live fabulous Archives - Page 2 of 12 - Rhymes with Fabulous

June 23, 2019

The Common Ground of Validation

Writers are constantly scrambling towards the common ground of validation. For example, this weekend I’m attending a writing conference where we are getting feedback on the pitches for our novels. (obsessed with writing conferences lately, see related post here) You can picture it like a workshop for door-to-door sales, but the speech ends with a thoughtfully crafted Central Dramatic Question instead of an offer for a magazine subscription. Pitches are a finicky and endlessly important part of novel writing. (In fact, one of the great ironies of writing is that you spend half of your time locked in a room alone, scribbling in notebooks and mumbling to imaginary people. Then,…

written by carolineschley@gmail.com - Posted in live fabulous

May 31, 2019

Book Expo America (and other mysteries of life)

It took me four weeks to gather up the courage to apply for the Book Expo America badge. In my understanding, Book Expo America (BEA) is one of the most significant events in the publishing world. Also, it happens to take place a 23-minute subway ride from where I am currently living in Manhattan (God bless the Second Avenue subway). It sounds like a win-win-win. First, Great networking, interesting panels, some free books (27 and counting, and I’m only taking the ones I really like). Second, I get to see the weird Hudson Yards womb-statue from relatively close up. But I was still nervous to apply. Here were some of…

written by carolineschley@gmail.com - Posted in live fabulous

May 1, 2019

What Next?

Happy May! Spring is in the air and it’s a great time to ask the all-important questions: What next? The question provokes a change in mindset. It’s a perspective I’ve been adapting mostly due to my fancy, new, goal-oriented planner. My planner (which I love-buy one here!) has pages for reflection scattered throughout. Two questions that inspire ‘What next?’ reflections Are you continuing to progress, redirect, or facing unexpected challenges? What were your most significant accomplishments in the last thirty days? The bulk of what I wrote about for April centered around an activity called Camp NaNoWriMo. There is lots of great information about the event available here, but for…

written by carolineschley@gmail.com - Posted in live fabulous

April 22, 2019

What Comes After Easter?

The answer to the question above may seem relatively obvious. After Easter, we have Pentecost. Or Shavuot, depending on your religious preferences. Duh. (Those interested in more information on Pentecost click here and if you want to know more about Shavuot click here). But, what in the world does that even mean? You are dying to know! (and don’t have time to read copious Wikipedia articles, it’s Monday, I get it.) In the natural world, seasons can be divided by changes in weather and amount of daylight. But since climate climate is totally screwing up global weather patterns, so let’s talk about how they define seasons in religion: by the…

written by carolineschley@gmail.com - Posted in live fabulous

April 4, 2019

What I Do During An Airport Delay

I’m flying to Madrid tonight to see my boyfriend, which would be a very happy occasion if I were currently on my airplane. However, the airplane had some sad, vague problem that prevented it from leaving (or possibly from landing? The stewardess was a little unclear.) So I am currently stuck in an airport delay, wishing for the thirty-seventh time that I hadn’t packed my book in the checked luggage. But stay positive, they say! So here is a fun little list of activities you can participate in the next time you find yourself stranded delayed at the airport for an additional five hours. Airport Delay Activities 1) Buy the latest…

written by carolineschley@gmail.com - Posted in live fabulous

March 17, 2019

Horizon Lines

A yoga instructor said something interesting about horizon lines when I was in Puerto Rico. To defend the importance of outdoor yoga (as if we needed convincing), she said the reason the beach is relaxing for people is because our brains calm down when we are able to see a horizon line. It doesn’t have to be the beach, but it has to be somewhere that we can see the land meet the sky. (see confirming post from unverified but reputable-looking source here). Now that I’m traveling in Nebraska (long story for another time) where horizon lines also abound, the sentiment has been on my mind. Fact: we are often…

written by carolineschley@gmail.com - Posted in live fabulous

February 26, 2019

More Monday Ideas

The beginning of the week always fills me with what I like to call Monday Ideas. (See evidence here and here) On this very special, post-Oscar Monday, I was inspired by Lady Gaga’s acceptance speech (there is normal-level Lady Gaga inspiration and then there is Oscars-level Lady Gaga inspiration, you know?) to come up with some fabulous, business-possible Monday-level ideas. If you have a dream, fight for it, they say. Monday Idea 1: Post-Oscar Pop Up Movie Theater. The only film I saw that was even mentioned in the Oscars this year (besides Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure) was Free Solo. It was stunning and everyone should go see it…

written by carolineschley@gmail.com - Posted in live fabulous

February 18, 2019

Three Fun Spanish Phrases

After a few days back in Madrid, I’m full of Spanish phrases. Coming back to the city where I lived the past four years (see related post here) for a weeklong visit has been a great reminder of all the things I love about the Spanish language. Below is a quick, Monday list of fun Spanish expressions to get the week off to a good start. Three Fun Spanish Phrases -1- Votar en blanco. This is not really an expression so much as an action that I find endlessly fascinating. In Spain (and some countries in South America) during an election you can ‘cast a blank vote’, which basically means…

written by carolineschley@gmail.com - Posted in live fabulous

February 9, 2019

Ice, Ice Baby: When the Mountains Are Calling

Since getting back from my recent trip to Ecuador, I’ve been thinking a lot about ice. Why?! You are dying to know. When I said here that I was eager to travel outside of Quito, that was only the half of it. The reason I was in Quito at all was because I had booked a nine-day mountaineering course with American Alpine Institute. “Mountaineering” (loosely defined as “the sport of activity of climbing mountains”) generally becomes rather intertwined with ice-carved features. On this particular trip we had: –An ice “chunk” the size of a VW Bug come pounding into our glacier training site, literally chasing one of the participants down…

written by carolineschley@gmail.com - Posted in live fabulous

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