How to study at home

..... and perhaps also, how not to!

Last night I complete Module 1 of my writing course with a reassuring pass mark. I figured that if I cant pass the introductory module, then maybe I wouldn't be cut out for this writing life. So...progress.

It has only taken me two weeks which has completely surprised me - I had to double check the date when I started! It was all down to the excellent advice of other people!

What now follows is nothing new, but it IS a confirmation that these oft repeated suggestions really do work:

1. Clear the decks

• make sure there is nothing pressing that you have to do.
• if there is something pressing then make a decision - what is more important?

2. Make sure there are no distractions

• Turn off the TV - studying IS multitasking (as is driving, but thats a blog for another day!)
• Turn off the radio, or if you have to have it, make sure it is low and music only, not the kind you sing along to!
• Make sure the kids are well occupied, understand that mummy is "working" or are tucked up safely in bed. This of course depends on the age of your child, your available time for them, when and where you work, how long a commute you have, how many activities they have etc. But you can usually squeeze in a hour after they have gone to bed (or in the case of teenagers an hour while you wait up for them to come home....)

3. Make sure you are comfortable, and in an environment that supports study

• Not next to a pile of washing up.
• Not in a room that blinds you with its brightness, but definitely not in a dark room either.

4. Get your self a nice cup of tea/coffee/juice/water and an apple/banana/chocolate bar/biscuit

• Being hungry is a distraction 
• Going looking for food is procrastination

5. If you are stuck try one or all of the following

• Come back to it later.
• Move past the sticking point and something else may help you understand the earlier point
• Re-read later when you are fresh, your mind may have had time to process the information
• Go back to the previous parts and apply them, see if that helps make sense of the gap
• Look up the key words on Google (check multiple citations to make sure your understanding is correct)
• Ask a friend or colleague, a chat room (if its an online course), or study leader

6. Write down the key points, to revise over them later - note that not everything is a key point. A key point is one that leads you automatically onto a group of remembered items.

7. Apply your knowledge, practice makes perfect! Use an example that has meaning for you

• If you are studying medicine apply it to your current partner!
• If you are studying math, apply it to your bank account (arithmetic), share scheme (imaginary numbers) or the tiles on the wall (geometry)!
• If you are studying writing, apply it to your own novel
• If you are studying french language, get a favorite novel and translate it.

8. Apply yourself. Make sure you put your head down and study. It wont happen by itself!

And good luck!

Buzzwords and Jargon

The subject of today’s blog arises from the intersection of various discussions I had today on a selection of different platforms, all of which revolved around language.

The use of extraneous buzzwords, the use of plain English in report writing, the communication of ideas by different media including Twitter are to name but a few.

The office in which I work is currently in the throes of adopting the parent companies culture. Culture change is always difficult, since it involves the introduction of a whole slew of new concepts, management styles and buzzwords; Buzzwords, which we are now in the process of learning and applying in the established way via the company intranet. At the same time today, the UK BBC reported on the internet that the use of excessive buzzwords and jargon makes us less efficient although it can encourage a sense of belonging in a common language, it can also lead to miscommunication and misunderstandings with clients. The suggestion at the end of the article refers the reader to the use of Plain English where ever possible.

This brings me to the second discussion which occurred via Yammer, a similar concept to Linked In but with a closed environment so that individual companies can throw ideas around without giving away their intellectual property. This discussion was also on the use of Plain English and via a number of different topic threads happily explored what exactly is meant by Plain English and indeed Plane English. The result being that there is no such thing, since English is one of the most complicated languages around. Examples abound, through and threw, so and sew and so forth.

Meanwhile my new found “platform” has expanded to include an exploration of the Twitterverse. I have attempted to post profound, or at least new short poems, and have taken some time to look up some of my favourite writers. This latter activity has led to some disappointment. While I was not expecting great literature from every post, I had some expectations, in particular of writers who are known as some of the most eloquent people on the planet. I do realize that not every post will be a heart stopping moment of literary creation, and perhaps I’m a little old fashioned, but is it necessary to swear so much?

I was brought up to believe that there are a very few situations in which swearing is appropriate – banging your thumb with a hammer, when the driver in front cuts across you, when no one else is around, but that the rest of the time, it is mere laziness and lack of knowledge of the vastly expressive language we call English. Is it laziness though or something else. Consider the text I received from a friend “R U OK?” – Is this laziness, or is this someone making sure I’m alright, and taking a few seconds to think about me, out of their very busy schedule. Has language evolved to allow us to be more efficient? Or is it degenerating, and will our next step will be a return to grunting.

Which brings me to evolution not just of language, but of writing, and myself. We have to evolve if we are to survive. Those who deny evolution deny themselves the ability to rise to every day challenges, or to react to the changes around them. If I choose to stay in the past, and not embrace the change in language, and structure, how then can I learn and adapt, create something that is both interesting and readable, something that actually speaks to an audience whose language has evolved when mine has not?

So, since I am obviously very busy and important (to quote Bridget Jones), I will “C U L8er”!.

A promise to keep

Before my father died, I promised him that I would "write an article, that on completion would be submitted to a magazine about (my) mothers hobby". That was almost exactly how he phrased it. While I may have a biased opinion, my mother, while not perhaps artisan level, is quite good at her hobby, although she herself would not agree. We are all our own worst critics of course, but a promise is a promise and he was terribly proud of her work.

The only problem is, how to keep the promise while allowing for my mothers sensitives and maintaining her privacy. So, a technical piece, in a field I know little about, with pictures that provide illustrative examples without compromising privacy. Sounds like an exciting challenge.

The problem is, I put it off (I am an expert at procrastination of course) and while I have taken the photographs, and have a few paragraphs in mind, I have in fact only written two sentences. It is not that I am uninterested in writing the article, I love to learn new subjects. Nor is it that I do not have the time, although for the last two years that had been a suitable excuse. My son now goes to bed at a reasonable time and allows me time to write. 

I think that it is in part because it was in fact my first commission, and that there is no one to hold me accountable. Perhaps its also a form of mourning - if I do not finish the article, I will always hear my fathers voice. However, it has been some time now and I hear my fathers voice whenever I need to explain something carefully to my son. The rest of the time, I hear my mothers voice... but it has made me realise that my father will always be there, I just need to look for him. Which means of course, that I had better get on with his commission, after all, I have a promise to keep!

Humpday Blues....and recovery

There is something about Wednesdays that means that whatever good intentions you had on Sunday night or Monday morning have evaporated by around midday on "hump day".

Is it that the work is wearing you down and your deadlines are looming, or is it the early mornings your child subjects you to when they climb into your bed and tickle your feet that accumulate into an early morning grogginess. Perhaps it is these things, or perhaps its psychosomatic. We need to blame something for the (probably normal in most cases) lack of progress and so... hump day.

Well, no more. This week, managing to push aside my normal distractions of procrastination and navel gazing, I managed not only to achieve my goal of (finally) getting a website up and running, but I also (finally) started my writing course. Now it is Friday and the sense of achievement is high, even if the feedback is lackluster or even non-existent. I am doing this because I want and need to write, and so I have achieved the goal I set myself.

Which brings me nicely to the course. I have started module 1 of the 14 (according to Groupon) or 12 (according to the course site itself) module course. As an introductory module it is interesting and beautifully presented.

My only criticism at this early stage is based around my own reasons for doing the course, rather than any other. The course material appears to be highly geared to those who might hope or expect to make a living from writing and cites J,K.Rowling as an example. Without going into the arguments for and against the writing of J.K.Rowling (I am a fan, but I know that there are those who are not), I think I can safely say that for every J.K.Rowling, there are many others who are published but not making a living at writing, and many more who are writing but unpublished. The range of subjects covered include self publishing, marketing, branding and selling of associated products (think Thomas the Tank Engine toys), and these are all good areas in which to have knowledge, especially if self publishing; however, I am concerned at this early stage that the course may give an overly optimistic slant. On the other hand, it may allow those who are worthy yet unpublished to get a foot in the door, so I will withhold judgement for now. After all, I hope to write and publish myself someday. Given that I have actually worked with published authors, and given that they are still working in non-writing field jobs, I'm not expecting it to be my main source of income for many years if at all!

I will leave you with a request to "Challenge Liza". I have, as I mentioned above, finally managed to get my website up and running:

http://www.lizarose.ca/   or   http://www.lizarose.net

I have set up a challenge - ideas can be submitted by anyone who cares to read my website. You can submit challenges, and once a week, I will pick one and rise to the challenge...

