GETTING PUBLISHED IS MURDER OR MAYBE IT SHOULD BE

Are you serious about writing? Do you dream about seeing your name in print - I mean are you willing to do anything to get published?

I don’t want any namby-pamby excuses or complaints about lack of time: Everyone has the same 24 hours to use or abuse. And every writer needs to revise and redraft if they want to refine.

So how do wanna-be writers, who work in the real world, find time to complete these tasks?

It's easy—as murder.

All you need to do is decide whether or not it's important enough (that you love writing so much) you'd actually be willing to kill an old friend:

Or in other words, your T.V.

And here's how to do it (at least every now-and-then): That one program in the middle of the week that you never miss: miss it.

That one cooking class you watch every Saturday:
skip it.

That evening news you can't neglect: nix it.

You can find a summary on the internet or during a quick conversation at the water-cooler at work and that extra hour or two you’ve just wiggled into your schedule will come in handy when you sit down to finish your latest project.

There’s just no way around it: the truth is, writing takes time and the best way to make time is to be organized so here are a few ways to get started and some tips to keep you on top of that mountain of paperwork threatening to create an avalanche all over your desk.

TIPS:

1) Keep it Simple;
2) Make a Date, plan some time to write – then do it;
3) Back Everything Up;
4) And last, but not least, kill your T.V.

One of the most important things is to schedule time for the love of your life (writing). Simply make a date with your computer because every relationship needs work. Think of writing as a new-found relationship and you’ll manage to make time for your love. Pencil a small fragment of time into your computer calendar then stick to it. Even if it’s only 15 minutes a day, two times a week, it will be more than you’re committing to your writing career right now. And, at least this way, you’ll be spending a small chunk of time developing your talent.

After all this time and energy you’ve invested, remember, your work is only as safe as you keep it. So back everything up; it can be an inexpensive thumb drive (also known as a flash drive), CDs, or even floppy disks, but make sure you label your accessories – or otherwise you’ll get caught in that same unorganized boat you were in before.

So next time you're thinking you don't have the time to sit down and write, remember all you have to do is commit murder: "KILL your T.V."

Sake Sunday . . . ?

Sake Anyone . . . ?

Sunday Sake, Spice and Sushi

I went to a Sake, Sushi and Spice Class at the Las Vegas Lake Resort.

SPICE

Everyone likes to have a little color. Some people pay a lot of money to get spray-on tans or to fake-n-bake. I should know because I never get more than dark-white, no matter how much time I spend in the sun.

Well, your chicken needs a little color too. One of Chef Adam’s quick tips was to use paprika and tumeric to color your chicken-before you roast it. He said if you rub these spices on the skin of your chicken, it will give it a beautiful yellowish-red color, and no one likes to look at the pasty-white appearance of an untanned chicken. Plus, it will add a little flavor.

Taking a class with a wonderful Chef who taught us tricks, tips and helpful hints was a lot of fun.

I’m not an adventurous eater by any means. My husband, on the other hand, will eat just about anything – but then maybe that’s one of the reasons we’ve been married for over 26 years. I’m not a daring cook either. But after taking this class, I’m going to try a few new things and put my life-long learning to the test.

One of the areas I’ve never been too daring about is using spice, there’s a reason people say variety is the spice of life, so I’m going to try living a little by adding some spice to my love affair . . . with food. Chef Adam had a list of must-have spices that he handed out. These were pretty common spices like salt, pepper, garlic and cinnamon. But he added some unusual spices to his “Must-Have” list and then he let us take a taste-test. I asked him where we could find spices like Ras A-Hanout, Harissa, Za’atar, and Berbere.

He said you probably won’t find them at your local grocery food store but some of the organic markets will have them on hand, like Whole Foods, Trader Joes, and New Seasons.

I don’t know that I ever would have run out and bought these spices without tasting them first because spices can be expensive and if you don’t like them, you’re money is going to go to waste.

A few of his quick tips to Spice Up Your Life:

• Grind fresh herbs and spices to give your food a more robust flavor.
• Roast your spices before grinding them.
• Freshly ground spices will last about six months before losing their flavor
• Spices can turn bitter if cooked too long – so patience is a key in cooking with spice. Don’t add spices to your meal until it is at least half-way done.
• Dried spices are stronger than fresh herbs – so be careful when you add them to your dishes.
• Don’t use more than 3 new spices at one time – at least until you get used to them, otherwise you might be overpowered with the aromas, flavors and spice.

SAKE

If you’re like me, you might be afraid to order a drink because you have a few questions first, like:

• How do you even say the word . . . ?
• Is it a beer, a wine or a spirit?
• What is the actual alcohol content?
• Is it served hot or cold?

And you might even have a few more of your own.

Well, first, Sake is properly pronounced “sah-kay”. But people in different countries might argue and as long as you have a drink in your hand, who really cares whether you say toe-mot-oh or toe-mate-oh . . . ? It still tastes the same.

Next, it is hard to define what sake is although it isn’t a distilled spirit like vodka. Sake is made like beer, from starchy substances, rather than like wine and created from fruit. Sake is made from grain. But unlike beer, sake is never carbonated. So, sake is a fermented drink but that doesn’t make it sound too good. Oh well. . . cheers.

Sake is strong in alcohol content: 14 to 16% compared to beer at 4 to 6% and wine at 8 to 14%. So be careful.

And it is served both hot and cold depending on the type of sake. Premium ginjo along with super-premium daiginjo sake should be chilled to about 44 degrees. Standard sake and Honjozo can be served chilled either way but should not be heated above 130 degrees or the flavor will be lost.

SUSHI

Let me leave you with some pictures:

Ben Folds

Earth-Friendly Friday - GREENPEACE

Do you want to go green? What's the best way to do it? How do you do it?

There's probably nothing more green than Greenpeace.

"In 1971, motivated by their vision of a green and peaceful world, a small team of activists set sail from Vancouver, Canada, in an old fishing boat. These activists, the founders of Greenpeace, believed a few individuals could make a difference."

I love that quote because my favorite show of all time is It's a Wonderful Life, which shows that ONE person can make a huge difference in the world.

Answer to Thought for Thursday

Answer: (This one you should have guessed) Massachusetts and the Boston Cream Donut

(This one was harder)

Louisiana and the Beignet

Did anyone know?... I'm curious, no, really, I'm hungry. Time for a pastry break.

THOUGHT FOR THURSDAY

QUESTION(S): What two states have OFFICIAL donuts?

And, do you know what the donuts are?

(Come on, take a guess. Everyone must like one donut-throw it into the ring.)

Then come back at 3:00 to see, maybe you were right.

ANSWER TO WORD FOR WEDNESDAY

Procrastination: to defer action; delay: to procrastinate until an opportunity is lost.

So, for all us wanna be writer types, procrastination means not sitting down and getting busy typing. We have to set some priorities if we want to meet our goals - whatever those goals might be. So, this is my challenge to you:

1) Set aside some personal time to do the thing you want to do (whether that's writing or not)
2) Then do whatever that thing is. (It's so easy to let time slip by and then it's gone.)
3) Don't set unrealistic goals (but set some goals)

Now, go on, get busy.