Clearing My Head

Sometimes there is so much going on in my brain, or sometimes nothing, which is not good when I need it to have something. During those time I just need to clear my head.

As a writer, I'm often faced with a blank page...that blinking cursor. And there are times it's fantastic. That cursor moves like you wouldn't believe. I make so many typing mistakes because my fingers are moving so fast getting the story out of my head before it disappears, lost in the sea of things floating around in there.

But there are those other times where the blinking cursor is a curse. I don't know what to do next. I don't know where I need to take my characters. Sometimes it's during the creating phase. I have reformed and am now a plotter, but even though I have the entire book planned, it's sometimes difficult to bridge together the scenes I've thought up. Or during the editing phase, when I know I need to fix something, but the solution is just not coming to me.

I need a brain break. And it's not uncommon for me to take several in a day's time. Just short little vacations where my brain can rest and do absolutely nothing worthwhile. And yes...my brain takes it's vacations in Twitterland, Facebookville, and Pinterest City.

I know many people consider these social media sites a complete waste of time. I don't, for many reasons, but I won't go into them all today. Today I am focusing on the break they give my brain. I can go on Twitter and have a laugh, see what my writer buddies are doing, promo myself, help promo a friend. I only stay a minute or two. Then I hop over to Facebook, see what my family and friends are up to today. Stay there a couple minutes. Then maybe some Pinterest for yummy meal ideas or crafts.

My brain takes maybe a 5 minute break and is ready to get back at it. Stepping away form my work, even for a few minutes, can often give me new perspective. It really helps!

Do you take mini breaks while you're writing, or doing whatever job you do? Does it help clear your mind and make you more productive? What do you do on your mini breaks?

Is Twitter for you?

I started a Twitter account a while back...and I won't lie. It's main purpose was to stalk follow celebrities. It was pretty cool to read the daily thoughts of people I admired and idolized.

But then I started realizing it might be a good idea to get on there and network with many of my fellow authors. So I started a new account, since the first was not my actual name. (The one I use now is @stephanihaefner, in case you wanna go follow me!) I started following writers I already knew and agents I wanted. I started making lots of friends and it started to be really fun. I gained a small following and it was so cool. And yeah, I still follow celebrities ;)

So is Twitter for everyone? No. It really depends on what you want to gain from social networking.

If you want to share photo albums, keep in touch with family and friends, send lengthy private messages, and organize events, Facebook is definitely far better for all that. Twitter is tough, with it's 140 character limit and all.

If you want to meet new people with similar interests, Twitter is the place. In my opinion, since Twitter has a very limited profile page--bio is all you have and it's pretty short-- to me it feels a bit more private. There's no pics of me, accept my one profile pic. There's none of my kids. It's simple. And I feel like it's a better place to converse with people you don't know in real life, if that makes any kind of sense.

If you're looking to network and meet people in your line of business, Twitter is DEFINITELY the place to be. I have made SOOOOOOO many connections there and found out about so many opportunities. Invaluable! :)

And if you want to stalk celebrities, definitely check Twitter out! :) It really is cool :) And you just never know when one will actually reply to you! Just today I was beyond ecstatic to get a RT (that's retweet, for those of you not versed in Twitter-speak) and a direct Tweet from Josh Henderson, one of the hotties on the new Dallas (the hottest, IMHO!) Many celebs post pics you wouldn't get to see otherwise. Very cool stuff :)

If you like to keep up on news, current events, anything happening in the world or in your town, with up-to-the-minute posts, Twitter is for you. I follow several news outlets, including my local newspaper. They update throughout the day with breaking news.

I really love Twitter...far more than I ever expected.

So, do you Twitter? Why? What do you like about it? What do you hate?

My favorite things about owning a smartphone

The last time my cell phone contract was up, in 2009, we debated. Blackberries were BOGO. But for both of us to pay $30 each a month for a data plan was just ridiculous. It would have been cool to have but it wasn't a necessity. In the end we passed and went with regular phones, no data. I said to hubby, "Maybe in two years I'll be more important and it will be worth it to pay the monthly fee."

