Blogfest/Bloghops – Page 6 – Sydney Aaliyah Michelle

Insecure Writer Support Group

Published on September 4, 2013 by Sydney Aaliyah Michelle21 Comments

Or, 7 days away from finishing my fourth round of edits. More on that in a minute.

InsecureWritersSupportGroup

Big thank you and congrats go out to Mr. Alex J. Cavanuagh and his team for taking IWSG to the next level. If you haven’t read about the big announcement, click here.

Thanks to this month’s co-host Chemist Ken, SL Hennessy, Michelle Wallace, and Joylene Nowell Butler.

Ok, back to the topic at hand.

Write the first draft – check

Let it sit for three weeks – check

Read through and find the big mistakes (edit #1) – check

Read through and find the big mistakes you missed on the first read through (edit #2) – check

Read through and find the small mistakes (edit #3) – check

Read out loud and find the not so obvious mistakes (edit #4) – Finish in 7 days.

But, then what?

I love this story. It has consumed all of my free time over the last four months. I’ve put in the work to turn it into a story that even after reading through it 10,000 times, the parts that are supposed to make me laugh, still make me laugh and the parts that are supposed to make me cry, still make me cry and I can’t wait to see what happens even though I know the ending.

But, is that enough to put it out there for the world to see?

I know about beta readers and critique partners and editors, I’ll do all that, too. What I really want to know is even after all that, will there be a clear sign that let’s me know, ok, publish it?

How do you know when your story is good enough for public consumption?

Indie Block Party – Post 8 – Social Media & Networking Tips

Published on August 29, 2013August 28, 2013 by Sydney Aaliyah Michelle15 Comments

Writing doesn’t have to be a lonely endeavor. Join us for the Indie Block Party to meet your writing “neighbors.”

Participants will have the opportunity to share a little about themselves and their writing, while getting to know the other like-minded crazies that make up the Indie Writing World. Week 1
Day 1: Introduce Yourself
Day 2: Introduce your WIP
Day 3: Interview one of your Characters
Day 4: Interview one of your Neighbors (not your real neighbor…the one who signed up on the linkey after you 😉 )

Week 2
Day 5: What are you reading?
Day 6: Top 5 books
Day 7: Share your most helpful writing tips
Day 8: Share your most helpful social media & networking tips

Full instructions are available at The Peasants Revolt or Dawna Raver’s blog.

I wanted to start by thanking Fel and Dawna for hosting a great Indie Block Party. I had fun sharing a little about myself and my work and meeting other indie writers.

The best social media tip I can offer anyone who wants to create an online platform is be consistent and watch how the greats do it.

By greats, I mean:

Alex J. Cavanaugh – Blogfest Master, he makes networking seem effortless.

Marcy Kennedy – Writing instructor and Twitter expert

Kristen Lamb – Social media guru and creator of Wana International

Felicia Wetzig – website therapist

The bloggers of NA Alley

The bloggers of Wise, Ink

These people are super supportive and are doing it right.

Share with me your favorite social media and networking tips.

Indie Block Party – Post 7 – Writing Tips

Published on August 28, 2013August 28, 2013 by Sydney Aaliyah Michelle10 Comments

Writing doesn’t have to be a lonely endeavor. Join us for the Indie Block Party to meet your writing “neighbors.”

Participants will have the opportunity to share a little about themselves and their writing, while getting to know the other like-minded crazies that make up the Indie Writing World.

Week 1
Day 1: Introduce Yourself
Day 2: Introduce your WIP
Day 3: Interview one of your Characters
Day 4: Interview one of your Neighbors (not your real neighbor…the one who signed up on the linkey after you 😉 )

Week 2
Day 5: What are you reading?
Day 6: Top 5 books
Day 7: Share your most helpful writing tips
Day 8: Share your most helpful social media & networking tips

Full instructions are available at The Peasants Revolt or Dawna Raver’s blog.

Three must read books for writers and the best advice from each:

1. Save the Cat by Blake Snyder

“You must give it a twist.” – other wise why should the reader keep reading.

