The Holidays

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After working another 16-hour day this past Wednesday, I was ready to go home.

There are days when I appreciate my unique perspective of being both a customer and a retail worker, but Wednesday was not one of those days.  The customers were a little more trigger-happy than usual; the employees were a little more frazzled and worn around the edges.

Two days before Christmas, and everyone around me seemed like they relished being a little more grumpy, and excused their behavior because of The Holidays.  Complete strangers can wait in the same line and bond over how horrible certain employees were, and all the things they still needed to do if they can just get through this line.  At the end of their grumbling, the usual head shake, the shared knowing look: “What do you expect: It’s The Holidays.”  Some employees were no better, excusing their short, callous behavior with a shrug, and a glare: “Look, Lady, it’s The Holidays.”  Like The Holidays is a disease and grumpiness is a symptom, like a runny nose, or a sore throat.

With each step to my car, I worked on releasing all of the negativity that I didn’t want to carry home with me, pretending the frosty breath I exhaled carried away one more complaint that I didn’t need inside me.

My car was easy to spot.  It’s one of the only ones left in the middle of a nearly deserted parking lot.  It’s also nicely frosted over.

I sped up a little bit, knowing that thawing out my car will add another ten minutes to my “going home” time.  Then, I remembered a co-worker who slipped and fell in the parking lot of her full time job the day before, breaking her knee in six places.  I continued my pace, but this time adopting a penguin-shuffle to keep me more stable as I eyed the parking lot for hidden patches of black ice.  By the time I reached my car, and resigned myself to scraping the ice off the windshield, I decided that another ten minutes was nothing to an end of a sixteen-hour workday.  And, I didn’t break my knee.

Scraping done, I waited in my car for just a few more minutes to get warm and defrost myself.  While doing so, I wandered over to Twitter to see what my friends were up to.  I remembered that there was something that a friend wanted to share, but I didn’t have the opportunity to see what it was. 

http://twitter.com/#!/WookiesGirl/status/17785979968421888

So, I clicked on the link she shared, wondering if it was going to be a silly Holiday comic or something like that.  Her story was definitely not a silly comic, and I was definitely not prepared for it.

So there I was: the only soul in the middle of a semi-dark, nearly empty parking lot, crying in a defrosting car.  Everything I experienced that day, the endless hours, the clingy, needy mass of humanity, issues so petty and useless in the light of the story she shared, washed away from me in one cathartic haze.

Sitting there, I realized that even though I thought I was immune to The Holidays, I caught it too, though my symptoms were different.  Co-workers and customers alike praised my cheery attitude, and I thought, “How wonderful: I can show them all that The Holidays can be a happy time.  They’ll see, they’ll all see!”  But my symptoms were not the grumbly kind.  They were more the cynical and jaded kind…the I-expect-you-all-to-be-horrible-so-I-will-rise-above-and-be-perpetually-smiley kind…the kind that created distance between me and the rest of the population, distance that didn’t allow me to love and appreciate people like I ought…the kind that made me forget for a moment that behind all the hubbub of finding the perfect gift is the love that the gift is supposed to represent.  And, sometimes, expressing that love is difficult for some people, especially if they’ve recently lost a loved one, or three.  As an Encourager and a Servant, I lost my focus. For that, I have no excuses.

I forgot that The Holidays is about love, pure and unconditional.   Thank you @WookiesGirl for the reminder.

Across the Twitterverse: The Retweet

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This post is part of my Across the Twitterverse series, and is dedicated to Debbie Burns (@DB_Smyth), whether she likes it or not 😉

If Twitter is a Micro-Blog…

Though Twitter is set up more like the chat rooms of yore, it is essentially a microblogging site which just happens to be very useful for real time social networking.  When we blog using traditional platforms like WordPress or Blogspot, we tell people what’s going on in our little corner of the universe.  Usually, the posts tend to run long, and so blog posts are generally sporadic, usually revolving around the blogger’s Important Events or Momentous Thoughts.

Twitter, on the other hand, was designed to fill in those gaps between the Important Events and Momentous Thoughts.  It’s to tell your friends/ family/followers what you are doing on a more daily, run of the mill basis; perhaps, what led you to write about Momentous Thoughts or Important Event.  Plus, it helps to get the word out to more people when those bigger events happen in your life.

…Then, What is The Retweet?

The best description that I have come across for The Retweet is from one of my favorite Twitter Friends, Tina Kingston:

http://twitter.com/CtKscribe/status/28843504067

If tweets are mini blog posts, then to Retweet another Twitter user’s tweet is essentially like having a guest blogger post something on your blog.  You invite guest bloggers because you WANT to write about a particular subject, but feel that this other person can write about that subject better than you can (for a variety of reasons).

