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Thursday, January 23, 2014

An Author's Perspective: Tracking Your Characters' Names


I've had earlier posts regarding picking and choosing your characters' names for each work, especially not to have repeating first consonantsso don't have them all start with S for example within one tale. And I've also talked of where to look for names: the phone book, baby name books, obituaries, movie credits, your high school yearbooks, etc. Keep a handy list of your favorites for future use.

But this time I'm thinking we should have a notebook that lists all the characters within each book that we write, then cross-referenced by names, first and last plus any nickname. Yes, create a computer file as well or a spreadsheet.

So for my novel, Good Ole Boys, I would list under the Gs my title along with an alphabetic listing of all names used therein. So my hero and heroine, Holt Seville and Geneva "Neva" Tate, would make that list. I would then also place Holt Seville under both H and S. Geneva would end up under G, N and T.

I doubt Nora Roberts expected to be writing over two hundred novels when she finished her first. I wonder if she tried to not duplicate names along the way. Maybe she created her own system, like I'm describing here, after having twenty or so books published.

For our convenience, I suggest we start one now.


"If your vocation isn’t a vacation, then quit, leap, change careers."

Denise Barker, Author, Blogger, Copy Editor
Books that Build Character(s)



What lies behind you and what lies in front of you pales in comparison to what lies inside of you. Ralph Waldo Emerson
When you give someone a book, you don’t give him just paper, ink, and glue.  You give him the possibility of a whole new life. Christopher Morley
The best inheritance you can leave your kids is an example of how to live a full and meaningful life. Dan Zadra

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

All the Uses for Baking Soda, the Skin Protectant


I was cleaning my kitchen sink pipes this morning with combos of baking soda, vinegar and boiling water.

Have you ever read the back of a baking soda box? It's uses are amazing. Here's the list (more or less quoting its own wording):

  • In the kitchen, use it for scratchless cleaning of stains and grease on appliances both big and small, and china plus pots and pans, even stainless steel.
  • In the bathroom, it safely lifts off dirt and soap scum on tub, shower, sink, toilets, counters, tile, grout and more.
  • In the rest of the house, it deoderizes the garbage pails, litter boxes, carpets, disposals and drains and can be run in your dishwasher in between uses.
  • In your beauty regime, add 1/2 c. to your tub for a refreshing bath or foot soak.
  • In your shampoo, add 1 teaspoon once a week for "fuller, more manageable hair."
  • In place of your exfoliant, after washing your face, apply in a circular motion a paste of 3 parts baking soda to 1 part water. Rinse for a fresh, clean face.

I loved the last two points as those were news to me.

But here was the biggest surprise. On the side panel chart labeled Drug Facts, see this:
Active ingredient: Sodium Bicarbonate 100%
Purpose: Skin Protectant [emphasis added]
Did you know that baking soda is a skin protectant? I did not.

So read those product boxes, folks.


"If your vocation isn’t a vacation, then quit, leap, change careers."

Denise Barker, Author, Blogger, Copy Editor
Books that Build Character(s)



What lies behind you and what lies in front of you pales in comparison to what lies inside of you. Ralph Waldo Emerson
When you give someone a book, you don’t give him just paper, ink, and glue.  You give him the possibility of a whole new life. Christopher Morley
The best inheritance you can leave your kids is an example of how to live a full and meaningful life. Dan Zadra


Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Yellow Prussiate of Soda = MSG?


Do you know what yellow prussiate of soda is? It's supposed to be an anticaking agent. It was in my "fine sea salt."

Which I have tossed in the trash.

Once ingested by my body, it gives me allergic reactions just like any other MSG misnomer. I've got the itchy eyes and scalp and face to prove it. I was eating a snack of leftover roasted potatoes, drizzled with olive oil, garnished with parsley and this sea salt (more than three hours after eating anything else).

It has to be the yellow prussiate of soda added to the sea salt that my body is reacting to.

Unless the food manufacturers are adding MSG to:

  • ten-pound bags of whole russet potatoes or
  • bottled olive oil or
  • dried parsley flakes

without disclosing that fact to consumers who are buying these products.

See my earlier posts about my MSG allergic reactions regarding "natural flavor(ing)" and/or "modified food starch." Remember, I found unsalted butter has MSG in it under the guise of "natural flavors" which is not added to the salted butter variety in two different brands that I checked.

Makes me wonder, when I say "No MSG" to the waitstaff at any restaurant, am I still getting "yellow prussiate of soda" or "modified food starch" or "natural flavor(ing)"?

Now I will start saying:

  • No MSG.
  • No yellow prussiate of soda.
  • No modified food starch.
  • No natural flavoring.

Is anything untainted with MSG at any food establishment? Scary.

I was watching a video of Dr. Vincent Bellonzi, a doctor of chiropractic medicine and certified clinical nutritionist, who states MSG is added to our foods because it makes everything taste better, even dirt. Here's the link: http://completelynourished.com/2010/09/28/40/.

And the government wonders why Americans are getting fatter each year. 

Could be because current laws allow MSG to be hidden in our foods. It shouldn't be added in there at all.

Beware.

"If your vocation isn’t a vacation, then quit, leap, change careers."

Denise Barker, Author, Blogger, Copy Editor
Books that Build Character(s)



What lies behind you and what lies in front of you pales in comparison to what lies inside of you. Ralph Waldo Emerson
When you give someone a book, you don’t give him just paper, ink, and glue.  You give him the possibility of a whole new life. Christopher Morley
The best inheritance you can leave your kids is an example of how to live a full and meaningful life. Dan Zadra

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Inside This Author's Mind: Finding Other Kindred Souls


As an author and a reader and an individual, I love seemingly everything about Bob Mayer: his blended factual fiction, his approach to publishing, his blog/newsletter. The posts are funny, informative and confirm my basic mind-set on a variety of levels. Here's his latest, full of humor and interesting segues that are the hallmark of all us authors, as its title alone should reveal, True Lies 2: Purple Banana Seat Bike; Pink Floyd; Libraries. Check it out here: http://writeitforward.wordpress.com/2014/01/14/true-lies-2-purple-banana-seat-bike-pink-floyd-libraries/.


"If your vocation isn’t a vacation, then quit, leap, change careers."

Denise Barker, Author, Blogger, Copy Editor
Books that Build Character(s)



What lies behind you and what lies in front of you pales in comparison to what lies inside of you. Ralph Waldo Emerson
When you give someone a book, you don’t give him just paper, ink, and glue.  You give him the possibility of a whole new life. Christopher Morley
The best inheritance you can leave your kids is an example of how to live a full and meaningful life. Dan Zadra

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

A Quotation and a Writing Tip


Read this today and loved it, so I'm sharing it here with you. Enjoy!
In the first draft I get it said, in the second I say what I mean, in the third I say it well. Sean PlattRealmAndSands.com


"If your vocation isn’t a vacation, then quit, leap, change careers."

Denise Barker, Author, Blogger, Copy Editor
Books that Build Character(s)


What lies behind you and what lies in front of you pales in comparison to what lies inside of you. Ralph Waldo Emerson
When you give someone a book, you don’t give him just paper, ink, and glue.  You give him the possibility of a whole new life. Christopher Morley
The best inheritance you can leave your kids is an example of how to live a full and meaningful life. Dan Zadra

Monday, January 13, 2014

A US Copy Editor's Perspective: How to Know Which Words to Capitalize in a Title


You could read the applicable rules within 16CMS's 860 pages (sans index and bibliography and appendixes) or ask your copy editor friend or search for it online. Or ...

I found this site where you plug in your proposed title and the software corrects or confirms the capitalization for you, even giving the appropriate 16CMS rule to substantiate same.

Wonderful!

Thought my fellow Indie authors would really appreciate this. Here's the link: http://titlecapitalization.com/#.


"If your vocation isn’t a vacation, then quit, leap, change careers."

Denise Barker, Author, Blogger, Copy Editor
Books that Build Character(s)



What lies behind you and what lies in front of you pales in comparison to what lies inside of you. Ralph Waldo Emerson
When you give someone a book, you don’t give him just paper, ink, and glue.  You give him the possibility of a whole new life. Christopher Morley
The best inheritance you can leave your kids is an example of how to live a full and meaningful life. Dan Zadra

Inside This Author's Mind: Rhetorical Devices


There are many rhetorical devices to choose from. Margie Lawson lists about thirty of them in one of her class notes. You will find differing numbers via an Internet search, just as there are contradictions online as to the basic plot(s), from one on upward.

