Text-to-Speech Options

I don't know how other writers feel about hearing their work read back to them, but my niece hipped me to the idea. She proofs some of my stuff for readability and says that hearing the stories (instead of reading them) keeps her from trying to edit as she reads. Well, that's my problem too.

Not that I did any real research here, but I found these links after struggling with the Microsoft Narrator installed on my PC. (Some of these are links to links...)

I've used Narrator, which isn't as bad as it is just plain unfriendly to a new user. Also, Narrator doesn't  play nice with all documents. I spent more time trying to de-glitch it than I did listening to my stuff. So...

In the voice of Bill Engvall, "Heeeere's your links!"

• Techovity shares some links I'm checking out.
• Browsealoud 
• ReadSpeaker
• Wikipedia's list of free & commercial readers.

Not a lot of links, but I'll be scouting for more as I  have time.

Peace

--Free

Procrastination Games

Sometimes, when I can't break a writing block, I...

• Watch those evil-looking ass crows that gather around the cans on garbage day and imagine their conversations.
• Imagine that those same crows are watching my evil ass, imagining my thoughts.
• Sit for hours in front of the keyboard, looking at that blank Word screen, having amazing thoughts that I cannot put into language.
• Have better conversations with characters not yet assigned to a story while I'm trying to wake up the characters in a story I am working on.
• Wish, wish, wish I had an appointment or other obligation to attend to because, for some reason, I work better under irritation and pressure.
• Have mental arguments with God about His having given me this urge to create without giving me ways to just snap my fingers and get the job done.
• Paint my toenails with several coats of polish because that gives me a reason not to get in my favorite cross-legged position to write.
• Compare writer's block to physical ailments like constipation. 
• Realize that writer's block is a constipation of the mind and spirit.
• Wish Ex-lax made a product to unplug my mind. In the sense of relief, not disconnect.
• Compare writing to the very last moment of a pregnancy that just will not end.
• Get all wrapped up in thoughts about the 'pregnancy', pushing and willing the thing I'm creating to just be out of me.
• Lay on the bed and make elaborate plans for re-doing my room decor.
• Realize I can't afford to re-do my room decor.
• Lay on my bed and imagine that my first published novel will be such a hit that I'll be able to afford having someone else do my room decor.
• Realize that, with enough money, I wouldn't be in this room anymore.
• Remind myself that I write, not to have more money, but just to breathe.
• Make a list of books that I've read that were so awful that I know my worst written story has a chance. If I just get off my ass and get it written.
• Realize that those awful book authors were stronger than me in spirit, if not talent. They did get their awful book finished. 
• Write dedication pages in my head (and not on paper or screen because I can't write shit when I'm blocked).
• Force myself to sit very still and try to get 'centered, then realize I don't believe in 'centering' myself as much as stirring myself up. The process of meditating or 'getting centered' usually just makes me drowsy.
• Write these silly blog posts because I know that writing anything is better than writing nothing.
• Think about the hours and hours I've put into the story that is stuck in neutral and wonder if I should just delete-delete-delete it into oblivion.
• Decide to just let the damn story sit in the corner as punishment for putting me through this hell.
• Think that I am such a loser because I can't do this writing thing that I cannot imagine living without.
• Beat myself up until my ego is slinking off to sulk in the corner along with the story I sent there.

Mostly, I do anything except write. It's a non-cycle.

Too much to ask for?
(via getgln)

Peace

--Free

**REVIEW** Mizani H2O Intense

$9 @ Burlington Coat Factory
$3000 elsewhere

This stuff is my new love. Good thing Burlington Coat Factory wouldn't give me a cash refund when I finally returned a Christmas gift. I only used part of the exchange because the only thing I could find was the Mizani. So glad I took a chance and bought it.

I paid less than ten dollars for the jar, but I priced other Mizani products at places like Sally Beauty Supply. The product website informs us that "Mizani" is Swahili for "balance". It could also mean "gold" because that's how the products are priced.

After trying my "discount" jar of the H2O Intense, I have to say that it's worth paying double what I did pay.

