Whether you are a full-time author or dabble in your spare time in fan fiction, a netbook or tablet can do wonders for your productivity when you are on the go. If you have been trying to decide which would be best for you, then consider yourself lucky! That is exactly what I plan to type about today. Having used both, I do know some of the pros and cons to each. Not all of them, of course, but I believe I can assist you in making the decision that best suits you.

A netbook is a mini-computer. They generally do not have CD drives, but most have multiple USB ports. Any programs that you could put on a regular PC, you can put on these – Microsoft office, iTunes, etc. When opened, there is a full qwerty keyboard with responsive keys that make that standard clicking sound we have all grown to know and love. When you need a break, you can click into Facebook and play mind-numbing games. These tend to be cheaper than tablets, starting at around $200. However, the programs you add cost more. Microsoft office is about $120 to download. Some of them come with Windows starter rather than the full program, so if you want all the bells and whistles of windows 7, it’ll cost ya!

In my experience, when on the go, a netbook becomes a little hard to maneuver. While sitting in the bleachers at a LONG swim meet, I wanted to get the next chapter done on a story I had been working on. I could not keep the thing on my lap; it kept sliding off. Holding onto it with one hand made typing awkward. Enter…the tablet!

Shortly after my one handed typing, bleachers scene, I switched to an iPad. Portability is definitely at the top of the pro’s list for this device. It won’t stay on my lap either, but holding onto it is a lot easier. There are various cases available that will hold your tablet in a variety of different positions. Or, for example, you can sit it on your purse, like mine is right now, in the bleachers, at – you guessed it- another swim meet. The onscreen keyboard is not bad to use one handed if balancing it becomes impossible. I was worried about using that keyboard on a regular basis, after all, I’m not always on the go! I find it’s not bad at all. I have never been a lightening fast typist, but I can hold my own. I can honestly say, that I never once craved my regular keyboard after I switched. However, there were other things I discovered that I couldn’t do without a true computer.

When I need break, I can’t play Bejeweled Blitz directly through the browser on Facebook! Don’t panic! I soon found an app that remedied that situation, but I did have to pay a few bucks for it.

It took me a little while to find a decent word processing app. I started with Evernote, which I absolutely love. It is a free app that, once you download it on a single device, it sends you links to assist you with downloading it onto your other devices. I was able to put it on my Apple iPad, my Android smartphone, and my desktop PC where it gets backed up to a portable hard drive. I found that when my documents got long, over 6,000 words, the formatting would cease to exist. The good news is that there are numerous decently priced apps, around $10-$15, available on both the Android and the Apple app stores. (I’ll discuss word processing apps in more depth in my next post, I promise!)

The next problem I discovered was that I could not upload my stories directly from my tablet. As I previously stated, I have an iPad, so I am not sure if Android tablets have the same issues. I have never had the privilege of using one of those on more than a trial basis. (Long mournful sigh!) Also, a tablet is not a full computer replacement. At least for the iPad, you still have to have a computer to do some things on the device – not many, but some. From what I have read and heard from others, Android tablets are closer to being a full replacement.

In general battery life tends to be better on tablets, but the extended batteries available for some of the netbooks are boasting up to eight hours, so they are very close.

Tablets are lighter, so carrying it around in your arms or thrown into a purse is a little easier. The lightest tablets are the smaller ones, by default. If there is less of it, it should weigh less. The exception to this is the 7″ Samsung Galaxy tab; it’s thick and pretty hefty. The on-screen keyboards on the devices in the 7-8.2″ range are very small. I feel it’s only a step up from my cell phone. I wouldn’t want to type on one of those for any length of time.

If you still can’t decide which would be better for you, check out the Asus Transformer Prime, and set for release later this year, the Asus Transformer Infinity. The mere mention of such a contraption makes gadget geeks like me salivate. It’s a 10.1″ tablet that boasts a 12-hour battery life. That in and of itself isn’t spectacular. Most tablets can do that. What is unique about the Transformer series is that you can purchase a separate plug-in keyboard that has it’s own battery that will power the tablet for an additional six hours. Excuse me, I have to get a tissue!

Now that I have wiped my tears from not having such a fine piece of machinery (and my aforementioned saliva), let’s continue this discussion, shall we?

The Asus Transformer Prime is an Android powered device, which Android versus Apple is a whole topic in and of itself that I will address in another post.

I encourage you a research all of your options. Go to a store that has devices on display to play with. If a friend has a tablet, ask if you can play with it for a bit. I have never been refused when I have asked that very question nor have I refused when others have asked it of me.

Having used both types of devices, I can say that I prefer the tablet. The netbooks have their advantages, but I have found, for me, that the convenience of the tablet is more useful. I simply make a reminder for myself to do those few things on my desktop at home that I was not able to accomplish on the go.

Netbook versus Tablet is a post from: The Blue Rose Bouquet

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Bears in the Hibiscus is a a book about Mary, a divorced woman in her late thirties who is resisting the dating scene. When her ex-brother-in-law Mark, a Montana Park Ranger, lets her know he’s interested, Mary’s life becomes complicated because getting involved with him would also mean becoming a part of her ex-husband’s family again. When fate puts Mary and Mark in Hawaii at the same time, romance begins to bloom. However, Mary still struggles with her initial feelings about her ex-in-laws. Will she be able to overcome her fear of pressure from Mark’s family and make a new life with Mark?

You can read Chapter 1 of this novel on this Janelle Meraz Hooper’s Web page.

What follows here on The Blue Rose Bouquet is:

Chapter 3: The Montana Kahuna

Mary was so busy getting her ducks in order so she could get out of town, she didn’t have time, at first, to think much about Mark spending the night at her house. When she did, she wondered why had he picked her house, when he had a brother nearby? Actually, he had his own place a few miles away, on his parents’ compound. Why was he spending the night on her floor?

Before she went to bed the night before his visit, she made sure he could find the floor. All of the old newspapers, newsletters and mail-ads were either banished to recycling or put into a box in her car trunk so she could take them to Ray, who ran the layout department. Other peoples’ magazines were a gold mine for layout and design ideas, not to mention leads for new clients for the advertising department. Mary would almost sooner throw away money than old magazines.

A rental car was in the driveway when she got home the next night, and Mary had a rush of guilt for not offering to pick Mark up at the airport. What was I thinking?

She forgot her guilt when she got a whiff of something wonderful. Something only vaguely familiar. Something—trout! She raced upstairs, not sure which sight was more welcome, Mark or the trout he and Kate were cooking in the skillet.

“Mark! You brought the fish, I could have at least cooked them!”

“That’s okay, sis,” Mark grinned. “Kate wanted to learn how to cook fish that aren’t named Charlie.”

“It smells wonderful! I love the way you cook fish with just salt, pepper, and flour. I hate all those Frenchy sauces.”

“When there’s sauce on the trout, lookout!” Mark cautioned, “It’s probably covering up a fish that’s older than you are.”

“I guess being frozen kept them fresh on the trip.”

“Actually, I got up early and caught these before I left the park. You’d been without so long I figured you were due. Kept them cool in an old Styrofoam ice chest.”

“Did you get any strange looks at the airport when you checked your Styrofoam luggage?”

“No, the floor was covered with ice chests bigger than mine that belonged to people who had been fishing for Kings in Alaska. My little chest looked kind of pitiful next to theirs.”

“The best things come in small packages, they say.”

Mary left the cheerful cooks to change into a boxy pair of khaki walking shorts and a forest green tank top. She had a closet full of similar clothes. Her outfit was fine for the Northwest, especially since she was having dinner with a Montana Ranger, but she had trouble picturing it on a Hawaiian beach. She’d have to dig a little deeper into her closet and see if she could find something a little brighter.

Before she returned to the kitchen, Mary gave herself a quick look in the mirror. What looked back at her was a woman with long brunette hair and a medium frame. She was a few pounds lighter than the last time Mark had seen her, and she’d lost her tan. Both changes could be attributed to an increased workload. She hadn’t stopped any cars lately, but she thought she looked as well as she could without the benefit of one of those instant facelifts she kept reading about in the women’s magazines.

How she hated being the ex-wife. What would this ex-brother-in-law say to Brian the next time they spoke? Maybe, “I saw your ex, she looks pretty good for her age, but your new love is a real knockout.” It distressed her to imagine other people commenting, “I saw your ex, she had wrinkles all over her face! No wonder you’re shopping around for a trophy wife.” Well, she doubted that people would actually make those comments out loud, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t think them. Mary hated most to hear, “When I look at Kate, I can see just how pretty Mary must’ve looked years ago.” Mary loved her daughter, and they did look a lot alike, but who could compete with someone half her age?

Well, she was hungry, and she doubted that her two cooks would deliver fresh, pan-fried trout to her bedroom door. “There she is!” greeted Mark when Mary entered the kitchen, “How about some wine?”

“Oh, you must have found my cardboard box in the fridge,” Mary said as she held out her glass.

“Yep. Park rangers know how to find their quarry. It was marked Wednesday, so I thought it must be fresh.”

“Very funny. Actually, I’ve got a box dated Thursday; I’m giving you the old stuff.”

“It tastes good to me.”

Dinner was delicious. Mary looked down at a plate of fresh trout, green salad with raspberry dressing, and lightly buttered and toasted Como bread, and thought she was in heaven.

After Kate downed her trout like it was a burger at Dollar’s and left with a carload of friends, Mary and Mark settled down with fresh glasses of wine on the sundeck. Mary cringed as a whole flock of fruit bats flew into her big cherry tree. The crows stripped her fruit trees in the daytime and this was the night shift. Not surprisingly, she preferred the crows.

“So, how’s it going, sis?” Mark asked as he eased into a deck chair that had seen better days.

“Not bad. How about you?”

“Good. I’m really looking forward to getting away for a few days. I didn’t get much rest this year after the forest fires started.”

“Kate and I watched the news every night. It was the worst we’d ever seen.”

“That’s for sure. We were lucky we didn’t lose any of the firefighters.”

The niceties were over, and Mary asked what she really wanted to know, “Mark, you know you’re welcome here, but why did you come here instead of the compound or your brother’s?”

“Mom is letting company from Minnesota use my house at the compound while they’re here on vacation. And I didn’t feel up to spending the night staring at the bare chest of Brian’s latest Seahawk cheerleader. I think he should start carding those girls. Besides,” he said with a twinkle in his eye, “I thought it would be tacky to sleep on my brother’s floor when I was thinking about dating his ex.”

Mary choked on her wine, and reached for a tissue from her pocket before wine came out of her nose. “Mark! Don’t go there!” Mary said with surprise.

“Too late! I’ve already bought a ticket! What’s wrong? Have someone else?”

“No…”

“I have cooties?”

“No…Mark, I like you, but I’m just not sure if it’s smart for me to get involved with a Bergstrom again. You’re a great guy, but I don’t think I fit in with the rest of your family.”

“Mary, you fit in just fine. Don’t be intimidated by the Bergstrom money. It has nothing to do with me or us.”

Mary was still wiping wine from her nose when she said, “I can’t help the way I feel.”

“Well, I always like to leave a woman in a state of shock, so I’ll go to bed now,” he said with a grin. “Thanks for the hospitality, sis. I’ll be gone when you wake up, so I’ll call you in Hawaii to see if you’ve managed to get your mouth closed yet.” Mary felt him hesitate as he walked behind her, but he kept walking. Is he going to touch me? Pat me on the head? What?

