"15 minute parking at the grocery store. Is it really that serious? And what if I do use 20 or 30 minutes?"

I can't believe that the Packers lost!

They had more than a few chances to win that game on Sunday, January 29th 2007!

I mean I went through a lot to prepare.

First, I called friends and family the previous week to invite them to my Packer Party. Then I cleaned my house really good to make it comfortable for guests, so that they would never know that I have a three year old and a one year old.

Then I prepared to shop for items on day of said game.

I went to the grocery store EARLLLLY in the morning.

I parked in the 15 minute stall because I only had a few things to get.
I grabbed my cream cheese, taco powder, lettuce, black olives, tomatoes and Mexican cheese. I went to the snack isle and grabbed chips. I even bought blue corn chips and regular for variety. I went to the lliquor store and bought Miller High Life. I bought a Party Size bag of wings to fry. I bought celery, carrot and broccoli for dipping with ranch dressing.

Well needless to say, it ended up taking me more like 20 or 30 minutes to shop. When I got back to my car, I had the store security calling for a plate number check.

A plate number check?

This is when security has the manager to make an in-store speaker announcement for the owner of said car to please move it.

Luckily, I was already outside. I loaded my car with my groceries, rolled my eyes real hard and left. I knew it was my fault, but I never feared the 15 minute park at the foodstore before. I thought that everyone abused those parking spots every now and again.

My joy was still with me.

I made it home to prepare a fine spread.

But somehow, no one showed up.

The weather was 13 below zero.
It ended up being a party for my kids and my husband. The game was close. Packers lost. We still had fun.

The point to this segment is this:

Live everyday to its fullest. Chew every bit of food well. Take the hard stuff as soft as you can. Enjoy the moment and observe it like never before. Because if you are a writer, then it is these little moments that make for great scenes. You can do this by observing the world around you at anytime.

Join me next time as I will talk about trying to get a book deal.

Do you need one?


Teresa Rae Butler, Contributing Columnist
Urban Literary Review
Milwaukee's Urban Author, Teresa Rae Butler of, "Don't Even Trip," the sequel, "God, I Respect Ya Gangsta," and the 2008 release, "Entreprenubian Royalty."
www.myspace.com/teresaraebutler
www.text4mpublishing.com

Ten things to do when you are trying to write a book in a house full of noise!

This week as foretold, I am coming from a new angle.

How many of you are trying to write a book right now?

Ok.

How many of you face challenges that go beyond writer's block?

I am not talking about carpal tunneled wrists either. You have the computer, you have the software, you have the story, you have the drive. But what you do not have is a lousy, bit of quiet. The are fire trucks, ambulances, yelling neighbors, arguments, blowing horns, screaming children, blaring TV's, loud music, and smoke alarms going off because somebody forgot to watch the damn bacon.

What can you do?

At # 10. Put on head phones. Bose makes a great pair that is said to cover up your entire ear. The mere steadiness of a particular sound that you would like to hear can resolve the outside static down to a minimal.

# 9. Go talk to people. Let's say you live in a large family house like mine, or a family apartment, and everyone seems to disrespect the fact that you have to concentrate. It is probably that they do not realize your dedication, and simply need to recognize. Try asking family, friends and neighbors to keep it down. Yeah right? Hey. It won't hurt to ask.

# 8. Make notes. You can just makes notes to yourself on a sidebar, or separate document about the really meaty things that you would like to write about at a later time, because at the moment it is impossible to concentrate.

# 7. Ask the people around you for input. Sometimes, when you include the clan in on it their interest will allow them to see the importance of thought creation.

# 6. Light an incense or candle. Just a fraction of your favorite meditative scent can create a subconscious streamer to thought connection, just like sound can.

# 5. Have your favorite drink nearby. Sounds weird right? But yes. A drink can renew the senses by allowing the lungs to want to breath in while the esophagus pulls the liquid down. All of this in a simple motion is a stress reducer, and a mind renewer.

# 4. Eat something. Making sure that you are not hungry can defeat the distraction of stomach pangs. Working while hungry creates an intense sense of aggravation towards the other things that may already be bothering you.

# 3. Build a room. Some people have the luxury to create a room separate from the in crowd where they can shut that door and focus!

# 2. Use the bathroom. No. I don't mean literally. I'm talking about taking that laptop into that CLEAN bathroom AFTER everyone is done in there, and turning on that water, and creating a soundscape. This is for the people who can't build a room for any reason.

# 1. LEAVE! I know you all probably hate the obvious, but sometimes, you just gotta pack up and go. My favorite place to escape to is the library. In fact, I wrote, "God, I Respect Ya Gangsta," there, because I had a newborn baby who KNEW when I was in the house. Homegirl was trippin' and running me a little too fresh!

Well. There you have it.

They are simple, honest and creative ways that have worked for me in the past. Use special care when using incense and candles for aroma therapy. The fire hazzard factor is that it could be dangerous when not used properly. Watch where you are with your laptop in the bathroom when using a soundscape technique. Water and electricity don't mix, so safety first! Try sitting on the floor if you can stand it. The strategies may be desperate, but the pool of creativity in you must be heard.

Join me next time as I will talk about the world around us.

Things like 15 minute parking at the grocery store.

Is it really that serious? And what if I do use 20 or 30? Ever wonder?

Happy writing, and do what you gotta do to Get Ya Shine ON!


Teresa Rae Butler, Contributing Columnist
Urban Literary Review
www.myspace.com/teresaraebutler

www.text4mpublishing.com

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Making Friends In The Industry!

