Tag: Social network

No money to hire a secretary…Here is the next best thing…for free

Kim Koning, Notes on Wrestling The Muse, Tools

Ever felt like this….

Do you desperately want/need someone/thing like this?

I love being a full time writer. This is a dream come true and wish fulfillment. Do I miss the EDJ? (translated=Evil Day Job) Short answer = No. Longer Answer = Sometimes. Hang on, didn’t I just say I love being a full time writer? Yes I did and Yes I do. But I would love it even more if I could do only that, just that: FULL TIME WRITING. The realities of life as a full time writer in this age is that I only get to write 50% of the time on a good week. You see what I miss about my EDJ is that as a Manager I had secretaries, employees and amazing assistant managers. In other words I could get on with my job of being a Sales Guru Manager. I could multi-task the priority tasks because someone else would be delegated those pesky daily must-do tasks. The reality of my life as a full time writer looks a bit like this…Except in my reality, Johnny Depp lives in my fantasy world…

Johnny sums up my quandary. Life as a full time writer without employees, secretaries, social network secretaries,  personal assistants or assistant managers means that I don’t have 100% time to JUST WRITE. Sometimes the daily tasks overwhelm me so much that I want to throw my hands up in frustration or find a local wall to bang my head against. In a perfect world, I could lock myself away in my hidden writer’s cabin in a place far, far away from the evils of modern distraction including all and any of the following: telephone, mobile, email, blogging, twitter, facebook, website ect. Not mentioning life in all it’s weirdness. But unfortunately the reality is that I can’t lock myself away in that dream cabin. (Now the current dream and wish.) I need to be accessible. I need to be up with what is happening in the world of publishing and social network. I need to blog at least once a week so that I keep my audience. I need to update my website. I need to retweet/reply to tweets on twitter. I need to update facebook. I need to answer emails. I need to complete this ms by such and such a deadline. I need to…I need do…. I need to… Which leads me to not having 100% time to JUST WRITE.

As much as I bitch about life in the modern digital world where information is on hyper overload, I believe you need to keep your friends closer but your enemies even closer still… So I am all about finding great online digital tools that help make my life as a full time writer more manageable…

Today I would like to share my latest find with you…in the hopes that should you find yourself looking more like the first picture in this blog than the writing writer you thought you were meant to be…this little gem of a tool may just make your life a little more manageable.

Available for Mac, iPhone, iPod Touch 4th generation, Android, Windows

Price: Free. Free. Free. Free. Free.

  • Organize tasks and projects to get more done
  • Access, interact, and update from anywhere
  • Perfect for small projects, or larger collaborations
  • Tight E-Mail and IM integration
 
“Listen…What’s that? That’s the stress-free feeling of having everything under control. Tame the Beast with the only task management application that is designed to work the way you do. = Producteev“


So that is what the application home page has to say … This is what I have to say.
 
I love this application/program. I have been using it for about 2 weeks and for the first time in months I feel on top of things. I love how this application synchronizes in real time on all your devices. So when I enter a task or tick off a task as done on one device it lets all my programs know. It e-mails me when I have a task due or when I have forgotten a task. One thing I totally love it for is that you can use it in groups too. I have not used it in this way yet but could see the advantages. For instance you could sync your schedule with your editor’s or cover artist’s schedule so that you are on the same page. Likewise you could use the group function to sync tasks with your writing group/ critique partners. It syncs beautifully with your calendars, your email, your reminders and your notes. Best of all I love this app because it is F.R.E.E. and available for most of the digital platforms. The great thing too is that if you do not have one of your devices near you, you can log onto the web application of this app and all your tasks will be there for you. So it may not make coffee for you and may not answer your emails or post your blogs for you but it will put you back into the control seat in your task management. An organized mind writes and edits more clearly.
 
My Overtasked Desk before Producteev
 
So get organized. Click on the Producteev logo in this post and download this app onto all your devices. You won’t be sorry. It won’t cost you a thing but it will save you so much time by putting all your must-hatch eggs into one neat basket. Unclutter your desk from the mountains of sticky notes, filofaxes and calendars. (Save some trees by using less paper.) In the words of the Producteev guy, Tame the Beast that keeps you from being a Writing Writer.
 
My Desk after Producteev... The Writing Writer
 
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Facebook for your Fiction

Kim Koning, Monday Mental Muscles, Notes on Wrestling The Muse, Postaday / Postaweek 2011
Fictional Character
Image by Silver Starre via Flickr

Facebook is everywhere. According to statistics if it was a country it would be the 3rd largest country in the world. Everyone who is everyone has a Facebook profile page. It is a way that you communicate with your friends and meet new friends and form networks or communities. It is a tool that politicians and entertainers use to connect with their fans. I even have some friends on Facebook who have pages set up for their pets.

Do you ever feel that there seems to be a block between you and your character/s? Or maybe you find that your character does not have enough of a voice in your WIP? If this is the case, I may have a solution for you. In one of my online writing groups, a fellow writer has suggested forming a group for our fictional characters to interact. This led to another member suggesting that each character should have their own name.

This has led me to creating a page for my MC in my NaNoWriMo Novel. At first I created a public page for her but realised that she would be speaking through me. She is a very forthright and a strong individual so I have now shown her how to set up her own page.

So I have created her own profile. Now at times I may still guide her in this Facebook adventure. She does not come from our time. She comes from 1862 and believes that it is 1862 now.

I have allowed her to have her own page to help her in her task. She believes that I am her guide although I hesitate to tell her I have imagined her. Actually now that I think of it, I am not sure that I imagined her at all. You see I would like to get to know her more. She can be quite reticent and stubborn and I am hoping to increase her social network as she does tend to be a bit of a loner.

So your Monday lesson is to create a Facebook page for your fictional character or even a blog. You can either create a page and be an administrator on this page. Through here you can switch identities from your actual identity to your fictional character.

Here are some instructions for creating a page for your fictional character on Facebook:

  1. Go here: Facebook Pages
  2. Choose the “Entertainment” option
  3. Then choose to set up the “Fictional Character“. This will be one of the choices in the drop down list for categories.
  4. Enter a name for your fictional character.
  5. After agreeing to Facebook terms, you will have a page set up.
  6. You can then suggest this page to any contacts you wish.
  7. Add your characters bio and personal info.
  8. You will now be the admin for this page.
  9. On the right hand side of the page, you will see an option to switch identity. This means that you could post as yourself or virtually through your character’s page.
  10. Just like any Facebook page, you can add photos, post statuses or links and start discussions.

Another way for you to create a real Facebook presence for your fictional character would be to create a brand new account under a separate email address from your own.

The advantages of giving your character their own Facebook account is enormous as a tool to get to know your character. She/He can also then have their own friends on Facebook and maybe meet up with other fictional characters.

Enjoy creating an online identity for your character. You never know, you may just find out things about your character by peeking into her virtual world. Enjoy hearing your character speak for her/himself. It may open even more avenues for your WIP.

-Kim

© All Rights Reserved Kim Koning.


 

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