Life List Club Friday - Milestone Party

Photo by m_bartosch at FreeDigitalPhotos

It has been three months since I first joined the Life List Club, and now I (and should you wish, all of you!) get to participate in my first Milestone Party.  If you are wondering what the Life List Club is, click on the tab above, and you will get a full description of the club, and how to join, if you are interested.  Also on the page is my personal life list, which is my goals for the year.


Below is a list of the prizes we are giving away to celebrate our successes, with links to the respective member's blog.  Please hop around, because there are some fabulous prizes.  


I am working my own giveaway as I did for my 100 follower celebration. If you leave a comment, you will receive one entry into a random drawing for a $25.00 gift card (of your choice).  If you are not already a follower, and decide to join up, that will get you another entry into the drawing.  I'll post the winner of the drawing on Saturday, March 24th.  The other LLC members giveaways are:

Photo courtesy Simon Howden at FreeDigital Photos.net

Marcia Richards Guest post swap and Amazon gift card

Jess Witkins Guest post swap and an iTunes gift card

Sonia Medeiros A guest post from Sonia or the winner's work featured on Sonia's blog

Jenny Hansen A Margie Lawson lecture packet and a $10 Starbuck's gift card

David Walker A free download of his "Web Wisdom: Inspiration from the Inbox"

Gary Gauthier A choice of 3 eBooks 


The Life List Club has some exciting news, too!  Thanks to Marcia Richards' hard work, we now have our very own blog site!  While I am sad that I won't have the opportunity to welcome so many great guest posters over here, the Life List Club blog is beautiful, and will allow us to offer inspirational and motivational posts twice a week (Wednesdays and Fridays) instead of blog hopping every two weeks.  


Our kick-off post is by our newest member, Sherry Isaac, on April 4th.  Sherry believes in romance, identity and the depth of the human soul and, personally, I can't wait to read her first post!  Please visit the Life List Club blog, take a look around and learn more about all the authors on our author pages.


I think all that's left to do is review my life list, and fess up to how things are going.  

My Life List Review

Photo courtesy of Wookiepedia

"No.  Try not. Do or do not... There is no try." Yoda

Do's

Play with my boys every day for half-an-hour:  Check!  There are times where it might be a shorter amount of time, but the important thing to me is that I have carved out time to spend with my children, focusing only on them, every day.

Write for 15 minutes every day:  Check! - as long as we count blogging and editing as writing.  The thing I wanted out of this goal was to devote time every day to the writing process, and I feel I have done that.

Blog twice a week (Mondays and Fridays):  Check!

Grow Twitter followers to over 500 and blog followers to over 100 followers: Check! (thank you all so much)

Participate in six bog hops (including the A-Z Challenge):  This one takes a little explanation, but Check!  I have participated in six blog hops (Nightgale Blog Challenge, I'll Tumble 4-Ya blog hop, It's Getting Hot In Here, Fourth Campaigner Challenge, Got Green Blog Hop, and the Great Star Wars Blogathon)  I decided that there was no way to participate in the A-Z Challenge this year, and so registered for the Fourth Campaigner Challenge, instead.  So, although I had to make a substitution, I still feel like I met this goal.  I anticipate participating in more blog hops and challenges as the year goes on, but right now I need to return my focus back to getting a novel completed, so I'm not a writer wanna-be.


Guest post on three other blogs:  Check!  Thanks to the Life List Club, I have guest posted on five other blogs.  I know some of the prizes above are to guest post on LLC member's blogs, and I recommend making the jump over to the related blogs to register for the opportunity.  All members of the Life List Club have been extremely professional and their followers have been so kind and welcoming.  Every guest post was a thoroughly enjoyable experience!


Do Not's


Exercise 20 minutes five days of the week: I have been exercising, and usually multiple times a week, but dang!  Life kept getting in the way.  So, mid-February I changed the focus to 100 minutes a week, and I seemed to be able to meet that goal a little better.  Still, I have taken two of the last four weeks off, so I definitely need to work a little harder on this one!