Rules -
1. Challenge request should be for a response of 100 words or less.
2. Most subjects are suitable, however, I will reserve the right to refuse unsuitable topics.
3. Comments on both the challenge and the response will be welcome but will be moderated!

UPDATED 1st June:
A weekly prize of a signed copy of my book to winners. Winners will be listed on the website until they have received their rain check prize!

Procrastination

pro·cras·ti·na·tion

prəˌkrastəˈnāSHən

noun

1. the action of delaying or postponing something
2. 
   

When starting an online self taught self motivated course, the first thing to do, is to remove the obstacles that prevent you from your path. If however, you have an innate fear or distrust of the new, then the biggest obstacle can be the one you put there yourself.

The art of procrastination has been written about many times, Mark Twain's “Never put off till tomorrow what may be done day after tomorrow just as well" is one of many versions of the old axiom, Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow. however, Thomas Moore was perhaps prescient in regards to modern psychology when he wrote “What is deferred is not avoided.” Since it seems that the fear of failure is quite often greater than the reality of failing, then psychologically speaking, you are not avoiding a failure, but merely deferring the attempt whereby you might fail.

Consider too Schrodinger's cat is neither dead nor alive until you look in the box. By failing to open the box, you are procrastinating.

However, if you look at it another way, Schrodinger's cat is also a paradox - the cat is neither dead nor alive. When we procrastinate we do not fail, but nor do we succeed, so procrastination equals paradox. The laws of paradox are such that unless we are at a quantum level, both solutions of the paradox cannot exist simultaneously. Therefore by procrastinating we are both avoiding failure, but also failing. When we realise this, we can move forward, putting the fear of failure behind us, since we have already failed by procrastinating, and we are still here to tell the tale.

And so... since I have set up my blog, paid my fees, set up my website (which still is not operating on full thrusters, and thus is relegated to my "followup later pile"), I will stop procrastinating and start my course.... tomorrow....

This webpage is, alas, not available :(

So today, I was hoping to launch my new webpage

"http://home.lizarose.net/"

But as you will see, this is not (yet) a hyperlink. Alas, it seems that while I have free and clear license to call the webpage my own, the great cloud in the void appears to have misinterpreted my 10 digit telephone number as something less than 8 digits, with the result that my application is 'delayed' until they have resolved the issue. Clearly there were 10 digits in the number, so I think the bot must be seeing double or something. All being well, this issue will be resolved by tomorrow and I can have the grand unveiling...

Last night I cleared the decks so that I can start my online writing course. I am unsure how successful this course will be, since I purchased it on Groupon! My belief with such things is you get out of them what you put in, so if I endeavor to work hard, then it will have some kind of effect. Should the effect be an adverse one, then perhaps those out there who are more aware and educated in such matters would be so good as to shout "No! You are misinformed" every few posts!

Of course I would have started the course tonight, but it was much more fun to go swimming with my two year old who is of the firm opinion that floats should sink and that they are in fact supercharged jack-in-the boxes. I hope that I can siphon a little of his imagination off in my next childrens piece!

How to organise a blog?

Following the high of yesterdays creative moment, I find I am in a quandary already. Should I continue to focus on a key subject or should I let my creativity flow and post random snippets of brain fluff. The authorities on blogging appear to agree. Jane Friedmans Blogging 101 suggests there is much advantage to having a single topic blog - better organisation, more focus, greater depth, a chance at viral growth. The public will want your brain fluff about as much as they want your pocket fluff!

On the other hand, when the main purpose of blogging is to improve your writing skills then diversity of styles and topics may be more favorable. Until the skills are honed and the subject is refined, then the general wisdom is write about "what you know"; However, what if "what you know" is a little bit about a lot of things, but not a lot about a specific thing? I have always held that I am a specialist in generalism which is an advantage in my particular line of work, but not of particular use when attempting to write a detailed novel! 

That said, some degree of organisation is required. I have followed blogs where the limits of cyber-space restrict the organic growth of a generalised structure (yes it does have some limits if you prefer them, rather than free fall into the unknown chasm that can be the world wide web). One lady had problems when her blogging limits forced her to split the blog into two - a French language version and an English language version. Another limit of cyber-space is translation - there are just some things that dont translate well! 

So decision made.

Option 1: Specialist

Option 2: Generalist

I have never been one to conform and so I went with Option 3 - I will start off as a generalist and morph either by design or by accident into a specialist as and when the time is "write"!