“The whiff of death.” – At some point near the last 1/4 of your novel you have to have a death scene. Something, anything has to die. It spurs the MC towards the climax.

2. Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Way to Success by K.M. Weiland

Create a scene list. – I’m a list person.

Interview you characters and know them inside and out. – It all starts with well rounded character and it’s the author’s job to create that character.

3. On Writing by Stephen King

“The real importance of reading is that it creates an ease and intimacy with the process of writing.” – When I write, I read stuff in my genre. It helps me get in the right mind set to write.

“If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write.” – I make time every day to read, now if I can make time every day to write, I’ll be good.

Share your most helpful writing tips.

Indie Block Party – Post 6 – Top 5 Books

Published on August 27, 2013August 27, 2013 by Sydney Aaliyah Michelle10 Comments

Writing doesn’t have to be a lonely endeavor. Join us for the Indie Block Party to meet your writing “neighbors.”

Participants will have the opportunity to share a little about themselves and their writing, while getting to know the other like-minded crazies that make up the Indie Writing World.

Week 2
Day 5: What are you reading?
Day 6: Top 5 books
Day 7: Share your most helpful writing tips
Day 8: Share your most helpful social media & networking tips

Full instructions are available at The Peasants Revolt or Dawna Raver’s blog.

Here are my top 5 favorite books:

5. Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella – Chick lit at its best. Becky Bloomwood is so annoying, you have to love her.

4. Deception Point by Dan Brown – Highly underrated book. Yes, Dan Brown did write books before The DaVinci Codes.

3. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald – It was the most amazingly descriptive book. I am sorry it took me so long to read it.

2. The Regulators and Desperation by Stephen King (tied) – If you’ve read these two books and loved them, you are a true Stephen King fan. The Regulators realism is disturbing even for King and Desperation’s religious undertones made me uncomfortable. I loved them both equally.

1. The Marriage of the Sun and the Moon by Andrew Weil – I read this book in college for my Drug, Alcohol and Crime class. It’s all about what people do in order to heighten their consciousness. Thank about how you feel, mentally, physically, and spiritual, after a good writing session. Hell, sometimes even a bad session gives me a high. Plus, this book inspired my first tattoo.

What’s in your top five book list?

Indie Block Party – Post 5 – What I’m Currently Reading

Published on August 26, 2013August 25, 2013 by Sydney Aaliyah Michelle10 Comments

Writing doesn’t have to be a lonely endeavor. Join us for the Indie Block Party to meet your writing “neighbors.”

Participants will have the opportunity to share a little about themselves and their writing, while getting to know the other like-minded crazies that make up the Indie Writing World.

Week 2
Day 5: What are you reading?
Day 6: Top 5 books
Day 7: Share your most helpful writing tips
Day 8: Share your most helpful social media & networking tips

Full instructions are available at The Peasants Revolt or Dawna Raver’s blog.

Kayla Marlowe is slowly vanishing…

Last year, Kayla’s world imploded. Her beloved father died, leaving her alone with a narcissistic mother who is quick to criticize her daughter’s appearance. During her winter break from college, Kayla’s dangerous obsession with losing weight begins.

Kayla feels like her world changes for the better overnight. Being skinny seems to be the key to the happiness she has desperately been seeking. Her mother and friends shower her with compliments, telling her how fantastic she looks. Kayla is starving, but no one knows it.

Cameron Bennett explodes into Kayla’s life. He’s sexy and kind—he has every quality she has been looking for in a guy. As Cameron grows closer to Kayla and learns of how far she’s willing to go to stay thin, he becomes desperate to save her.

Kayla’s struggles with anorexia and bulimia reach a breaking point and she is forced to confront her body image issues in order to survive. She wonders if Cameron could be the one to help heal her from the pain of her past.

I applaud Heather for writing about such a difficult topic. Some of it was hard to read and it’s a testament to her talent as a writer. I loved the book.

I’ve been reading a lot of NA romance novels lately. This is a perfect example of why I love the genre so much. The challenges of the individual are just as important as the challenges of the romance.

From this book, I learned a little more about how to write about difficult topics and not loose site of the story.

Do you have difficulties writing about sensitive topics in your work?