27
Nov
I've travelled through the US recently, and I always carry a small moleskine notebook. (Yep, same type ole Hemingway used.)
If I see something interesting, I make a note of it.
Like that there is a 50% off coupon to the VIP lounge in Dallas, if you ask at the Duty Free Shop. How to get there, what floor the lounges are on. What you see from the lounge.
Below is a scan of the actual entry, just so you know I wasn't kidding. 
(I'll paraphrase: It's in D Terminal, near gate 23, take the lift to the 3rd Floor, the reception is there. There are several lounges and the normal cost is $35. Smoking room is to the left as you stand in front of the reception desk. It has a TV in it, seats and small tables, as well as a bookcase type thing which acts as a sort of screen for the back of the room. There is tea, coffee, some fruit and snacks on a self-service basis in the regular lounge, which overlooks airside. Plugs available for laptops etc on small tables, not on the ones at the windows. Wifi available (not free), as well as a secluded area with computers. There is temporary storage for handluggage opposite the lounge reception desk, toilets and showers on the right as you walk in, also opposite the reception desk.) Click the image if you want a larger view.
So.
It's that kind of detail. I make a note, because I never know when I might want to use some of it.
I showed my critter friends my moleskine, and at least one of them went out and got herself one after seeing what I do with mine.
Plot snippets, scenes, dialogue, "What if's", descriptions, notes of areas, dates, weather, phone numbers, names, songs I heard… you name it, it's in there.
It's not a diary as such, but it's very much a working writing journal.
I recommend carting one of those little notebooks around with you. They fit in an inside pocket of a jacket, a handbag, or the back pocket of your jeans. Just… use it.
You never know when it comes in handy.
19
Oct
From Writers Organizations –
-
Ebook / Print author equality
Join the 21st Century, people! Yes, it’s very nice to be published in print, but a lot of books are ebooks now. It’s time to treat a writer like a published author, if they are published, you know what I mean?
You can’t have your cake and eat it. Either a published author is a published author regardless of medium, or we need a new categorization for writers on a whole. Anything else is simply unacceptable. And if those ebook authors don’t qualify for published status, then frankly, I’d like to see a dues reduction, as they often do not get the same benefits as other published authors. - Global rather than National affiliations
The Net has no borders! If you accept dues from international members, then how about broadening the horizon of the organization? How about embracing all writers, regardless of location? How about conferences in other countries, albeit smaller ones?
- Support for Local groups
And I mean SUPPORT, not just "You may use our initials". I am talking about providing those local groups with something more. Frankly what I don’t want to see is members paying extra to belong to a local chapter. That should be a given.
If a local group has to rent space to meet, then I’d like to see a subsidy for this, or a bit of a discount on the fees. After all — they don’t have to belong to your "club" to meet up.
- Fair dues
I mean membership dues. Just because you do not live in the same country, you shouldn’t be penalized for it. (If you are a RWA member, you know I’m talking about the shipping costs for RWR, which you should be able to opt OUT of — and which, incidentally, should be available electronically. Global warming, carbon emissions etc!)
I’d like to see a tiered approach to membership dues. The more you get, the more you’ll likely pay. But I don’t think an unpublished author (who, after all, doesn’t earn from their writing) should pay the same as a published author, who may have access to a great deal more resources than an unpublished one.
- Discount negotiations
Things like writing books, paper, ink, toner, notebooks, software, insurance, web hosting, web design, travel, promotional items… you name it. Benefits, you know?
- Services
Things like legal advice, mediation, that kind of thing. Discounted writing retreats, stuff like that.
I pay dues for benefits, so the more an organization can offer its members, the more people will be willing to join.
There are more I can think of, many more, especially when it comes to benefits. I’d love to see an organization take up the gauntlet I’ve thrown down here and run with those suggestions.
And if there isn’t one — maybe it’s time some writers got together and started a truly global "club". An inclusive, rather than exclusive one.