Pros:

• Not greasy or sticky
• Has a very pleasant (and faint) scent
• Takes very little to treat thick hair
• Leaves hair soft (no "crunch") without feeling heavy, damp or oily

Cons:

• I might have to jack a child's college savings to afford it

Now, I don't know if you saw the freak show that was my hair yesterday but, as awful as the pic was, you can see that my hair has been growing quite a bit in the past weeks. (The photo of me on the sidebar was just taken in December.) The Mizani Intense as made that mop of a mess as soft as it's been since I was twenty and wearing Gheri Curls, minus the nasty mess.

Seriously, this is the best hair product I've used since going natural. The instructions suggest using the cream 2 to 3 times a week but, in the name of all that is cheap, I've stuck to 2 times a week for the last two weeks. Results: Awesome-soft hair.

Like most quality products, the Intense might seem pricey off the shelf, but could be cheaper to use in the long run. I was going through quite a bit of my other (cheaper) products by having to re-apply or over-apply. By the way, not all of the other products I've tried have been that much cheaper than this one. 

Because I have to use so little of the product, this 5-ounce jar is going to last me a very long time. Also, I will be scraping the lid and crevices to get out every last dab! 

Finally, I noticed another of the Mizani products I'd love to try: the Butter Rich hairdress. If I get my hands on a sample, I'll be sure to do a review. (By the way, Mizani is a division of L'Oreal.)

Peace

--Free

***LINKS*** I'm a Tumbl'n Writer

To the links in just a moment but, in case you needed a smile today:

This is what I woke up looking like this morning. I call it my "crazy writer's hair", better known to other natural gals as "I-didn't-tie-down-the-naps" last night!

Excuse the glamour. I said I'd just woken up!

Look how that mop of mine is growing! Must be all the greens and biotin I'm ingesting. Whatever.

Now, on to the promised links....

Good Stuff on Tumblr

• Apostrophe Shame (just for when you need to be reminded)
• Grammar .net (I love the info-graphics)
• heretoedit (examples aplenty)
• Grammar Girl (because I love her)
• Writing from Books Amino (various nuggets of gold here)
• Resources for Writers 
• Practical Grammar
• Go Ask Yer Grammar (not the Tumblr title, but very cool, so...)
• A Question of Character
• Refs & Resources for Writers (scroll down their site for good info)
• Amanda Patterson (I use her stuff daily)
• Role Player Tips (that's "player", not "playing", you dirty booger!)
• Writers' Resources (varied and wonderful)

Just doing searches on Tumblr ("writer resources", "grammar", etc.) will yield useful info. Enjoy.

Peace

--Free

Spine-free Moments

• When a comedian makes a really funny joke about something and you realize it sort of describes you, but you laugh along as if they must be talking about someone else. Outwardly, you're laughing harder than anyone else. Inside, you're reminding yourself to find a treatment center for whatever goofy thing it is you're laughing about. I mean, if a comedian is making jokes about it, that shit must be serious. Dude.

• When someone does something extremely rude or ignorant to someone else and you slink off as if nothing happened. The thing is, you just know that you appreciate being stood up for when you're being bullied and you'd find new names to describe any coward who left you to the mercy of such rudeness.

• When a "friend" blurts out in front of others a confidence you shared privately and you just shrug it off. In your head you come up with a whole speech about the vow you'll be taking to never tell such a blabbermouth anything ever again. You even make mental lists on the spot about what you won't share with them again. Ever. (Those lists are so detailed that you need colons and semi-colons to sort them.)

• When someone is talking, talking, talking to you and you damn near bust a gut instead of interrupting them to go to the bathroom. Notice that these chatterboxes are usually the same people who will rudely interrupt your part of a serious conversation to point out some minor distraction that means nothing to either of you.

• When you let someone monopolize valuable time because you don't want to interrupt their meaningless rant about that rash on their ass. Or whatever. (Though I usually want to know if I'm in the presence of someone with a rash on their ass, just in case that shit is airborne and contagious.)

