Hurricane Irene coverage via social media: A report from The Write Room

I was planning to write today about the gourmet cooking class I recently experienced at The Grape Escape in Dayton, NJ. But there’s enough news reporter left in me to know when the news headline has to trump the feature story (check back for a complete post on my ravioli making venture next week). Instead, we’re offering a quick Hurricane Irene rundown of where to check for news and updates on Hurricane Irene as the day progresses, focusing on Monmouth and Ocean County, New Jersey (home of The Write Room’s editors as well as many of their friends, family members and colleagues).

As of press time, 4:00 PM, Saturday August 27, it’s been raining for about 90 minutes in much of Monmouth County, and a bit longer in Ocean County as we await the arrival of Irene. The storm, currently moving along the Virginia coast and toward the Delmarva Peninsula, remains a Category 1 Hurricane and is on track to reach New Jersey tomorrow morning.  Although the storm has appeared to have weakened slightly, there is still extreme danger all along the New Jersey coastline due to not only the high winds but because of the expected rain and the storm surge. The storm surge is expected to be extremely severe because the storm will hit during high tide and a new moon.  Weather reports say to expect between 5-10 inches of rain and perhaps as much as 15 inches in some areas including in New York and Long Island.

According to the most up-to-date news in Monmouth and Ocean counties, residents of most beach towns and the barrier islands have been evacuated. In a press conference earlier today, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said that anyone remaining in the highest risk areas should evacuate now because at some point tonight, “the state will not be able to move people.”  In Monmouth County, shelters are open at Holmdel High School and at Wall Township High School, although the Asbury Park Press has already reported that the shelter at Wall High School is at capacity.

I’ve been following the storm mostly online, (as husband and son are watching English Premier League soccer and a Doctor Who marathon).  Here in Tinton Falls, we are expecting to lose power, for possibly a couple of days, so sometime during the next 12 hours, we will most likely be depending on our phones and our battery-powered radio for all of our news updates.

For the moment, I’ve found a steady stream of news on Twitter by following a number of news outlets and reporters including the following:

• @jerseyshorejen  (a reporter who is updating via Twitter and her blog)
• @lisafleisher (a Wall Street Journal reporter who covered Governor Christie’s press conference this afternoon via Twitter)
• @WSJ (Wall Street Journal) and @njdotcom (NJ.com) for news updates
• Also follow the hashtag #irene

As for the radio, on the FM dial, listen to NJ 101.5, 94.3 The Point and 90.5 The Night at Brookdale Community College for local updates. Q104.3 is also updating both New York and New Jersey storm related news.

Meanwhile, online coverage has been fairly comprehensive although I’ve mostly been following weather.com, weatherbug.com, nj.com and app.com to find Monmouth and Ocean County updates.

Many friends and family have been posting their own personal updates and plans on Facebook to keep out-of-state friends and family up to speed.

Stay safe, and if you know anyone in a mandatory evacuation area who has not left, please urge them to move to a safe location before this evening.

Why You Can’t Rely On Spell Check

On her “Copylicious” website, Kelly Parkinson uses the phrase “eyeball speed bumps,” a term which I will happily misappropriate. She’s referring to elements that create in the reader the desire to “communicate immediately.” I aver instead that they are errors or elements that slow the reader down, causing him or her a moment of “Huh?” You’ll get no argument from me that any element in a piece that makes the reader puzzle over what was just read is a not a good thing. What I want to address today, however, is typos, misspelling and why you can’t rely on spell checkers.

For me, and probably for many, typos and misspellings function as eyeball speed bumps. It stops me from chugging along comprehending what you have written and replaces it with an “Oh, no.” Let me clarify for one moment – your reader cannot usually tell a typo from a misspelling. Granted, if you were typing the word “boxcar” and it came out “bsxcar” or “bpxcar” instead, then yes, I would assume that you had inadvertently hit a wrong key. However, if you type “bixcar” “or bozcar,” I will wonder first if you are using a word that I’ve never heard of, and then I may shrug it off as a typo.

