Author: Allie P.

It is about execution

by Allie P., posted in Life as I know it
Cropped transparent version of Image:Olympic f...
Cropped transparent version of Image:Olympic flag.svg (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Its time once again for the Olympics, and the difference between the last few host cities couldn’t be more apparent. Alleged human rights and environmental abuses aside, you cannot question that the Chinese knew how to put on a good show when it was their turn to host the games. They knew that the world would be watching and squashed anything at all that might tarnish their stage presence. The Chinese built entire cities leading up to the Olympics and even took a stab at beating Mother Nature at her own game.

And then there came the 2014 Winter Games. Hotels lack hot a/o clean water, pillows, lobbies, and in some cases floors. My particular favorite has been reports of toilet stalls that fit two+. I love my husband, but even still we like to maintain some degree of mystery in our relationship. At this point, I believe it might be fair to assume that the games themselves are really only going to be memorable for the athletes and their loved ones.

Where did the planning commission for the Russian games go wrong. They obviously didn’t skimp on the budget. Was there a lack of market research? A lack of accountability regarding missed due dates? Or did they just try to do too much with too little resources?

core-3-project-constraints

There are universal constraints to any project: scope, cost, time, and quality.  Pull at any one and you affect the rest. Assuming you don’t allow for any scope creep. You can offer a low-cost product in a short lead time, but don’t try to sell anyone on its quality. If quality is most important, it will either take significant time to be ready to market, or it will be expensive. It is extremely rare to have all and still succeed in the marketplace. In order to execute your plan well, you need to identify which of these three attributes is most important, but at the same time, identify those you are willing to sacrifice as needed. Even more importantly, once you’ve identified your priorities, you need to stick to them come hell or high water.

Comparing the prep work (not the games themselves) what can we learn? Execution matters. It doesn’t matter if you have the world’s best product in the world. If you can’t deliver no one is going to trust you long enough to buy it. The same goes for story ideas. Without proper execution, you can have the most compelling characters the world will never see.

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I took a chance on me

by Allie P., posted in Book Stuff and Publishing News, Indie book promotion

I’ve had ABBA’s Take a Chance on Me stuck in my head for the past two days thanks to a video sent to me in support of the local chapter of the SPCA. Luckily for me I enjoy the song and so found myself dancing to my own mental soundtrack as the song looped on endless repeat, particularly to the lines:

“Gonna do my very best, baby can’t you see
Gotta put me to the test, take a chance on me…”

I may also have been dancing because I received a message from Reader’s Favorite advising me that I had received a five star review for An Uncertain Faith.

5 star review

I often hear from friends and family that they didn’t know that I wanted to be a writer, and I don’t blame them. For the past several years I had dreamed about writing a novel, but you don’t exactly brag about the number of stories you start, but never make it past a page or two. It is extremely easy to hit the delete button on the keyboard. Each time I would tell myself this time is going to be different. This time I have a solid idea that is screaming to be written. Then life would happen. So no, writing didn’t exactly enter into my personal 30 second elevator speech.

But this year it was different. I decided to really take a chance on me. Could I force myself to have the discipline to keep writing even when I hit the wall? Yes. Could I actually hit the send button to submit a manuscript to a professional reviewer? Gulp yes… and could I actually risk my own ego by opening their response?

Yes, because the surest way not to get your book read is to never submit it at all. I did my best. I took a chance on me.

Oh – and because the only way to get rid of an ear worm is to get the song stuck in someone else’s head, here is the SPCA Lip Dub Video – ABBA Take a Chance on me.

 

How I’ve embraced cheap child labor

by Allie P., posted in Life as I know it

 

 

Oh that glorious moment when you realize your children are finally old enough to really help around the house…

 

 

Our sons are lucky enough to have a large extended family, many of whom happen to live close by. This is great when the hubby and I have found ourselves in need of a babysitter, but can be expensive during the birthday and holiday season. Especially as most of the cousins are now old enough to understand the concept of presents and note their lacking. As there are several of them, birthday season now spans from July until February.

 

Up until very recently our eldest son (now aged 5) had been paralyzed by shyness in social situations preferring to cling to either his father or I during non-family hosted parties. Whatever had been holding him back was suddenly switched off. This change has resulted in him being invited to more birthday parties, meaning more gifts.

 

My husband, ever our family’s jokester informed our son that he was going to have to give his friend one of the toys he received from Christmas in response to one of his latest invitations. Our son looked at me as if to say “HELP! Dad can’t be serious!” I decided to play along with his father offering our son a deal: If he could complete enough chores to earn ten points by the end of the week, he would be able to keep his gifts and pick out something for his friend.

 

kindergartener supervising infant labor - _MG_1339
kindergartener supervising infant labor – _MG_1339 (Photo credit: sean dreilinger)

 

We drew up one of those fundraising thermometer graphs marking all ten points needed to fill it to the top. He quickly embraced the idea doing all sorts of chores around the house like emptying out the dishwasher and dragging the garbage cans back to the house, but was still sort a few points short and losing interest in the game by the end of the week. We had to think up something and think up something fast!

