How to Hang in for the Long Haul

How to Hang in for the Long Haul Why do I love C. Hope Clark’s protagonist Carolina Slade? She’s relentless in the pursuit of truth. She steps around those who say â€Å"no.† She’s a maverick tuned straight into reality - a heroine with her feet in clay, not ether. Writers need this persistence. We shrug off rejection, doubt, and the unknown. This gig ain’t for flakes. Most days, nobody cares what you do. But anything worth doing plays Think about the Nobel Prize recipients in Physics. Englebert and Higgs discovered the Higgs-Boson, aka the God particle, in 1954. Fifty-nine years passed with no one knowing their names. What’d they do in the meantime? Kept working. Followed their passion. Writers in it for the long haul know work never stops; the mountaintop is never â€Å"achieved.† No matter who notices, we must love the invisible toil. In a culture where fans scream for blood after a few losses and ba When I began reading FundsforWriters, I had a pile of unknown stories and a novel languishing after 15 years. Hope’s words comforted me, as did leads from Poets Writers. I began submitting to contests and magazines. Every time I got a submission confirmation, I got a ping of validation. Since childhood I’ve read voraciously, so I made time for this love. I embarked on my personal MFA to study great writers, annotating religiously. Then I returned to my rough stuff, inspired. I found supportive writers’ groups. People said nice, tough things, motivating me to revise. In 2008 a small-circulation magazine accepted a story. Then in 2009, I won a contest. I spent the money on a laptop. This inspired me to start a novel about a teen girl obsessed with Michael Jackson. I got up mornings before work and in six months wrote a draft. I had no idea there would be 25 more. I continued to follow Hope’s journey. Through her I found Nathan Bransford’s and Rachelle Gardner’s blogs. I joined Querytracker. I began querying agents and after 150 emails, found one in 2011. I was a finalist for the James Jones Fellowship and denied a grant. I parted ways with my agent in 2012. I re-applied for the grant in 2012 and got it. (FundsforWriters lead!) Now I’ve published two books: a YA novel and a short-story collection. I have a beautiful website (thank you, Shaila Abdullah!). Check out my trailer, signings, and other news at lynhawks.com. I’ve learned to love The Slog this way: Subscribe to newsletters like FFW. Submit to publications, contests, and grants. Make deadlines and new drafts. Have a goal each day and week. Check off lists. See progress. Make sacred writing time. Defend it like your firstborn. Go for The Personal MFA. Revel in words. Talk to artists who celebrate ups and suffer downs. (I married a musician.) Keep your beloved pet near Find beta readers to keep your story alive. Celebrate what goes well, like the encouraging rejection. Give yourself a daily reward, like a lattà ©. (Caffeine Rewards Program) Find every way to fan the flames of writing love. Be a true fan of you. That’s how this writer does the long haul.

How to Test for Protein in Food

How to Test for Protein in Food Protein is an essential nutrient that builds muscle in the body. Its also easy to test for. Heres how: Protein Test Materials Calcium oxide (sold as quicklime in building supply stores)Red litmus paper (or another method to test pH)Â  WaterCandle, burner, or another heat sourceEye-dropperTest tubeMilk or other foods to test Procedure Because milk contains casein and other proteins, its a good food to start your testing with. Once you understand what to expect from testing milk, you can examine other foods. Add a small amount of calcium oxide and five drops of milk to a test tube.Add three drops of water.Dampen the litmus paper with water. Water has a neutral pH, so it should not change the color of the paper. If the paper does change color, start again using distilled water rather than tap water.Carefully heat the test tube over a flame. Hold the damp litmus paper over the mouth of the test tube and observe any color change.If protein is present in a food, the litmus paper will change color from red to blue. Also, smell the test tube: If protein is present, you should be able to detect the odor of ammonia. Both of these indicate a positive test for protein. If protein is not present in the test sample (or is in insufficient concentration to produce adequate ammonia during testing), the litmus paper will not turn blue, resulting in a negative test for protein. Notes About the Protein Test Calcium oxide reacts with protein to break it down into ammonia. The ammonia changes the acidity of the sample, causing a pH change. If your food is already very alkaline, you wont be able to use this test to detect protein. Test the pH of food to see if it changes the litmus paper prior to performing the protein test.Milk is an easy food to test because its a liquid. To test solids, such as meat, cheese, or vegetables, you must first grind the food by hand or by using a blender. You may need to mix the food with some water to make a sample you can test.The test registers a change in pH, which is the concentration of hydrogen ions in an aqueous or water-based solution. Most foods contain water, so they work fine for the test. However, oily foods may not work as well. You cant test pure vegetable oil, for example, because it doesnt contain any water. If you test greasy foods, such as french fries or potato chips, youll need to mash them up and mix them with a bit of water first.