• When caught in a lie, instead of being mature enough to admit and apologize, you go into elaborate details with other lies to cover up or excuse the first one. (It's even worse when your cover lies are so creative that you want to go home and write short stories about them.)

• When you really like someone but they get a big head about it so you pretend you can't stand the very stink of their presence. What's worse is when you figure out that they liked you too but they are just as shy and insecure as you are. Too bad. Two silly dumbasses would probably make a great couple. Or... not? Never mind. (Did I really type 'the very stink of their presence'???)

• When you take an unpopular stance about something, but only in your head, and don't speak up when the issue is being discussed. Maybe you're afraid of the beating your belief will take. Take the hits and speak up. If you don't your soul will take the beating for you.

• When your friend is in the wrong, but you stand silent while he/she sits on their pity-pot about it. It's even worse when they sit on their throne and beat everyone else over the head with their scepter.

Damn. My spine is in a snit just from me writing that list. I don't know why making good choices is easier in our heads. My goal is to live making better choices instead of:

• Money over Matter. 
• Feelings over Sense. 
• Lust over Love. 
• Around over Through.
• Winning over Fair.
• Payback over Forgiveness.
• Right over Compassion.
• Looks over Beauty.
• Easy over Struggle.
• Cheating over Learning.
• Wrong over Right.
• Cookies over Salad.

Okay, that last one was just... Well, actually, that one's true too!

Peace

--Free

***LINKS LIST*** For Readers

I did a links list on Thursday for writers, and every writer should be,always, a reader. Here are **links for getting your read on :

• LibriVox.... has a good selection of books that can be downloaded for your listening. If you write romances of any kind, you must read "Fanny Hill" (while hearing it might help you and your plot some heat of your own). Aesop's works (for children and otherwise) could replace whatever you listen to on those family drives or during carpooling duties. If you want, you can volunteer to be a recorded reader. Use the simple or advanced Search system to explore the library of works. Lots of stuff there.
• Project Gutenberg ....not only offers free ebooks, but I noticed that they have a self-publishing opportunity for "contemporary writers". Huh. Interesting. I can't tell you more because, when I looked, the site was undergoing temporary maintenance. Best way to check this site is by going here and then finding the Site Map near the bottom of the page. Note that you can make donations. Think of it as supporting literacy and value in the age of the Kardashians.
• Cliff's Notes.... (and, I learned that I have been spelling that right, until everyone did it wrong so long that wrong has become right, like, yep, the Kardashians did with pop culture's idea of what's "trashy" and "classy".) ~deep breaths, Trudy, take deep breaths~  Think Cliff's Notes and "cheating" comes to mind. I like to think that the Notes can help you pick and choose which works of literature you want to start with when you decide to expand your reading. Stephen King is my hero, but I know that's only because he fed his writing diet with a knowledge of the writers I spent most of high school avoiding by using Cliff's Notes. Here's how I use the Notes to feed myself: I make a list of books that I've been told any serious writer should read, then I read a C.N. summary to decide which one I feel like starting with at the moment. In the meantime, I can hold pretty my own in conversations with well-read people. You can find anything in the C.N. from autobiographies (Ben Franklin and Malcolm X, for instance) to that delicately bawdy "Fanny Hill" I spoke of before. By the way, Cliff's Notes are just the better known notes, but there are others that I found via Wikipedia: 60-Second Recap seems more suited to Cracked Readers (me!), Book Rags and, Spark Notes (which had full text of a title I checked). 

In my post of links for writers, I neglected to add a list of the free Kindle books Amazon has available. I will try to provide links in this following list, but things sometimes go crossways when I do this with my Amazon account. If the links don't work for you, simply do your own Amazon search in "books" on "grammar".

• The Elements of Style (yep, that one)
• Word Study and English Grammar
• The Grammar of English Grammars (cute title)

You get the idea. Amazon's notes indicate that these books are also available free elsewhere on the web. I included them because I know lots of folks use Kindle readers.

I am sure that there are many, many more sites out there that have useful reading for writers. Just go and explore. Start somewhere.

