Monday, September 12, 2016

Series Bible and Fall Cheer

I hope you'll stop over at IWSG today. Heidi Hormel is guest posting about using Excel to create a series bible. Statistics show that readers love series. Lots of us write books in series. If you do that, there's a lot to keep track of and many ways to do it. Excel is one so check out Heidi's post.

When I taught school, I dreaded fall. Back to work and back to the hectic pace of the kids being involved in activities. The day would start shortly after 5 am everyday and many nights I was still doing the laundry past 11 pm. And if I wanted to write, I usually dug into my WIP after 9 pm. Meal times were staggered to fit the various schedules and often eaten on the run. I seldom had time to notice the beauty of the fall season. Now I do.

The leaves haven't started turning yet, but they will soon. The nights are cooling down starting this week which means excellent sleeping with the windows open. I'll miss my swimming pool when we close it later this week, but it also frees up the time I spend taking care of it. And I love hearing the geese flying over, especially at dusk and dawn.

Politics in America
The grass will grow slower with the cooler weather and free up more time for writing. My husband will be watching football all weekend, every weekend, which gives me a lot of uninterrupted time to write also. I'll also spend most Friday nights watching my son coach high school football which is a pleasure though his team is struggling this year.

New TV seasons start for a lot of shows I've missed. Once Upon a Time, Scorpion, Hawaii Five-O and a few new shows I'll probably try out. Now I just need to ignore all the political ads.

I hope you're working on your entry for the IWSG anthology contest. If you're not a part of IWSG, this is a good reason to join us and then next year you can be a part of it.

One of my recent books is now available at ARE (All Romance Ebooks). The Galactic Outlaws #2, The Outlaw's Rebel Lady has one of my favorite sharp and sassy heroine. I love banter between a couple and Jake and Poppy know how to snipe at each other.

Are you loving fall? Do you keep a series bible and what tech or method do you use? Do you have a new fall show to recommend? Can they really make a show to compare with the original McGyver?


29 comments:

nashvillecats2 said...

Wonderful post to read Susan, Fall is a bittersweet time of the year for me, but having said that it is beautiful to see the change of Mother Nature.
Smart phones are indeed wonderful but if one has a mind like mine it's hard to comprehend how to work them.
Enjoy your week.
Yvonne.

Pat Hatt said...

Fall is nice indeed as the heat goes away. Need waaaaay more smart people haha that MacGyver remake looks horrible, I could be wrong, but just looks blah.

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Susan - I've been over to the IWSG post - it's really good.

Fall cheer - I'm enjoying the dry at the moment - a winter of damp is a little depressing! However the colours and fruits of autumn are wonderful to see and to share ... apples, blackberries etc ... harvest time ...

Cheers Hilary

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

I don't think anything can top the original McGyver.
I spent the whole weekend watching football! And loved every minute of it. Football and cooler weather are the best things about fall.
Bet you don't miss the hectic schedule.

Maria Zannini said...

Hubby wants to try the new McGyver. I'm not a big tv watcher, but I'll watch it once to give it a chance.

Madeline Mora-Summonte said...

It's still doesn't feel like Fall around here, but I know it's coming! :)

Looking forward to the return of some of my favorite shows - Project Runway this week! - and a handful of new ones.

M.J. Fifield said...

I liked fall more when I lived in New England. In Florida, it just feels like more summer to me.

Definitely have to check out a post about a series bible. I keep track of a lot of things on my storyboard, but there are still details that fall through the cracks.

I'm looking forward to the return of Once Upon A Time. I've missed seeing Colin O'Donoghue.

betty said...

Even here in the desert I can see signs of fall. I am thinking of watching "The Story of Us" this year on TV. That is if I can get the remote away from hubby.

Betty

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

Yvonne, you remind me of my husband. He knows about 4 things about his smart phone. Our children tease him all the time in a good nature kind of way.

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

I miss the heat. You know how I complain all winter long. They better not mess up MacGyver.

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

I should have mentioned the fruits of fall. I love apples and some things pumpkin. Cold damp is the worst.

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

I don't miss the hectic schedule though I miss watching my children play sports. Football was on for twelve hours straight the last two days at our house.

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

I'll give it a reluctant chance too, Maria. They get one shot at it.

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

I never thought I watched that much TV but I've missed having anything to watch. I doubt I put in more than 3 hours per week this summer. Just nothing on.

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

Oh, you caught me. That's why I missed Once Upon a Time. The change of seasons is one of the best reasons to live in PA.

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

Except during football season, my husband and I have an agreement that I get the remote at 9 pm. If something is on before that I have to watch it ondemand or miss it.

Christine Rains said...

I do love fall. This weekend had lovely weather. There are a few new sci-fi shows that I want to check out this season, but I don't think they start until October. I shouldn't pick up anything new, but I started watched Abandoned on Vice and it's really neat.

Ann Bennett said...

Your new book looks so good. I think I will have to drop a few books down my TBR list and get it. This is a big surprise to me. I enjoy romances.

I know you worked a busy schedule to raise a family and teach school. If we could only live without sleep, that extra 6 to 8 hours could be sheer leisure. Oh well, no one likes to be around me when I don't get enough rest. lol

Arlee Bird said...

I've always liked fall back east, but here in L.A. though it gets a little cooler things don't seem all that different from the rest of the year. When I was a kid I kind of was happy to see summer end and get back to school. It was a change.

Arlee Bird
Tossing It Out

L. Diane Wolfe said...

I love that Minion picture.

I hope we start cooling down soon. The humidity is slowly fading but it's still hot.

J E Oneil said...

I actually used Excel when I needed to make a timeline for one of my books. It worked out great.

Fall is way better when there's no school involved.

Jo said...

For me Fall means the start of the Seniors Winter League bowling. Not much leaf turning round here yet. Soon, no doubt.

LD Masterson said...

I bookmarked that series bible post to go back to. I love fall and we're at about the same point - cooler nights and leaves getting ready to turn. But football season doesn't free up my writing time. First there are the grandkids (football player, cheerleader, marching band) so I go to lots of high school games. NFL on TV? I love it! I'm sitting right next to my hubby watching those games. And this year, October will be a total loss - my beloved Red Sox look like they're headed for the post-season.

A Beer for the Shower said...

That whole football thing might work out for you regarding writing productivity, but with us, it's the complete opposite. How am I supposed to write anything with all of this wonderful football going on?

Ellie Garratt said...

I love fall (or autumn in my part of the world). I'm not a hot weather person at all. I love the cooler days and the riot of colour once the leaves start to fall.

I'm writing a few series, so a series bible is a must for me. Currently I have a scrivener file for each and a hard-copy folder. I like being able to flick through actual pages and that I don't always have to be at my laptop to work on a project. I use excel at work and really dislike it. So, using it for my writing wouldn't be a good idea for me!

Ellie Garratt said...

I love fall (or autumn in my part of the world). I'm not a hot weather person at all. I love the cooler days and the riot of colour once the leaves start to fall.

I'm writing a few series, so a series bible is a must for me. Currently I have a scrivener file for each and a hard-copy folder. I like being able to flick through actual pages and that I don't always have to be at my laptop to work on a project. I use excel at work and really dislike it. So, using it for my writing wouldn't be a good idea for me!

Karen Jones Gowen said...

Fall is my favorite season. Fresh crisp apples, cooler weather after blistering August, leaves turning vivid colors. I never think much about TV shows though since I'm a Netflix fan rather than anything on network TV. But when I was young, I'd get excited about the new shows every fall.

Joylene Nowell Butler said...

Hope this isn't a double. My comment isn't showing up. Just wanted to say I'm sorry I'm late. Computer issues. A weird weather system coming thru. It hailed today! But autumn is pretty, that's for sure.

The Happy Whisk said...

Why don't have you have quiet alone time to write year-round? Not just football time? You have a groovy office, I thought. Ass in chair, baby.