But for this post I would ask you to question whether you need a rhetorical device at times. I'll use an example derived from my earlier post. Here's the final version:
[S]et the proper mood for that elusive piece that is still floating around in your subconscious but wanting to become physical, tangible, evident in print. 
And this was the drafted version:
[S]et the proper mood for that elusive piece that is still floating around in your subconscious but wanting to become something physical, something tangible, something evident in print. 
I took out the three repetitions of "something" (for added emphasis) and really liked this sentence better without that clutter.

The point of this post? Just because it is a rhetorical device, doesn't make it useful in every incarnation. As my example above illustrates. But I will continue to use them, judiciously, and with a better (stronger) word than "something" to catch the reader's attention.

In fact you'll note the lack of a conjunction with the three items listed at the end of the block quote. That's a rhetorical device in and of itself, the same as writing "physical and tangible and evident in print" is another.

I believe it is more important to write from the heart, where our emotions reside, and double check it with our gut. Our writing should look effortless and not draw attention to its creator but to our tale and its characters.

So if the rhetorical device bumps the reader out of our scene, toss it.


"If your vocation isn’t a vacation, then quit, leap, change careers."

Denise Barker, Author, Blogger, Copy Editor
Books that Build Character(s)



What lies behind you and what lies in front of you pales in comparison to what lies inside of you. Ralph Waldo Emerson
When you give someone a book, you don’t give him just paper, ink, and glue.  You give him the possibility of a whole new life. Christopher Morley
The best inheritance you can leave your kids is an example of how to live a full and meaningful life. Dan Zadra

Saturday, January 11, 2014

Writing Prompt


As a group, we authors are a unique bunch. I have no fear in sharing my latest book idea with my critique partners as it would never be the same in the hands of these creative types. Mine would remain fingerprinted as my own just as each of theirs would be indelibly thus identified.

So, from my brainstorming stash of various words and ideas that stir my imagination, here's just three to churn up a new tale at best or an enjoyable exercise at worst. Have fun with this, people. Whether you like to mind map on teal legal pad pages with glittery crayons or via a computer, or prefer verbal sessions with your writing buddies, or need to stare out the window into your backyard as the tumblers fall into place, get started.

Take this trio and use it to generate a flash fiction story of ~250 WC (about one double-spaced page) using all the necessary plot points to carry you through the three-act process.

  • Play "Somewhere Down the Crazy River" by Robbie Robertson or "Bright Lights" by Gary Clark Jr. or your choice of music to set the proper mood for that elusive piece that is still floating around in your subconscious but wanting to become physical, tangible, evident in print. Or, if you are more visually oriented, check out Pinterest for destinations or homes or famous people or whatever you desire. Don't get lost over there. Remember to come back here. Ha!
  • Make a list of your top ten button-pushing issues, like: bullies, manipulators, people who abuse power, uninvited solicitors who bother you while you are trying to work from home, people who refuse to listen to you or don't respect you and your decisions. Choose the one that fires you up the most, which should give you plenty to say.
  • For this particular project, pick one word from these offerings: toady, nimiety, sozzled, yarborough, oeillade (or one of your own choosing, but make it seemingly unrelated to either of the above).
Now prepare to stretch that gray matter. Set your timer for fifteen minutes and create a composition with valid motivation of (un)likable characters. Continue nonstop, even if you have to write How can I make this work? until something jars you out of your stupor. If you are fast enough, reveal it one way and then the second time go in an opposite direction, as in the good girl and bad girl viewpoints.

And to reiterate my opening paragraph of this post, as many people as do this homework assignment, there are as many variations of same. My fantasy CP will no doubt create a work of wonder, while my shockingly strange-yet-funny horror-writing CP will twist hers into something surprising. Mine will have a happy ending with the good guys winning as justice and fair play prevail in the end.

If this first draft works for you, use it as an outline for a longer book. If not, add this attempt to your scrap paper box.

Now get ready to do one of your own. Pick your three personalized writing prompts. Go!



"If your vocation isn’t a vacation, then quit, leap, change careers."