Good reading and writing.

Peace

--Free

** Make sure to read each site's notes about copyright. Books are made public domain by expired copyright; this varies by country.

inspire wiki A Must Love Site

inspire wiki is probably one of the most, well - inspiring - sites I've seen lately. Very nice site for a scroll. Check it out.

On TV Part 1 (My criticisms)

I don't watch TV much. When I do, no one likes watching with me because I am such a critic. Since my family and friends don't want to play, I'll post some of my gripes (and likes) with you guys. (Yeah it's a slow post day for me...)

• Loved "Burn Notice" but hate how writers went too far to promote only the lead character. Mike, Fiona, Jesse and "Mom" were the best parts of the show. (Can't go wrong with "Cagney". Love Ms. Gless!)I hated the way Jesse was announced as "a spy who lost his way" instead of "a spy Mike burned out of his original career path." Also, I found it irritating that Mike was rarely wrong. The actor is probably a really nice guy, but I found myself doing a lot of eye-rolling at his over-played macho-ism.
• Still mad that "Leverage" ended. If show writers copy formats so much, I wish they'd continue the tradition with characters from good shows like this one. Though I'd miss Mr. Hutton, I'd love to see that hunky Aldis Hodge and the spunky Beth Riesgraf as a crime-solving duo. Throw in Christian Kane for some deadpan humor and to keep those other two in line. Matter of fact, it would be great to see Hutton work with Gina Bellman again. I wish I had her speaking voice. Sexy heifer.
• Sebastian Maniscalco's "What's Wrong With People" is one of the few comedy stand-ups that I can watch again, again, again, except I have to rest my abs in between views. I laughed so hard I got laryngitis. Doesn't hurt that Mr. Maniscalco is hot as Sriracha sauce. Nothing like a man with a sense of humor. My favorite part is "Will you look at this shit?" and the teeth-brushing bit. Wish I knew how to make a GIF from Netflix.
• Hate any kind of soap opera. One exception: "General Hospital" back in the Luke and Laura days. Admitting that makes me cringe for a couple of reasons. One, I just dated myself back to the Jurassic era. Two: Laura fell in love with her rapist. Other than GH though, I only looked at soaps (or as my mom called them, her "stories") long enough to mute and change the channel. Okay, I'm lying. I watched enough bits and pieces of soaps to crush on actors like Ed Freeman, Jr, Michael Easton, Shemar Moore, Steve Burton, Henry Simmons and - the one and only reason I ever left work to watch a soap - Darnell Williams. Wow. I didn't just lie, I created a new version of lying, didn't I? I guess all these guys caught my eye while I was muting the TV...
• I can't stand any kind of love scene in TV shows. No one ever wakes up afterwards with effed-up hair (even black women with complicated do's), one titty hanging out of that strategically placed sheet, or sleep in their eyes. In real life, no real lady would just crawl out of a marathon sex romp and leave for work without at least a quick trip to the bathroom. That's only unrealistic, it's downright nasty.
• I'd like to see more shows about people who have real-life problems without the TV-like fixes. Let's see a broke person who doesn't live in a house decorated by Ikea. Better yet, let's see them without a house. I'm still trying to figure out how everybody on "Friends" (which, to be fair, I barely glanced at) was always dressed so great, eating well, and meeting in cafes did all that without being independently wealthy or turning tricks on the side. At least on "Living Single" folks had careers that paid well. I watched that show just to look at Kyle and Max's romance light and burn so hotly. Well, okay - mostly I watched just to look at T.C. Carson, although Max would be my girl crush if I was into chicks.
• I know that everyone hates it when a show is yanked off air without tying up loose ends. I was so pissed off when "Quantum Leap" went off the air that I didn't realize there was a note that Sam never returned home. Other shows that I loved and never saw the ending of: "Nowhere Man" (I just queued all discs via Netflix), "Dead Like Me" (a favorite) and, "Life".  I loved the show "Pramface", but it went off for so long that, by the time it came back on, I'd lost interest. Because I am a little nutsy, I usually just make up endings to these shows for myself. Sometimes, I re-write show in my head as I am watching them on TV. I'm too lazy to pursue screen-writing and too crazy for any of my ideas to work for a general audience anyway. 
• Sometimes, I wonder what ever happened to actors I've seen on the screen. For instance, why the hell did Monica Potter never do much after "Along Came a Spider"? (I actually typed "Kiss the Spider" first!) Was it because she looks more like Julia Roberts that Roberts herself? Talk about doppelgangers... And why do people like have such high profile careers when folks like James McAvoy (from the U.K.'s "Shameless") and the hotness that is Callan Mulvey (from Australia's "Underbelly") are not universal superstars? I just have no idea what's up with that. I also have no idea why guys like Jesse L. Martin and Laz Alonso are not on People's "Hottest" or "Most Beautiful" lists. Meanwhile, Adam Levine is Taye Diggs get so much attention I have to gag.

