Krista Chesal, Content Solutions Specialist

Something about fall always makes me want to learn new things. This week I started a course on JavaScript from Udemy. I’ve taken courses from them in the past to update my technical skills and have always been satisfied with the results. So far, this course is simple to follow and well-organized. The instructor is clear and makes me feel like I’ve got this, no problem. Which I appreciate, because sometimes brushing up on a skill set I haven’t used in a while is daunting!

Now that the Covid-19 related school closings are well behind us (knock wood and crossed fingers) and I’m no longer home-schooling my children and we’ve settled in (more or less) to our new home in a new state on a new coast, I’m starting to ramp up my writing career work – both technical and creative. It’s a relief to get back to normal, and to know just how well we can handle tough times. I’m proud of my kids especially – they have a maturity that I didn’t at their ages!

This week I re-read The Body in the Library, by Agatha Christie, and was reminded of Christie’s masterful storytelling. Inspired by her tight plotting, I did a search for any tips about how she managed her plots, and came across the fascinating paper written by Martha Durrett, where she graphs out the main plot points of many of Christie’s books and discusses the resulting “Christie formula.” It’s a great read, and has inspired me to put a bit more detail into my plot outlines going forward!