Working Holiday

First, congratulations to everyone who participated in NaNoWriMo 2017. I hope most of you did better than me, but I'm proud of all of you for trying. Proud of me, too -- I gave it a shot, which was fun, and tried some new things, which seems to be my latest trend.

I'm writing through the holidays this month, but I've decided not to use that as an excuse to avoid all the merry and bright stuff. I'm not a big fan of the season, but my crew is, so I'm going to try to do a little something every day to get me in the spirit to celebrate with them. Yesterday I did a mini-makeover of my daughter's room with some pillows, a snowflake throw and some cute animal objects. Today I'm starting to put together a winter art quilt. Tomorrow I'll write my cards and order the flowers I send my mom every year. After that I'll visit the no-kill shelter to make my holiday donation, and think of other stuff I can do for others. Christmas is always a little more palatable when you're actively giving or doing something just for fun.

I've been invited to join a small writer's group that I met during NaNoWriMo, which is startling (but very cool.) I'm seriously considering it. It's low-key, I like everyone in the group, and it might be time for me to get out of the Batcave every now and then. I'm no longer out in the public eye with my work (quel soulagement!) so I don't have put on pantyhose and makeup and pretend like I'm Bestseller Chick. I can just be me -- and that would definitely be a novelty. But I'm still shy, socially awkward and not especially politic, so I do have to think about it.

For the blog I've decided to manually upload all the old photos for my posts to Blogger's hosting system so I can keep everything here versus replicating the PBW archive into e-books. I have to do this in my spare time, so I've got ten weeks done and about seven hundred more weeks to go. It's a nice project, though, and will allow me to reminisce a little.

So what's up with you all? Anyone have their own tactic to work through the holidays? Let us know in comments.

Wishing You

Working the Holidays

In the past I sometimes tried to take off work for the month of December to enjoy the holidays and recharge my batteries, and Publishing generally cooperated because they shut down almost entirely, too. Since going freelance, however, I've chosen to work seven days a week. I do take time for family dinners and events (and I actually gave myself Thanksgiving Day off this year) but other than that I am writing for at least eight hours every single day of the year.

It's no big deal for me; I'm doing what I love for terrific clients who appreciate me and pay me very well for my efforts. That income covers my kid's college tuition, my bills and keeps the pantry stocked. My guy may have to retire next year, so what I can save also will help when we transition to living on his fixed income. It will be another decade or so before I can retire, so I'm determined to make the most of the income-earning years I have left. If that means working through the holidays, I'm on board.

Family and friends with day jobs and/or who aren't writers -- which, let's face it, is practically everyone in a writer's life -- do not always understand a writer's working holiday. We hear things like, "Oh, you can type that up later" or "Shouldn't you take a break?" or even "Can't you get that done already so we can have a good time?" They seem oblivious to the fact that through the rest of the year we face the same harassment from all directions. During the holidays it's also easy to feel resentful because the day jobbers usually do have weekends and Christmas Day to party while we're stuck in our writing space trying to get things done.

Let's remind ourselves of the universal truths about writing:

1. No one but another writer will ever grasp what you do for your job. So why justify it to people who never will?

2. Writers have a long-standing rep as solitary, long-suffering, socially awkward and badly-dressed hermits. I know, you're thinking, "And why is that a problem?" but the nice people who aren't us don't get it.

3. They will never know what goes into the work, and if they did, they might lock us up.

Seriously, you can navigate the rough waves of a writer's working holiday by using your common sense. Unless you're under a crushing deadline, set aside some time for your friends and family. If you can't, make a date to see them after you slay your deadline (for this you will have to apologize, but it's better than a no.)

Send some cards and/or make a phone call. The reason these people bother you so much is because they care about you. Or they want a gift. Anyway, a cheerful card or a quick fifteen-minute conversation may get you off the hook.

Do group things so you can see as many loved ones as possible in one shot. A family holiday party isn't that difficult to throw together -- have everyone bring a dish and make it pot luck; that's always fun -- and you can check off a bunch of names from your to-see list.

Ask for time off from the family fun as a personal favor for you. I have no problem at all saying to my guy "You can handle dinner for the next three days, okay?" or "I'm going to work at the library today; please walk the dogs for me" any time during the year. This week he's been especially wonderful in helping me out around the house and running errands so I can finish a deadline project today.