However, if you type “meat” when you meant to type “meet,” I will question your intelligence. “Unfair!” you cry. I can hear you all clamoring to make the argument that one letter is one letter and that the error is still a typo. Perhaps. The problem is that the one letter in question results in a different word. The wrong word. That’s not a speed bump –it’s a traffic accident. Whether it’s a fender bender or a head-on collision depends on the particular word in question.

There is a tremendous difference between the right word and the almost right word. In a recent post I typed “fuselage.”Mary Ellen called and asked why I was writing about airplanes. I wasn’t – or at least I hadn’t meant to. The word I wanted was “fusillade.” Close (at least to my harried ear), but not right. Over the years, I have learned that I spell by sound, and that I have tremendous difficulty spelling a word I can’t pronounce. Six years in the Pharmaceutical industry taught me to look up the generic drug name every time, because I could not mentally pronounce it. I could get close, but you can’t count on close. “Intravenous” and “intervenous” are NOT the same thing, but I’ll admit at first glance I suspected typo. The program in my word processor even offered to fix it as I was typing it here. If you have any familiarity with prefixes you know “intra” and “inter” are pretty much opposites. Our doctors know the difference between these words, lay people may or may not. Herein lies the danger of spell checkers. The program wants to change “intervenous” to “intervenes” or “intravenous.” And that would be about as wrong as you could get.

Like any overly-helpful relative, spell checkers want to make your life easier by enabling you to take shortcuts. When you complete a document and run through the program, it will offer suggestions for words it doesn’t recognize – helpful right? Yes, if you are paying attention. Under no circumstances should you ever let it automatically fix whatever it wants. Unlike the previous example, this can sometimes result in humorous errors. I am thinking of one website in particular whose principals claim to have graduated from Fairly Dickinson University. I am sure they meant Fairleigh. I even believe they typed “Fairleigh.” I think the spell checker was being it’s uber-helpful self and they just hit “accept change” and moved on. Sad to say, so did I.

Fighting the Time Bandit

We were in the car last week when my nine-year-old son asked what the date was.

“July 21^st? How can it be July 21^st?” He was incredulous. “The summer is over!”

Much complaining followed, even though I explained that there’s still six weeks left of summer and that he needed to relax.

“Six weeks is nothing,” he sighed.

I have to admit, that on my more pessimistic days, it certainly does feel like time just continues to pick up speed – another summer, another Christmas, another decade over and done in record time.

Since said nine-year-old is, well, nine, I resisted the temptation to say, “Yep. That’s it. Summer’s over. Might as well go buy your school supplies now.” Instead I countered by saying that we have plenty of time left to do things this summer – the entire month of August, for example.

According to self-improvement books, six weeks is more than enough time to establish a new routine such as committing to an exercise program or quitting smoking. Six weeks is enough time to reorganize your basement or garage (if my husband reads this, he will need six weeks to stop laughing). According to NaNoWriMo.org, it’s possible to write a novel in a month, let alone six weeks.

I think the key to tricking yourself into thinking that time isn’t really sailing away is to make your time productive. The idea of making every minute count by having a goal and a plan is, at least, a start at providing some direction as to how you want to spend your time. Just don’t get so caught up in making the plans that you never actually get around to doing anything (and I’ve fallen prey to this more than I care to admit).

 How do you create and implement the important plans your life? If you’re a writer, do you follow a writing plan? We will compile some of the answers in a subsequent post.

Summer Strategies for Writer Moms (and Dads)

The weeks between Memorial Day and mid-June, at least in my house, are overrun with activities that mark the end of the school year. With a college student, a 16-year-old and a nine-year-old in residence, this means simultaneous and nearly constant last minute projects, school parties, book fairs, sports banquets and final exams.  And then suddenly, it’s the last day of school.  The whirlwind stops, and I can breathe again. Until 8 o’clock the next morning, when I hear, “Mom… I’m bored.  Can we make crayons?”  And so the refrain begins, at least for those of us who work from home and have to regroup because for several weeks, our school-age children are with us for most of the work day.