That is what The Retweet is: you are using another tweep’s words to encapsulate what you would have said, but since they’ve said it so well, you have decided to just quote them and give them credit for it on your profile.  You have Retweeted his/her tweet.  (WordPress now has a “Reblog” feature.  Think of it like that.)

There are two ways to Retweet: The Classic way and The New way.  The New Retweet is kind of annoying because you really don’t see or know if anyone has Retweeted a tweet of yours unless you deliberately look for it (under the “My Tweets, Retweeted” tab on Twitter).  The plus side is that New Retweet prominently credits the original tweep for his/her words.  And, it also breaks up the monotony of your profile’s timeline.

On the other hand, Classic Retweet is denoted by an “RT.”

http://twitter.com/#!/KimberlyKinrade/status/9445337987022848

I prefer Classic Retweet because 1) the Tweep knows that I’m Retweeting and 2) I can add a comment to the Tweet, making it a more streamlined way of following conversations, since not all Twitter platforms show conversations easily.

Either way, I find the Retweet complimentary because it tells me that other people find value in my tweets, enough that they want to share it with their own followers.  This practice allows other people to find me and perhaps follow me, too.  (Remember, just because your profile is public doesn’t mean that people will automatically find you based solely on your tweets. Except for spambots.  They’re always there.  Lurking.  *cringe*)

At the same time, I use The Retweet to find new tweeps with whom to connect.  (Think of it like a “word of mouth” referral: when you find something you like and just HAVE to tell your friends about it, you do so without prompting, because you love it so much.  That’s how I see Retweets by my friends: they must like this person/tweet, so therefore, this tweep must be worth following, or at least, this blog post they’re retweeting must be worth reading.)

I personally find Retweets with comments (RT) encouraging, and I want to be able to spread the love and encourage others.  I mean, one of the very first RT with comment I received was from one of my favorite fitness heroes, and I will be honest, I was beaming all day when I saw it*:

http://twitter.com/#!/Shawn_Phillips/status/24009676893

What It Means to Me

I look at Retweets as just another way to encourage others and spread the knowledge, laughter, quirkiness that I have found in the original tweet.  I love being able to Retweet @KierstenWhite’s auctions, and help raise money for a deserving person.  I love Retweeting any of @NatalieWhipple’s posts on her writing journey.  I love Retweeting fitness or writing articles/quotes that I have found informative and/or helpful in some way.  I love spotlighting anything that has improved my life or helped change my level of thinking, in the hopes that someone else may find it useful as well.

To me, Twitter, with all its functions, is just another way to spread joy, and honestly, have lots of fun.  And, maybe, with this mindset, you will be able to delight in it as well.  Join the conversation.  That’s all that Twitter is and the more you share and interact, the more you will get out of it.

Speaking of Interaction

Do you have any thoughts on Twitter?  Please share!

Up Next: Keep the Conversation Going

*Shawn Phillips’s articles on high-intensity interval training, and book, ABSolution, helped to spark and flame the fitness fire in me almost 10 years ago, and it’s still going on strong now.  To be able to connect with someone who has been so influential in my life is one of the reasons why I am so happy and grateful for Twitter.  Plus, he likes Maui almost as much as I do! 😉

Thursday Thoughts: Just Get It Written

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Fumbling Toward The End: The Reveal*

(*an actual “scene title” in my Scrivener App.)

Start as close to the end as possible.

–Kurt Vonnegut

So, I’m kind of in this little writing challenge that happens each November.  As a way to grow The Novel’s word counts and keep it interesting for me, I decided to dedicate my kamikaze-do-or-die writing days to the second half of The Novel.  My purpose for my kamikaze writing days (other than the fact that I needed to be realistic with my schedule since I work in retail for my FT AND PT paythebills jobs in the heart of the holiday season)?  So that I can race along to the finish, and then go back to the first half of The Novel and fatten up those scenes.  I’ve said this before, but success breeds success, and the more “wins” I can achieve, the more motivating it is for me to continue.

In these mad sprints to glory, I’ve realized a few things.  First, I have completely drowned out my Internal Editor and sent her packing to live with my closet trolls.  (Take that Internal Editor! Chew on some socks, and last year’s belts!)  Second, that in focusing on the end, I have a clearer grasp of my beginning.