Denise Barker, Author, Blogger, Copy Editor
Books that Build Character(s)



What lies behind you and what lies in front of you pales in comparison to what lies inside of you. Ralph Waldo Emerson
When you give someone a book, you don’t give him just paper, ink, and glue.  You give him the possibility of a whole new life. Christopher Morley
The best inheritance you can leave your kids is an example of how to live a full and meaningful life. Dan Zadra

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Inside This Author's Mind: Learning from Movies RED and RED 2


Some movies can be useful for us authors as teaching aids, but not all. For example see Larry Brooks's recent post here: http://storyfix.com/novelists-hatch-a-stronger-story-idea-in-2014.

Especially investigate those that speak to you. I really like Brooks's two suggestions (in the same post, link given above) about reading book blurbs to see what interests you, along with checking out movie reviews or recaps, to find what stirs your curiosity. Use that info to create books that come to life for you and hopefully your readership.

But I learned several things from two movies, RED and RED 2. Loved both. The second one did not disappoint, as some sequels do. And what's not to love about Bruce Willis anyway? If you have not seen the TV series Moonlighting starring him (with hair) and Cybill Shepherd, then you won't know about this. But one of the cute one-liners to come from that series was where Maddie (Cybill) calls Dave (Bruce) a "sissy fighter" and proceeds to knock him in the jaw and down onto the floor.

Isn't that a wild beginning for an acclaimed action star, from the Die Hard series to the Fifth Element and more? Makes me smile.

And if you've not seen RED yet, here's something else I'll share with you. Sarah (Mary-Louise Parker) tells Frank (Bruce Willis) that she was expecting him to have hair. While I fell in love with Bruce Willis from Moonlighting forward, I think the older, bald version of him is even better.

Now to the gist of this post. The beauty of each individual author is in the worldview, in the segues, in the unique compilation of events and circumstances woven into a story that could only be written by that one person. Try giving a writing prompt to your fellow authors at your next CP meeting and allow everybody five minutes to produce a piece of flash fiction. Read them. See how totally different they are, based on its creator.

It has to be that way.

Our stories are our fingerprints. They match up to us. They explain us. They identify us. So much so that I believe you could determine who-wrote-what simply by the style evident therein. Given applicable software, you could confirm it too.

So while we have our natural settings within our imaginations and moral codes, tempered with our memories and reactions to life events up to this point, I am certain we can still learn from others.

SPOILER ALERT: Here are some of the interesting but random tidbits I gathered from RED and RED 2:


  • A retired male CIA agent reading a romance novel alone in bed, reading glasses included. What a funny merging of two opposites: the rough-and-tumble killing machine reduced to reading happily ever afters to get the girl. And that's the takeaway here: what is the negative to the positive in your scene? The north to the south?
  • A man flirting with or getting to know a woman over the phone is nothing new. Phone sex would be the erotic version of this. But a retiree calling about his checks and who finds love within the government pension administration? What a brilliant and unexpected PG-13 version of those 1-900 numbers of old. I love it! For this variation, I would suggest you check the heat of your scene. Does it land on the R-rated end or more toward a Disney movie? Surprise your readers.
  • Marvin. What a character he is (played wonderfully by John Malkovich). Proves one of many great lines from the TV series Numb3rs where the DA is telling the FBI team that a suspect may be crazy, but he could still be right. That about sums it up for this RED character. I particularly enjoyed his childlike facial expressions and body language throughout both movies, and the use of the pink pig prop (found only in the first movie)especially Marvin moping in the airport hangar, holding the animal upside down by the tail. There is so much to learn from this one point: go against stereotypes (crazy but not, adult yet child), humor in unexpected places (not only a "stuffed" pig, but pink?), just to spell out two.
  • I'm a sucker for foreign languages. They pull me in, whether I understand them or not. So the fact that Frank can speak Chinese and Russian is intriguing to me and also another insight into the main character. For authors everywhere, I believe we should impart something we love into each of our books. Still we need to mix it up and not bore our readers with the same ole, same ole. Plus add in layers in every story. Don't let it stay one-dimensional.
  • Duct tape is another well-used prop throughout the first movie. But expanding from that point is where Sarah teaches Frank something about interrogating people. How there are other ways than duct-taping them. So the romance-reading government employee taught the best-of-the-best CIA agent a thing or two. Remember in the elevator when she dropped Frank's contact lens (for the eye scan at the CIA offices)? She was cool under pressure. As for our application of this, I just think we should look at the traditional versus the nontraditional, the expert versus the novice, the old versus the new. How can we switch it around in our scene? Remember that our hero isn't always right or doesn't always win just like our villain isn't all bad. Otherwise you end up with cardboard characters. 
  • Oh, and the motel room scene. Here Sarah is making noise that could be misconstrued as a couple making love when she's really just trying to get free from Frank's protective custody before he returns at any moment (she's understandably not accepting his words as the truth that they are). Ha! Very ingenious. This illustrates how we must address the clichéd and the trite. Make it new, as Margie Lawson teaches.
  • The romance between Frank and Sarah is so sweet and feels genuine. Sarah's help (via telephone) encouraging Frank to grow a plant from an avocado seed, Frank buying and reading the books she enjoys, holding hands when they are together...all these actions spell love to me.
Gather from this hodgepodge as you wish. Have fun with your writing (and your research)!

