Category: About Me

Sometimes I Feel Like a Martian

For the past year or two, I have read a lot about how important it is to build an author’s platform.  It seemed that everyone was doing it.  Once again, I was out of step. But what was a platform? What was a blog? I felt like a Martian and needed an interpreter.

So I decided to sign up for an online class by social media expert, Kristen Lamb called, “Blogging for Author Brand.”  Kristen told my classmates and I that “We Are Not Alone.”  She instructed us, encouraged us, and guided us in helping each other.

Despite all that help, trying to figure out how to set up this blog, what to blog about, what Twitter was, how to use Twitter and what TweetDeck and HootSuite were, I quickly became overwhelmed.  In fact, I felt like these two.

With the advice and moral support of my classmates, I finally got my website and my blog online.

I wrote my first blog post. “Whew! This isn’t so bad,”  I thought. But I still felt like no one would get me, the Martian. So I didn’t follow Kristen’s advice. I didn’t tell any of my friends or classmates about what I had done.

My first blog was about as successful as this poor Martian’s singing debut:

 

Slowly, I’ve learned not to hide, to share what I’ve done, what I’ve found, what I think and feel. My classmates rallied round and gave me information, examples, and moral support. Kristen gave me the inspiration that led to my blog line: she said to be myself.

And you know what? I’m finding out that there are other Martians people out there who share my interest in things like:

Science fiction tropes that are not fiction anymore:
Facial Recognition coming to your phone!

and

The tractor beam that pulled Han Solo’s Millenium Falcon into the Death Star soon a reality! NASA scientist invents a tractor beam. Okay, it’s really tiny now. We won’t be towing the Millenium Falcon soon. But someday!

Blogging isn’t easy for me. Sometimes I still feel like a two-headed Martian. But I sure feel better knowing I can be me! Thanks, Kristen and WANA1011!

Sometimes I feel like a Martian. lynettemburrows.com, Milkyway and Galaxy the two-headed martian
from http://www.funmartians.com

How about you? Do you feel like a Martian sometimes? Does it make you want to hide? Or did you find like-minded Martians people to hang out with?

Confession Time

It’s confession time. I have watched some of the TV news and TV reality shows about hoarders with disgust. How could anyone allow themselves to get into that kind of a muddle, I ask myself. Is it a physical problem? Maybe they don’t have the time, energy or ability to take care of this stuff. Perhaps, but I’m guessing that time, energy and ability are only small pieces of this puzzle. Well then, I think, maybe it’s something genetic? Hmm, maybe, but if it were you’d think their children would be exhibiting the same symptoms instead of turning the public spotlight of television on them. No, it must be something psychological, an addition perhaps?

My Realization

This weekend I went to my office to work and could not find a flat surface. I made excuses: working lots of overtime lately, lots of family stuff going on, etc. etc. All I needed was a little space, so I moved things around. I sat down to work, looked around my office, and that’s when it hit me: I am a hoarder.

No, I don’t hoard animals. (Though some would say three dogs are two too many). And I don’t have piles and piles of plastic bins full of stuff. (I don’t consider two or three a pile, do you?) No, nothing so exotic.

image of tall stacks of paper--my confession time.

My desk is piled high with paper, books, things I was going to put away and somehow found their way in here. But the worst pile of all is the paper. Full-sized notebook paper, typing paper, post-it notes, pieces of napkins, receipts, scraps of envelopes, and I don’t know what else. They’ve got notes on them-lists of things to do, ideas for stories, snippets of overheard conversations, goals, shopping lists, pieces of code that are useful. Sigh.

I hoard paper.  It piles up to the point of being near avalanche proportions as you can see (please, don’t judge): I hate to throw stuff out, especially if it has something written on it! I might need it someday. (Now, now.  I asked you not to judge!)

I have tried to conquer this addiction habit many times.  I’ve read ‘how to organize yourself books ad nauseum. The only piece of advice that has stuck in my head is “handle each paper only once.” Only once?! Come on now, I’m a writer. I write the first draft on the computer, but I edit on paper.  Not only that, my manuscript pages go through multiple revisions, meaning multiple printouts.  And, confession time, since the manuscript is my first priority, all those bills and receipts, and lists that are in that pile get shuffled multiple times.

Addressing the Problem

I spent a good portion of Sunday going through papers. The avalanche reduced to a foothill so I think I did a pretty good job of it. But I know fear that that in three or four weeks I’ll have more stacks of paper.

I won’t allow myself to get to the unhealthy proportions that we see on TV, but I need to nip this in the bud. I am confessing to you, part of my twelve-step self-assigned program to overcome my hoarding of paper. And I feel so much better now that I’ve gone public. I’m sure I’ll be able to overcome this.

Well, I was sure until I went to the basement to start laundry. No-really it’s not as cluttered and disorganized as it looks. I don’t have a hoarder’s addiction. It’s not my fault. Really. It’s-it’s genetic! And if you believe that you might want to read “It’s not the Dust Bunny’s Fault.”

Tell me I’m not alone. It’s confession time. What hoarding gene do you have?