Method Behind the Madness

When I tell some people that I aim to write 5,000, 7,000, even 10,000 words in a day, I sometimes get asked: “Is your story even coherent with that volume of writing?”  The answer: Yes; in a way.  It is to me.  Since I plotted, outlined and pretty much pre-planned The Novel scene by scene.  Is it anywhere close to being published?  Of course not!  I write better quality e-mails than this Story-As-Is.  I definitely wouldn’t send this drivel to any crit partners or beta readers.

Do I care?  No.

Because that’s the point of this beautiful, awesome thing called “NaNoWriMo” and my kamikaze-do-or-die writing days: I don’t have to get it anywhere close to perfect.  I just need to get it written.  THEN, the real work of revising, editing, polishing The Novel to the point where EVERYONE can actually read and understand it will come to play.  THAT is when I will beg and plead other writers to beta read, critique, and otherwise rip my work to shreds (but nicely, and with purple ink, rather than red please).

I don’t dwell on the fact that The-Novel-So-Far has  shifting points of views, perspectives, and a LOT of telling and not showing in the efforts to just get the story down and written.  Believe me, I’ll still go back and get to those points.  (I mean, there’s at least 20,000 words waiting to be born back there that I can add to my word counts 😉 ).  The value of them to me is just the idea that they exist.  Those words are already there, and all I need to do is tweak them.  This thought allows me to Just. Keep. Writing.  And really, as a beginning writer, that’s what I need.  Good habits.  Momentum. Progress in the right direction.  Writing a story straight through till The End seems like the right direction to me.

Little Darlings

I know that Faulkner said that writers ought to kill their little darlings, but I choose to categorize that little bit of advice to the “Revision” process rather than the “Just Get It Written” process.  I love reveling in the random phrases and words that my fingers type up so quickly, my mind wasn’t even conscious of it.  Besides, the Little Darlings need to get written first before we can kill them and give birth to True Genius (*cue angelic choir music*).  At least, that’s how I look at it.

In these sprints, I’m able to get to the heart of the matter.  Capture more essential, urgent things.  Hear more random tidbits and snippets that I don’t even realize I’m writing.

She laughed again. I need to stop being so hilarious to this woman. She’s starting to piss me off.

–A random line that I didn’t even know I’d written until after my break.  I don’t even use “piss” in daily speech.  Silly muses.

And, in the heat of the moment, I discover more intensity from my characters, my worlds, my words, that I wouldn’t have had I been plodding along.

Of course, there’s a time, place, and purpose for everything.  Do I do these mad dashes all the time? No.  I think I would crash and burn after not too long.  I believe in balance.  But, in the spirit of the challenge, in the spirit of motivation, and in the spirit of my compulsive need to reach all of my goals, I think these mad dashes bring me the most peace.  It affirms to me that when push comes to shove, I have the discipline needed to make writing my lifelong career.

I know that I can be good, even great, in a variety of roles.  But, stories…they are my passion, and I would love to see the day when my passion and paythebills worlds align.

Just keep writing, fellow dreamers.

On Twitter

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[This post is written in response to one of my lovely NerdSquad tweeps, @AnnieLCechini, of The Ink Phantom.

http://twitter.com/AnnieLCechini/status/556100357197826

Realizing more than ever that brevity is not my strength, this post is the first of what seems to be a mini series.]

Twitter.

Some say it’s a complete waste of time.  Some view it as a marketing tool.  Others see it as a way to network (read: gossip).  And, most of the time, it’s a little of all of the above.

Lucky for me, I primarily use Twitter for fun.  I enjoy following certain people or businesses for information that I deem is important (for example, @HealthRanger), or because I love their products (@TropTraditions has the BEST certified organic virgin coconut oil!) But, I also love meeting new friends, and admittedly have found a lot of my nearest and dearest writing buddies via Twitter.  (I still remember the day that Melissa, aka @melissaveres and I found each other and bonded over Mockingjay.  Le sigh.)

So, how can you use Twitter effectively so that you can balance having all the fun with the business of finding more friends on Twitter to follow (or follow you), so that the fun just keeps being had?  Well, I’m glad you asked!  Here are some ways that I use Twitter to keep it fun for me, and hopefully, for my friends (admittedly, I don’t care so much about the number of people following me; unless the number ends with a “9”, then I will beg for someone to follow me. Must Have. Round. Numbers.).

I’m going to assume that you already know the basics of Twitter (though, I’ll be writing a little bit about that in the future), and are a generally nice person who won’t flame other users.  And, let’s just say that you just want to find more friends to chitchat with, and don’t necessarily care about your follower count (though it would be nice if you did get more followers.  The more friends, the merrier, right?).

