very specific kind of journal, so I finally Googled what this bullet journaling was all about. Here’s a link to the basic concept if you’re not familiar.

During my research, I got to thinking I could use this system for my writing, so I narrowed my research. The result was lots and lots of links out there with suggestions and tips on how to use bullet journals specifically for writing. There’s a short list at the bottom of this post, but if you’re interested I encourage you to do some of your own research. For example, you might want to research bullet journals for your specific genre. And for those of you doing NaNoWriMo, there are even layouts to help you organize your month of frenzied writing.

Over the weekend I ordered our journals (her’s will be a Christmas gift) and I started to brainstorm what I’d put in my writing journal. Below is what I’ve come up with so far. This may change once I get into the journal, but I like having an idea of where I’m going to start.

- 2019 Goals

- 2019 Memory Bank

- Habit Tracker (writing/editing/exercise)

- Word Counts

- Reading Challenges (yearly/quarterly)

- To Be Read (monthly)

- Book Ideas

- Blogging (dates/topics)

- Collections: one for each book to include plot outline, characters, setting, beta/critique group feedback, plot holes, ideas, titles, cover ideas, etc.

- Book Promotion

- Querying and Submissions

I’m already tracking some of this, but it’s all in separate locations such as Word files, printouts, Excel files, and notebooks. One of the standard items in a bullet journal I don’t plan to incorporate is the monthly/weekly calendar. I have another calendar I use that I’ll keep. That calendar gets bogged down with all my mom/home responsibilities and I don't want to mix all that in with my writing life. That’s how I let it get to the back burner in the first place.

I’m hoping that having a specific bullet journal for my writing will keep it in front of me and help me make it a priority. And besides, I’m addicted to journals (remember this post?), so I loved having a reason to buy yet another one. I’m planning now so I can be ready to hit 2019 running. I’ll update you in a later post once I’ve been using it for a while. I should note that if you do some research on bullet journals you’ll find that some can be really creative and involved. I plan to start simple. I don’t need this to be yet another distraction to my writing by spending all my time creating ornate pages...

Oh—and I’m getting a new laptop soon. I really will have NO excuses for not getting back to a regular writing schedule. It’s time to make it my job again, and not just my hobby.

Have any of you used a bullet journal for your writing? If so, what has worked for you? Any tips or advice?

Helpful links:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRxbUWy4tj0

https://writersedit.com/fiction-writing/complete-guide-bullet-journaling-writers/

http://www.10minutenovelists.com/bullet-journaling-for-writers/

https://www.somethingdelicious.co/2016/08/bullet-journal-writing-novel.html

https://www.tckpublishing.com/bullet-journal-layouts-for-writers/

~ Carrie