Whatever he almost did, Mary was glad he hadn’t. Her brain was occupied trying to list all of the reasons why their dating wouldn’t be a good idea. Mark had already left the sundeck, so whatever thoughts she had remained unspoken. She was left with an empty deck chair, half a glass of wine, and a big full moon that she was sure was laughing at her. Or was the laughter she heard coming from the bathroom where Mark was? She vaguely felt a mosquito chewing on her bare arm and swatted it with one hand while she finished her wine with the other. She groaned when she heard him turn on the shower. There was no question that Mark was a hunk. Knowing he was less than ten feet from her made her knees tremble. What would Roxanne do? The answer to that was easy. What was Mary going to do? “Nothing!” her friend’s voice ridiculed from the darkness.

The next sound Mary heard was Mark shaking out his sleeping bag. And fluffing his pillow. He made a big deal out of fluffing his pillow. There was something else. She was sure she heard another laugh when she scooted to the bathroom to get ready for bed. He was laughing at her. She was sure of it. And why shouldn’t he?

Kate was due in at any time, so any thought of giving in and crawling into Mark’s sleeping bag with him was pointless, even if she could find the nerve which, of course, she couldn’t. By the time Kate’s friends dropped her off in her driveway, Mark was already fast asleep. How could he do that? How could he make a pass at me and then just go to sleep? Mary was in her bedroom, wide awake, curled up into a tight, fetal position, with her pillow over her head so she couldn’t hear the soft gentle breathing of a man who was totally at ease on her living room floor. For now.

The next morning, Mary heated up the coffee that Mark had left in the pot and swore that it, too, was laughing at her. The living room was neat as a pin, and only a slightly wrinkled pillow rested in the easy chair. She resisted the urge to stop and fluff it.

The Montana Kahuna is a post from: The Blue Rose Bouquet

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If not, here it is:

The blue rose was on Jerry Lawson’s lapel.
Jerry Lawson and Talk of the Town on The Sing-Off #3.

There was a Blue Rose on The Sing-Off #3! is a post from: The Blue Rose Bouquet

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Phases of the Moon fans now also have a FaceBook Fan Page.

Phases of the Moon fans also now have their own t-shirt and gift idea design! (Notice how the wolf has imprinted on that special someone’s heart.) Please take the time to visit the Phases of the Moon T-Shirt and Gift Ideas Shop.

Phases of the Moon Update is a post from: The Blue Rose Bouquet

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Phases of the Moon

by Larisa Dawn

When asked if she was Team Edward or Team Jacob, Stephanie Meyer responded, “I am Team ‘You Don’t Have to Choose When it’s Fiction.’ “ –Stephenie Meyer questions and answers post Nov. 16, 2009

When I first read the Twilight Series, I couldn’t wait for Edward to return in New Moon. Because I did not read the books until all four books had been published, I already knew there were two more books to follow about Bella and Edward. However, the more I thought about the story later, the more I really started to believe that Jacob would have been better for Bella. I began writing this story as a result of those thoughts.

You see, I don’t consider myself Team Jacob or Team Edward either. I consider myself a fan of a good story. And a truly good story can have more than one excellent ending.

This story begins during the chapter Pressure in New Moon. Bella is lonely, and thinks of going cliff diving without Jacob. We all know what happened in Stephenie Meyer’s version of the story. This is my version….

Proceed to Chapter 1: Pressure-Released

Phases of the Moon Table of Contents

Announcing New Moon Fanfiction is a post from: The Blue Rose Bouquet

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Short-sighted sites like m-w.com and Wikipedia limit their definition of a muse as any of the nine sister goddesses in Greek mythology who presided over song, poetry, and the arts and sciences. Things have evolved since the day of the Zeus excuse. (Evidence)

