19th Day in a Chic September

For the month of September I plan to document daily steps I have taken towards a chic, elegant and healthy life. My goal is to keep uppermost in my mind the kind of life I want to live. I will be focusing on all the small things I do each day that lead me towards my goal, rather than away from it.

Here are today’s mini-chic accomplishments:

I decided last night as I climbed into bed that Monday would be a fresh start for me. I ate rather too much unchic food over the weekend - too many treat foods although meals were healthy. That is often my downfall.

So I decided on Monday I would be at my chicest at all times, and pretend I was being filmed or had people around me to see my actions, even if I was alone. If I couldn’t imagine Audrey Hepburn doing something, would I do it? Non!

After a day of this I have to say I feel less inclined towards tacky food and more in balance. One day down!

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Tried the olive oil/body lotion idea as mentioned on Anne Barone’s reader letters page (Renee, third letter down). It took a day or two for the lotion and oil to mix, and I shook it whenever I thought of it. The first couple of pumps were a bit separated but after that it was perfect. The texture of the lotion has changed, of course, but is not oily like it would be if you used straight oil. I used pure olive oil rather than extra virgin because that's what I had.

It will take a bit more time to sink in than a normal lotion, but I can already tell this idea is a keeper. I have breakfast in my robe between shower and dressing so it’s fine for me. If you get dressed immediately after a shower you might want to save it for weekends or times when you can take a bit more time, or reduce the ratio of oil/lotion down to 1/4 or 1/5.

At the end of the day my skin feels lovely and soft, and more moisturised than a normal lotion. It gives a pretty sheen to the skin too.

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I got my husband to drop off a big bag of hotel mini-toiletries and other new personal care items to a Womens Refuge coordinator. Even though he grumbled a bit at having to do my errand on his day off, I could tell when he rung me that he felt quite chuffed at her happy response. 'That's my good deed for the day' he said.

The coordinator told him they were having a pamper night for the women soon so it was a very timely donation. I’m going to have another look around to see if there is anything else I can donate.

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Have been reading Jenny Craig’s Simple Pleasures book which I bought from the op shop for a few dollars recently. I’m not really into Jenny with all the packet mixes and all, but I love that this book has a section at the front entirely devoted to holistic ways to gain balance in your life.

I don’t really care for the recipes which make up the rest of the book but the first two-dozen pages are worth the price and why I bought the book!

Here's a snippet:

`Mindfulness takes simple pleasures to the next level.

A simple way to begin being mindful is to attend to your breathing habits. Think of your breath as your centre, and breathing as a way to quiet your mind, especially in times of stress. Take a moment and try this quick version of mindful breathing. Afterwards, notice how relaxed yet alert you feel!

Next time you take a walk, focus on your breath. Then add your posture or stride to your focus. Notice the difference awareness makes in your experience.'

and

'5 self-care essentials -

- Mindful breathing
- Rejuvenating rest
- Cleansing water
- Conscious eating
- Invigorating movement'

Jenny is years ahead of me - this book was published in 1998 and she is talking about minimising possessions, decluttering, simplifying and paring down the wardrobe to stress-free neutrals.

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If you feel like you want to make September a chic month for you as well, please join me. You are welcome to share your mini-chic accomplishments for the day (or the previous day if you read in the morning) in the comments section. It would be lovely to have you along for the ride!

18th Day in a Chic September

For the month of September I plan to document daily steps I have taken towards a chic, elegant and healthy life. My goal is to keep uppermost in my mind the kind of life I want to live. I will be focusing on all the small things I do each day that lead me towards my goal, rather than away from it.

Here are today’s mini-chic accomplishments:

Upon waking to a wildly stormy morning complete with torrential rain and hail, it seemed the perfect day to hunker down. Even though it wasn't that chilly (apparently hail means it's cold up high, not near ground) it was a nice time to snuggle inside.

I put the slowcooker on and made a beef casserole and apart from having a shower and putting a load of washing out, that's pretty much all the work I did. Sunday is a day of rest after all, and I have had a blissfully relaxing day.