*P.S. Ernest Borgnine was about ninety-three when he made this movie released in 2010. And makes ninety-three look good. Wow. So he was the oldest of the minor characters. But wonderful. When I see him, I am still reminded of McHale's Navy. Sorry we have lost him.

"If your vocation isn’t a vacation, then quit, leap, change careers."

Denise Barker, Author, Blogger, Copy Editor
Books that Build Character(s)


What lies behind you and what lies in front of you pales in comparison to what lies inside of you. Ralph Waldo Emerson
When you give someone a book, you don’t give him just paper, ink, and glue.  You give him the possibility of a whole new life. Christopher Morley
The best inheritance you can leave your kids is an example of how to live a full and meaningful life. Dan Zadra

I Am Such a Reliant Geek


I recently changed from my previous electricity provider to Reliant Energy. I love this company. I have lived in my house since 2000 and have done more energy conservation in that last few months based on Reliant's weekly emails by following its tips therein than in the years previous combined. Go green!

Over the last week, I've staged my different electricity needs to fall on separate days so I could see the impact of each, again per a tool within Reliant's weekly emails. They always come with a graph (noting noontime each day) comparing this week's usage to the prior seven days. It's wonderful. Plus our high/low temps are given. Totally brilliant.

And they weekly estimate your monthly bill based on your current usage. Talk about a boon for us freelancers. Plus they "energy compare" my home to others in my area and also to truly efficient homes. Since becoming a Reliant customer, I am now not as efficient as some, but better than my area. I used to exceed the KWH usage of both groups. Thus I'm making improvements overall. Some of that may be blamed on my old HVAC system, recently replaced as well.

So what did I learn about my dishwasher, oven and dryer? First, my electric dryer sucks the most energy as proven on two nonconsecutive days. I'll call it a 7.5 on the 010 scale (but only as comparing this trio of appliances). Second, my dishwasher pulls only about 2.5. Third, my oven pulls ~2.5, whether roasting a chicken over 105 minutes or reheating the meal in about 30 minutes (both times include the 15 minutes of preheating).

Based on this test, I'll be first air drying a lot of my clothes and towels and such before throwing them in the dryer. If my washing machine was working (spinning dry the clothes first), then my drying time would be less. Still I can work with this data.

Did I say how much I love Reliant? Besides saving me money per KWH, they just have a mind-set that works with mine. They seem to be truly out to help us and our planet.

Note: I don't get paid or otherwise compensated for my posts regarding Reliant and other such companies (like Aldi's) which I happen to enjoy and use. Just like to share the good news with others.


"If your vocation isn’t a vacation, then quit, leap, change careers."

Denise Barker, Author, Blogger, Copy Editor
Books that Build Character(s)



What lies behind you and what lies in front of you pales in comparison to what lies inside of you. Ralph Waldo Emerson
When you give someone a book, you don’t give him just paper, ink, and glue.  You give him the possibility of a whole new life. Christopher Morley
The best inheritance you can leave your kids is an example of how to live a full and meaningful life. Dan Zadra

Friday, January 3, 2014

A Freelancer's Life: Menu Ideas for All "Seasons"


As a freelancer, I never know how much money is coming in this month or the next. So I have to accommodate. And, in this economy, even hourly and salaried people may be feeling the pinch as well.