Making friends in this business is essential for success. The very art of, "Who's Who? And What's What?" can sometimes be the maker or breaker door that you may or may not get to walk through. Names roll off of the tongue and are dropped or associated like a campaign for politicians. But what happens when the circles of people close? Nothing! Could the symbol for the National Olympics be as perfect as it is if the Olympics had only been local? NO!

Then why is it that people who learn something in this industry refuse to share and support? Who cares! I myself am no longer interested in clique'-ish folk anyway. I like networking. I like name dropping and so on to enlighten a knowledge seeking soul. One person whose name I'd like to drop understands my motto: There's Enough Room For Everybody to Shine!" And her name is...Tiah, Tiah, Tiah! Well...what else can I say? Her last name may be, "Short," but she is definitely doing big things for urban books. Yes, yes y'all. Tiah's circle widens every several seconds, bringing and spreading great change. I had come to meet Tiah Short through a close friend, Essence Best Seller and former Pr Agent of mine, Mr. Torrian Ferguson of, "The Ferguson Literary Hour," in North Carolina. I had a chance to exchange a few wonderful conversations and leads to book sales with her just this past summer, starting with info about BEA in NY.

I was astounded by the laid back, easy and savvy sistah's ability to help bring authors to the limelight. One of the main ingredients to her recipe of what I will call, "The Genuine Circle," is this: 'Welcome to the book industry, and this is Urban Literary Review.' And that is exactly what she has done for so many of us. In fact, it was only a matter of a few days ago when I had completed my own interview with 'Urban Literary Review.' She allowed me all of the time I needed to ramble, rejuvenate, and reiterate Black Milwaukeean capabilities. So grateful. Tiah is a person who has not only brought a fresh baked pie to my doorstep to, "Yay! You've made it!" and congratulate me into the neighborhood; she is also a person who believes in sharing knowledge. It is beyond her and myself as well, why on Earth people get a little bit of success and refuse to either help or share with a person who asks.

For a long time, people have been too scary to pass on what they know, so that WE can grow. Did they not get the memo that the Universe is unlimited and abundant, and that by giving and sharing only brings you more self-validation? I got it and try to keep that, 'post it,' on my forehead. So of course when she offered me an opportunity to sprinkle my starlight dust in her universe, I was more than honored to be apart of the DC BOOKMAN LEGEND. And whalla! Poof! Shimmie-shimmie...Here I am people! So here is the bottom line; an example: No matter how much people were perhaps uninterested in what an African American, half White, and a teaspoon Cherokee Indian girl from the hood had to say, Tiah opened this door for me. And for me, this is just like I told her in my interview, "It's enough room for everybody," and baby that means even people from Milwaukee, WI.

Now that I am here, I will bring this portion of Urban Literary Reviews just the right amount of salt and pepper to compliment the flava of its various guests and audiences. My gift to you all is this: This is where you come to get ya shine on. Please check back to this segment, as I will bring to you new topics, advice about publishing, being an author, and comical perspectives about writing. Come and see me next time right here in, "Get Ya Shine ON!" I plan on talking about peace and quiet: "Ten Things to do when you are trying to write a book in a house full of noise!" You will even have the opportunity to give feed-back. - Milwaukee's Urban Author, Teresa Rae Butler of, "Don't Even Trip," the sequel, "God, I Respect Ya Gangsta," and the 2008 release, "Entreprenubian Royalty."

"Get Ya Shine On!"
Teresa Rae Butler, Contributing Columnist
Urban Literary Review
www.myspace.com/teresaraebutler
www.text4mpublishing.com

Most Literate U.S. Cities: Minneapolis and Seattle

Jeanna Bryner
LiveScience Staff Writer
LiveScience.com Thu Dec 27, 12:40 PM ET
Residents of Minneapolis and Seattle are the most bookish and well-read, according to results from a new survey released today of the most literate American cities.


The survey focused on 69 U.S. cities with populations of 250,000 or above. Jack Miller of Central Connecticut State University chose six key indicators to rank literacy. These included newspaper circulation, number of bookstores, library resources, periodical publishing resources, educational attainment and Internet resources.
Overall, the top 10 most literate (and wired) cities included:
1—Minneapolis, Minn.
2—Seattle, Wash.
3—St. Paul, Minn.
4—Denver, Colo.
5—Washington, D.C.
6—St. Louis, Mo.
7—San Francisco, Calif.
8—Atlanta, Ga.
9—Pittsburgh, Pa.
10—Boston, Mass.
Minneapolis, Seattle, Pittsburgh, Denver and Washington, D.C., have made the top 10 every year since 2003, when the survey first launched.
Some cities that didn't make it to the overall top 10, however, did strut their stuff in one of the six key literacy indicators. For instance, while Newark, N.J., was the 49th most literate city overall, it shared the top spot for newspaper circulation with Washington, D.C.
Plano, Texas, ranking 51st on the overall most-literate-city list, came in second for educational attainment. The education ranking included two factors: the percentage of the city's adult population with a high school diploma or higher and those with a bachelor's degree or higher.
Cleveland, Ohio, scored the highest for library resources, with St. Louis coming in second. The library category was a measure of five variables, such as the number of library professional staff and total branch libraries relative to library patrons.
Atlanta and Boston took the lead spots in the Internet resources category.
The District of Columbia and St. Louis reported the most large magazine publishers and large journals. New York City, which ranked 28th on the overall list, came in third in the periodical publishing category.

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