I am enjoying browsing through Romantic Prairie Style which I'm so glad our library had. I've read Parisienne Farmgirl's blog for quite a while and her home is featured. I feel like I know her gorgeous family through her blog so it was exciting to see more of her incredible style.

I think Romantic Prairie Style is a serious contender for my home library. But not until we've moved. I am banning myself from adding anything to our home inventory for now.

I can enjoy my libary copy for a month though, and be inspired to make a bit more of an effort in my decorating. Also not be afraid to change up or paint a cheap and chic piece of second-hand furniture. Watch out new house, I'll be raring to go!

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If you feel like you want to make September a chic month for you as well, please join me. You are welcome to share your mini-chic accomplishments for the day (or the previous day if you read in the morning) in the comments section. It would be lovely to have you along for the ride!

Image from superstock.co.uk

What Makes a Chapter? What Makes a Scene?

A common question in my book-writing classes is the difference between chapters and scenes.  Both are pathways, bridges between one moment and the next.  But what makes a chapter work?  What makes a collection of scenes warrant it
s own chapter?

In my teaching, I've learned these are essential signposts for each, which help the writer know how to section her manuscript--and if more or less is needed.

What's a Scene?

One great definition of a scene is a moment when an emotion is articulated in some way, usually via action.  In fiction and memoir this might be a run-in between two characters, a memory of a past event that still brings a surge of shame or delight, a conversation where someone doesn't get their hopes realized--or does.  Scenes are small time capsules, potent because they contain more than is openly revealed.  In nonfiction, a scene might be considered an anecdote that demonstrates the book's theory or a step of that theory.  For instance, a weight loss book might contain a scene where a man stands in front of a pastry counter at the local grocery store, calculating his chances of getting a doughnut and getting outside before his wife, shopping in another aisle, notices.  A nonfiction book on how to play the piano might contain "scenes" (or "islands," as I like to call them) that explain the keyboard.

Scenes are not necessarily complete with beginning, middle, and end.  They might leave us hanging, which tells us there will be another scene later to finish the story.  We'll read on to find out where the thread continues. 

What's a Chapter?
A chapter is often a sequence of scenes, or "islands," that carry the reader through to some new level of understanding about the story or the book's topic.  This week I read a great quote from William Goldman and David Morrell about chapters:  "Jump in late, leave early."  That really describes the page-turner in the fiction and memoir worlds.

In nonfiction, a chapter concludes more overtly.  There's a hook to future material, certainly; otherwise, why would we read on?  But nonfiction chapters deliver information and there's a sense at chapter's end that we've received enough to ponder and absorb.  Nonfiction chapters often end with completion of thought, while fiction and memoir leave something deliberately unfinished. 

Creating Transitions between Scenes and Chapters
If you write in "islands," or non-sequenced moments, as I do, you'll need to look carefully at the transitions between your scenes within a chapter and your chapters within the book.  This is where the arc" comes in. 
What's an arc?  Well, books have them and chapters have them too.  The arc is like a bridge that connects the beginning to the end.  The reader, ideally, travels smoothly across this bridge from moment to moment.

Transitions are sentences, phrases, images, and other elements in your writing that allow the reader to move smoothly between the emotions/meaning of one scene or chapter into the next one.  Transitions, hopefully, allow the reader to get excited about what's to come, as well as let her absorb the importance of what's just happened.

I admire good transitions.  One of my favorite transition tools are images.  Sometimes a writer will plant a repeating image as a way to link different parts of a book.

Example:  Oranges are peeled at the end of chapter 12 and an orange glow is in the sky at sunrise in the beginning of chapter 13.  These chapters might be in different points of view, or take place in different eras, but the reader will be able to transition because of the repeating image.

Images can be smells, sounds, heat or cold, light or dark, a piece of furniture or a room or an object--whatever has meaning and can be repeated without too much fanfare.

