“Zoom” into a New Way to Brainstorm

By Morgan Tarpley Smith

Technology is ever evolving and as writers these type of advancements can be super helpful but also possibly overwhelming. But one new technological method has brought brainstorming with fellow writers from across the country to a whole new level for me – and it’s called Zoom.

Several weeks ago, I took part in an online video conference with three fellow writers and it couldn’t have been easier or more fun. 

The best part was that we were all in different states and time zones. We chose a time that fit us all, and we joined in to talk through one of our manuscripts. I even used my Kindle Fire for it, which was awesome.

Now, let me tell you more about this awesome technology called Zoom. Zoom is a private company headquartered in San Jose, Calif. Founded in 2011, Zoom is a leader in modern enterprise video communications that offers a secure, easy platform for video and audio conferencing, messaging, and webinars across mobile, desktop, and room systems.

Zoom Rooms is the original software-based conference room solution used around the world in conference, huddle, and training rooms as well as executive offices and classrooms. Zoom helps over 650,000 businesses and organizations bring their teams together to get more done.

The Zoom app is free, and it was free to sign up to have our meeting. All we had to do was create a log-in and then was click on Start with video to start a video meeting. The next step was to click on Schedule to set up the future meeting. Then, we had to join the meeting when we were sent an invite. It was fairly simple, and we were able to speak uninterrupted and with no issues.

The free version allows for 40 minute meetings with up to 100 participants, but you can have unlimited meetings. You also have unlimited one-on-one meetings. We could see each other on the screen in our own little boxes, and I had flashbacks from “The Brady Bunch” show intro. (ha!)

Have you used Zoom before? If not, what other technological methods have you used for online brainstorming? What has worked best for you?

Morgan Tarpley Smith

Morgan Tarpley Smith is an award-winning newspaper reporter and photographer in Louisiana. She is also an inspirational adult and middle grade novelist. 

Besides writing and traveling to over a dozen countries, her interests include acting, genealogy, photography, and singing. She resides in Louisiana with her husband and is expecting their first child in 2018. For more information about Morgan, connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Goodreads.

Fuel Your Creativity By Scent

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By Morgan Tarpley Smith

Aromatherapy is not something this writer has paid much mind to over the years. I don’t particularly care for candles, and I only use a select few lotions and products of that nature, but the more I’ve heard about essential oils the more I’ve become interested in them.

The first time I saw an essential oil diffuser I was backstage on opening night of my theater group’s latest production. It was a tremendously challenging play, and we needed all the help we could get, so one of my fellow actors broke out her diffuser that puffed a little trail of pleasant-smelling near-translucent smoke into the air for boosting memory and mental clarity.

My diffuser at my bedside along with some research & reading

Over a year later, I decided to try it out myself. I bought a diffuser along with Eucalyptus and Vanilla essential oils. I’ve used it nearly everyday in the evening before bed to relax. It’s really comforting, and the visual puffs of steam combined with the sound and smell add to the calming effect.

My writing partner recently sent me a fascinating article about essential oils to use for focus and creativity for writers. I definitely wanted to learn more about it, and I thought so would you. The link to the article is here.

“Helping ourselves be creative as writers is not always as hard as we might think, we can of course challenge ourselves to try new things, explore new ideas and try new writing places, all of these can help with the flow of new ideas aiding our creative process immensely. But a very simple method to encourage creativity may be resting right under our noses.

“Aromatherapy has been credited for many different uses, from heath, relaxation, massage, creativity and focus and as a writer I know that I am always looking for a way to expand on those last two items. Creativity and focus.

“Essential oils have long been known to be able to elicit emotional response in many of us, helping to create moods, relax and of course uplift our mental attitude all of which can be a great aid in helping with the creative process of a writer. By using our sense of smell as a tool for creativity we are aiding our own natural senses with the process of memory, stimulating our emotions and activating our brain via the limbic system. The limbic system is responsible for pleasure, emotion and of course memory, the more times that we have smelt a particular scent the more we are able to retain a clear picture of a past memory or experience, create patterns of new habits and entice our senses towards the different moods and energy needed for the creative process that is writing.

