The Ultimate Man Plan

Glad you found the kitty, Jayne .  Many a night I've done the same, believe me! and hey... working in the jammies one of my FAVE things about being a writer LOL.

Thanks for directing me to the room. I'm still finding my way around.  Let me haul in the cushy settees, huge silk pillows and a nice bear skin rug for our hunks to pose for us on.  The caterer is bringing in the chocolate fountain and margarita machine - feel free to share YOUR favorite treats and we'll kick off the creation of the Ultimate Man Plan!  

The funnest thing about writing Does She Dare was creating the heroine's Man Plan.  Her ultimate outline of what she wanted in a guy -- and how he'd fulfil her fantasies (she was pretty specific on the fantasy angle, too). 

 Now, Isbel's fantasies were of the sensual nature, so her Man Plan definitely reflected that... but this got me to thinking. Wouldn't it be fun to create YOUR ulitmate man plan?  A list of specifics, of what makes a guy perfect and what you definitely don't want?  The Man Plan is the perfect introduction to setting goals, btw - which we'll be talking about too.  But every plan is best started with a dream, an ultimate BIG picture wish.  So we'll start with a hunk (where better?)

 What do you think? Set aside reality for a moment (especially if you have a signifigant other) and play What If... lets start with the biiiiig dreaming... .  Isabel started her fantasy Man Plan by thinking of the one guy who she totally crushed on, her ultimate fantasy guy (one who she just happened to know).  For our game, lets go with a fantasy guy we don't know!  Which famous hottie hunk would YOU want to base your Man Plan on?

 My pick?  Johnny Depp.  YUMMMMMY!!!  He's gorgeous, multi talented (dude can actually SING), loves kids and has that gentleness under his bad boy exterior-- and best of all, he's got a great sense of humor. 

Did someone mention food and hunks?  I'm so there!  Tawny, you are the goddess of goal-setting unlike me.  I wish I was better with setting and keeping goals.  My hunk - love Gerard Butler for one.  My goal would be to have a shot at him before a couple of my other good friends who want him find out and kill me first.  :)

Lindsey

Hmmmm.  TawnyDepp, you're poking me where it hurts--in the goals.

Been trying to figure out how I can get re-excited about some goals I've let slide.  I tend to get started, then when I hit a wall, I stop or get sidetracked.  Maybe just too many irons in the fire, but I wonder if I trust myself enough to let the success happen, ya know?

Oh and Does She Dare?  Most excellent.  I'm about half way through, and I loved Double Dare, but I'm thinkin this is my favorite of yours so far.  I can REALLY relate to the heroine and her insecurities. Though I'm not quite up to her level of facing them down.

Okay, if its goal setting and snack time, I'm SO there!  Hee Hee!  I make lists constantly, set goals twice a year and review them quarterly...yep, quarterly...and look at them everyday.  I love the idea you used for the Man Plan.  I actually made a man plan (w/o the total fantasy part...should have done that....)  when I was single and let me tell ya' it worked for me too.  I got everything I wanted and then some in my DH, so hey, make a Man Plan ladies!  Grins.  Your heroine and I are proof positive that it works.  VBG. 

So, Ms. TawnyDepp, did you like seeing Sweeney?  And see him win a Golden Globe?  Grins.

BTW, I just bought Does She Dare, loved the concept.  I really enjoyed Double Dare and love your writing.  Can't wait for the weekend when I can dive into it! 

Hey, I love the idea of putting all of your story notes at the end of your manuscript, Marlene!

 You're right, its so easy to lose lits -- but a goal is something even bigger.  Your goal, lets say, is to sell a book.  Even if you don't outline the steps toward achieving that goal, you keep it front and center in your mind and every time you open that manuscript - and read your notes - you're activily working the goal. 

And that, my friend, rocks! 