The idea is to plant the image then return to it, creating a good transition as you do.

What About First Chapters?
My writing classes spend a lot of time on their first chapters. First chapters are hard!  I often write them last, after the rest of the book is in good shape.

First chapters are often all that an agent or publisher reads, and they must be intensely engaging.

Here's a quick checklist for first chapters, my "must have" list:

1. Introduce the main players (narrator, main character, or someone the reader can relate to) via anecdote or action scene
2. Introduce the main dilemma or conflict (fiction and memoir) or main questions or need (nonfiction) that the book will answer
3. Place us in an engaging and relevant physical, emotional, and cultural setting that will echo throughout the book

Lots to live up to, eh?  That's why first chapters are the make or break chapter of most books.  If they don't engage, the book gets set aside.

The goal of the first chapter is just to create a tension cord, tight enough to pull the reader into the second, third, fourth chapters, and so on to the end. You don't give everything away yet. But you create a triggering event that triggers the reason for the rest of the book. You create an engaging place and time for the story you're going to tell--even nonfiction books must do this via their opening anecdotes.

What about the Last Chapter?
Ending chapters are not where everything gets wrapped up neatly. In fact, you must leave the reader with some hunger, some unresolved emotion, some longing to go back and read your book again. That way they will think about the story for days, talk about it with their friends. Lining up all the ducks is satisfying for you, boring for the reader.

This isn't to say that you can leave large sections or questions unanswered. If you're writing a mystery, you need to solve it. But perhaps your memoir isn't going to reveal a happily-ever-after. That's just fine. Leave with a call to action or a relevance to the reader's life. Make them think and feel a lot, and you have a good last chapter.

What else makes a good last chapter? Not introducing new dilemmas, or main conflicts. It's too late. The reader will go, "Where'd that come from?" You can hint at one, if you're writing a sequel. But main dilemma is rarely wrapped in the ending chapter. More often you need to finish tying dilemma threads in the next-to-last (penultimate) chapter.

What really needs attention in the last chapter are the main relationships. How did the narrator change? How did the method you're teaching shift your way of approaching life? How did the character realize something? Show us how the primary players changed, how something new was realized or achieved or lost. Demonstrate a new state of being and you'll have the reader hooked, hungry, and happy.

This Week's ExerciseFind a scene or chapter that doesn't quite work for you.  Spend time with it--brainstorm possible beginnings, possible endings. Use the first-last chapter notes above as a checklist, and analyze your drafts for what's missing and what's too much.

17th Day in a Chic September

For the month of September I plan to document daily steps I have taken towards a chic, elegant and healthy life. My goal is to keep uppermost in my mind the kind of life I want to live. I will be focusing on all the small things I do each day that lead me towards my goal, rather than away from it.

Here are today’s mini-chic accomplishments:

Had fresh fruit for breakfast. So refreshing.

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Listened to relaxing spa music while I got ready for the day. It really lowers the blood pressure.

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Got up at the same time as during the week (6am) even though we leave for work later. I had plenty of time to do all my morning preparations as well as read at breakfast and take time doing my hair.

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Ironed a shirt to wear to work. That's twice in one week!

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Thought how incredibly lucky I am to have the life I do. Yes, I’m very happy to be moving into our own place and that's part of why I'm excited at the moment, but driving through some pretty hard-case areas on Thursday doing my charity drop-offs really affected me.

From the dog I saw lying patiently in a front yard with a two metre long chain hanging from its collar to the very humble homes in the street where I visited the cat shelter. Well, I felt out of sorts all day and the next too (even now).

The area where we live isn’t flash by any means but it was a million miles away from the suburbs I had driven through. The woman who runs the cat shelter works unpaid looking after 80-100 homeless cats all week and works nights as a caregiver to pay her mortgage. She’s a true angel.

I keep thinking to myself how can I do more with the time and resources I have available.

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If you feel like you want to make September a chic month for you as well, please join me. You are welcome to share your mini-chic accomplishments for the day (or the previous day if you read in the morning) in the comments section. It would be lovely to have you along for the ride!