Finally, put in the time for family and friends when you need to. It's easy to forget the people you care about when you're buried in the work, but it doesn't hurt to make an effort for them, too. For example: I was going to put up another off-to-write post and unplug today, but I haven't been around much. So here you go, fifteen minutes of me. Now I really am off to write.

My Holiday Ten

Ten Things I'm Doing for the Holidays

Baking Every Day: I may be only an average cook but to be conceited for a moment, man, can I bake. I kick off the holiday baking season by making my guy a real German chocolate cake for his birthday, and then I get into experimenting with breads, sweet rolls, cookies and other treats. I always discover new keeper recipes this way, like making apple strudel with puff pastry. The nice bonus of baking during the holidays is the heat from the oven keeps the kitchen warm, and your house always smells wonderful.

Giving Something Back: 'Tis the season to be generous, and to do my part I'm making an effort to volunteer, donate food and hand out books. If you receive a food gift this year that doesn't fit into your holiday menu plans check with your local food bank, homeless shelter or foster care program to see if they can use it for their clients.

Handmaking Gifts: Since my surgeries created some financial challenges for us I'm handmaking most of my gifts this year. I often make lap quilts (you can download a bunch of free quilting e-books from McCall's Quilting by signing up for their newsletter here), food gifts or crochet a warm scarf or hat.

Including Others: In keeping with my parents' tradition of always having an extra place at the table, we're inviting people to share meals and good times with us during the holidays. These are usually people who live alone, who don't have the means to do it on their own, or who would otherwise have nowhere to go.

Listening to Christmas Music: Over the years I've acquired a great collection of Christmas music, and every day in December I load up the CDs in the stereo and let them play; The Nutcracker Suite is my favorite holiday mood booster.

Making Books: I burn through a lot of journals during the year, so whenever I have some spare time I've been making new blank journals for 2015. One interesting article I saw recently shows you how to easily make a custom journal from a composition book (which you can buy at most dollar stores.) This is also a nifty idea for gift-making.

Recycling Christmas Cards: Almost any used Christmas card can be turned into a postcard by clipping it in half and writing on the back of the cover image. Small cards make great gift tags, too. Martha Stewart has nine more ways to recycle your holiday cards here.

Remembering Dad: My Dad may be gone but he will never be forgotten; there is one thing I do every holiday that is just between him and me, to let him know he's still here in my heart. This sort of habit helps with the sadness, too.

Show Your Appreciation: There are people in your life who provide you with regular if not daily service, and the holidays are a great opportunity to say thank you to them. Living out in the country makes us a bit inconvenient for deliveries, for example, so every year I show my appreciation for our wonderful rural postal carrier with a gift card to our local grocery store (a great one-size-fits-all gift, too, as no matter what holiday anyone celebrates, they always need to eat.)

Writing Real Letters: E-mail and texting may be convenient, but nothing beats receiving a handwritten letter in the mail, so I'm setting aside time every day to write a real letter to someone on my Nice list.

HoHoHum Ten

Ten Things I Hate About Your Holiday Story

24/7 Bliss: The arrival of the holidays has mysteriously transformed your entire crew of non-religious, deeply-flawed, potentially interesting characters into a quasi-Borg Hive of Happy People Who Must Do Charitable Things and Make Deep Personal Sacrifices to Surprise That Character They Couldn't Stand Before Thanksgiving. They also seem to infect everyone they meet with this Be of good cheer or you will be assimilated nonense, too.

Behaving Perfectly Pets: Dogs, cats and other pets in your holiday story seem to spend all their time cuddling small grabby children, fetching wrapped presents and looking adorable as they pose by the decorated Christmas tree, instead of what they'd really be doing, like biting those children, gnawing or peeing on those presents, and trying to climb up or knock down the damn tree.

Chesty Chop: I know your male protag has an awesome-looking chest, and you like to show it off every ten pages, but sending him out shirtless in subzero weather to chop firewood just so his lady love can sigh over his pecs from the window? Really?

Death Takes an Extended Holiday: Doomed characters never expire on Christmas Day -- in fact, no matter what shape they're in, no one does. Anyone destined to buy the farm does it at least a month before or the day after. In the case of the Dec. 26th RIP, they must of course have an utterly magical Christmas that they declare was the best of their life right before they drop dead.

