Lessons from Traveling

Welcome back to the blog, good people of the blogosphere! Today, I'll be talking about the lessons I've learned from doing a TON of traveling. From my author job to my other job (not telling you what that is), I had to figure out how to be fully mobile so I could keep things running as smoothly as possible when I'm away from my home computer. I'm gonna share how I accomplish it with all of you. I know, I'm a peach. :)

Without further ado... Grab that coffee and a notebook because here we gooooooo!

Lesson 1:

Know where you're going and what you'll have access to while you're there.

This one was hard for me because I'm used to having the programs, wifi, and power supplies I need when I need them. Having things like Photoshop at my fingertips allows me to do my job in a streamlined way, but I can't haul my laptop and monitor everywhere I go. It's not economical, and my laptop is a beast of a machine. It's super heavy and is a bit of a power hog.

I discovered that you can't do everything on an iPad that you can do on a laptop, so I adjusted. We'll get into what I do to avoid these things at the end so you can focus on the issues and not the solutions. Onward!

Lesson 2:

Understand space limitations.

I thought I'd have just a little room to do the things I needed to do on the airplane. That just wasn't the case. You also probably won't need your whole purse. Take what's vital.

Lesson 3:

Books are heavy and take more space than you think. 

One is a lot, and more than one pushes your limits unless you're a body builder or have wheels (even then, you have to lift for the overhead). Along with everything else I had to take with me, I discovered I needed to have the husband help me lift my bag when I took more than one.

Lesson 4:

Clothes are overrated.

Sure, you need enough to get you through the days you'll be gone, but more than that, and you're just flexing.

Lesson 5:

Cute Airpod cases are crap.

From having them come apart and flip open to scatter my beloved Airpods to the wind to having them randomly stop sticking to the case, I've been through some stuff.

Lesson 6:

You'll need a business card at the exact moment you aren't carrying one.

This happens to me every time I travel, and I always promise myself I'll stick a few in my wallet. hahaha No. I don't. 

Lesson 7:

You won't be able to do the thing when you need to.

I thought I could handle everything I needed to while I was on the go, but I quickly realized there are some things I can't do remotely.

Solutions:

• Assure you have plenty of outlets where you're staying so when your devices decide to die on you, there's a plug nearby.
• Get cases with keyboards attached. Yes, they're heavier, but if you're used to typing on a keyboard, you'll struggle with a screen.
• Pack light if you have access to a washer and dryer. You don't need ten outfits for a five-day trip.
• Check the website to see if you have wifi. This has tripped me up more than once, and I end up using my phone as a hot spot. Yuck.
• Find apps that easily do the things you're used to doing on your desktop for the iPad (if this is how you roll--I do highly suggest getting at least a small iPad for travel).
• Get a robust Airpod case that clicks closed and hooks onto things.
• One book will do ya. If you truly need more, go digital.
• Be better than I am, and add those business cards or bookmarks to your wallet (or get a digital one). That way, when someone asks, you have it on hand.
• Airplanes are best suited for phone use and not typing on a keyboard. Find a way to work from your phone when in the air. Your elbows will thank me, and your seatmates will thank me, too!
• Work ahead. Do as much as you can before you leave, and use automation to keep things running while you're away. That way, all you have to do is monitor everything.
  

There ya go. These are the hard-won lessons I learned from traveling with my stuff. As you may know, I'm about to move states, and when I say we're back and forth between the new place and home a lot, it's an understatement. We're here as much as we're there, and I haven't moved all my work stuff yet. ha. Ugh.

My usual packing list:

• iPad with keyboard case
• Pen and small pad of paper
• One book
• Batteries or backups for things that need them
• Medications
• Phone
• Small wallet with ID and one credit card 

All that goes in a very small backpack, and then I put clothes for exactly the number of days I'll be gone plus one, my overnight bag with shampoo and such in it, and my chargers into a small suitcase. It's changed my life for the better. I no longer worry about my bag getting lost because chargers and clothes are easy to replace, and I can work and have my meds either way because of the backpack.

I hope you got something out of the post for today! Can you think of anything I missed? If so, drop me a comment and let me know! Thanks for reading and being awesome. :)

Well, that's all for today, folks!

Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Character Development Hacks

Howdy, y'all! Welcome back. Hump day! I love Wednesdays. It means the weekend is so close I can smell it. No, that's not my feet. I don't think it is, anyway. :) Today! Today, we're talking about characters. Specifically, we're talking about character development hacks. This is where you'll get the info to fill out my free, printable character bio sheets. *shameless self plug* Hint: They're in the back. We'll go into how you can develop a character with flaws, a great arc, and at least one redeeming quality (if that's what you're looking for). 

Ready? Grab a cup of Jo and a warm blanket, and let's get to the meat and potatoes.

Great. Now I want a burrito and hashbrowns...

I find a lot of people struggle to come up with character names, but you don't actually need that when you first start to develop a character. Feel free to leave it until the end. When you're ready, pop on over to a baby name website and browse, or go to one of those character name generators that are all over the place. Here's one of many.

There are five easy ways to get the basic info you need to fill out the bio:

1. Base the character on someone you know.
2. Base the character on someone you've heard about.
3. Base the character on your pet.
4. Base the character on someone in a dream.
5. Close your eyes and draw traits out of a hat.

When you're ready to get deeper, think about the story itself and how the character will navigate the pages. Is it more of a quest story, or is it romance? Is the character going to have an ah-ha moment, or do they know themselves fairly well from the start?

Be sure you include any redeeming qualities unless you're writing a villain. Your villains need to be bad to the bone. Crafting complex villains is a whole other topic, and I've addressed that in this post. We won't go any further into that here.

If you base your character on someone you know, be sure to change the name, first of all, but secondly, look at what you have:

• A Personality - Unless your person is a rock, they have a personality. They have likes, dislikes, a birthday, and all sorts of other goodies for you to swipe.
• Character Flaws - Those things that make us unique. Perhaps they snarf every time they see a baby or they're prone to talking about other people.
• Instant Answers to What If Questions - Instant knowledge about how they react in certain situations. Like, what would they do if an airplane fell out of the sky onto their home? This is what I mean.
• Growth Potential - We all see in others what we can't see in ourselves, and we all know what the person could possibly do to improve themselves.
• Traits - They have eyes, hands, height, weight, a zodiac sign, hair (maybe), and skin tone.

These are all things you can use. Perhaps you want to combine person A with person B or C. Do it! This helps you create believable characters, in most cases.

I say in most cases because I came upon a peculiar review on I, Zombie where the reviewer stated the mother in the novel threw them off. No mother would act like that, be so nonchalant about her kid running off to fight the good fight.

That mother was based upon my own. She might've been unbelievable, but she was mine. :) I had a mom that rarely showed the emotions on the outside that were raging on the inside. *shrug* I got used to it, and I used it for fodder. hahaha She fit the mold perfectly. Trixie wouldn't have done all she did if she didn't have a mom who was cheering rather than nay saying.

So, do that. Even if it gets you a two-star review, use it. They don't know how realistic it is, but you do.

This will help you build robust characters with tons of personality that readers can't get enough of. They'll want to be that character for Halloween (Katniss) or will shiver in the night when they think about him or her being outside the window (Tobias). These are the things that stick with readers.

One more example, and then I'll let you move on.

I used to despise history. I loathed the thought of sitting in a classroom and memorizing facts. Yuck. It's boring, and I'll never use any of this. These were my thoughts going into my World History class.

Y'all, I got a professor who focused on the people in history rather than the facts and dates. I fell in love with so many characters: Nero, Genghis Khan (obvi.), Queen Elizabeth I, Pope Hadrian, Napoleon, and so many others. It made the class fun and engaging, and I never forgot the lesson that professor gave me about characters. He made me realize it's the people that stay with you, not their great or small deeds or their dates of living, but the personalities and the flaws that make you love them.

Teach the people. Write the people. Everything else is just bonus material.

A good character is the one thing that will make or break your novel.

I hope this helped and you got something useful out of this post! What's your favorite literary character? I have so many, it would take me a year to write them all down. haha

Well, that's all for today, folks!

Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo