Wall of Inspiration for Writing

Writing Wall of Inspiration

I've been working on an idea to make my writing more enjoyable and I hope this will help me to become a better writer.  As a writer, the goal is to write books that people want to read. Otherwise, I can't make a living. I am constantly looking for ways to do this.  I have tried to stay centered on my work and am often lost along the way.  I can't stress how hard it is to stay focused when one is so unorganized.  Lately, I've been working to improve that as well.  I have cleaned out my office, removing anything that does not belong and now have found my office to be a sanctuary of sorts.  I say this because with two kids and a husband who don't know how to pick up behind themselves, my house tends to become overwhelmed with junk.  By cleaning my office, I'm no longer distracted by the mess.  My mind does not stray to housekeeping and I am better able to concentrate on imagining a fantasy world in which I must write about.  I have tried to organize my writing, so that I don't become lost in it, forgetting who is who and where they came from.  I often find myself frustrated when I come back to my desk the following day and I have to reread everything just to assure myself that I have written the right name and the right occupation of a character.  What I've done is made myself a plot board.  I looked at several ideas for plot boards on Pinterest before making my own.  I may still tweak it some but for now this is what I have done.  I went out to Walmart and picked up a three foot by two foot magnetic dry erase board.  I bought a pack of markers to go with it and have decided to use the different markers to color coordinate it.  I set up my board on a blank wall then divided it by drawing three vertical lines and one horizontal line at the top.  This gives me four columns in which to write down my characters and my scenes.  The first column is for my Characters.  The second column is for the Introduction, the third for the Body and the fourth is for the Conclusion.  I got this idea from a Youtube video where a woman used a cardboard story board like the ones you buy your kids for their reading and science fair projects.  Anyway, she had it set up in four acts, making the two middle columns the same act in two parts.  I just figured it would be a little easier for me to use that extra column for my characters and use introduction, body and conclusion, the way we did in high school.  I'm not kidding when I say I often forget their names.  The last name is the worst for me.  Well I told my husband what I wanted this board for and even though it cost twenty dollars for the board alone, he agreed.  The reason I went with a dry erase board instead of the cardboard storyboard is because I don't want to constantly have to replenish my supplies such as note cards or even the board it self.  For the same reason I did not buy the big cork board of the same size, even though it was ten dollars cheaper.  In the long run buying notecards, thumbtacks, ink pens and whatever else will begin to add up.  The dry erase board allows me to wipe it away and start over.  I did purchase some sticky notes.  I thought I could use them to write down ideas for later books or even for conversations in the book for which I haven't quite gotten to yet.  I plan to use the whole wall in which the dry erase board hangs on, for writing improvement.  I have written out words to use instead of said.  For example: "I want to ride too," Tommy said. I would be able to replace Tommy said with something else, such as; "I want to ride too," declared Tommy.  I also wrote a list of descriptive words I would like to use more often in my writing.  Words like lovely, absurd, lousy, dandy and sorrowful are just a few.  There are around fifty words on my list. I got the idea for the list of words on Pinterest. I have also placed a quote from another author on my wall, that I felt touched my heart.  At the top of my wall, it is still pretty darn bare.  I just don't know what to put there.  I might hang a beautiful work of art there, something to inspire me. Eventually I will make all of these handwritten list look better by printing them out and framing them, but this will work for now, until I can get some ink.  My local Walmart has been out of my ink the last couple of times I went up there.  Anyway, I realize it's hard to see what I've done in the picture, but I didn't want to show what I am currently working on.  I don't like to reveal these things until my work is done and the book is published.  That's why I blurred it out a bit.  You can still see how I split the board into four columns.  That's all you need to see.  Maybe, once this book is finished and I have started over with a clean slate, I will take another picture to show you all what I mean.  Let me know what you think and please share any ideas that you think will make my wall more inspirational.  Be creative with your ideas.  I would love to hear them.