Give Me a Break: Everyone receives marvelous/wonderful/awesome gifts in Holiday Story Land. There is never anything silly or weird or cheap or inappropriate. All the gift clothes, shoes and engagement rings fit perfectly, too.

Santa to the Rescue: No matter if they're bell-ringer Santas or mall Santas or Uncle Herb dressed up as Santa, the Mr. Claus in your story will without fail provide some invaluable assistance or a wondrous revelation for your characters that a) eradicates the black moment; b) permits star-crossed lovers to uncross their stars or c) saves someone or something from imminent bankruptcy.

Snow No-No #1: Despite the fact that it's been snowing steadily in your story for the past three weeks, no character ever has to cancel travel plans, consider the possibility of road closures or even shovel their way out to the car -- which mysteriously always starts no matter how long it's been sitting out there, and is never buried under what should logically by now be a seventeen-foot drift.

Snow No-No #2: Your characters have been snowbound alone together in an abandoned cabin long enough to have wild monkey sex on every available flat surface in place, and constantly cuddle in front of the fireplace that never stops burning, and profess their love while making snow angels out in the yard. This is wonderful, until you consider they're also exclusively living on the handful of granola bars the heroine conveniently found in her purse which, according to my calculations, even if nibbled slowly would have run out a week ago.

Snow No-No #3: Have you ever actually had sex in the snow? If not, then you should know that at zero degrees, no matter what they're doing, your half-naked characters will begin suffering from frostbite in about ten to fifteen minutes. Guess where? So some advice: speed it up.

Stocking Stupidity: Here's another thing in Christmas stories that makes me crazy: fabric stockings full of candy hung all night from a mantle over a roaring fireplace, yet somehow they never catch fire. And since all that heat generated by the roaring fire rises up over them, why aren't they filled with liquid chocolate in the morning?

What do you hate in holiday stories? Share your gripes in comments.

What's Your Sign's Gift?

Kelli Fox has an interesting article here with holiday gift suggestions based on your recipient's zodiac sign. I never considered gift-giving from this angle, so I checked out my sign (Cancer) and saw it started with an excellent suggestion:

Something you made yourself that represents comfort and connection, such as a personal framed photograph or basket of spiced muffins, will be extra meaningful

Yes, absolutely. Handmade gifts of any kind are wonderful. This year I've been hand-making most of my own holiday gifts; I also adore gifts that are made of recycled or repurposed materials.

As for the rest of her suggestions:

Photo album filled with family pictures -- I'm the family photographer, so they'd have to raid my computer, but I'd certainly like this one.

Genealogy software or a framed family tree -- Not a happy gift for someone who is adopted, unfortunately.

Velvet throw pillows -- I do love velvet, but it's a pet hair magnet. Also doesn't really go with any room in my house.

A wine rack stocked with a few choice bottles -- Unless your recipient, like me, doesn't use alcohol; then it's going to be a very pricey rack of kitchen drain cleaner. Actually, the wine rack could be repurposed as a yarn or fabric rack (or stocked with exotic, non-alcoholic drinks, maybe?)

Gift certificate to a home décor or improvement store -- me not so much, but my guy would definitely use it.

A cookbook or gift certificate to a favorite restaurant -- Yes on the cookbook, particularly anything vegetarian, low-fat and/or sugar- or lactose-free. I'm picky about restaurants, though, so pass on the GC.

I think any zodiac-based gift suggestions should inspire rather than be used an absolute guide, too. After inspecting the best gifts for my sign I checked out the suggestions in the article for some members of my family based on their signs. Only one thing listed for my daughter's sign would work for her, and absolutely nothing listed for my guy would actually suit him.

Do you have a unique way of choosing gifts for your recipients? Let us know in comments.

Holiday Karma

If he picked out the expensive perfume in your stocking, prepare to smell like a mango, an opium addict or a streetwalker for the next six months.

If she picked out a special holiday sweater for you to wear, be prepared to flash, ring, shed sequins, itch unbearably and possibly have your manhood questioned.

If you bake your own cookies, no matter how carefully you plan, you will make too many or not enough. You will also burn the ones you're giving your boss but won't realize they're scorched on the bottom until he's about to take a bite.

