Merry Christmas!  Actually, you’re probably reading this a few days after Christmas.  I know I’m not even looking at my computer today.

So, whenever you read this, the market this week is Glittership.

Glittership is a podcast that is devoted Science Fiction and Fantasy with an LGBTQ theme.

Genre- Science fiction and fantasy

Word Count-100 to 6,000

Submission date- Any time

Payout- 3 cents a word

Wait Time- Not listed

Rights- Also not listed

Here, then, is your link to full submission guidelines.

Don’t forget that I’m on Pateron now.  If you want to check out my page, get access to more of my fiction work and even get a copy of Days before anyone else, click here.

Merry Christmas Eve!  So, here’s your present, are you ready?  I collected all of the printables I made this year, (All two, but I’m hoping to create more next year.) and put them together in one post for you.

I hope you have an awesome holiday, and I can’t wait to see what 2016 brings for all of us!

This one is for a printable to bring list when planning a writing trip with your kids.

This one is the far more popular World Building printable.

If you guys like this, I’ll make it a yearly thing to collect the printables I (hopefully) make throughout the year.  Let me know!

Also, don’t forget that I’m on Paetron now, so if you want to show your love and get access to my stories before anyone else, check it out.

So far this month we’ve talked about two big things that help me keep my life in balance.  Having a good day job helps, and trying to get a little bit done every day is huge.  But there’s one more big secret.

 

Yes and No are the most important words in your vocabulary.  But you’re probably using them wrong.

 

I want you to do a little experiment with me.  Grab your bullet journal, flip to the next two empty pages, write yes on one page and no on the other.  Now, for the next week, write down the things you said yes and no to.  No judging, just detailing your habits.

 

If you’re like me, you’re probably saying yes to a lot of things.  To working overtime, to helping with chores you shouldn’t be responsible for, to taking on more responsibilities, to a boring meal you aren’t excited about because it’s easy.  We say yes because we feel like we should, or because we don’t want to offend people.  And it’s not just things that others ask of us.  Sometimes it’s things that we ask of ourselves.  One big thing I’ve asked of myself is to enter a ton of writing contests.  I love them, and they’re fun.  But I said yes to too many.  I said yes to way too many sweets, and too much gaming, and a lot of things that I just didn’t need in my life.  I said yes to reading books I had no interest in, because I felt like I should read them.

 

I am trying to stop that.  Instead, I’m trying to say yes to things I really want to do.  Sometimes that is helping out my friends, and even picking up some hours at the day job.  But more often it’s yes to new foods, new books, new experiences, new music.  I am saying yes to reading as much as I want and good coffee instead of junk food.  I am saying yes to playing with my monsters more.  I am saying yes to watching scary movies on the weekends.

 

Now, about no.  I have a fun story about the day I learned to use no.

 

My mother was getting a new couch.  There was nothing wrong with her old couch, she just wanted a new one.  Such is my mother.  But she didn’t want to have the old couch, which belonged to my great grandmother before she passed, hauled away.  So she wanted me to take it.

 

Now, I already had a couch.  It was blue, and huge, and comfortable.  It was broken in all the right places.  But, being the people pleaser that I was, I agreed to get rid of my awesome couch and take the one that she wanted to get rid of in it’s place.

 

The night before my uncle was going to come and swap the furniture, I started to cry.  Just bawl, at the thought of losing my couch.  I thought, what the hell is the point of saying yes when it makes me this miserable?  My mom’s happy, but I’m sure not.  Did I really want to replace a couch that was worn with love for one that was itchy and uncomfortable?  No, I don’t want it.  So I called my mom and told her I had no intention of taking the couch.

 

I still remember that sick feeling when I was going to have to give up something I wanted for something I didn’t want.  And I listen for it.  If someone asks me to do something, and I feel that sick feeling, I say no.  And I don’t explain.

 

This is the secret behind Yes and No.  Don’t explain to anyone but yourself why you used one or the other.  When someone asks something of you, or when an opportunity introduces itself, think about it, then say yes or no.  Because it’s a sad fact that for everything you say yes to, you must say no to something else.

 

Now, let’s go back to your list.  At the end of the week, take a look at your yeses.  Are there any on there you wish you’d said no to?  What about your nos?  Any disappointments there?

 

Oh, and as a final thought, I have something to say about ‘I’m Sorry.’  Only say it of you mean it, say it fast when you should, and never say it over what you decide to say yes and no to.

I love talking about horror, and why people want to read and write horror stories.  Stephen King is probably the master of that, but I don’t mind tossing my humble hat into the ring.  If you like it, then Thinking Horror is a great magazine for you.  It’s all about non fiction essays about horror stories.

Genre- Non fiction concerning the horror genre.

Word Count- 1,000 words or more

Wait time- Not listed

Payout- $20 per article.