“Choosing the right essential oils for you - There are so many essential oils available to us in this modern world that it may be a bit confusing to know which ones are right for you and the mood you are hoping to encourage within your creativity. So take a peek at the list below for some of the best essential oils known for their ability to promote focus and creativity.

Bergamot - this wonderful essential oils is a great aid with keeping you alert and focused helping to keep your flow of creativity constant, while keeping stress levels from rising

Cinnamon - a great essential oil for helping to raise focus and feelings of happiness as it helps to lift and motivate our senses, known for its ability to promote love and harmony

Cloves - This essential oil is well known for its ability to help with creativity and helping to create a greater understanding of self all the while creating an environment of contentment which is very pleasant to work within

Cypress - an essential oil which is great for its ability to help you focus while boosting your self confidence and self awareness in a calm relaxing manner

Eucalyptus - A great fresh smelling oil that is very useful in boosting creativity, understanding, mental clarity and even enthusiasm a great aid for many writers

Lemon - As an essential oil lemon is great for helping with concentration, creativity, focus and even helps create a joy positive attitude

Frankincense - an uplifting essential oil that is great for creativity, performance, concentration and helps to provide a joyful peaceful environment to write

Geranium - a great oil for helping with the self-esteem while creating a relaxing uplifting atmosphere (mixed into a carrier oil and applied is also great for relieving the symptoms of headache)

Grapefruit - a very useful essential oil, grapefruit helps with performance, alertness, confidence and of course inspiration

Jasmine - One of my personal favorites this essential oil is fantastic with boosting your confidence, raising your happiness and of course helping with creativity and performance. A must have in my opinion

Neroli - A good essential oil that aids in many types of creativity fostering a good sense of peace and personal contentment helping to calm nerves and reduce stress

Peppermint - A great essential oil for renewing the mind and lifting a flagging spirit helping to create an alert mind ready for new things

Rose - This essential oil is often used in massage for its ability to uplift the spirit and create feelings of romance and love, it is also very good in helping us writers to create in a joyful happy manner, especially if romance is your genre

Sandalwood - is a great essential oil for writers who are struggling with self doubt or writers block. This wonderful oil is very useful for lifting flagging spirits, instilling self confidence and self awareness while creating a peaceful work environment for which you can start afresh in

“Scent is a powerful tool in activating many different parts of our brains, so when choosing your oils start with the ones that appeal to you the most, and slowly experiment with others as you go. As time progresses you may even find yourself combining your favourites into scents that are all your own…”

Do you use essential oils? If so, have you used any listed above? Which oils are your favorite to use for writing?

Morgan Tarpley Smith

Morgan Tarpley Smith is an award-winning newspaper reporter and photographer in Louisiana. She is also an aspiring inspirational novelist. Besides writing and traveling to over a dozen countries, her interests include acting in her local theater, genealogy, photography, and singing. She resides in Louisiana with her husband. For more information about Morgan, connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Goodreads.

2017: For “Auld Lang Syne”

Well, it’s time for “Auld Lang Syne” again. 2017 is here. And being back at work after Christmas this writer found herself listening to the song a couple of times this week. My favorite versions are from Colbie Caillat and Susan Boyle. 

Celebrating New Year's Eve in Vienna 2014

Listening got me thinking about this song so closely tied to New Year’s Eve – what’s it all about? Is it really about the new year and its wishes? Maybe you’ve wondered this yourself. And as writers we definitely can appreciate words that have been immortalized through all the world since the late 1700s. Here’s the scoop from an article by Richard Curland of the Norwich Historical Society.

“It all started as a Scot poem by Robert Burns in 1788. He once admitted he had heard the first verses from an old man and quickly wrote down the words. Later, it was set to a tune of a traditional folk song...The earliest beginnings of the three-word song title have been traced back to the 16th century. However, the meaning of the title is now very different. The original title laments the fickleness of those who would seek financial gain from it. Its use in current times is as a farewell or an ending to the old year at midnight… 

“The Scots’ title can be translated into English as ‘old long since’ or ‘long, long, ago.’ Some have it as ‘days gone by’ or even ‘just old times.’ Storyteller Matthew Fitt, in the Scots’ language, used the phrase, ‘in the days of auld lang syne’ as the equivalent of ‘once upon a time’ in his retelling of fairy tales. Cultural historians, in general, believe the tune used today may not be the same one used when the poem was first set to music. Singing ‘Auld Lang Syne’ on New Year’s Eve as a Scottish custom soon spread to other parts of the British Isles. Immigration spread the song around the world.

“More than a century later, composer George M. Cohan quoted the first line of ‘Auld Lang Syne’ in the next to last line of the chorus in his song, ‘You’re a Grand Old Flag.’ Along with ‘Land of Hope and Glory’ the Scot song is sung in England at ‘The Last Night of The Proms’ although it is not printed on any programs at those events.

Celebrating New Year's Eve 2015 with my husband (20s style)

“Recordings of the song are plentiful. In 1960, singer Bobby Darin changed a few words and sang it on his Christmas album.’ The Beach Boys in 1964 sang it on their holiday album, and it was heard on Billy Joel’s live ‘2000 Years’ album. Mariah Carey’s 2010 album, ‘Merry Christmas II You’ included it, and Rod Stewart’s 2012 album, ‘Merry Christmas, Baby’ also presented the song prior to the holiday, along with many others.

“In our society, the song is often referred to as ‘the song that everybody sings but nobody knows.’ Music historians tell us the first mention Burns makes of the song is in a letter sent to a Mrs. Dunlop in December 1788. He wrote that ‘both the old song and the tune thrilled through my soul.’ The song has inspired a number of translations into foreign languages. It remains as a means of making a toast to old friendships. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, it is the third most popular song in the English language. The first is ‘Happy Birthday To You’ followed by ‘For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow’ in second place.”

This post is from Historically Speaking, which appears on Sundays, and are short historical stories written by Richard Curland of the Norwich Historical Society in cooperation with society president Bill Champagne. Here’s the link.

Happy New Year to everyone wherever you are in the world!! Happy writing this year!! 

Morgan Tarpley

Morgan Tarpley is an award-winning newspaper reporter and photographer in Louisiana. She is also a historical novelist currently seeking representation. Besides writing and traveling to over a dozen countries, her interests include acting in her local theater, genealogy, photography, and singing. She resides in Louisiana with her husband. For more information about Morgan, connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Goodreads.

Born to Travel?

It’s not a secret that I absolutely love to travel around the world. Just look at my social media accounts for proof. It’s just the thrill of seeing new sights, eating different foods and experiencing different cultures and all that get me. And I’ve always been this way.

Me scuba diving in Puerto Rico

When I was a kid I may have not had opportunities yet to visit distant lands, but I always loved reading about other countries and U.S. states and dreaming of going someday. And I know I’m not the only one around that loves to travel. I’ve seen posts from quite a few of you on here who love it as well. It just must be something about engaging our writer’s minds, right?!

Anyway, I recently spotted an interesting article entitled, “23 Signs You Were Born to Travel,” and I must say I think I pretty much fit every single one of them. You too? Were you born to travel? See how many fit you.

1) You can make friends anywhere but are just as happy to sit in silence by yourself.
2) You’ve always been willing to try anything once (except maybe drugs and Kopi Luwak coffee which is made from harvesting digested cherries from the feces of a civet cat)
3) You have very specific airport security and customs strategies.
4) You’ve always been good at Tetris, and understand how to translate those skills into a real life-packing scenario.
5) You know the word for “Cheers” in seventeen languages.
6) Your decorating style relies heavily on maps.
7) The term ‘All Inclusive’ makes you gag.
8) The first thing you think when you see a motorcycle is ‘freedom’ and not ‘crushed skull.
9) You’ve held on to a demolished pair of old jeans because the rips and wear on them all have corresponding stories from abroad.
10) You consider your medical history full of exotic diseases to be more like a trophy case.
 

Me looking over Salzburg, Austria

11) You’ve never had an issue with taking the longer route as long as you have good company or a decent book.
12) You’re praying for the airline to bump you off your boring business trip flight so you can get the free credits.
13) You have - at least at one point in your life - thought of an RV as a better investment than a house.
14) You’ve never actually finished a checklist because you can’t stop adding things to it.
15) Your measure of whether someone is a good friend or not is, ‘Would he be a (jerk) to me after being awake for 17 hours straight on a non-sleeper train?’ 

Me at Buckingham Palace in London, England

16) Over the course of your entire life, you’ve spent months in train stations, bus terminals, and airports.
17. You’re less interested in jobs that offer two-weeks vacation and more interested in jobs that offer yearlong sabbaticals.
18) You’ve always thought ‘Curiosity killed the cat’ is a dumb proverb. And even if it’s true: good for the cat.
19) You’ve daydreamed about working for National Geographic.
20) You have a dog-eared copy of On the Road, Into the Wild, The Motorcycle Diaries, or Eat, Pray, Love on your nightstand pretty much all the time.
21) The idea that a lot of people do not even own a passport offends you to your core.
22) You’re okay with doing something embarrassing or stupid, as long as you’re able learn from it.
23) When people ask you, “Where do you want to go next?” You can never choose just one place.”

So do any of these signs stand out to you? Can you think of any you would add? I would love to hear from you!

Morgan Tarpley

Morgan Tarpley is an award-winning newspaper reporter and photographer in Louisiana. She is also a historical novelist currently seeking representation. Besides writing and traveling to over a dozen countries, her interests include acting in her local theater, genealogy, photography, and singing. She resides in Louisiana with her husband. For more information about Morgan, connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Goodreads.

Refreshing the Writer's Mind

By Morgan Tarpley

This writer just returned on Sunday from a mini writer’s retreat that my critique partner and I set up months ago. We usually attend a writer’s conference around this time every year but sadly it has been cancelled this year, so we decided to create our own writer’s retreat weekend instead. And it was great!

The first step was finding the perfect place: not too far from home and within driving distance, secluded to not tempt us with all the shopping options and other nearby attractions, well-furnished kitchen for our meals at the location, and lastly an inspiring location. 

About eight years ago I worked part-time as a travel agent and that job is how I met my critique partner, Carole. She was a veteran travel agent there, and we both hit it off immediately with our love for travel, books and writing – among many other interests as well. But, anyway back to the story at hand, it was when I worked at the travel agency that I found the spot that would house us over the weekend for our first writer’s retreat. And this is it! Willowbrook Cottage! 

One of the shared interests Carole and I possess is a love for all things British, so when we thought of where to hold the retreat I knew exactly where to suggest – the perfect little English-style cottage within a four hour drive from her house. We live in north Louisiana, and the cottage is tucked away in a small town surrounded by mountains called Mena. It’s in the state of Arkansas.

My Writing Spot

Healthy Writers Breakfast!

While at the cottage, we set a schedule to get the most out of the few days we were there. We had packed many healthy snacks and tea and scones, of course, along with items for quick lunches and dinners. We did go out one night for dinner to the Queen Wilhelmina Lodge Restaurant on top of a mountain with a gorgeous view.

Our day began around 8 a.m. after breakfast, prayer and a devotional and we started our first writing session at 9 a.m. Then, we worked for two hours, then took a 15-minute break, then continued on throughout the day with the sessions and breaks with an hour break for lunch and dinner. 

We knew to be most productive we needed to keep to the schedules, but we did take little breaks whenever we needed them and we had mini brainstorming sessions in between to help each other when we were stuck on a scene, etc.

View from the restaurant

Overall, the whole weekend was quite productive and enjoyable. And, truly, the location couldn’t have been better. It was secluded, well-furnished, quiet and inspiring with a lovely garden around the house and a waterfall. To top it off, the owners are a really sweet couple, whom are fellow believers in Christ, and he is from England. Isn’t that something?! And, furthermore, he aspires (like us) to be a published inspirational fiction author. It was just a God-ordained experience. We hope to go back for another writer’s retreat next year! For more information about our location, visit their website here.

So, have you attended a writer’s retreat whether an officially organized one or just with a friend or two like we did? What did you enjoy most about it? Do you have any tips to share? If you could have a writing retreat anywhere, where do you think your ideal location would be?

Morgan Tarpley

Morgan Tarpley is an award-winning newspaper reporter and photographer in Louisiana. She is also an inspirational novelist seeking representation. Besides writing and traveling to over a dozen countries, her interests include acting in her local theater, genealogy, photography, and singing. She resides in Louisiana with her husband.

For more information about Morgan, visit her website (www.morgantarpley.com). You can also connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Goodreads.

What to Do with All That Research?

By Morgan Tarpley

The other day I was thinking about all the research and idea notes for my current novel and their various forms of organization. I will admit that I’m easily overwhelmed when it comes to all the methods that are out there to utilize. I’ve tried many of them.

There are so many ways to organize research and ideas for a project that I thought I’d go through some of the ones that I’ve tried over the years on the path to the perfect combination for me. I still haven’t gotten it just right yet, but I feel I’m close.

My current manuscript is my guinea pig, and by the time I start my next novel I hope to have narrowed the methods down some more. I would love to hear if any of these particular ideas work for you.

The first method involves collecting digital research material on my Kindle Fire. I’ve created a host of collections for each of my upcoming novels that contain both non-fiction and fiction books which I will use for research.

The next methods of research/idea organization are creating folders through email and Dropbox. Before I got Dropbox, I started creating a folder for each upcoming novel and if I found items of interest online I would email them to myself and save the emails in a folder. I guess I was pretty much doing a makeshift Dropbox. I still use my email folders, but I’ve expanded to Dropbox to directly upload documents and images, etc. for my research. It’s very handy.

Another method of mine is one that I’ve borrowed from the late great Michael Crichton using notecards and a shoebox. I actually wrote a blog post about it and more here last year. I write down ideas and tidbits of information on notecards and toss them in a shoebox for that certain future novel. I have to say it’s been a really great system.

The methods I started when I began novel writing and that I still use involve a simple binder system with tabs for different research topics and a notebook/journal that I take notes in and explore ideas, etc. I’m a total visual person so actually writing and doodling help my creative process.

The newest method I’ve explored is the use of Evernote to collect information through a partial screenshot, etc. straight to my account online. It’s really a smart way to organize information, but I haven’t gotten the exact hang of it yet. It’s definitely work checking out. Another method I’ve used a little bit that I know many writers love is Scrivener. I got the program last year, but unfortunately haven’t really explored it much yet either.

Well, these are the methods I’ve entertained so far on my writing journey. I would love to hear from you what you use and if you have any suggestions. Thanks!

Morgan Tarpley

Morgan Tarpley is an award-winning newspaper reporter and photographer in Louisiana. She is also a novelist currently seeking representation. Besides writing and traveling to over a dozen countries, her interests include acting in her local theater, genealogy, photography, and singing. She resides in Louisiana with her husband.

For more information about Morgan, visit her website (www.morgantarpley.com). You can also connect with her on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest.

When Life Trumps Fiction

By Morgan Tarpley

I know I’m not alone. There are some times that our novel-geared, what-if-thinking-constantly writer brain imaginings can actually be surpassed by real life. I just experienced one of those exact moments.

Last month, my husband and I took a road trip up the U.S. East Coast. (We live in Louisiana, so it was quite the long drive – but very enjoyable.) I was pumped because I’ve never been to the East Coast, and more than that I’ve never been to New York City. We were only there for a few days. And as I marveled at the massive skyscrapers and all the locations I’ve seen in favorite movies or TV shows other things struck me as well like who are all these people around me? What’s their story?

I couldn’t help but let my writer’s brain take over wondering if the man passing me in a three-piece suit near Wall Street could be a millionaire or a woman I sat by on the subway might be a famous author. I mean how can I not think about these type of things! (lol) Well, at least, I know there are people on this blog who get it, right?

Back to the story at hand though, one of our must-do things in NYC was to dress up and go out for a fancy dinner, and that’s exactly what we did. I even got my hair done at a salon for the occasion. It was hard to narrow down where to eat but we finally decided months prior and made our reservation. The restaurant is called Wallsé and features modern European cuisine specializing in Austrian. They were awarded a Michelin star this year, so we knew between that honor and our love of Austrian food it would be great. And it was.

The place was small but well spaced, the ambience elegant and relaxed with dim lighting overhead and the soft glow of tea lights on each linen-draped table. We were seated at a table for two. He took the chair and I sat on part of a velvet-covered wall-length bench. Our closest table neighbors were less than a foot away to my left – two women beside me on the bench and a man across from them, all in their mid to late 60s I’d say.

We ordered and I noticed the woman closest to me had also ordered Wiener Schnitzel, so I remarked that it looked lovely and authentic and I was glad I had chosen it. She gave an elegant nod in agreement with a slight smile and informed me it was very good and authentic. Then, they had their entrées and dessert; we had our appetizers and entrées.  