The day after you finish all your holiday shopping someone will ask you to get a gift for someone who wasn't on your list. P.S., the recipient will be someone you don't know, someone you don't like, and/or insanely difficult to shop for.

The food item you are highly allergic to will be the secret ingredient in your neighbor's famous pumpkin bread. You will not discover this until after the emergency room visit.

The giant hole/termite infestation/occupied bird's nest in your Christmas tree will not become evident until you are putting on the last ornament.

The mail carrier you chewed out for delivering a battered box last July will assure that no gift package addressed to you ever again lands unscathed.

The mall Santa will smell like Ben-Gay, denture cream or Jack Daniels, and will go on his lunch break just as you and your exhausted preschooler reach the front of the line.

When he visits, your weird uncle will definitely ask where you've displayed put the semi-pornographic statue he gave you for your wedding.

While cooking dinner for your family you will drop something on the kitchen floor that 1) shatters into a million razor-sharp pieces, 2) creates a small lake of something nearly impossible to clean up fast (like cooking oil) and/or 3) is an essential part of the recipe for your entree, one you had to drive 20+ miles to purchase.

What to Give, the Biz Edition

Shopping for and selecting appropriate gifts for business associates during the holidays can be a challenge, especially when you're on a tight budget, which I think we all pretty much are these days. During the holidays you want to let the people you work with know that you do care about them, but you don't want to spend a fortune or send something that says you are completely clueless about their likes/dislikes.

I like to ask people what they don't want; that keeps me out of trouble and they almost always volunteer information on what they do like. First, here's a list I've compiled of gifts that my editor and agent friends and associates have told me that they get every year that they don't like, and why:

Chocolate. Every year the most popular gift authors send their editors and agents (particularly those who are female) is chocolate. One box is nice, an editor told me, but fifty tends to be overwhelming.

Homemade Baked Goods. No matter how well-wrapped they're sent, by the time they're delivered they're almost always on the stale side. Also, some people aren't crazy about eating personally-made baked goods because they generally don't come with a list of ingredients, which presents problems for recipients who have dire allergies to things like gluten or nuts.

Cheese and Sausage gifts. Weight- and health-conscious recipients generally avoid these food catalog gifts like the plague; these are also the gifts that are most frequently thrown away because no one wants them.

Alcohol. I was surprised to find out how much booze is still sent out during the holidays, particularly wine. It's not workplace-appropriate, and one wine-loving agent told me that most wines sold via catalogs is of questionable to poor quality.

Gag Gifts. What seems really cute and funny to you is probably going to annoy or embarrass the recipient. The gift you sabotaged to shower thousands of bits of confetti all over your editor, her work desk and her office rug will not be appreciated by her, her boss or housekeeping. Neither will the Playboy sex toy your agent unwittingly unwraps at home in front of his wife and their three preschoolers.

Religious Gifts. Putting more reason back into the season is a popular theme, but unless your faith is shared by your recipient these type of gifts can be as offensive and inappropriate as sex toys.

Some alternative gift ideas that will probably be more welcomed by your biz associates:

Business Card Case. Most professionals have cards and also hand them out frequently in the course of business, so a nice case is likely to be used a lot. For conference-going biz folks look for cases that can hold larger amounts of cards.

Charity Donation. Giving a cash gift to a charity your recipient supports is always a great thing (I recommend first checking out the charity over on Charity Navigator to make sure the donation is being used for the needy and not to line the pockets of a well-paid CEO.)

Desk Stuff. Workspace is always at a premium, so look for items that don't require a lot of surface, such as stacking or tall organizers for commonly-used office supplies (and stock them with some supplies to tempt your recipient into actually using them.) Perpetual calendars are also much appreciated because they can be used basically forever.

Fresh Fruit. Healthier than chocolate, cheese and sausage, and more apt to be actually consumed; look for fruits in reasonable quantities and interesting assortments. Any fruit that can be juiced was mentioned to me as especially nice because it can all be used before it spoils. Note: Grapefruit can be a problem for anyone who is on certain cholesterol meds that require them to avoid it.

