Learning From the Master and Remembering What I've Learned

I just checked the date on my status bar...  It's been almost a month since I received my Christmas books.  I've got to get this ball rolling!  I've been reading Stephen King's On Writing.  (It was the smallest, so I figured I'd start there.)  The first section of the book was more of a memoir of how it happened for King.  I carried the book in my purse and used it to fill my waiting time while taking FIL to his appointments.  I've just now gotten to the heart of the matter.  The book is out of my purse and on my side table.  Getting to the part of he said/she said, I'm actually feeling pretty good about my WIP... so far.  I'm sure there will be lots of places that need tweaking.  I haven't gone back to reread and double-check my memory.  (Do you sense fear?  Denial?)

Speaking of my memory...  I can't remember what I had for dinner last night!  How will I remember all I learn from these books?  Highlighting and dog-eared pages are OK, but who want to flip through all the books over and over while editing?  I'm going to make a cheat sheet.

Remember back in the days of high school?  We called it taking notes.  How many of you do that now?  Isn't note taking just as important now as it was then?  No, there won't be a test to study for, but notes do make it easier to recall all the wonderful things we glean from books and blogs.

In a past blog post, I talked about using the program One Note to organize everything.  However you decide to organize your notes is up to you; but you must have some way of sorting through the data.  Just as I don't want to have to flip through books looking for highlighted items, I don't want to read through paragraphs, and even pages, of notes to find the topic I'm looking for.  Using a digital form makes sorting through the pile much quicker, and makes a simple task of reorganizing.


I can't wait to finish this book and get on to the next.  I'm still on a break from writing.  There's just been to much going on, and now I'm sick.  Nothing serious, just the yuckies; but still, it's hard for me to feel creative when my nose is out of sorts.

Off the subject of writing...  There is a new addition to our family.  A boy!  Yes, after four granddaughters from my daughter, my step-son has a brand new son!  Click HERE to see a photo of all five grandchildren.

FIY

Yeah, I've been MIA.  Of course, the holidays were an obstacle, but I've had a lot on my mind.  Click HERE to find out what's been getting my attention.

My Favorite Gifts

I got them!  The books I wanted...

Both my daughter and my DIL actually asked me what I wanted!  I gave them book titles.  I can't wait to get deep into these titles.  They're exactly what I asked for.... but still, they're not my favorite gift.

It's hard to top this...

So if I never become the best-selling author I dream of being, I have achieved greater success already!

What are some of your favorite Christmas gifts?