As always, here is your link to the full submission guidelines.

Want to support Paper Beats World?  Check out our Patreon page!

Hey, guys.  This story is going to be in Days, and Other Stories.  Hope you like it.

 

Busy Day

    There was a line at the check out desk. Rosemary was there alone, and from what Morgan could see from the library office she looked near tears.
She sighed. She would have to finish her lunch at the counter, even though someone was sure to complain about the vinegar smell from her fries.
She reached the counter at the same time as Michael. “You can go back to your lunch, I was just coming to help,” he said.
“Three will be faster than two,” Morgan said. She gestured for the first patron, and started stamping their selections.
“You guys do seem really busy,” a woman on the other side of the counter said. “What’s going on?”
“Tax aid,” Morgan replied.
“That and the school being closed,” Rosemary said.
The woman’s face turned somber. She took her books, and left without saying goodbye.
“Could you maybe not bring that up?” Michael hissed. “It’s not like an elementary school being bombed is something people want to be reminded of.”
They both glanced toward Morgan. She didn’t have any kids, so she assumed their sympathetic looks were because she lived just a block from the school and could have been killed that day.
The next woman in line made all three of them fall silent. She had the dark skin that spoke of her Middle Eastern heritage. She wore a hijab over her hair, as did the older of the two girls with her. Morgan thought she must not be used to it, because she was tugging at the hem.
“Is the taxes class still here today, please?” the woman asked.
“It is, yes,” Morgan said, “downstairs.”
“Thank you,” the woman said, and led the girls away.
Rosemary leaned in to Morgan. “I don’t know why the police haven’t arrested her and her husband. The school’s bombed a month after those Muslims move in? No one thinks that’s a coincidence.”
Morgan’s purse was in the alcove at her feet, full again of explosive putty. She nearly laughed out loud, but did her best to look somber. “The carpenter was there yesterday,” she said. “Hopefully we can get the building fixed soon, and start forgetting about this whole mess.”

So, I have two things I want to talk about today.  They have more to do with parenting than writing, but I do think that my perspective as an artist does make me look at these two things differently.

 

My first issue is this; I see all over the internet and all through magazines aimed at moms articles with titles like “Ways to Limit Screen Time For Your Kids.”

 

I’m sorry, what?  I feel like we missed a step here.  Like the one where we all got together and decided that screen time was a bad thing.

 

In case you’re wondering, screen time is defined as any time someone spends in front of the computer, tv or smart device. You know, my entire life.

 

I highly encourage my monsters to have ‘screen time.’  In fact, here’s a list of the things my kids do on screens.

 

• Go to school
• Read
• Play games with each other
• Play games with me and the husband
• Play awesome creative games like Mind Craft, where you can either farm, or go to the moon in a rocket ship depending on how creative you feel like being that day.
• Watch shows like Mythbusters, which is why the older monster wants to got to MIT and become an engineer.
• My younger one has an art program that allows her to create some really cool graphic artwork.  Her grandma’s in box has been stuffed.
• Email relatives they don’t get to see very often.
• Watch movies with me.  I love watching movies.

 

Now, you tell me, why would I want to limit any of that?  I’m not saying my kids are couch potatoes who never go outside.  But I am saying that I’m not going to tell them to put down that book and go do something else.

 

In fairness, I don’t have a problem with my kids not wanting to play outside.  They totally want to go do that.  So I guess I might be singing a different song if that wasn’t the case, and if your kids don’t lie to you about the weather just to go outside, disregard my irritated attitude.

 

I think the articles we should see, instead, should be emphasizing quality screen time instead of demonizing the quantity.  For instance, I would let my kids email their grandmother a million times a day, but I do not allow them to blow up their friends emails.  They can play Minecraft and Portal so long as their homework is done, but we don’t do first person shooters.  (Okay, that’s a lie.  They don’t do first person shooters.  I love me some Resident Evil.)  They can watch Dr. Who, Mythbusters and all of the documentaries they want, but I will be damned if they’ll put Spongebob on in my house.

 

Which brings me, by the by, to my second rant.  Spongebob offends me as an artist.

 

I’m not saying it’s the artwork.  It’s fine, bright, cheerful.  Just what you’d want for a children’s show.  I’m not saying it’s the writing, or the music, or the asinine characters.  No, it’s the way one particular character is portrayed, in stark contrast to the main character.

 

That’s right, I’m going to defend Squidward.  I’m going to defend him a lot, and do you know why?  He loves the arts, lives for them.  He wants to be a painter, and a musician.  Both are admirable things to aspire to.  He hates his terrible, dead end job.  He wants to be better at the things he loves, and so he practices with every available second he has.  He would like his neighbor to not ruin his damn house and garden!  And the thing I admire most is that when he does something, he wants to be as amazing as possible at it.  He doesn’t want to just garden, he wants to grow the most rare and beautiful coral.  He doesn’t just want to play music, he wants to have his band play at the Bubble Bowl.  And if he is going to blow a bubble, it should be the best of bubbles.