I’ve been working from home since 1995, so I’ve had some time to adjust to the juggling act. But I still give into temptation and let the schedules ease during the first week or two of summer vacation, mainly because of that May-June frenzy. But once the Fourth of July holiday is over, it’s time to get back to more diligent scheduling. Between business and family responsibilities, I’ve always had to do some fine tuning to make time for my personal writing (as opposed to writing and editing for business). If you are looking for ways to boost your writing time, here are some ways to get started:

• Wake up a little earlier each day. Even 30 minutes can get a jump start on the daily word count.
•  The reverse would be true for night owls (just be sure you do maintain a bedtime for the kids).
•  Carry a notebook with you at all times to record anything from article ideas to character sketches. Tuck a small notebook into your beach bag, diaper bag, or handbag so that you’re ready to write wherever your summer family adventures take you.  
• Take advantage of the hours your kids are in camp. The hours my nine-year-old son is in camp are platinum territory. Instead of using these hours to run errands, to paraphrase one of my favorite quotes on writing, from author Elizabeth George, find some “chair glue” — and write. 
•  Use the summer months to nudge your family into becoming a little more self-sufficient. Keep snacks and drinks handy for who are old enough to serve themselves.
•  Enlist the family in helping with more household chores. You may find that it’s easier to assign new chores or give the younger ones more responsibilities during the summer so that they have an opportunity to get accustomed to them while there’s no homework, soccer practice, etc.  Keep the tasks simple and direct so that they don’t need to keep interrupting you to find out what they need to do next.
•  Give the kids tools and items to keep themselves busy. Before summer vacation began, my writing partner put together a craft box for her nine-year-old daughter. She and her daughter visited a crafts store together and created an inexpensive mixture of activities that she can pull out and work on by herself. My son does the same thing with art supplies, Legos and other building kits.
•    If you need to finish a piece on deadline, have your child work on enrichment assignments, summer reading, or workbook pages.  If you need to coax your children into reading, have them join a book club at the library or even through a bookstore. 

Remember to take time for a little summer fun though. After all, there should still be some perks for working from home.

Happy Birthday to Us

Independence Day is Monday, and before the flurry of beach packing begins and cookout plans get underway, we thought we should write a bit about the holiday. Although I have been known to succumb to possession by the Christmas spirit, I feel a fierce pride about our nation’s birthday, an upwelling of emotion unequalled by any other holiday.

For me, this is the feeling of patriotism – gratitude for the men and women who have died for this country. pride that I am, however symbolically, descended from such intelligent and courageous men as the founding fathers, and even a sort of smugness that I am an American, a people with enough resourcefulness and fortitude to establish this great nation. No, I am not running for office — I did warn you that I’m into this holiday.

On July 3, 1776, John Adams, in a letter to his wife, Abigail, set forth the protocol for the celebration of Independence Day, noting that it “ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.” When John dreamed, he dreamed big, and as it turns out, prophetically. Unfortunately, he was talking about July 2, the day the Continental Congress voted for independence, not the 4th, which was the day they signed the Declaration. Considering he predicted the gala nearly down to the potato salad, I think we can forgive him a day or two.

My connection to this holiday may be rooted in my family; easily my most disturbing Independence Day was spent with my brother after his return from Desert Storm. After being given a place of honor with other returned veterans in the parade, he and the other soldiers sat with their backs to the display, subtly wincing at each explosion. I have not been able to watch fireworks since without imagining actual bombs screaming across the sky, and I wonder if we Americans can celebrate with such pyrotechnics because we have never really had to live through explosives raining down on our cities.

Of course, being raised in Maryland I know that is not the case. The poem that would become known as “The Star Spangled Banner” gives testament to the fusillade launched over Ft. McHenry by the British during the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812. The lyrics, in typical Charm City fashion, were set to the tune of a well-known drinking song. Although the tune enjoyed widespread popularity, it was during the World Series in 1917 that it was sung to honor the armed forces fighting in WWI. It went over so well that it was repeated ever afterward. Congress proclaimed it our national anthem in 1931.