The next three do not's are:

• Complete revisions of Finding Meara by the end of March
• Create pitch, query letter, synopsis, etc... for Finding Meara by end of April
• Write first draft of second novel by end of December 

When I wrote these goals, I had no idea how long it might take to do revisions, and so I set a date based on the fact I'm attending the Pikes Peak Writer's Conference in April, and hoped to be able to sign up for a pitch session.  Not Happening!  So, I am going to rewrite this goal so that I'm shooting for revisions and editing to be completed by May 31st.  That might even be overly optimistic, but I would really like to start querying Finding Meara and writing the next novel over the summer.  I currently am on page 64 of about 250 pages.

There it is, my goal review!  I'm wondering, how did your last three months go?  Do you have more Do's than Do Not's?  Are you needing some support, or some tough love?

How to Structure the Plot of a Novel by Gary Gauthier

Today, for Life List Club Friday, I welcome fellow Life Lister, Gary Gauthier, for the second guest post of the week!  Gary has a great blog called Literary Snippets, where he posts snippets (get it?) of classics, as well as pictures that relate to the snippet.  I love it because it's like an art and literature lesson in one! 

If you miss me (I hope!), after you finish reading Gary's awesome post, please stop over at Jess Witkins' Happiness Project, where I am sharing some thoughts on Positivity. 

Without any further ado, heeeere's Gary!

How to Structure the Plot of A Novel by Gary Gauthier

A New Look at the Narrative Arc

If you are serious about writing fiction, your stories can’t ramble. They need structure.  I am going to suggest to you a simple system that can be used to create a memorable work of fiction. It has the added benefit that it can help you easily sketch an entire plot with a visual representation.

Nature, in her infinite wisdom and grace, gave us the arc.

What Is the Narrative Arc?

The narrative arc is a metaphor used to describe a story’s trajectory. A plot begins with rising action that sets up a challenge; the challenge creates tension that reaches a climax; finally, the tension is released and the trajectory heads downward to a point of rest.

A smooth trajectory like the arc of a rainbow does less than full justice to the rising and falling action in the plot of a novel. Our system goes one step further and uses the arc to show rising and falling action as the plot progresses.

Narrative Structure: A Simple System That Works

1. Reduce your plot to two central events.
2. Place the first central event about 25% into the story.
3. Place the second central event, the climax, approximately 25% from the end of the story.
4. Unify the plot with an overarching theme.

The Foundation of Your Plot is the two central events you selected. The first is called a catalyst (or inciting event) and the second is the climax. The two events are related and involve the protagonist or the hero.

Here are three examples of plot foundations. 
I: Boy likes girl. The girl, overcome by a display of chivalry and bravery, falls in love.
II: Victim suffers great harm.  She exacts revenge.
III: Protagonist enters an arranged (or bad) marriage. She is transformed and leaves. 

Use an overarching theme to unify the entire plot. For the examples above, the themes can be: love conquers all, an eye for an eye, and the ugly duckling is transformed into a beautiful swan.

A Visual Representation of Our System

The two red pillars represent the catalyst and the climax. They also help to define the narrative arc.

From Point A to Point B - Your job as a novelist is to create a meaningful and memorable ride for the reader from point A to point B. Your subject matter and the genre determine whether the ride is heartwarming, inspirational, stormy, disturbing, thrilling or horrific. The big caveat is, if your story is not interesting, the reader can put the book down at any time and never finish.

A Play in Three Acts - The two red pillars in the figure divide the plot into three sections. Most plays and movies use this system. Most best-selling novels and literary classics follow this format. You can label the blue vertical supports and use each to represent a chapter or a scene. As an example, you can use the following convention: a, b, c; 1a, 1b, 1c; 2a, 2b, 2c.

Pace the Dramatic Tension. It’s not an accident that the narrative arc peaks at the inciting point and at the climax. It’s an intentional, creative act by the writer.

Tell the Story Deliberately. Start the story with action and circumstances that lead the reader to the catalyst. The reader should be vested in the story (sold) by the time he arrives at the catalyst. Begin the centerpiece of the plot (approximately one-half the narrative) after the inciting event (think: “after commercial break”) and end it with the climax. Close the story by driving the point home (reinforcing the theme) and resolving the aftermath of the climax.  