 

Then my husband had an idea. A brilliant idea. The kiddo could scrub toilets! I just had to show him how much fun it could be. You would have thought we just gave him the keys to the city! Not only was he being given some crazy blue substance that squirted out of a bottle, but Mom and Dad were actually happy he was pouring it all over the sides. If that wasn’t the best part there was a secret brush that was just his size hidden in the back corner of the bathroom.

 

What started out as a joke turned into a fantastic experience for us all. The hubby and I probably earned a free hour or so in the process, but the benefits to our son were even greater. He worked hard for his points and was more excited to give his friend the gift he had earned and selected than had I just picked something out. He also was able to practice math, and took pride in his results. If he figures out how to outsource work to his little brother, we may well have another budding entrepreneur in the family.

 

Unfortunately ever since our game, our son has taken over the bathrooms as if they were his own personal fiefdom. Woe on you if you happen to leave it in a state of mess. He will make sure to tell everyone he knows how badly you left it and how important it is that he take care of it right away. We might consider working with him on tact next.

 

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On Art and Artists

by Allie P., posted in Indie book promotion

Every now and then I hear the comment from my friends and acquaintances that they read my book and while it wasn’t the genre they usually pick up they enjoyed it. I find this to be a rather odd compliment. I know that I have to maintain a thick skin in this business, but it occasionally sounds like they are saying something along the lines of you were great in spite of what you wrote. Because my book wasn’t in their preferred genre, if they did not know me personally, they might never have come across it, it definitely wasn’t due to its shelf placement.

I don’t know how to balance their feedback in future projects with feedback from readers who preferred genre. On one hand the genre reader is more familiar with comparable stories and so their feedback could make my work stronger in its category. On the other hand, the non-genre reader’s helps to support me as an author by expanding my market reach. So what is more important, the art or the artist?

In a World of Small TruthsLast week, I was lucky enough to meet with Ray Morrison, author of a short story collection, In a World of Small Truths. He made a point to state that he puts very little of himself into his stories, which is probably a good thing as his short stories tended to go a little dark. Had I never met him, I would never have guessed that he was an extremely funny and friendly man who also happens to be a vet. In short, he was completely different from what I would have expected.

He was very open about his process and gave those of us in the room some tips about how not to sound like a newbie. I knew about excessive use of adverbs, but apparently dialogue tags also give you away. For example you can’t gasp something and talk at the same time. Well I guess you could.. but not a long drawn out phrase.

I was also fascinated by the process in which he and his publisher selected the order in which the stories appeared. Hint – it’s all about variety. As a person who typically reads from one cover to cover, I was amused to learn that the majority of those in the room just pick a story to read based on its title and length rather than chronologic order rendering all that painstaking effort moot. All in all I was very happy to have been introduced to his work, but it was all I could do not to blurt out, I don’t typically read collections of short stories, but yours were great.

I guess in the long run it’s not important if you are inspired by the art or the artist. The important thing is finding a reason to expose yourself to new ideas or experiences. Oh – and don’t judge a book by its cover.

Snow days in the South

by Allie P., posted in Life as I know it
Snow on a Magnolia
Snow on a Magnolia (Photo credit: chucka_nc)

My day job office closed down promptly at five yesterday based on the mere threat of snow in the later portion of the evening. I received this announcement at the same time as I heard from my sister located in the northeast that she was leaving her office in white out conditions based on her own assessment of the situation rather than corporate mandate.

Empty shelves at a grocery storeA co-worker of mine advised that the local grocery stores had once again devolved into a state of lawless abandon as the hordes descended looking for that last loaf of bread or gallon of milk as if these two items were going to be the currency in the new economy. Many of these people are probably lactose intolerant or still trying for that carb free lifestyle, but that’s a minor detail. There could be an inch of snow on the ground. We must stock up!

Those of you reading this from your homes buried under feet of snow might be laughing at our over reaction, but you need to understand something about snow in the south – we don’t get it often, so its kind of a big deal. A number of years back, a dusting of snow hit the region which melted during the day only to refreeze again just as schools were letting out. The entire city came to a standstill. Kids were forced to sleep overnight in their schools as parents were unable to pick them up and buses couldn’t travel the roads. Of course this is nearly every child’s worst nightmare.

I was one of the lucky ones. It only took me two hours that day to drive two miles on the highway. The entire event made us realize that we as a city really were not prepared for mass evacuations. Zombie Apocalypse? Yeah, we’re in a lot of trouble. You probably should go ahead and write us off.

So today I write this cozy in my home after drinking a nice hot cup of coffee, my milk and bread levels just a fraction lower than they were yesterday. Thanks to the near 70 degree F temps we saw over last weekend, the winter weather we saw last night has kept itself nearly off the streets, and yet the office is on a two hour delay. Maybe there will be pizza there later? (A staple around here for any weather related emergency). It is expected to remain below freezing for the balance of the week, which should keep the grass covered by the little bit of snow we received, but life should return to normal tomorrow.

Yes, you non-southerners might laugh at us for how we react to snow fall, just like the westerners laughed at us for how we reacted to the earthquake a few years back. That’s ok with me. There are somethings I am glad we don’t have to be used to. You are more than welcome to become more acquainted with hurricanes sometime.

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