Mason Jar Photo Candle

I have been searching and searching for something to make a friend of mine. She made me a beautiful monogramed glass frame for my anniversary. Well I felt really bad because, I never have the money to get her anything. I stumbled across something called a mason jar photo collage and I thought that would be perfect. The only problem is I didn't have the kind of candle it calls for so I dug out an old red candle stick and my gulf wax. I melted the wax down and dug the string out of it then poured it in a mason jar. You can use a pencil to suspend the string in the center of the jar. Just tie one end around the pencil and lay the pencil on top of the jar. Next I got on facebook and found an old wedding photo of her and her husband, downloaded it and opened it with word. You can do this by clicking insert picture. Then just choose the photo you downloaded.  Next, I clicked insert wordart and chose the one I wanted. I changed the word style to French Script. Then I used a transfer paper that is used for window decals and made just for printers. Just print it out, cut it to size, peel and stick it on the jar. If you have a cricut it might work better. I used what I had. If you go the route I went, I suggest you use a colored photo. I used a black and white and it didn't show up well. It might be because of the pink candle behind it. If you don't want to make your own candle, you can use tea candles.

Washing Dishes + Homemade Dishwashing Powder

I keep hearing that I don't need to rinse my dishes before loading them in the dishwasher. Even my own husband suggested that if I'm going to do that I might as well wash them by hand. The thing is I've been there done that. My dishwasher will not get the job done if you don't pre rinse. My old dishwasher would but it was a high dollar one that we couldn't afford when it was time for a new one. So my advice to him is either get me one that'll do the job or let me do things my way. If the dish has been sitting out all day with food in it the food tends to be harder to get off unless scrubbed. All I ask is that he rake his scraps into the scrap bowl then run water in his dish. That way when the dishwasher is loaded at night the food won't be stuck to the dish and it will be easier for the dishwasher to do its job. I only run my dishwasher at night after supper, so people shouldn't be surprised if they come in my house and there is a sink full of dishes. I find that it's easier to load everything at once to make sure everything fits and I'm told electricity is cheaper at night. I don't know how true that is but I heard it once and started doing so after hearing it. Plus, I just think it makes more sense because you won't wake up to dirty dishes the following day. I put plates, pots, and silverware in the bottom. Bowls, glasses, mugs and plastic or rubbermaid items go in the top. Occasionally you may find your items have a powder residue on them. When this happens I turn on my rinse cycle again. That usually takes care of the problem. If the dishwasher is beginning to develop a smell then run baking soda and vinegar in it when its empty. You also need to clean out your filter frequently. How frequently depends on how dirty your dishes are. Since I began pre rinsing I haven't had to do it as often. My filter has a secondary filter made of a net like material that gets smudged occasionally, stopping up the tiny holes. I found that sprinkling a little baking soda on it and going over it with an old tooth brush is the best way to clean it. I make my own detergent. I found a couple of different recipes online and so far this is the one that works for me. 2 cups borax, 2 cups baking soda 1/2 cup salt and 3-5 packs of sugar free lemonade. I use a half tsp in prewash and one tsp in main wash. For my rinse aid, I usr vinegar or peroxide. It's my daughters job to load the dishwasher on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. When she washes dishes, I do have to double check that she's doing it right. She occasionally misses dishes if I don't. For example, I was sick one night. My morning sickness has returned and it hits me whenever and wherever I am. So I didn't check on her when she loaded the dishwasher. Well, that morning, I went into my kitchen to unload and found dishes all over the kitchen. My husband is bad about not following my rules. I gathered them all up and moved them to the sink and ran water in them. Thankfully none of them were covered in food that sticks. Next I opened my dishwasher to unload it and what do I find, three dishes in the bottom. She washed all the glasses though. The top was full and the silverware tray was full. There was only two plates and a large mason jar in the bottom. So i unloaded the little bit that was in there and loaded it up to wash the stuff she didn't get. To be fair atleast the sink was empty until I gathered up the mess on the counter. Oh and there was a pot that he used since he had to fix supper. Just the smell of the food cooking made me sick. So after loading the bottom of the diahwasher and turning it on again I am stuck shaking my head at the waste of electricity but what can I do? Shes just a child. I talked to her about it and she seemed to be listening but who knows with kids just how much they actually hear. She has her daddys selective hearing. Anyway, I fixed her a cup of hot chocolate as she got ready for school then I sent her out to catch the bus. My opinion is that you should pre rinse. Its not the same as washing dishes out by hand as you are not using soap or a rag or scrubbing. Your just rinsing them and if they're really bad you let them set in water a little longer. The dishwasher does the actual work. Just about the only time I have to scrub a pot is when I scramble eggs. Then i use a metal scraper, rinse it and put it in tge dishwasher. One big load a day is better than two or three little loads per day in my opinion. Thats my idea of the proper use of a dishwasher.