The Unifying Theme Plays a Crucial Role. The structure of your story holds the action together in a self-sustaining and interconnected plot that moves in one direction. A winding excursion leading nowhere is a waste of writing talent. If you follow the template laid out above, the characters will be woven into the theme in support of the plot. If all the action and the characters do not come together as a unified whole, your readers will be disappointed and will feel like their trust was misplaced.  

Purpose and Structure are Distinct Animals. The purpose of a bridge is to provide for safe travel from one point to the other. A traveler doesn’t care (and is only vaguely aware) that the bridge’s structure is a system of support designed to bear weight across a span. So it goes for the reader and your plot.

Stay True to Your Purpose. Let’s face it—most readers of fiction are looking for entertainment, an escape. They don’t care how you structure your story, but without a sturdy plot supported by a strong foundation, you reduce the chances of achieving your purpose.

If you end up writing a best-seller, what most readers will notice is that you wrote a great story.

Did you recently read a novel whose plot fits into the structure described? What’s your personal experience with the narrative arc?

 (Images are sourced by courtesy from Wikimedia.)

Gary Gauthier is working on his first novel, a crime thriller set in New Orleans just before Hurricane Katrina's landfall. His blog, Literary Snippets, gives him an opportunity to express and share his appreciation for art and literature. He occasionally posts articles as well. Some of his favorite writers are Thomas Hardy, Charles Dickens, George Eliot, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Edgar Allan Poe. But this changes from time to time. Stay tuned! Follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus.

Blogging Your Naked Passion - Are You Brave Enough by Jenny Hansen

The day has arrived!  It's Life List Club Friday and the witty, thoughtful Jenny Hansen is here to guest post!  Please give Jenny a warm welcome and enjoy her wonderful post about blogging bravery.   If you're wondering where I am, you can find me over at Sonia G. Medeiros's discussing Extreme Perseverance.  Welcome, Jenny!

Blogging Your Naked Passion – Are You Brave Enough? By Jenny Hansen

Courtesy of janellesalah.com

There is a magnet on my refrigerator with a phrase by Zora Neale Hurston that says, “There are years that ask the questions and years that answer.”

Sometimes, if we’re very lucky, a year does both.

Some of the questions the last few years have asked me are:

• How to be a mom?
• How to blog?
• How to own a home?
• How to balance work, writing and family?
• How to plant a garden and keep up a yard?

All of these questions share one common thread: the answers can’t be easily explained.

You just have to forge ahead and try things out to see what works and what doesn’t. Sure there’s manuals, but it’s usually quicker to forge ahead and just try rather than reading 20 books first, especially with parenting.

I’d say the only question above where this “give it your best try” approach DOESN’T apply is blogging. There are a number of wonderful resources available for bloggers. However, I recommend a shortcut: social media genius, Kristen Lamb.

Kristen’s books We Are Not Alone–The Writer’s Guide to Social Media and Are You There, Blog? It’s Me, Writer  should be required for ANYONE who wants to blog, but most especially for writers.

If you have a blog, want a blog or just have the idea of one tickling the edge of your mind, I’d make fast tracks for Kristen. She says that your blog should…

OMG, wait for it…
…MATCH YOU.

That’s it. No big hidden secrets of blog success (besides getting yourself on social media so people can find you and your genius). Your blog should be about the things you love and the things that interest YOU. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t interact with your followers, just that every blog starts with you.

Courtesy of Google Images

I sum it up as: you need to be authentic.

The same way a writer’s fiction shouts, “This is who I am,” your blog will too. I’m pretty sure that’s why so many bloggers ran screaming for their pillows when Kristen posted this on what writers should blog about (hint: not just writing).

I’m sure many of them were thinking:
You want me to be personal? To hang my passion out naked for the world? Are you kidding me?  This is NOT Weiner-gate, Kristen! This is MY BLOG.

Authentic is scary. It’s exposing and humbling and real. If you’ve read Margery Williams’ book, The Velveteen Rabbit, she describes this perfectly:

“What is REAL?" asked the Velveteen Rabbit one day... "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?"

"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When [someone] loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."

"Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit.

"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."

"Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?"

"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't often happen to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept.

"Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand... once you are Real you can't become unreal again. It lasts for always.”

― Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit or How Toys Become Real

In today’s world, where “reality TV” is staged and we watch our public figures lie without qualm, our blogging pals give us an important slice of real.

