Dear Reader,
Vivien Chien, today's guest author, first started writing simple stories about adventures with her classmates when she was in elementary school. As she grew up, her love of books and the written word increased, leading to the attempt of her first novel at age 16. After many struggled beginnings and several different genres, she found her passion in the mystery world.
When she's not writing, she can be found frolicking in the bookstore or searching for her next bowl of noodles. She has a soft spot for doughnuts, a healthy love for coffee, and an extreme need to participate in random acts of crafting.
She currently lives in Cleveland where she is hard at work on the third book in her Noodle Shop series and writes side-by-side with her toy fox terrier.
Vivien's new release is Dim Sum of All Fears and she's giving away one copy to a lucky book club reader. Email, vivien.chien@yahoo.com She'd love to hear from you, and when you email you're automatically entered in the drawing.
My journey down the rabbit hole of decorative planning began about two years ago when I asked a friend, "What's an Erin Condren life planner?" She responded, "Another new trend with planners and journals...have you heard of bullet journaling?"
Guess what my next question was?
For some, I think planning and being organized comes as second nature, but for the rest of us...well, the struggle is real, isn't it? In the writer's world, I'm considered a "pantser", meaning that I write by the seat of my pants. But after starting the Noodle Shop mysteries and realizing that I would soon become a published author with deadlines and authorly obligations, I knew my normal "pantsing" routine wasn't going to cut it.
Enter the bullet journaling system. After my friend gave a brief description, I decided to research it further. I was fascinated and thought it could work for me. Half the reason I've never been good at keeping a planner is because I've never found one I was completely happy with. Either the boxes are too small, the planner too big, or something bothered me about the layout. I think I've managed to find something wrong with every store-bought planner I've ever laid my hands on. But now someone was telling me I could customize my own? All I needed was a blank notebook and a pen. Sign me up! This system created by Ryder Carroll gives you the template to create a planner you can adjust to fit your lifestyle. I fell in love.
Little did I know that I was only scratching the surface. Soon I found that bullet journaling, life-planners and decorative planning were bigger than I imagined. Facebook groups, Instagram pages and blogs were dedicated to sharing tips, tricks, and inspirational photos for any type of planning or journaling you wanted to do. Add in: stencils, stickers, colored pens and highlighters. That's where I really got sucked in.
Now, I'm happy to say I've been successful at keeping a planner for the first time in my life. I think the novelty of it becoming a hobby instead of a chore has kept me on the bandwagon. I still borrow from the Ryder Carroll system, but I've since moved on to the traveler's notebook world. It gives you the ability to have multiple notebooks bound together within one cover and allows for you to switch out notebooks based on your daily needs. And, of course, don't forget the stencils, stickers, colored pens and highlighters.
-- Vivien Chien
Email Vivien at vivien.chien@yahoo.com to enter a drawing for Dim Sum of All Fears.
Everyone has a story to tell. Enter the 14th Annual Write a DearReader Contest. Two new twists this year. You can collaborate with a writing partner, and if your entry is chosen as a First Place ($200), Second Place ($100), or Third Place ($50) winner, we will donate a 50% matching gift to your library in your name.
For rules, deadlines, prizes and to read last year's winning entries, click here.
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Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.
Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com
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