This past May our contracts were up again and I wondered if I was really any more important than I had been two years before. Kinda, I guess. In 2009, I had just signed my first book contract, but the book wasn't due to come out for another year. But in May 2011, I had three books out, with another contract just having been signed. I was blogging, networking online, etc. So I did spend a lot more time online.

So I upgraded to an Android phone while hubby stuck with a regular phone (And let me tell you, there is slim pickins. If you don't want a smartphone, you have like three phones to pick from and they aren't great.) I love that I can stay on top of my email and not log on each morning to 50 unread emails. I can keep up on Twitter and FB and all that stuff when I'm not on the computer during the day. It's been real great for me and my career and networking.

BUT....there are also some fun advantages too!! If we're in the car listening to the radio and don't know the lyrics to a song, I can look them up right then and there! If we're watching TV and want to know how old an actor is or who they're married to or if that's really the guy who was on that other show like 5 years ago....I can look it up! I no longer have to boot up my laptop to check movie times. I can search for specific stores or restaurants right on my phone while we're out.

I was watching a special on the History Channel a few weeks back...the Top 100 Inventions of All Time. guess what #1 was....the Smartphone.....passing radio and TV in the #2 and #3 spots.

I have to say I agree.

I tried, but I had to just give in....

I think most of us struggle with what we should be doing versus what we are actually doing. I know I do. Every day. There's no mom on earth that doesn't feel some guilt in working when they should be spending time with their kids...or playing with their kids, when they should be working. While I do struggle with that guilt, I'm talking about a different guilt today.

The lure of the internet.

Each day, I have many things I need to do. And yes, that list does include Facebook, Twitter, Blog writing and reading and commenting, email, etc.. Where most people look at these social media outlets as a "time suck", I happen to think differently. I need these outlets to network and promote myself. So, doing these things does actually have a purpose for me. It's helping to get my name and face out there and in turn, sell books.

But, I do also need to actually work on my writing projects each day too. That is equally as important.

And I tried, very hard, to do my editing and writing first each day. I once read that every writer should do an hour of just writing or editing each day, then turn to social networking. Yeah....didn't work so well for me. I just could not concentrate, knowing that there were unread emails out there, Facebook posts to read, blog posts to read and comments to reply to. I just could not keep my mind on my work with all those other things sitting there, waiting for me.

So I decided not to even try anymore. I do what I need with email, FB, Twitter, etc... I do that all first. Yes, it takes time. A lot of time. But when I am finally to a point where I can say "I'm good" I can shut them down and concentrate COMPLETELY on my work.

I do still take mini-breaks from the editing...you have to. The eyes go buggy after a while. I pop into FB or Twitter for like 2 minutes.

What do you guys do?? Work first, network later?? Or are you like me???

Be my Facebook Fan!!!

Hi all! Just trying another way to connect with people! Here s the link to my fan page on Facebook: Stephanie Haefner

Do you have one??? If so, please respond with the link!!!

Follow me on Twitter!!!!!!!!!!!! I'll follow you too!!

FINALLY I started a Twitter account for my writing friends and fans. I have a personal one...for following celebrities and a few friends...just something fun to do. But I read about all these people using it to make all kinds of professional connections!! I need to get me some of that!!!!!

Follow me and will follow you!!

https://twitter.com/StephaniHaefner

Do you do Facebook???

I used to be a huge Myspacer...but it got old after a while. Then poeple started migrating to Facebook. I didn't know what the heck it was and wasn't interested. And then I checked it out about a year and a half ago...took some getting used to...but now I am I love!!! I log in several times a day and really really enjoy reading little snippets and updates from my friends, seeing their pictures and sharing mine. I feel far more connected with the poeple in my life because of Facebook. Some I just don't get to see in real life as often as I'd like. And catching up with old friends is priceless. You lose touch with people over time...it just happens, and Facebook helps make the reconnections possible!

And I can't deny the awesome networking capabilities!!! Wanna be my fan???

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/pages/Stephanie-Haefner/99513980888?v=wall&viewas=652197599&ref=search