All The Right Moves

When the student is ready, the master appears. ~Buddhist Proverb

by: Suzie Carr
@girl_novelist

I’m goal-oriented. I have my goal list pinned to my corkboard, taped to my bathroom mirror, even displayed on a dry-erase board in my hallway. If it’s in my sight, I’m going to tackle it. So, naturally, it comes as no surprise that I’ve failed to put certain bucket-items on these lists, items like ‘go skydiving’ and ‘sleep under the stars without a tent’ and ‘run a marathon’. After all, out of sight, out of mind, right?! Admirable as these are, I love my feet safely on the ground, my head resting against a tempurpedic pillow, and my relaxed state of mind during a manageable three mile run. 

My goals are slightly less adventurous.

I just recently added a new practical goal to my list, and this one will most definitely come as a surprise to all. You see, I’m about to admit something no novelist should feel comfy admitting… I stink at typing. Up until now, I have never had a clue how to type like a writer should. So, new to my list is: Keyboarding 101.

A little crazy, right? I’ve written three novels and am writing my fourth now, and I am just now learning what ‘home keys’ are. I am also just learning that my left pinky depresses the ‘a’ key and that the ‘?’ key is near the ‘shift’ key and not on the top row where all the other important symbols are located.

I can get by alright with my cavewoman style typing methods, but clearly a better method exists.

So, for fifteen minutes every day, I load up my Keyboarding Pro software and challenge my fingers to move in ways they’ve never moved before.

I often wonder how much time I’ve wasted over the years hitting backspace and delete. In a day’s time, I would bet I hit them a thousand times. Well, now, three weeks into my lessons, I am happy to report that I typed the last 300 or so words of this blog hitting backspace only twice (big smile).

What about you? Is there a new skill you have always wanted to learn, but haven’t gotten around to learning it? What are you waiting for?

Enjoying Life,

Suzie Carr

****
I feel it's critical to support the community, and so I've committed to donate a portion of my book sale proceeds to Chely Wright's LikeMe foundation (http://likeme.org/) to help provide support, resources and education to LGBT individuals, and their families and friends.

Follow me on Facebook to keep up on my latest projects! www.facebook.com/suziecarr.author