productivity and Internet surfing

Still finding Backpack immensely useful. I check my main To-Do list every day and e-mail myself a copy so I can take my laptop offline and still have access to the list. Thanks to the Backpack people for posting my cartoon in their Web log!

After posting the picture from our Nahanni trip yesterday afternoon in Blatherings, I got distracted and started fixing up some of the pages in my old trip report. Augh. I'm so bad.

I'm going to follow a tip offered by writer Jennifer Gibbs in this excellent article she has on her Web site. She warns new writers that the home computer is one of the dangerous enemies of productivity; I think her advice easily applies to many seasoned writers as well! Her advice:

"...Be sure to make an accessible list of what exactly it is you are looking for, and even better, give yourself a maximum time limit that you can spend. If you don't already have one, go out and buy an egg timer and keep it handy. This single purchase has increased my productivity and prevented me from wasting a lot of time."



Instead of an egg timer, I'm going to use the computer timer I use to remind me to take arm breaks. Whenever I start "just checking e-mail" or surfing in the middle of the work day, I'm going to set the timer for five minutes. I tried this yesterday, and I was shocked at how quickly the time went by.

When I'm working on fiction writing, I can take my laptop somewhere there's no Internet access. When working on nonfiction projects, I find the Internet invaluable for checking facts, doing market research, etc. The challenge, however, is not to let a so-called "just checking this fact for work" session turn into a "well, I might as well catch up on some blogs and HEY, what an interesting news story, must follow that up for just a bit..." tangent.

For those who work with constant Internet access, especially those who work at home and therefore aren't being supervised by anyone other than yourself...what tips do you have for staying productive and minimizing your time online? Please post your answers in Livejournal or Blatherchat (see links below). I'll compile answers and link to the results from Inkygirl as well as here.

Thanks!

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William Shatner and Fairy Tails

I was browsing through the Toronto Star on Saturday and my attention was caught by the familiar-looking face to the right: William Shatner. Looked closer at the so-called "appointment" (click on the image to see the full clipping) and realized it was an advertisement for All-Bran. Pretty amusing, once I got over the bizarre first impression....

Anyway, I visited our old place on the weekend to check for mail, and found a priority mail delivery from Tekno Books with page proofs for a short story I co-wrote with Michelle Sagara West several years ago. Looks like DAW's publishing the anthology after all, yay! It's called Fairy Tails, and will be coming out in September. In case you haven't guessed already from the title, the common theme involves cats and fairy tales. Ironic, really, since both Michelle and I are allergic to cats.

Other authors in the anthology include Charles de Lint, Alan Dean Foster, Elizabeth Ann Scarborough, Josepha Sherman, Jody Lynn Nye and Andre Norton. I'm sure Michelle's jaded about this by now, having published a zillion short stories already, but I'm pretty darned thrilled.

18 more days until we get possession of our new house. Jeff and I have decided we're going to stay over the first night even though we aren't officially moving in until after renovations are finished; we're going to bring sleeping bags and stay in an empty house. OUR empty house.

Are we excited? Ok, maybe just a tad. :-)

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Writing, Inkygirl, my famous sister

For those that missed my post on the weekend, ice-out has officially been called for last Thursday. Jeff has updated the Ice-out page.

I was amused by the photo above, which Steve Brinich took while walking through his neighbourhood. I checked out their Web site, but it looks like OHI is an acronym rather than a last name. Darn, thought I found a new relative. :-)

Knowing that housestuff (we get possession in 26 days!) is likely going to be cutting into my writing time, I've been focussing on fiction writing lately, with a goal of getting Puck's Hollow finished and sent off to my agent. This is the novel I wrote for Nanowrimo a couple of years ago before my tendinitis hit, and I liked it enough to want to edit/polish it for publication. With the various setbacks I've encountered since (including a sprained elbow and a detached retina), it's been a bit of a struggle and it's sometimes been hard to stay positive throughout. Viavoice was fine for nonfiction, but agonizing for fiction writing.

BUT things are getting better, and continue to improve.



My article in the current issue of Country Connections magazine.


Now that my tendinitis has improved enough so I can do solid stints of writing at a time, I'm VERY keen to get this book finished so I can start/finish editing other fiction projects. I carry my laptop around and work whenever and wherever I can; I take soundproof headphones with me to block out whatever chaos is going on. I set my computer alarm to force me to take arm breaks every 30 minutes. I've been spending much time offline, and (as some of you have already become aware, I know) my personal e-mail and blog-reading have fallen behind. Thanks for your patience.

I still comb the freelance writing job boards for opportunities and update Inkygirl when I do. If any of you have writer-type friends, please do tell them about Inkygirl; I've only recently started to update regularly. Inkygirl is a weblog for writers who work from home, and I post telecommuting jobs for writers, resources, writing-related editorial, cartoons and Painter experiments (the latter is part of my ongoing prep for illustration work).



By the way, Joy Kogawa's Naomi's Road has been rereleased with a brand-new cover and interior illustrations...by my sister! From Amazon.ca's reviews: "Based on her award-winning adult novel, Obasan, Joy Kogawa's Naomi's Road takes younger readers on a remarkable journey into the life and times of six-year-old Naomi Nakane as she grows up in the shadow of one of the darkest moments in Canadian history."

While you're ordering Joy's book, of course, you should also buy a copy of Ruth's new book, Me and My Sister, which is only $5.95 on Amazon.ca and Amazon.com.

Ruth just got back from her book tour in Ottawa and is getting interviewed by YTV as I post this Blathering, by the way. I believe she'll be appearing on a show called This is Daniel Cook. I'll post more airing schedule info when I know more.

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