Each of the writing designs below is available in an assortment of shirt styles, greeting cards, coffee mugs, and other items. This means you can create a writing gift set with a t-shirt and a matching coffee mug, for example. — Click on the images in the middle or right columns to navigate to complete index for that design. (Each T-Shirt design image link will open a new window to the index for that design.)
Has your muse gone incognito disguised as a man to fool you? Or is he the child of a muse? Or maybe he evolved to that state. Regardless of how he got that way, if you’re abused by a muse who amuses himself by avoiding you, then you’ll love these blue muse abuse designs!	Shop for this Design	Shop for this Design
If you’re abused by a muse who amuses herself by avoiding you, then you’ll love these blue muse abuse designs! (Check out the muse’s designer dress!)	Shop for this Design	Shop for this Design
Does your muse abuse you — like make you think of things like the color mauve and then skip out on you? If you’re abused by a muse who amuses herself by avoiding you when you need her, then you’ll love these mauve muse abuse designs!	Shop for this Design	Shop for this Design
Does your muse like to make you come up with an idea, promptly make you forget it, and then leave? If you’re abused by a muse who amuses herself by avoiding you when you need her, you’ll love this these pink muse abuse designs!	Shop for this Design	Shop for this Design
Does it drive you crazy that because of today’s emphasis on non-sexist language your muse keeps posing as a non-gender-specific, gender-neutral influence? Then you’ll love these brown muse abuse designs!	Shop for this Design	Shop for this Design

You can find other Blue Rose Bouquet writing gift ideas designs on the Writing Woes Gift Gear page.

You can see other designs by Pamela Rice Hahn at TShirtCollections.com and Chronic-Illness.org.

Muse Abuse Designs is a post from: The Blue Rose Bouquet

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A writing career as a professional writer requires more than just the ability and desire to string words together in an interesting and compelling way.

Even if you’ve had publishing success already, there are still questions that you must (or should) answer before you can realistically make the decision as to whether or not you have what it takes to be a professional writer.

1. Do you possess enough time management discipline to meet your goals and obligations?

In this case, goals do not refer to that wish list of resolutions you set for yourself on New Year’s Day. (Most people have trouble sticking to a diet and not every successful dieter can carry that discipline over to other areas of his or her life.)

When it comes to a writing career, your goals will need to include aspects of your work that you may find tedious or boring. Pick your least favorite part of writing – such as editing, proofreading, or promotion – and then truthfully determine whether or not you can picture being able to force yourself to perform that chore or those chores on a regular basis.

Your primary writing obligation will involve meeting or exceeding deadlines. In addition to the deadlines for which you are obligated by contract to meet, you’ll also need to allow time to do the work that it’ll take to get the work you’ll need once you meet your current work project deadline. Unless you start off with a million dollar book deal right out of the gate, the reality of a writing career is that it can often require more work (in the form of query letters and book proposals, self-promotion online and in person, and so forth) to get the work than it takes to do the work.

2. Do you have a reasonable expectation of what it will take to meet your financial obligations?

Allow me to get personal for a moment:
Prior to my diagnosis with a disabling physical condition that has now exacerbated to the point to where I can no longer work outside my home, I maintained a full-time job along with a full-time writing career. The job paid the bills; the writing paid for the extras and fun stuff. I now often joke that after spending several years getting disability [lack of] income I was able to write my way into [the lousy cash flow of] a full-time freelance writing career.

Regardless of what type of freelance writing career you pursue, you’ll face the same realities that I do, which require that you possess:

• The trust that editors who receive their paychecks according to a predetermined schedule will remember that they have to put in the formal request that you receive your check
• The patience to wait the time that it takes for your check request to work its way through the often weeks-long maze it takes to arrive at the desk of the person who will actually issue the check
• More patience while you wait for your check to arrive in the mail or get deposited into your account
• A reasonable expectation about the amount of time that will lapse once you have this fat check in your hand before the next one arrives

(In an ideal world, you’ll have enough money on hand to act as a cushion you can use to fund your writing career. This cushion will allow you to draw regular paychecks from the amount on hand so that you’re depositing new checks into that fund rather than spending the money as it arrives. This allows you to have a margin of error that allows for late checks, nonpaying clients, or canceled contracts and still maintain your financial stability. Unfortunately, I wasn’t blessed with an ideal world. I work without that margin, yet I still make or am the victim of errors.)

A professional writing career is stressful enough. Having that cushion of the amount of money it will take you to maintain your lifestyle for a minimum of six months can help you avoid adding financial stress to your life.