Are you letting your naked passion hang out for the world to see? What do you like about blogs? What makes you bookmark or subscribe to a blog?

About Jenny Hansen

Jenny fills her nights with humor: writing memoir, women’s fiction, chick lit, short stories (and chasing after the newly walking Baby Girl). By day, she provides training and social media marketing for an accounting firm. After 15 years as a corporate software trainer, she’s digging this sit down and write thing.

When she’s not at her blog, More Cowbell, Jenny can be found on Twitter at jhansenwrites and at her group blog, Writers In The Storm. Every Saturday, she writes the Risky Baby Business posts at More Cowbell, a series that focuses on babies, new parents and high-risk pregnancy.

I Feel (more) Like a Writer Now!

And what, are you wondering, is making me feel a little less like a pretender?  The fact that my first ever writer-ly interview is slated to be published on the blog of the fabulous Leigh Covington on February  21st!  I know I have been giving out information about myself left and right, but with the interview from Leigh, I actually talk about my work in progress and other writer-ly things.  So, please, if you could stand to learn a little bit more about me, please head over to Leigh's blog and say hello! (Did you catch the double-please? I'm trying not to beg... Really, I am.)

Photo by  Rob Wiltshire

This week is going to be another whirlwind blogging week, as I will be posting my entry into the first challenge for the Campaign later this week.  I meant to do it today, but the rest of life got in the way.  The good news is that today I got a substantial amount of editing done.  Not enough, of course, but I feel like I made headway! 

Friday is a Life List Club day, so I will be welcoming Jenny Hansen to guest post.  She has a great blog called More Cowbell, and I recommend to everyone to go check her blog out.  You all know how much I like to laugh, and her posts make me chuckle more often than not.  To give you an example of her sense of humor, the blog published yesterday was titled "Help Prevent Sinning with the 'Sin Collar'"  Gotta love it!  

I will be guest posting over at Sonia G. Medeiros's blog on Friday.  Sonia, if you remember, was my guest during the I'll Tumble 4 Ya' blog hop, and gave us all a laugh by choosing Alf as her crush before fessing up to Ricky Shroder.  After checking out Jenny's post on Friday, if you have time to stop over at Sonia's and say hi, my day would be made!

What are you all up to this week? 

4 Steps Toward Financial Health

I would like to welcome Marcia Richards to Motivation for Creation!  Marcia founded the Life List Club with Jess Witkins, my guest poster from last Life List Club Friday.  She has a great blog, and recommend you go check it out, and read the Life List Club Friday guest poster over there at the same time!  So, here's Marcia!

I'm so happy to be here at Lara's place on this Life List Friday! While she's over at David Walker's blog, I'm going to share with you some tips I learned a long time ago from the financial expert, Suze Orman, about how to get healthy--financially. No matter your age or experience with money, these tips can remind you how to stay on track. January is the poster-child of all things healthy, right? Let's get started!

4 Steps Toward Financial Health


How many times do we throw away leftovers without a second thought, or buy a blouse you just had to have but then it hangs in your closet complete with tags til you notice it 6 months later and give it away?
Would we cut up a dollar bill as easily? I don't think so.

When we get together with friends on the weekend, we want to make it special, but how many times do we overspend? I know I've purchased clothes just before they went on sale, because I couldn't wait. And right now I have 45 books waiting to be read on my Kindle, not to mention another 25 books on my shelf that have not been cracked open yet. Do I need this many right now? How often do you stop at the deli or pizza shop because you don't feel like cooking at home?

How about you? When have you wasted money you could have saved? We all have stories we could tell. If you're trying to get out of debt or trying to create a cushion of savings for emergencies, to buy a house, pay off college loans, or annual vacations...whatever, a change in spending habits is the path to being financially healthy.

1. Be honest: Take an honest look at where your money goes. Did you really need a $5  Mochiatta and a $3 pastry on your way to work? Lunch out with your BFF? And you picked up take-out at the neighborhood Italian cafe? You may have had a tough day and deserved all these conveniences, BUT that $35 you just spent could have been socked away.

Keep track of every dime you spend everyday for a two-week period. Then sit down with that list and check off the necessities on that list. Add up everything without a check mark to see what you could have saved.