Gadgets: If it's related to books or the industry, chances are the recipient owns one already, so you might check with them first. Also, look for devices that aren't as obvious and can be used at work or at home. A couple of things I saw in a gadget catalog that I thought were interesting: gloves that are techno-friendly (with fingertip pads so you don't have to take them off to use gadgets) and a handheld digital scale for luggage (handy for the frequent traveler.)

Personalized Memo Pads. One editor received a basket of different-size memos and sticky notes custom-printed with her name, and mentioned these to me as her #1 favorite gift of all time (make sure you know exactly how to spell your recipient's name, and choose colors and styles that are workplace-appropriate.)

Your Art. If you sew, knit, quilt or create any other kind of hand-crafted art, giving a one-of-a-kind item you took the time to make for your recipient is something that really comes from the heart. My advice is to keep it simple and useful, and avoid enormous-size projects or things that have to be dry-cleaned.

What sort of business gifts do you guys like to give and/or receive? Let us know in comments.

Gift No-Nos

Ten Things I Don't Want for Christmas

Biographies of Famous Dead Writers: Why, thank you for showing me exactly what sort of erroneous idiocies some dumbass might someday write about me or one of my friends as well as reminding me of how young we generally buy the farm. Does this come with a box of Kleenex?

Celebrity bylined Books: They didn't write them, and the writer who actually did the work probably got paid a pittance, so this is just going straight to the library donation box.

Chocolate Anything: With my diet the way it is, this is pretty much the same thing as handing a sixteen-year-old boy a bottle of whiskey and the keys to a brand-new Maserati.

Computer Games: After eight to ten hours of writing and editing, my eyes burning, my neck cricked, my voice gone and me never wanting to see another red- or green-squiggle-underlined word again, you think I'm going to want to play Publishing Tycoon for PC?

High-Tech Phone: Last year I used exactly 118 minutes on the cheap, do-nothing disposable phone I've had for the last six years, and half of that was from the kids borrowing it when the batteries on theirs died. I can't text. I can't overuse my voice. I won't talk on the phone when I'm driving. You know what I like to do with phones most? Shut them off. So just turn around and walk away from the Blackberry display.

Personalized Items: I know my name. So do my friends and family. The dog even knows my name. I already have an extensive collection of personalized coffee mugs, T-shirts, embossed address books, planners, blotters, desk signs and notepads. So save yourself an hour hanging around the mall kiosk while having it etched on yet another item I won't use, because as you seem to forget every year, I hate my name.

Quilts or quilted objects: Aside from the fact that they're generally imports made by women who are paid pennies to work in horrendous sweat-shop conditions in some third world country with a fascist government that endorses honor killings, have you not noticed that I already own enough quilts to keep an Army regiment warm at night?

Vampire-themed Things: It's sweet of you to try to connect with my work, but that series is finished and I've moved on. Besides, the only time I can use this stuff is to decorate the house once a year for Halloween.

Victoria's Secret Products: At my age, baby, this is like putting lipstick and nail polish on a plow mare.

Zhu Zhu: Oh for God's sake.

So what don't you guys want for Christmas? Let us know in comments.

Holiday Brakes

Time seems to move too fast these days, doesn't it? I swear, the kids just went back to school; I blinked and suddenly it was Halloween. Thanksgiving -- a day that for me has always been a nonstop celebration of food and family and fun -- was a flash this year. If I hadn't cooked all day I would have sworn we microwaved Thanksgiving.

Now the Christmas holidays are coming at me, and while I know I still have 24 days to finish my preparations, I suspect it's going to be more like 24 minutes. And then it'll be 2010, my baby will be driving (oh, yes. She's studying now to get her learner's permit at the end of the month) and I have a feeling the last few dark hairs on my head will be turning snowy.

Everyone is busy beyond the usual busy. My guy has so much work to do with his job in retail I've just cleared the next three weeks for him to come and go as needed, otherwise I might not see him again until January. At present my own work schedule is completely filled until March 16th. The kids have penciled in so much school and friend festivities on the calendar page for December that I had to start scheduling pickup and dropoff times. I've been asking people to call before they stop by during December to first make sure that we're even here.

