blogging – 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.

My Weekly Update – Happy Memorial Day

Published on May 26, 2013 by Sydney Aaliyah Michelle6 Comments

I saw this on Google’s banner and loved it. I have seen this scene played out at airports a few times and I cry like a baby every time. My prayers go out to those families who didn’t get to experience this happy ending.

3Ups Blog Hop

Created by Randi Lee, this is a pay it forward blog hop. I had the pleasure of sharing three items about Michelle from Writer-In-Transit.co.za. We appear to have a lot in common. I did my research and seems like we have attended several of the same virtual parties, but haven’t officially meet.

She loves the Bloghop/Blogfest – In the last three months she has participated in Overcome Adversity Blogfest, Insecure Writer’s Support Group, Celebrate the Small Things, Top Ten Movie Blogfest, The Big Reveal and A to Z Blog Challenge.
She loves Flash Fiction – A true creative can compose a story out of five sentences and she hits on several different genres, which is cool.
She loves the blog community – She is a blogger, a writer, a contributor, a cheerleader to other bloggers and that makes her super cool in my book.

Thanks so much to Tyrean for the kinds words she said about me in the 3Up! Blog Hop

Post to Ponder

How to Write a Great Twitter Pitch by Ava at Writability – There is a Twitter Pitch party coming up on May 28th. Details available here.

Happy Memorial Day! My Depressing Yet Hysterical Military Career by Kristian Lamb – This story is hilarious and so unbelievable it has to be true.

What to do When You’ve Written the Worst Book Every by Amanda Fanger – It happens to all of us. So, read on for tips to handle it.

Stress and the Creative Process by Ali Cross – How do your emotions effect your writing?

There is Nothing Wrong with You by Randi Lee – I am tired of explaining myself to those who just don’t understand or don’t get it.

Coolest Things

Saw The Great Gatsby and it was a beautifully shot movie. Baz did a great job. I enjoyed the movie immensely, but there was much more tension created in the book then in the movie. Amazing thing to be able to create tension in the written word.

Saw Star Trek Into Darkness and I absolutely loved it. Spock was so perfectly frustratingly Spockish and I love him. I hate to admit it but James T. Kirk is growing on me. Khan is so gorgeous and not just in the bad boy kind of way.

New Followers

Jordan Latour

Next Weeks Schedule

Wednesday – Get Healthy Bloghop

Friday – The WHIP IT Good Blogfest

Saturday – Prince’s and Hero’s Bloghop

For someone who did not have the opportunities to enjoy three day weekends for the last 6 years, I am appreciating the pleasure of free time.

My Weekly Update – It’s a New Day

Published on May 13, 2013May 12, 2013 by Sydney Aaliyah Michelle3 Comments

I’ve been playing with my weekly line up and trying to create at schedule to include at least three weekly post consistently. May still need a few more weeks to get organized, but I have some fun stuff planned for the future.

Flash 500

Nicole Pyles and Carrie K. Sorensen created this anthology based on their Wednesday Writer’s Blog Hop. I took part in a few weeks and am happy to have four of my flash fiction pieces chosen for the anthology. The blog hop happens every Wednesday and is a great way to get in some creative writing practice. It also gave me a chance to try my hand at a few different genres. Click on the cover to download the book for free and you can find my stories in the following weeks:

Week of 5/9/2012
Week of 5/16/2012
Week of 5/23/2012
Week of 6/6/2012

Post to Ponder

How to Use Your Logline, Tagline and Pitch to Create a Stronger Story by Marcy Kennedy a guest post on Jenny Hansen’s blog – I meet Jenny at #DFWcon and she was awesome.

How Does the Editing Process Work? by Tristi Pinkston, Editor – Interesting to hear how its done by a professional.

Jennifer Represents – cool agent blog (cool blog written by an agent) with great information.

Query Tip: Do Your Research by Ava Jae –

How to Write a Killer Pitch by Marcy Kennedy – Can you guess where I am at in this writing process?

Coolest Things – My chance to share with you some things I thought are pretty cool this week.

Iron Man 3 is finally available for our viewing and quoting pleasure. I loved it. I mentioned before Tony Stark is my favorite movie character of all times and he doesn’t disappoint. More on Tuesday when Sydney Quotes the Movies – Iron Man 3

Tiger Woods won The Player’s Championship yesterday. His forth win this season. He’s back.

Next Week’s Schedule

Tuesday – Sydney Quotes the Movies – Iron Man 3 – see the many sides of Tony Stark

Wednesday – Progressive Book Club – How to Write Good

Friday – Best & Worst Remake Blogfest

Z – Zzzz or the End

Published on April 29, 2013 by Sydney Aaliyah Michelle12 Comments

Why does Z stand for sleep. I am getting quite sleepy right now just think about it. While I would love to take a break and get some sleep, but I can’t. I have way to much to do. To many things are coming up. Z also stands for the end, the final, the last. For my last post of the A to Z challenge, I thought I would share with you some of my favorite post from A to Z:

A – Avengers, Captain America and As I Am by Alex Cavanaugh – Come on, it’s a post about the Avengers. Nothing more needs to be said.

B – Best Crying Scenes in a Movie at World of My Imagination – The Steel Magnolia and Pursuit of Happiness scenes get me every time.

C – Getting too Comfortable by BDevereaux – Don’t get to comfortable

D – Disaster Movies at Tossing it Out – Some of my favorites are on this list, Titanic, 2012, Poseidon Adventure

E – Energize Yourself to Write at World of My Imagination – How do you do it?

F – F is for Fear at Scribbling in the Storage Room – “The enemy of creativity.”

G – A Grown-up Kind of Pretty by Tasha Seegmiller – on my to read list

H – How to Be a Good House Guest at Laugh-Quotes.com – read before you visit someones house

I – I is for Imagination at Tasha’s Thinkings – Synonymous with being a writer

J – Joy at Spunk on a Stick – You can’t steal mine.

K – K is for King at The View Outside – my favorite author

L – L is for The Lincoln Memorial by Lara Lacombe- my favorite monument in DC

M – Memento by Alex Cavanaugh – Also includes the sign up for Alex’s Best and Worst Movies Remakes Blogfest, which is coming up on May 17th.

N – Never-ending at Wrote by Rote – Is your love never ending?

O – Oxford Comma by Margo Kelly – All you need to know about the dreaded comma.

P – A-Z Geek (P): The Favorites by Lynda R. Young – Prince Bride, enough said.

Q – Querying at My First Book – You can’t read enough about how to query.

R – What Makes Us Right? at The Madlab Post – Fair Game illustrates the point well.

S – Sigma at Tara Tyler Talk – Great tips on show.

T – The Time Traveler’s Wife by Tasha Seegmiller – On my to read list

U – Unified Theory of Writing at Moody Writing – Do you agree?

V – V is for Villain (Best Movie Villains of All Time) by Reese Ryan – Who are your favorite villains?

W – W is for The White House, the Washington Monument and the World War Memorials by Lara Lacombe – Have you been to DC?

X – X is for Project X at Blogging from A to Z – I have a project X, do you?

Y – Y is for Young Ladies of Substance at Pensuasion – Love Jo March from Little Women the best.

Z – Z is for Zola at The View Outside – Have you read Emile Francois Zola?

Thank goodness, I finished the A to Z Challenge. How did you do? What were some of your favorite post?