Remember too that the terms rich and poor are relative. What is one man's poor season would be considered rich to another. Plus both are subject to fluctuations.

With that in mind, here are some ideas at three different levels of expense:

Po'Boy Meals

  1. Ramen noodles ($2.09 for 12 or $0.174/pkg at Aldi's in the DFW area, one serving)
  2. Baked potato, butter, S&P (10# at Aldi's for $1.29 w/~25 spuds per bag = $0.05/one serving, not counting butter and S&P)
  3. Rice (10# at Aldi's for $5.29 or ~23.5 cups, where 1 c. = $0.225/per cup, could be 1 or 2 servings)
  4. Pasta (egg noodles, $1.00 at box store, makes ~4 servings), add butter, S&P, Parmesan, as available = $0.25/serving (not counting extras)
  5. Oatmeal (per Internet search: $3.47 to $4.80, whether quick cooking or original, with 30 servings each) = $0.12 to $0.16/serving
  6. Eggs ($1.19 for a dozen large or $0.099/egg at Aldi's; so you could, in theory, eat ten scrambled eggs for less than a dollar)

I've had fun eating all these foods, as everything on this list was denied me at some point as I cleaned up my diet. Moreover these one-item meals allow you to easily detect allergies to food additives because these carbs (or protein when speaking of eggs) stick with you for well over three hours before you eat something else to muddy the source of your sensitivity reactions.

I've had horrible itchy eye symptoms to three products listing "natural flavorings" (instead of its true name, MSG): canned Texas-style beans, green tea in a jug and butter (weird). It had to be the butter because I put it on a baked russet potato along with S&P. I doubt the potatoes have MSG added to them; my salt lists only the one item; the ground black pepper has no list of ingredients. Thereafter, when I put olive oil on my potato in lieu of the butter, I had no such reaction.

I think the generic brand of those beans doesn't add MSG, no matter its name, so I'll not be buying the brand name for now. I'm checking out other teas to substitute for this particular one that affects me so. As for the butter, if you'll check the labels when you shop next, you may see what I saw. The unsalted kind, from two different brands, each had MSG added to them under the guise of "natural flavorings," whereas the salted versions did not.

Go figure.

In addition to the menus listed above, I would suggest buying whatever seasonal fruit is on sale, whether a 3-lb. bag of mixed apples, or like grapefruit and oranges during the winter. Same thing with produce. When you can, buy a good quality lettuce (not iceberg) or a 3-lb. bag of onions to add a little variety to the starches listed above. Summer is a great time to get four or five ears of corn for one dollar.

Note that, while I am completely off my diet eating these carbs, I only gained back five pounds eating this way, over the holiday season too. I was surprised it wasn't more. And I haven't yet resumed my daily exercise either, other than yard work (raking leaves; pruning trees damaged by our recent ice storm), to offset this. So I can see me losing the weight (again), maybe even while eating these carbs, once I reincorporate weight lifting and yoga into my daily routine.

Almost There

  1. Ramen noodles (two pkgs = $0.34) with tuna ($0.65/can at Aldi's); total = $0.45 each for 2 servings
  2. Baked potatoes and canned beansalthough, of course, dried is cheaper, maybe fresh too ($0.05/potato + $0.49 for 1 can, 2 servings, green beans; per serving = $0.245); total = $0.295/serving
  3. Rice and beans (could be ~$0.33 with canned beans per serving; less with dried beans you cook yourself)
  4. Corn bread (Jiffy brand is $0.59/box online, ~3 servings) and canned collard greens (Glory Foods' seasoned greens, 27 oz., 3 huge servings or $0.496 x 3 = $1.49/can); total = $0.696/serving [Again this meal would be cheaper to buy the fresh collard greens and cook them yourself; but the canned are nice to have because their shelf life is longer than the fresh version in the refrigerator.]

With any of the above, you get to have two items together on the same plate. Almost there...

Meat!

Here's my favorite idea. Roast a meatwhether a beef roast, a whole chicken, a brisket, a pork roast; whatever you like and can affordand eat it over the week to come. I'll use chicken as my example.