I better stop now. I see that my critique of TV shows is turning into a fantasy wish list instead. Matter of fact, I'm going to have to do another post just about the people I like from TV shows.

Peace

--Free

**UPDATE** Bailey Quarters

This is for "annie". An update of photos of Jan Smithers who played Bailey Quarters on WKRP. Apparently, lots of people love this woman. I hope she knows that. I did this post waaay back in '09 and it still gets hits all the time.

If looks tell a story, I think she must be
a sweetheart. What a natural beauty.

Bailey & Andy,
sitting in a tree...
I wished they had

I was going to search for more recent photos of Ms. Smithers, but when I read that she'd retired from acting, I decided to leave her to her privacy.

The original cast

Come to think of it, since it's the show we all liked, maybe we should leave the characters in our memories as they were.

Peace
--Free

***LINKS LIST*** For Writers

I haven't done this for a while, but here are a list of resources that might be useful to other writers out there. I scanned various sites for the links, so I can't vouch for every single one. Enjoy.

Groups/Orgs 
(Not really my thing. Some can be pricey or a bit gimmicky, but different strokes, right?)

• Alaska Writer's Guild
• Scribophile
• WritersCafe
• Various "Online Communites"
• PNWA

Agents (info and guides)

• SFWA (For Sci-fi writers, but the "writers beware" is a good resource of info for any writer.)
• via Writer's Digest, a guide 
• Assoc. of Authors' Reps
• via Oregon Christian Writers
• via Word Sharpeners, list of agents for Christian writers

Self-Publishing Info

• via PublishersWeekly, a DIY article on e-books
• article about a lawsuit re: self-publishing
• via Forbes, about the future of self-publishing
• via Wikipedia, a list of self-publishing companies

Language (Grammar, Aids, Usage, etc.)

• English Language & Usage
• Language Tool (online for copy/paste use, or downloadable)
• Grammarly (7-day trial available, because it is pricey. You can check text here. I just love that "grammarly" is red-lined as I type!)
• You can tweet to Grammarly for correction helps.
• Grammar Girl is my favorite resource. I also dig the parent site, Quick & Dirty Tips.
• Confused about witch which word to use? Use this, or this.
• Wikiversity is useful for APA (and other) style help.
• This is a resource I find useful in many ways. Introduce your kids to it.
• The Blue Book is one of two must-have resources.
• The Elements of style is the other must-have. A MUST. The online resource is here.

Mood/Concentration Helps

• RainyMood
• 6 hours of music via YouTube (a favorite of mine)
• More music
• "Brain" music
• And if you like RainyMood, there are similar sites here...
• ... and, possibly, here. Maybe with same results, here also.

Last of all, I'll suggest a book that helped reinforce in me the knowledge that, whether I publish or not, I am a writer. I'm not much on taking advice about writing (other than for style and such), but John Gardner's "On Becoming a Novelist" was the first book on writing given to me as a young woman. Reading that book was a turning point for me. I've got to get another copy. I suggest that any writer buy it or find it in their library to read. Here's an Amazon link to the author's works.

Good luck, good writing, and

Peace

--Free