16th Day in a Chic September

For the month of September I plan to document daily steps I have taken towards a chic, elegant and healthy life. My goal is to keep uppermost in my mind the kind of life I want to live. I will be focusing on all the small things I do each day that lead me towards my goal, rather than away from it.

Here are today’s mini-chic accomplishments:

Went for an errand walk combined with an exercise walk. I wore my normal outfit and put on a pair of comfortable walking shoes. I was gone for at least three hours, and while maybe 20 minutes was spent sitting down having lunch, the rest of the time I was on my feet. It was a very pleasant and relaxing way to burn calories.

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Managed to steer myself away from the unchic sweet snacks I had been planning on buying. After lunch I look for something sweet to finish my meal off. This was making me think of bars of chocolate and bags of lollies. Sometimes no matter how much you don’t want to eat these things, you find yourself buying and eating them anyway (or at least I do).

If I knew the answer to killing cravings I would be a rich woman. But before I got around to buying unchic sweet snacks I passed McDonalds and bought a soft-serve cone with a small Flake chocolate bar in it. They are $1 and kid-sized. It was delicious and et voila, I no longer wanted to go shopping for junque.

There are not many times I advocate visiting McDonalds in search of chicness, but it worked a treat for me today.

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Back at work I washed and sliced an apple and a nectarine. They were both delicious (the nectarine was from the USA! Talk about food miles) and of course I felt a million times better after eating them than I would have from eating sugar, sugar, sugar.

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Have been more affected lately when people swear, and when I swear. It’s horrible! I am going to try and quit altogether. It’s just not becoming for a lady, or even a gentleman for that matter.

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Have been in a good mood today (and I really think the walk helped, exercise makes your body happy) so I have been nice to everyone. Gosh it makes a difference. Nice really does make the world go around.

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If you feel like you want to make September a chic month for you as well, please join me. You are welcome to share your mini-chic accomplishments for the day (or the previous day if you read in the morning) in the comments section. It would be lovely to have you along for the ride!

15th Day in a Chic September

For the month of September I plan to document daily steps I have taken towards a chic, elegant and healthy life. My goal is to keep uppermost in my mind the kind of life I want to live. I will be focusing on all the small things I do each day that lead me towards my goal, rather than away from it.

Here are today’s mini-chic accomplishments:

Had a thought that one doesn’t need to be moving house to try and streamline their possessions, in this case I was thinking specifically of the kitchen. Already I have started looking through the pantry thinking of meals that can use up the ingredients we have, supplementing with fresh food.

We don’t have a huge stockpile because our kitchen and indeed current home isn’t large at all, so it won’t be a difficult task. But I thought it might be a good thing to do on a regular basis to avoid waste of both food and money. And to keep the kitchen cupboards from becoming too cluttery. It will be nice to have a fresh start at our new place.

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Dressed up extra nice with a new top, skinny jeans and high-heeled boots. I straightened my hair and looped it up, and wore a silver and pearl necklace my Aunty gave me for my fortieth (it’s Italian!). Lip gloss and perfume were a given of course.

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Dropped off bags of knitting yarn to the SPCA and made myself sad by walking around the dog and cat adoption areas. The women at reception (and others who came out of their offices) were very excited to see all the full bags of wool (five bags full, not three). Many of them were knitters and they make small square blankets so each cat adoption cage has one for the cat to snuggle into.

I then delivered a few more bags of knitting yarn to the Cats in Need Trust and ended up adopting a two-and-a-half year old cat Jessica who needs a quiet home with no other cats. I won’t be picking her up until we move into our new place so I have sponsored her for a couple of months.

The woman who runs the rescue cattery (it’s behind her home, such dedication) knew every cat individually and all their names. She showed me how cats that had been wild now came to her and hopped up into her arms, purring loudly and sometimes bunting. And it’s all thanks to the time she spends with them, loving them and gaining their trust.