And if Nanowrimo.org can negotiate deals with various companies… then I don’t see why writers organizations can’t do this.
What would you like to see?
6
Oct
I am in planning mode.
On the 29th October I’ll be leaving for Boston, starting a 2 week trip through the eastern USA, visiting friends. There will be a lot of talk about books, writing, books, writing, writing… and writing… 
You get the idea.
I’ll be jetting around the country, from Boston all the way down to Dallas, with stops in Rhode Island, Alabama and North Carolina. Possibly Tennessee, but not sure yet. That one is up in the air, because well… the woman is kinda busy.
And while I jet around, I’ll take notes. And photographs. And more notes. And pick up leaflets all over the place. Talk to people. If you own a restaurant in any of those places… prepare to lose a menu.
Before then, I have a hot date with Samhain. The publisher, I mean. I’m pitching my "Short" story on the 13th October — wish me luck.
Another day for the calendar is the 1st November, when the results from the Cleveland competition are due in. Cross your fingers for me, pretty please. I’d like to final, at least.
Of course, Halloween (Samhain) is coming up. I’ll be in the US for that, obviously. I wanted to see how it is celebrated there, since it isn’t really done here — and I write for the US market.
I’ll be asking people all kinds of weird questions while I’m there. Sorry Bill, I’m gonna get you drunk and grill you about prisons, and American Football. 
Which brings me to the reason I’m writing this.
I don’t do package holidays to the beach. Can’t stand them. I get bored.
Even when we went to Egypt — a beach holiday for me, and a surfing holiday for my better half — I didn’t stay on the beach.
No. Way.
I spotted a guy with horses for hire — and I was off. I trooped around places regular tourists don’t get to see. I had a guide who didn’t mind my asking him lots of questions about the area, Egypt in general, and local customs in particular.
I had a blast and came away with a wealth of knowledge I would never have aquired had I stayed on that beach.
The thing is, a lot of people don’t get the way I travel. They look at the hopping from one place to the next, stopovers and multiple plane changes… and think I must be insane. (They’d be partially right, but that’s another story.) Why would anyone go zigzagging across the country?
Why not? I will see a lot of things, experience a lot of things. There are nice people everywhere, and I don’t really mind going through an airport to change planes. I take it as an opportunity for research.
Where is the coffee bar? Is there a chapel? Where is it? Do I have to go to a different terminal, or is it all in one place? Which airlines are where? Rental car agencies? How are they situated? Where do you pick up the car? Are the check in desks upstairs or downstairs? Customs? Elevators or closed in lifts? Both? Where is the taxi rank? Restaurants? Shops?
I have a Moleskine for just this purpose, I just haven’t travelled any place since I got it.
It’s called an "Info Moleskine" and I plan to put it to good use in those two weeks.
There is nothing worse than coming home and trying to recall where you’ve been. I make quick sketches of areas, make notes of odd stuff I notice. People I meet. Food I ate (and what I paid, too). Distances I’ve travelled and what I saw along the way that stuck out to me. You name it, I’ll make a note. Maybe not detailed, but I will make a note.
Why?
Because to me, it’s research. I might want a character to fly (or transit) to Atlanta. Well, I’ve never been to Atlanta Airport. I don’t know where anything is. I’d have to make it up, or be incredibly vague.
Things like that annoy me. I don’t want to be vague. I hate it when I read a book and the author describes an area I know — and gets it totally wrong.
So when I travel through, I will make a note of what I see. I can use it later, even if it will only make a brief appearance. But at least it will be authentic.
So the next time you go somewhere, think about making some notes along the way. You never know when they will come in handy, and the more detailed they are, the more authentic the scene you write.
That little moleskine? It’ll be a record of a place in time and it should survive a while. Who knows, in a hundred years, someone might read it and go "Oh, so that’s what it was like!"
It’s a record of a time and place you’ve been to, and reading it over again in a few years time will bring back memories.
It’s worth taking the time — and do it longhand.