There are things that do put the breaks on my warp-speed reality, such as waiting to see a doctor, shopping at malls, and wrapping packages, all of which take almost forever; my weekly physical therapy (forever plus a nice big side order of sweat and pain) and trying to talk to someone who isn't a robot at the mobile phone company (press one for service, press three if you have questions about your bill, press five if you are too stupid to use our automated FAQ service, press nine if we're driving you insane, etc.)

But there are good things that slow me down, too. When I write I forget about time until the stop-writing alarm clock goes off. Sewing, baking, listening to music, taking long walks with the pup and sitting by the fire with my guy have a nice timeless quality to them, too. Going out to photograph a sunrise or sunset. Hanging out with the kids and their friends on a Sunday. Going for a drive in the country to no place in particular. Game nights, when I shut off the TV, the computers and all the other electronics and take out the chess board, Scrabble or Monopoly.

I also read articles like Managing Your Holiday Stress to help cope with mine. I think I'm doing okay. I start working on my Christmas shopping lists in July so that once December arrives I don't have to live at the malls. I've been working extra hours to get all my contract work completed by next week, but I've also been taking time to do things like the NaNoNovel to keep my creative batteries charged. I also try to keep a sense of humor about all the things that can and will go wrong (my daughter is calling this Christmas CookieFail; I've been testing new recipes but so far every one of them has sucked.) And hard as it is, I accept that there are some things I'll have to gift bag instead of wrap, gift card instead of choose myself, and store-buy instead of hand-make.

The holidays will probably still fly by as fast as everything else has in 2009, but now and then I hope I remember to put on the brakes. It's the only way to get off the crazy train and spend an hour or an afternoon or an evening simply enjoying the reason we all work so hard this time of year: family and friends.

So what are you guys doing to combat the holiday rush? Have any really good tips to share? Let us know in comments.

Startling Ten

Ten Unexpected Things That Happened During the Holidays

A lady I met at the New Age place where I buy my herbs recognized my aura or chakrahs or something, and insisted we knew each other in a past life. According to her, I'm the reincarnation of a musician named Paul.

Interesting that I came back completely tone deaf. Maybe Paul sucked.

I agreed to join a group blog.

First I hemmed, hawed, obsessed and argued with myself for a week. Details to follow as soon as they're all ironed out.

I did not eat ALL the patisseries.

I have no idea, however, what happened to the package of Ice Cubes sent from Germany or the hand-dipped truffles from Belgium. Perhaps international chocolate thieves broke in for five or six nights in a row and took one at a time, so we wouldn't notice.

Friends I haven't seen since high school came into town, met up with me and bought me a lovely lunch, during which they presented me with a copy of our senior yearbook, which I had been too poor to buy in high school.

Now someone just has to explain to me how the dreamy guy I had that huge crush on during senior year somehow got his picture switched with one of Slash from Velvet Revolver. Wait a minute . . . I think maybe he is Slash.

My guy and I successfully rescued three runaway horses.

We first found them peacefully grazing in our backyard on New Year's Day, but when they saw us they took off. While my guy got some feed from a neighbor's barn and used it to catch them, I drove like a bat out of hell down the road to get horse people and bridles. This will only be funny to those of you who know how terrified I am of horses.

My stepdaughter called to tell me that she and her new fiance are moving to the states (he has dual citizenship) and they plan to get married and settle over here.

Since I only see my Eurokid once or twice a year, this was the cause of instant celebration. At least until I remember that this will make me -- gulp -- mother of the bride.

One of the grand dames of RWA invited me to join the organization.

I said no, I was still in therapy from the first time. All the Sisters of the Immaculate Love Scene may now breathe a sigh of relief.

Purely by accident I picked up a box of Fire Roasted Tomato & Olive Oil Triscuits instead of the regular kind.

Didn't realize it until I took a bite, and fell instantly in love (I know, they're just crackers, but I have to eat whole wheat every day. Which after two years is like eating cardboard every day. These things are way better.)

Santa brought me a lovely heating pad/back massager chair pad that got rid of the crick in my neck that I've had since October.

Now if it could rebuild my knee and do something about my left hip, I'd stop walking like Long John on a bender.

Someone (you know who you are) sent me a gorgeous little hand carved puzzle box from Japan.

And I will thank you, just as soon as MIT gets back to me on how to open it. Unless I shouldn't. Hmmmmm.

What sort of surprises did you get over your holidays? Let us know in comments.