Each had their own charm. I fell in love with a one-eyed cat Holly who had a best friend Cruskit - they slept in the same basket each night. I have barely gotten my husband to agree to one cat let alone two but I thought I could swing it with the one-eye sympathy vote.

I asked the lady which cat out of the ones she had introduced me to needed a home the most and she told me Jessica. Because Jessica likes her own space and doesn’t really enjoy having other cats around her she was easily stressed in her high-cat environment (sounds like me, I love being at home by myself and can’t stand crowds. Jessica and I, we were separated at birth).

So I took home a receipt for sponsorship of Jessica. She is getting her vaccinations and micro-chipping in readiness for her new life. Didn’t I adopt a pet in the last 30 chic days? I hope Jessica lasts longer than wee Atlas. He didn’t have much time left though bless his wee woolly soul.

I forgot to take a photo but in due course you will be introduced to our new girl Jessica.

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If you feel like you want to make September a chic month for you as well, please join me. You are welcome to share your mini-chic accomplishments for the day (or the previous day if you read in the morning) in the comments section. It would be lovely to have you along for the ride!

Image is NOT the wool I donated, but delicious Rowan Big Wool Fusion Yarn. Yum.

14th Day in a Chic September

For the month of September I plan to document daily steps I have taken towards a chic, elegant and healthy life. My goal is to keep uppermost in my mind the kind of life I want to live. I will be focusing on all the small things I do each day that lead me towards my goal, rather than away from it.

Here are today’s mini-chic accomplishments:

Played opera on the iPod whilst tidying up the house. It made me feel so Italian and cultured!

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Had a booking with my French facial lady today. Oh the bliss. My skin feels like velvet now.

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Started reading new library book Shoe String Chic by Kerrie Hess on the recommendation of Vicki at French Essence. Also swooned at the latest French Essence 'de-cluttering the wardrobe' post. So inspiring.

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Took advantage of the blustery wind and hung washing out to dry as well as opening windows and airing the house.

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Curing myself of ‘it might be useful some day’ by getting creative with my declutter donating. I rung around a few places today and will be doing drop-offs soon.

A large amount of acrylic yarn, all brand new (from my grandmother-in-law when she moved into a home), to the SPCA for their crew of knitters who make dog jackets for chilly homeless canines, and a cat charity which is definitely not as big as the SPCA but the woman whose number is on the website knits cat coats for needy cats and also makes beanies, catnip mice, booties etc which she sells to raise money for their cat shelter. There are such lovely people around it makes my eyes prick!

Next I rung the Womans Refuge to see if they would like my overflowing collection of (new) hotel mini-items and assorted toiletries that I have gathered. It will be nice to think of them being used.

I’m not saying all this to toot my own horn, but that I care about where stuff goes. I am a bit of a hoarder in that way I suppose. I could never throw anything useful out. I would feel disrespectful. So I find out the places where it can be used by the people that need it. Moving is a good incentive to do it now.

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Dropped off today a single-size wardrobe worth of my husband’s clothing. It was all quite expensive stuff, mostly from the 90s. He’d kept hold of it even though he knew he wouldn’t wear any of it again simply because it cost him so much and he still loved the styles (in a sentimental way). There were also some items from the 2000s which he just doesn’t wear anymore having lost a bit of weight (at least 10kg, over 20 pounds). I guess he’s been inspired by my streamlining, because last week he flicked through the hangers, and took out everything apart from two items. He asked if I would drop them off at the op shop.

I’d told him about a man our age in the Red Cross shop when I was there last week. He had a baby in a small buggy and was trying on a suit. When he came out of the dressing room he was asking the woman at the counter if she thought the pants could be let down successfully. My husband said not to tell him anymore because it made him too sad. Maybe that man made him ok about clearing out clothing he will no longer wear.

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If you feel like you want to make September a chic month for you as well, please join me. You are welcome to share your mini-chic accomplishments for the day (or the previous day if you read in the morning) in the comments section. It would be lovely to have you along for the ride!