The More You Give The More You Get

First of all, the more you acknowledge and interact with your followers (or with those whom you follow) the more likely it is that you will get followed back, and will be acknowledged by other twitter users.  I see many twitter users that state that they don’t auto follow, but they do @reply.  I think it’s safe to say that 99% of Twitter users are like this.  I know for me personally, I don’t even see new followers since I tweet almost exclusively from my iPhone, so @replying to me would be the best way to tell me, “hey I’m here, please followback!” (without actually saying, “please follow back.”  You have no idea how much that annoys me.  I follow people whom I find interesting and don’t, you know, act like spam.  But that’s just me.)

There are several ways to find and acknowledge new-to-you tweeps on Twitter.  Replying to a tweep who mentions you is, of course, the most obvious way.  But, other methods include retweeting a user’s tweet, or acknowledging a tweep who retweets something of yours.  It’s not really necessary, but I find it complimentary that another user liked my tweet so much they wanted to retweet it.  I found a lot of fun friends that way that I wasn’t originally following, like, off the top of my head, @soulwindow and @clarakensie.

Another way to acknowledge fellow tweeps is to recommend them to your friends, the most popular method being Follow Fridays (denoted by search hash tags #FollowFriday or #FF).  (Twitter has also broken down follow days to #MusicMonday and #WriterWednesday, too if you REALLY want to spread the love.)  Please note, I find it a lot more meaningful to be recommended by tweeps who 1) actually follow me and 2) aren’t recommending EVERY user on their following list.  Besides, I only recommend those tweeps that I find truly enjoyable and have had either great conversations with them, or have acquired great information from them, or both.  This way, I can really personalize why I follow and recommend those tweeps above the other nice folk I play with on Twitter, even if it’s to say they’re sweet.  Better than being lumped together on a list just because.

Finally, one of my favorite ways to interact with tweeps is simply responding to a tweet that I found particular funny or moving or whatever.  For example, shortly after I discovered Annie on my follower list, I saw this tweet on her timeline:

http://twitter.com/AnnieLCechini/status/24667373774

to which I replied:

and then, she said:

http://twitter.com/AnnieLCechini/status/24668475515

Our very first conversation, after which, a friendship (and blog post) was born!

As you can see, if I laughed or snickered at it, I feel the need to reply to the user in some manner (even if it’s just to say, “LOL”).  Usually, I retweet with a comment, so if other users or followers of mine find it interesting, it will be easier for them to follow the conversation, and possibly join in.  (This is Twitter!  The whole premise IS to join the conversation!)

Be Yourself

Just an obvious note worth mentioning: while you’re friending, following, and otherwise interacting with tweeps on Twitter, please remember to be yourself (or, more specifically, act like a real person).  I know.  EVERYONE says “Be Yourself.”  But, it’s really true.  No one wants to follow, or will continue to follow, someone who just posts links to who-knows-where, with no explanations.    No one wants to follow spam.  (And, I KNOW I don’t want to be followed by spambots…they’re creepy! *cringe*)

Also, think before you tweet: would you think it’s acceptable to act this way in real life?  No?  Then, maybe it’s best not to do this on Twitter.  (If the guy I unfollowed because he wouldn’t stop listing his followers EVERY DAY of the week actually DOES walk around yammering off the names of ALL his friends in real life, as if he were reading a phone book, to EVERYONE he knows, then I will need to amend my statement.)  No one wants to follow someone out of obligation, either, kinda like no one wants to feel like they’re being sold to, even though they were in the market to buy something.  (Random User: “If I follow you, will you follow me?”  Me: *pushes block user option*).  This is especially true if you actually NEED to have a certain amount of followers for whatever work/job/industry you’re in.  Don’t make me feel like I’m a sale. However, if you make a personal connection you’ll probably end up getting a follower.  (Just like in real life sales, imagine that.)

Me?  I’m nerdy, goofy, and love a wide variety of random things.  I like finding and following other random and funny tweeps.  If tweeps want to follow me, that’s great, and more likely than not, if they start talking to me, I will follow them back.

Oooh, Shiny!

Twitter is my shiny toy that I like to play with when I’m not pulling my hair out with my work in progress.  And, I like being able to share my joy over it with you.

This is just the first, general post, so to speak.  My next Thoughts on Twitter post will cover how I handled not being overwhelmed by all the shiny, aka, my a-ha moment that gave me the ability to follow more tweeps without missing out on all of their fun tweets and possibly driving myself insane.

Also, please help me name this series, since, you know, I like to label stuff, and my “Thursday thoughts” category is more for insights from current events that inform my writing, whether to preview another blog post or work in progress.  Thanks!