Watching fireworks and humming the tune never fails to bring a tear to my eye – I am not so over the top that I know all four verses, mind you – but there truly is nothing like watching fireworks from the water. Although it was never one of the largest pyrotechnic displays in the country, to me the ideal has always been watching fireworks over Ft. McHenry. Indicative of that curious phenomenon whereby native residents rarely seem to engage in the “tourist trap” activities, I never made it downtown to Baltimore to celebrate our country’s independence. But I will, someday. And I’ll bring Kleenex.

The Hat Parade

Sometimes it appears that the piece of furniture that gets the most use here at The Write Room is the hat rack. Certainly we spend a fair amount of time at our desks and computers, but the advent of Summer has stepped up our need to switch hats. Often.  Sometimes without warning.

Yesterday, the hat parade went something like this: editor, mother, dog walker, gardener, short order cook, marketer, collaborating partner, cook (again), chauffeur, bookkeeper, counselor, housekeeper, nurse, cook (dinner this time), dishwasher, daughter, laundress, mother, wife, and finally, writer. I suppose I got off easy – the grocery shopping was done, and the children kept the dog busy so I did not have to chase after her to retrieve a slipper or the TV remote. Still, I counted it a full day, and at the end of it I was weary.

As the nature of the job, a parent must learn many functions and be adept at switching from one to the other. Although I knew that starting our own business would likewise involve many functions, I did not expect such similarities. I’ve had enough years as a mom to take the jump from one role to another in stride, but I am finding the midstream switch from marketer to bookkeeper to designer and back to be both exhilarating and jarring.

Moving from one role to another certainly keeps things interesting.  And, as we continue to “furnish” The Write Room, there is always some new aspect we can be working on, something new to learn. I’ve had to modify my pre-work routine (what some of my family calls “fixing to work”) so that I can be more agile. However, I find that I still do best at those high-focus jobs when there are no distractions, no other hats to wear but the pencil behind my ear. That and I’m naturally a night person. My best writing seems to happen after dark, and having a space like The Write Room allows me to take advantage of that proclivity. It seems I’ll be installing a lamp… right next to the hat rack.

Rearranging the Furniture

Some time ago, I purchased a domain name, thewriteroom.com. Originally, this website was to be a virtual companion to a very real writing studio that I was hoping to create with the intention of sharing with other writers. I envisioned a calm and uncluttered space with no distractions and lots of natural light. The furnishings would be simple – a few desks, one or two comfortable reading areas, perhaps some plants. Unfortunately, the reality of leasing an uncluttered space with lots of natural light in central Monmouth County, New Jersey would prove to be an expensive proposition, and sadly, my shared writing studio did not materialize.

However, since I was not planning to part with my domain name, I simply threw mental dust covers over the desks and reading areas. And then I waited. An opportunity was bound to present itself.

Spring 2011: An opportunity arose from pivotal circumstances, over a cup of tea. It was finally time to raise the blinds, and pull the muslin from the furniture. My friend and I, weary from denying our craft for the purpose of career and family, have set about refurbishing the dream deferred. Through numerous hours of brainstorming, crash courses in software and marketing, and forays into the surprisingly balmy waters of networking, we have arrived at our launching point. Redefined, The Write Room is now open.

We are both graduates of Drew University, Madison, N.J., completing studies in English Literature, Fiction and Non-Fiction Writing, and an extended and multi-faceted stint in the college paper, which in some ways taught us more about the real-world application of writing than our classes. As for the Real World, together we have more than 40 years of writing and editing experience.

We’re looking forward to engaging in lively conversation here at our blog, because at any given moment, we find that we are identifying ourselves in remarkable new ways. Writers and editors, certainly. But we are also women.  Entrepreneurs. Mothers. Confidantes. Collaborators.  Our hat rack is quite full.

Thank you for joining us here, in the annex of The Write Room. We hope you enjoy the company and the conversation.

Welcome Readers

Welcome to A View from the Room, a blog from the editors of The Write Room, LLC. Our first post will be published shortly.

Thank you for your attention.