Then consider the emotional side of your spending. Do you indulge in the pint container of Hagen Das ice cream when you're lonely or stressed? When you have treated yourself to anything new for a while, do you go splurge on new shoes? Try to find ways of satisfying those emotional moments with something that isn't going to cost you your extra cash.

2. Cut up your credit cards: I've actually seen a grown man whine at the suggestion of cutting up a credit card. "But, I neeeed it!" NO! You don't. Credit card rates are higher than ever and savings account pay next to nothing. We're losing on both ends.

Use your bank's or credit union's debit card for all your previous credit card purchases. They are accepted as widely as credit. Or use cash. Now you've stopped the bleeding, so to speak. No more skyrocketing bills with high interest and exorbitant late fees. Now you can focus on reducing your debt.

3. Make a real-life spending plan: When you create a spending plan, include everything you spend money on, even the most miniscule item. If you leave out some of the things you pay for because they seem to small to count, you could be throwing off your budget by hundreds of dollars annually.
Don't forget bigger things like the guy who does your taxes, your bi-annual insurance payment, your haircut and color every couple of months, veterinarian bills and pet grooming, your co-pays at your own doctor's office, dental visits, child care. If you pay your mortgage bi-monthly, don't forget you're not just paying twice a month but every two weeks--because of the extra portion of a week every month there are an extra four payments made over 12 months.

Add up all the smaller expenditures like tipping the paperboy, Christmas tips for your hairdresser and the postman, bringing a bottle of wine to a friend's house, magazine subscriptions, holiday cards and gifts, charcoal for the grill, batteries, oil changes for your car, the extra groceries for Christmas cookie baking, your once a week movie out or pay per view, and that scrumptious pizza delivery when you're too busy to cook.

4. Save 10% and create a stream: This is actually two tips in one. First, "pay yourself first" is an expression most people have heard. Now it's time to take it seriously, just like you've had to take getting physically fit seriously. It won't happen if you make excuses. If your net pay each week is $400, skim $40 right off the top and bank it. Don't worry about short-changing yourself to pay bills or buy groceries. if you've followed the previous tips, you will have this 10% to put away. Do it religiously. Don't cheat yourself. In just a few months, your account will swell from $0 to $1,000! You can try tricks like tossing all your loose coin in a jar and letting it fill that jar before you deposit it. Or, take a $1 bill out of your wallet everyday and put it in a box until you have $25, then bank it.


Create an additional stream of income to add to your 10%.  Years ago when my husband was putting my stepchildren through the private colleges they chose, he added a part-time job to his full-time job. Every weekend, he went to a flea market with a table and a stockpile of licensed ball caps that he had purchased at a good rate. When I needed more income, I made various craft items and found a market for them--one was a unique gift for a real estate sales woman to give to her clients when she sold them a house.

There are endless possibilities for a second stream of income such as creating websites for those who are techno-challenged, solicit speaking engagements to talk about something in your realm of expertise, teach an adult education class. Do you crochet well? Sell your creations at a craft fair. Create gift baskets to sell to people you know to use for gift giving. Is your husband a neat freak? Why not start a part-time car detailing business?

I know a woman who was hired by a homebuilder to clean the finished houses before they are turned over to the buyer.

Stop worrying and crank up that imagination!

One more thing, I worked for banks and credit unions for years in my 30's and 40's and learned that banks are in the business of catering to corporations first and individuals second. Credit unions are owned by the members. Consequently, their priority is the satisfaction of the members. The fees for services are lower and the rates of return on savings accounts are slightly higher. Just something for you to consider.

Have you ever had a time when you needed to get creative to bring home more money? What kind of struggles are you having with saving?

Marcia Richards is a veteran blogger and author of Marcia Richards’ Blog…Sexy. Smart. From The Heart. Marcia writes about SSS (strong, smart, sexy) Women, History, and the path to realizing your dreams. She has a Historical Trilogy and a collection of Short stories in progress. When she’s not writing, she can be found playing with the grandkids or her husband, traveling or turning old furniture into works of art. She believes there is always something new to learn and time to play.

Come hang out with Marcia at: http://twitter.com/MarciaARichards or http://facebook.com/MarciaARichards .

Visit Marcia at: http://Marcia-Richards.com