As you budget for that needed six months-worth of money in reserve, keep in mind that once you become your own boss, your financial obligations will include additional things like purchasing and maintaining your own office equipment. It’s true that you may receive checks larger than any that you ever received at your previous full-time job, but chances are there will be longer periods of time between when you receive one check and then the next. Feast or famine.

Once you get a large advance check or one arrives for a completed writing project, you’ll naturally want to reward yourself. Even if you have the luxury of a working spouse or partner, you’ll need to possess the financial discipline necessary to recognize what you can budget for a reward and what monetary amount constitutes an unnecessary indulgence.

3. Is everything all about you?

You need to make a realistic assessment about whether or not you need direct supervision to be productive.

If you were a guest on a talk show, are you the type who could maintain your composure once you’ve moved down the sofa?

Or are you more like the guest who, once he or she’s moved off of the seat for the featured guest, feels compelled to continue to crack jokes and interrupt the host or the new guest in order to focus attention back to him- or herself?

Some people simply need immediate and somewhat constant supervision or feedback. There’s nothing wrong with admitting that about yourself if you fall into that category. There are plenty of careers available that allow you to work full time, write [whatever] according to assignment, and then hand your work over to a supervisor whose feedback will help make you feel like you’re always in the spotlight as the featured guest.

Granted, there are ways that a freelance writer can introduce immediate feedback into his or her writing life. Bloggers who’ve managed to reach the point where they receive numerous comments on each of their posts are somewhat in this position, although the comments they receive aren’t always as indulgent as those that can come from a boss who’s working toward the same goals you are. A more productive alternative to having the immediate feedback from a boss is to develop a reciprocal online or writer’s group relationship with another trusted writer.

The immediate support and feedback from a boss can also help you if you’re the type who is prone to procrastinate or digress. Although those gifted at avoiding work can always find ways to do it, it’s more difficult to spend time playing computer games or any of those other things you’d rather be doing if there’s the risk of a boss catching you in the act.

4. Do you know the difference between reasons and excuses?

Few things in life ever go exactly according to schedule. Accept that and plan accordingly.

Of course you can’t plan for every contingency. An extended electrical outage due to a storm is a reason. A death in the family is a reason. But, multiple reasons strung together can (and do) constitute moving beyond having reasons for not getting the work done and making excuses to try to justify your lack of discipline.

Recognize the difference and work accordingly.

5. Do you have more reasons why you can and should be a professional writer than you have excuses for why it’d never work?

If you do, then do it!

5 Ways to Tell if You Have What It Takes to be a Professional Writer is a post from: The Blue Rose Bouquet

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Therefore, to view this page design correctly, you’ll need to use Firefox (Firefox features) or Google Chrome (Google Chrome features).

(I am demanding that Billy G personally apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.)

BILL GATES HATES THIS SITE is a post from: The Blue Rose Bouquet

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The online magazine The Blue Rose Bouquet published its first issue in 1998, which was back in the day when it was known as a ‘zine. The Internet has evolved tremendously since that time. In an effort to bring the magazine up to date and create more user-friendly navigation, over the next few months The Blue Rose Bouquet will move to its new home at this location.

In the meantime, you can continue to view the original content at www.blueroses.com. Just keep in mind as you view those pages that any that have been updated and migrated to this new home will automatically update to that story or article’s location. During this transition period, you’ll have to rely on the back button to take you back to your starting point if that starting point was on BlueRoses.com. Apologies for any inconvenience this may cause.

If all goes as planned, all content will be migrated to this site by the end of 2008 and there will be an announcement about the exciting new and improved mission for The Blue Rose Bouquet for 2009 and beyond.

Thank you for your patience during this transition.

[Submission date edited to keep this post at the top during magazine transition.]

Welcome to the New Home for The Blue Rose Bouquet is a post from: The Blue Rose Bouquet

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The design on Pammy’s shirt:

T-Shirts and Gift Ideas Index
for this “wOOhOO Happy to be an American!!!” design

Pondering | Writing Woes comic strip is a post from: The Blue Rose Bouquet

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