I got a wonderful whole chicken at Aldi's. Don't have the packaging any longer so have no idea what brand it was. [Note: Aldi's has brands I've never heard of before, but each one that I've tried has been great, and some are one-third the cost of what I pay for the same thing at the big box store. A quick Internet search states several are Trader Joe's brands.]

So the chicken was delicious and about $0.99/lb (4.8-pound chicken for $4.56). I seasoned it with EVOO and herbs of my choice, and then roasted it with just what I had on hand: celery and onions. 

This was the biggest chicken I had bought in a long time (and the cheapest), with four servings from the two breasts alone. Then I deboned the meat and used just the white meat to make jambalaya, with browned beef sausage, sliced, added to it. Got another 4 servings from that. After deboning, I made chicken broth from the bones, letting it simmer on the stovetop for hours. That could be used, once strained, for chicken tortilla soup. Yum!

Granted, you will be eating chicken in some form almost all week for one or two meals daily (depending on serving sizes and how many people are eating each time), but hopefully these variations will keep you from being bored with the idea of chicken yet again.

Using the dark meat, I plan to make chicken spaghetti. It's simple and calls for one can of cream of celery soup and another can of cream of chicken soup (or cream of mushroom even). Mix them together, with a little water, pour over cooked spaghetti and the leftover chicken. Mix well. Top with cheese and pop in the oven to warm all. Delish!

But I'm not purchasing canned soups and will instead thicken my homemade chicken broth with corn starch, adding chopped fresh celery (slightly cooked) along with canned mushrooms, both of which are already in my kitchen.

Even if you have just a little chicken still remaining after fixing all of the above, that small bit calls for soup. And for you to empty out your fridge. That leftover rice? Add it. Have wilted lettuce? Drop it in. Bread? Throw it in the mix. The classic French onion soup has bread atop it. Italians make a bread salad.

Don't waste anything that's still good. A bell pepper may be old enough that it won't be a good raw snack, but you can season your soup with it. Every ethnic group has a version of this, whether it's called goulash or hash or whatever. Clean out your fridge and put what you can in the soup pot.

Schedule one night of the week as potluck. Even if it is baked potatoes stuffed with cooked broccoli and the last of the cream cheese. Be inventive.

Inspiration

I'll leave you with three quotes which hopefully uplift you during the hard times.

First, from the Bible. A widow was about to lose her two sons to indentured slavery to pay off her dead husband's debts. Taken from 2 Kings 4:17 (KJV). Read carefully what the man of God told her in the second verse:
And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? Tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil.
And he proceeded to tell her what to do. She and her sons followed his instructions, pouring the never-ending oil into additional urns or containers of all sorts procured from her neighbors. When there were no more empty pots, there was no more oil to pour (a story in itself). She then sold it all, paid the debt, and she and her sons lived off the rest.

My point is: what do you have right now? Maybe clothes that can be dropped off at the consignment shop? How about something to sell on eBay, such as movies you don't watch any longer? If it works for you and your situation, sell your car and buy a second-hand bicycle instead. Have a garage sale.

What do you have in your house? Look through the eyes of someone in a situation worse than yours. See how rich you truly are. Sell what you can. Give away some things. Be grateful for everything you do have.

Donations to your local shelter may not put money in your hand but it puts credits in your spiritual account. And God honors that.

Second, from Michael Pollan in his book In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto.
He showed the words chocolate cake to a group of Americans and recorded their word associations. Guilt was the top response. If that strikes you as unexceptional, consider the response of French eaters to the same prompt: celebration
Third, from Oprah Winfrey.
I know for sure that what we dwell on is who we become.
Change your thoughts and you change your life. Plus, aren't you happier when you think on the good things?

Here's to abundant happiness...

P.S. I'm not getting paid or otherwise compensated to mention any brand names herein. I just happen to like these.



"If your vocation isn’t a vacation, then quit, leap, change careers."

Denise Barker, Author, Blogger, Copy Editor
Books that Build Character(s)



What lies behind you and what lies in front of you pales in comparison to what lies inside of you. Ralph Waldo Emerson
When you give someone a book, you don’t give him just paper, ink, and glue.  You give him the possibility of a whole new life. Christopher Morley
The best inheritance you can leave your kids is an example of how to live a full and meaningful life. Dan Zadra





A Freelancer's Life: Basic Overview


Self-employment has always been around, just maybe not as prevalent in recent decades as in the agricultural age. So my way of life is different from the norm.

