Friday Fast Five: Best Week Ever, Best News Ever, Best Year Ever?

1. It’s Friday (in case you haven’t figured that out yet) and time for something rare in my universe: a t.v. show the husband and I enjoy together. I’m just not that into t.v. – I’d rather be reading a book, or writing, or wasting time on the internet, but I have to say it’s nice to start the weekend with the husband, chilling out with a drink after the girls are in bed, watching something silly that keeps me up to date with all the pop culture stuff I usually ignore. I’m talking about VH-1’s new Best Week Ever (I say “new” because it was on a few years ago and we liked it then before it started to go stale) – but now it’s back and overall good for a few laughs. My favorite segment is Michelle Buteau’s “Panties On! Panties Off!” bit…kind of a, er, more personal “What’s hot and what’s not.” Check out this one from a few weeks ago:

Who knew the Rock could sing like that, eh? Also…toboggan!

2. Moving along with the best week ever, I heard the best news ever this week! (Well, maybe not the best news – that would be I have a book deal, or I won the lottery, or Jell-O Pudding pops are back). Still – it’s really good news. Laura Kinsale, author of my most favorite, I-can-read-them-over-and-over-and-I-love-them-so-much, historical romances made an announcement that her books will be coming out in audio format. In an article on the AudioGals website Kinsale describes the process she went through deciding the who and the how, and it’s a fascinating journey. I can’t wait!!!

3. Hoping for some more good news, the Cupid’s Literary Connection Kiss Contest ends today, and my scene earned a Get A Room award for hottest/most intense kiss. (It is pretty hot, if I do say so). My actual entry into the Agent Blind Speed Date goes live in a bouncer round on Monday over on the CLC site. I’m Bouncer Post #157, and I hope you’ll stop by to read and comment on my query and 1st 250.

4. To make this the best year ever, I need to do more than sit around on my butt hoping good things will happen. I have to make them happen! Case in point, the time I spend with my butt in a chair, supposedly working on my manuscript. My time is limited as it is, and so often I find my self twittering away, literally, the time I should be spending with my WIP. I call this “the Barbie Effect.” I don’t know about you, but when I was a kid playing with Barbies, most of my time was spent on the “set-up” – getting all the Barbies dressed in outfits, setting up little rooms for them (I didn’t have a big gorgeous playhouse, so I would use chairs as 2-floor apartments), and arranging everything until it was “just so.” Actual time spent acting out scenes with the Barbies was, at most, about 20%.

I often have the same issue when I sit down to write. First I have to check my e-mail, take a quick (or not so quick) look at my social media sites, and of course browse through Pinterest to see if I missed anything good, and FINALLY I will open my WIP. Before I know it I have to go pick up a kid or get to work or do something non-writing related. Time spent actually writing? About 20%. This is a problem and it needs to stop. A couple writer friends of mine swear by macfreedom, an “internet blocking productivity software” – yep, it’s social media willpower. I’d like to try and make it on my own…and I think I can, well I hope I can. What about you? DO you have any tips for how writers can boost productivity in the face of all the distractions at our fingertips?

5. Ok, I’m getting off my personal guilt trip train now. It’s Friday, and time to have some fun! Besides, I believe it’s a proven fact blowing off steam and having fun can make work time more productive. Which is why I like to get out for the occasional GNO. One of my favorite ways to spend a Girl’s Night Out (that doesn’t involve margaritas) is a Wine and Paint night. Here’s the deal: a local art studio hosts these great evenings where you show up with your friends and a bottle of wine, and get step-by-step instructions on creating a painting. As you paint, you drink. And as the wine flows, so does the conversation and creativity. It’s a lovely way to let loose and at the end of the night you have a piece of art to take home! Here are some of mine: