Sooo…how you all doing?

Personally, I’ve been watching the news more than I’d like to admit to, and spending way too much time on household projects while at home. I’ll be the first to admit, I haven’t done much writing in the last few weeks. Pretty normal to expect when things are a bit…chaotic.

Like everyone else with a big heart, I’d like to help but I wasn’t quite sure how.

However, I remembered I did teach a Work at Home class at a university a few years ago. I’ve worked from home since probably 2000 and I’ve not really held a ‘normal’ job since and have worked with big companies like Microsoft and other corporations. I still had the handout from when I taught the class. So I fixed it up. It’s short, but for those who might be out of work or struggling right now, I hope it can help (a little?) during this time. It’s mostly just a starting point.

There is no copyright claim on this PDF handout. Feel free to share as much as you’d like. The websites recommended in the handout I personally have no connection to but I refer to them time and again when people ask about working from home. Most importantly, if you’re in need of work (or even extra cash) please use the resources available.

In addition, I thought I’d share a few resources I’ve been refreshing myself on that might help. I am not the people below, I don’t own any of the information, but they are great resources. Following any of them might help you learn a bit and doing the below might help you feel more in control of life while we’re going through this together.

Growing Food from Home Fast

Save Money by Using Coupons (And learn how to stock up inexpensively without having to horde at the last minute)

How to make face masks at home: and why

Also, please remember that your library has valuable resources. Not only do they have books, magazines and audiobooks, but your local library might also have video games, sewing machines and tools that you can also borrow. In addition, they often know of local resources (like food banks, 211 services information) for your particular area. Call them. They are bored. 🙂 Also free books. (Ask for my book please. 🙂 They’ll stock them if you ask them to stock them. Even if you already own the books, share the love with others. In fact, ask for all your favorites to be on the shelves, not just me. Your voice matters!)

This is not all inclusive, but a start. Remember, secure yourself in your life, and when secure, find ways to help others. We get through this easier by helping each other.

And if you really need more distractions, in addition to getting Unsung completed (I swear, I’m back to working on it!) I’m going to try to do more WattPad as I get time. I feel ( like everyone else ) I need to focus on Unsung and work on that more than anything, so it’s more the priority. I just didn’t want to go on for the few months it might take to complete and not reach out to you.

Please stay safe at home, and if you aren’t at home, thank you for the work you do. We’re counting on you.

First a few things to note:

I can’t read your fan fiction. It’s a complicated legal matter that basically boils down to if I don’t read it, I can’t accidentally ‘lift’ your ideas (even subconsciously) and create problems. I’ve not read Academy fan fiction since the start. (Also if you email me your fan fiction, I have to delete your email/not look at your link. I’m sorry. Email me after I finish The Academy series.)

However, I find fan fiction to be an awesome way to get creative with someone’s else’s characters. I loved being absolutely free to do it my own way. No rules. I could do whatever I wanted. (Go figure, the person that wrote The Academy by breaking the rules of fiction at that time, enjoyed writing fan fiction that allowed me to break the rules…yeah.)

There’s nothing like taking well loved characters and imagining them in different ways. Insert yourself in the world. Hang out with who you feel are your best friends/book boyfriends. Take them into different books. Play out scenes. Kill the ones you don’t like. Have them reject the girl to marry you instead! 🙂 Fun times.

I know it really well because I used to write fan fiction. Not continuously but I tried testing the waters.

Including…Gargoyles fan fiction. Yes. Really. Thanks dorky 22 year old me who was trying to learn how to write and tested a few things with …Gargoyles. By the way, I love Gargoyles the TV series. Awesome.

I might actually have some Snape\Harry Potter fan fiction leftover that I tried to put together once. Maybe I can drag that up from the fiction graveyard one day to put on WattPad.

With all that’s going on, and with me taking so long to write books lately, I feel like fan fiction can, for some people, help fill that void when you just miss the guys and want something new. I understand the love and care that went into those words. If you haven’t already, try it out for yourself. Writing is freeing your imagination a bit to record and save for later to read for yourself.

I can’t link to it from here (sorry) because I can’t go look at it. However, I hear some can be found at WattPad simply by looking up CLStone or Academy. Have fun. Read or write as you wish. I can’t wait to be able to join you all.