Before I went freelance in 2007, I used to think that people running errands in their jeans during the standard 9-to-5 workday must not have a job, right?

Wrong.

Granted, they may be well-off or retired. Or they might work nights. Or they could be a gofer for a company that allows them to wear casual clothes and drive about town.

Or they are a freelancer, like me. Wouldn't change it now that I've lived the life.

Requires persistence. You must be self-driven, self-directed. Highly efficient with your time. Not easily distracted. Or at least leave your particular attractions for nighttime entertainment, as your reward, after the day's work is done.

Demands self-discipline. You must be able to make the hard decisions. You should have no trouble choosing to forgo cable, new clothes and weekly trips to see the latest movie at the theaters in order to make your mortgage payment. Not just at the outset but for however long until you reach your goal. Mine is to have enough royalties coming in to pay my bills with some left over.

Takes guts. I don't receive an exact amount deposited into my checking account on the first and the fifteenth. It's hard to budget when you have no idea how much money you will be dealing with for any month. Through each of these seventy-eight months, I made it work, even those periods with no money coming in. Even while seeking more at-home work as a copy editor, I've had a "day" job twice to tide me over when times were lean.

Once at a pizza place. That was fun because the shifts varied. I could still do my copyediting projects and some of my own writing afterward. Another year I got a cashier's job at a box store. Again with flexible hours. Even started a 401(k), which the business matched up to 5 percent. Not all corporations do that anymore.

So you do what you have to do (legally, of course) to pay the house note, but it should nevertheless be fun for you. This month I'm scheduled to paint rent houses (weather permitting). Pick something you would enjoy, like working at a book store or at your favorite fast-food joint, or mow lawns during the summer and walk dogs during the winter. Or you could be a plumber's helper or work at one of the home-improvement chain stores or for a local farmer during harvest times.

You decide. Isn't it great?

I'm also an author, earning royalty payments, just not enough to support me yet. Therefore, I need the time factor to work, for my readership to find me. And I want to put up more new material. Although my offerings are mostly nonfiction (nine of the twelve), my focus is on fiction now as I work through my remaining works-in-progress and ready them for publication.

Every season I plan to upload a new novel (or a short story collection or my latest annual quotations volume or other such nonfiction). Sometimes I don't make it. But mostly I hit the mark. I think it is more important for me to focus on getting four books out each year and not let anything else dilute that intent. Sure, if I were a full-time author, I'd meet and exceed that deadline.

Once I stopped working overtime in my previous career, I was away from home fifty-five hours a week (including the commute time). I work far more than that now with no two weeks off or sick days or holidays. But it all feels like a vacation nonetheless because I am doing something I'm passionate about, whether writing my own books plus my posts here, or copyediting another author's work.

My blogging is where I pay it forward. Don't look to me for marketing advice as this and Pinterest and writing good books are it. Then the passage of time takes over. So start now. For the clock ticks on regardless.

That's the broad strokes of this lifestyle. I try to have several income streams. I work year-round, weekends, holidays, over whatever hours I choose, be it 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. or 2:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. or just two hours one day when I have errands to run and then twelve the next (I don't recommend that, BTW, although I've pulled a few of those to be sure to meet my deadlines).

But don't let my tale of seven years as a freelancer and almost three years as a published Indie author (on four major online venues) discourage you. Another career field may move quicker. For other authors it takes less or more time. The success factor remains as individual as we are.

While I love being my own boss, I admit it takes a certain mind-set and fortitude, so it's not for everyone. I've learned to worry less. I've learned to appreciate money more.

So if you see me at the grocery store at 9:30 a.m. on a weekday in my jeans, remember that I do earn my living. I just happen to work for myself. And love it!


"If your vocation isn’t a vacation, then quit, leap, change careers."

Denise Barker, Author, Blogger, Copy Editor
Books that Build Character(s)



What lies behind you and what lies in front of you pales in comparison to what lies inside of you. Ralph Waldo Emerson
When you give someone a book, you don’t give him just paper, ink, and glue.  You give him the possibility of a whole new life. Christopher Morley
The best inheritance you can leave your kids is an example of how to live a full and meaningful life. Dan Zadra