I hear you on keeping track of it all, A-M!!!  It can be frustrating and make a gal crazy!  I was like that with calendars. I had one for writing, with my goals and schedules, one for work and one for the family.  I had so many overbooked, crazy days!  Believe me, I've tried quite a few of the time-management/organization things out there (day planners, notebooks, etc) and nothing clicked for me until I got this Outlook and One Note program!  OMG I love them. 

 So I think, for each of us, its just finding a system that works.  Like you, I'm in love with lists and charts, but they only work if we can find them LOL.

and thank you soooo much for saying you love my stories ;)  You're such a sweetie!

GO Duchesse!  I'm always so excited to hear stories like yours.  YOu not only work your goals, but the review process is so great! I'll be honest, I've set goals and not looked at them again for months, and hey - even without giving them any focused attention, I've still made major progress.  But never as much as when I reveiw them, focus on them and keep them in mind on a more regular basis. 

It doesn't have to be formal or stodgy either.  A picture of Johnny Depp surrounded by a few words of what I want to accomplish, stuck on my bulletin board will work just as well as a formal business plan LOL

 BTW - You are the Ultimate Man Planner!  Congrats on that, and on snagging the ultimate prize :-)

I read Does She Dare over the weekend, so I can cross that off my 2008 To Be Read Booklist Plan.

I told you I was a planner. 

(waving back)

Good plan on the drink sipping, I'll join you

OMG ROFLMAO on the planner getting laid *snort*  YOU kill me!!!  I definitely like that kind of planning!!!  And hey, what perfect proof that a Man Plan works LOLOL. 

You're totally right about timing, though.  I'm big on flexibility.  I'll be honest, I've yet to set a goal or make a plan that went exactly according to my outline.  Being able to adjust (especiallyif it means getting laid... just sayin') is vital!

I cant' wait to hear what you think of DSD

Hi, Tawny!

Sorry I'm late to the party. Hope there are margharitas left!

"Does She Dare" is a great read and I LOVE the cover!  

Every time I go to Ireland I have a Man Plan....even met the foremost matchmaker on my first trip. I left him a list LOL

I so agree that we have NO control over when our perfect someone show's up.  I do think we can --with the help of a man plan (heehee)-- get a good feeling for what we DO want when our someone shows up, but timing? Nope, out of our hands.

 Now, did I ever make a Man Plan?  Hmmm.... fessions huh?

 Okay -bribe time :-D  I'll tell you ALL about my own personal man plan experiences... On Friday.  hehehehee... you just have to hang out this week and keep me company to get the dirt. 

Christine, whatever you're doing is obviously rocking, if your books are anything to go by!   Like you, though, I'd sure love to see Madame la Duchesse' self-help book LOL.

 thanks tons for tooting the DSD horn! 

Confession: most of my life has been unplanned, including all the children! I am, deep down inside, very plan-averse. Not that I don't have goals - I certainly do! But I am allergic to index cards and color-coded anything. Not being visually-oriented, I wouldn't remember what the colors were supposed to stand for!

Tawny, I liked your comment about the ponderings in the bathtub counting as "plans". They had better count, because they are all I have! 

As to writing, I have characters that quickly develop themselves into real people and start getting into real trouble. I really have no way of knowing exactly who they are or how they will react to situations until i start writing, so outlines do me no good. My willful characters refuse to cooperate with outlines! 

I'm not sure you can make a non-planner into a planner. I have managed projects and done a good job of it. Organized trips and industry meetings and classes. I can do all of that, but as Cassondra said, I can't apply it to me. *sigh*

I suppose I'll have to leave the plans to you planner types. I must admit, I did have a bit of a man plan in college, which is how I "selected" my husband. Hey, if you're ever only going to have one real plan, it had better pan out, right?

Caren, I so know what you mean.  I begin with a general idea of who my characters are and what they will or will not do. 

 Then they go ahead and mess around with my mind.  I swear they're like recalcitrant children.  The more you try to get them to do YOUR bidding, the less compliant they are!