While we were in the middle of our entrée though, a man came over to greet them. We were so close I could not help but overhear what was said. (Convenient too. I can always use fascinating conversation for future book fodder.) He congratulated the seated man and then was introduced to the lady across from him (the lady with the Wiener Schnitzel) who he said was his cousin and he named the book she had written.

Wait, right there! There’s a published author sitting right beside me! (See, this story did have a point.) But that wasn’t all. The book title rang a bell in my mind. It sounded so familiar. So, what else could I do at this point but discreetly retrieve my cell phone from my handbag to search for it.

Lo and behold, I actually own her book – and I had wanted to read it for a while. I couldn’t believe it. I had her book right there on my Kindle. And I knew I just had to talk to her! So, when the opportune moment arose after the visiting man left, I claimed it to remark on if they enjoyed their dessert. Then, I ever so carefully said I could not help overhearing about her book and that I have it. She was surprised and flattered.

We chatted a few minutes about the story and how I would start reading it that very night, which I did, of course. She is very nice. (I also purchased the audiobook which Leslie actually narrates herself.) The reason for the dinner was that her cousin (the man) had just published his book that day, and it was a celebration. Two published authors. Wow! I told them about my novel involving WWII and Leslie graciously offered if I had any questions in my research to send her an email. She gave me her card and I got her to sign the back of it. I also took a photo with her.

Leslie Maitland

Here’s what her book, “Crossing the Borders of Time: A True Story of War, Exile andLove Reclaimed,” is about:

On a pier in Marseille in 1942, with desperate refugees pressing to board one of the last ships to escape France before the Nazis choked off its ports, an 18-year-old German Jewish girl was pried from the arms of the Catholic Frenchman she loved and promised to marry. As the Lipari carried Janine and her family to Casablanca on the first leg of a perilous journey to safety in Cuba, she would read through her tears the farewell letter that Roland had slipped in her pocket: “Whatever the length of our separation, our love will survive it, because it depends on us alone. I give you my vow that whatever the time we must wait, you will be my wife. Never forget, never doubt.” 

Five years later – her fierce desire to reunite with Roland first obstructed by war and then, in secret, by her father and brother – Janine would build a new life in New York with a dynamic American husband.  That his obsession with Ayn Rand tormented their marriage was just one of the reasons she never ceased yearning to reclaim her lost love.  

Investigative reporter Leslie Maitland grew up enthralled by her mother’s accounts of forbidden romance and harrowing flight from the Nazis. Her book is both a journalist’s vivid depiction of a world at war and a daughter’s pursuit of a haunting question: what had become of the handsome Frenchman whose picture her mother continued to treasure almost fifty years after they parted? It is a tale of memory that reporting made real and a story of undying love that crosses the borders of time.

Leslie's mother, Janine

Later that night, I looked more into her story and I found her bio on Amazon. “Leslie Maitland is an award-winning former New York Times investigative reporter and national correspondent who covered the Justice Department. She appears regularly on the Diane Rehm Show on NPR to discuss literature. She lives with her husband in Bethesda, Maryland.”

Oh my! She is also a former award-winning journalist for the NY Times! I’m a journalist as well. It was just so fascinating and unexpected. Certainly greater than the scenarios I had been dreaming up for two days. And for sure the story of Leslie’s mother was greater than fiction too.

Leslie and I at Wallse

And the Library Journal agrees with me since their starred review of her book read: “Sometimes the truth is not ‘stranger than fiction’ but more compelling than fiction, and that’s the case here… Well written and captivating, its story will stay with readers well after the book is finished.”

So have you had any better than fiction moments? Have they made their way into your novels? A hint of a story is already forming in my mind surrounding this event. Want to share any of these moments? I’d love to hear from you!

Morgan Tarpley

Morgan Tarpley is an award-winning newspaper reporter and photographer in Louisiana. She is also a novelist currently seeking representation. Besides writing and traveling to over a dozen countries, her interests include acting in her local theater, genealogy, photography, and singing. She resides in Louisiana with her husband.

For more information about Morgan, visit her website (www.morgantarpley.com). You can also connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Goodreads.