 

So what happens to him?  He’s demonized.  His hopes and dreams are ruined at every turn.  And that’s funny?  I can ignore the fact that Spongebob himself is content to spend his days in a shitty job and screwing around with his friends.  People with no ambition aren’t bad, or even wrong just because they have a different lifestyle than me.  But I cannot ignore the fact that he constantly belittles the person who actually wants more from his life.

 

Alright, my rant is over.  Thank you all for your patience while I overreact to a kids cartoon.

 

What Rocked This Week

 

• I finished editing all of the stories for Days, and Other Stories.  I also got a good friend and amazing artist to do the illustrations for me.  It might not be done by Christmas, but I’m looking at a hesitant release date of mid January, early February.
• I got my first rejection letter for Broken Patterns, and I sent it right back out.  Many more will follow, I’m sure.

 

What I’m Looking Forward To Next Week

 

• Spoiler!  I got an amazing idea for a new novel.  Now, I’m kind of obsessed with Woven, so I don’t want to break into novel writing time for it.  So, I’m going to write the story as a serial, and publish it right here!  No further news here, I’ll just tell you that it’s Science Fiction.  I like this, because it rounds out my Speculative Fiction title. More news as events warrent.
• This is my last full week at the day job before a really long Christmas Vacation!  I am going to take a full two days off from the day job and all writing.  That’s so not like me, but I am going to try.

 

Just everything right now makes me excited.  Finishing up two big projects means that now I get to start on more new and exciting projects!  Stay tuned.

 

What did you do this week that you’re super excited about?  Let us know in the comments below.

 

Don’t forget that I’m on Patreon now.  If you want access to more of my stories, or if you just want to support Paper Beats World, check me out right here.

 

Holy crap, we have a week and a half until Christmas, and it doesn’t feel like my list is getting any smaller.  Next time I think it’s a good idea to publish a book in the middle of December, someone remind me that it’s a really, really stupid idea.

But I get a little done, every day.  Every day there’s progress, every day I’m a little closer to a finished product.  Every day I can say, “I got some done.”

Of course, it’s really easy to say that.  “Just do a little, every day.” Yeah, okay.  What does that even mean?  And more importantly, how does someone put that into practice?

There’s not just one way, actually, but a whole list of tips that I use to make “A little every day,” work for me.

Pomodoro Timer

I’ve done a whole post about this before, and after ten months of using it I still swear by it.  25 minutes is usually all the time I want to spend on house cleaning.  25 minutes is also usually all I can ask of myself to sit in my chair and focus, what with the adult ADD and all.

Priority based to do list

Alright, so it takes me no less time than 15 minutes to write my to do list for the day.  Why?  Because it’s a two step process.  Step one, write down all of the things I need to do/want to do/ don’t want to do but probably should. (I’m looking at you, bedding that needs washed.)  Then, I rank these things from most to least important.  I might get everything on my list done, but then I might not.  At least if I only get the first three things done, hell if I only get the first thing done, it was a really important thing.

Know when to multi task, and when not to

This one’s all about being honest with yourself, and knowing yourself.  I know, for instance, that I can update my social media with half of my brain.  I can also make boring phone calls to the bank, post office and doctors office with maybe one fourth.  Then there’s all the time I’m going to be listening to hold music! I can get a whole weeks worth of tweets done during one call to my gas company.

Writing and editing, though, that takes focus.  I wouldn’t dream of trying to do that while I’m doing anything else.

Insist upon your time

I know when my monsters were little this was harder.  But a child as old as two can understand ‘quiet time’ for at least ten minutes.  When the older one was that age, I used to play Baby Einstein and Bear in The Big Blue House so I could write.  Now that they’re older, have set rules in place.  I tell the monsters that I will be writing, and how long I will be writing.  This is based on give and take.  I give them my attention before and after, and they give me peace until my timer goes off. (Yet another way the pomodoro method helps me.  It reminds the kids that I am focusing, and tells them how much longer I will be focusing for.)

But know it might not happen anyway

I might have a morning ruined by a doctor’s appointment.  I might have to deal with a dishwasher throwing up soap all over the floor.  I might have a cat that’s decided to take an interest in the Christmas tree and knocks the damn thing down on herself, Harper.  One way or another, I know that I can’t depend on getting a lot done, so I have to be content some days with only getting a little done.

A little every day works best if it really is every day.

That’s the hard part.  I take a day off here and there, if I’m sick.  I also always take one day off a month and specific holidays.  But most days, I make myself get some little thing done.  A few pages, written, edited, typed, something.  Every day I need to be farther ahead than I was before.