I figured that giving the opportunity to reach an audience considerable larger then my own, I would seek some advice on writing careers. I have been researching careers in writing for some time now. And, all I need is something to tide me over until I become a famous author. The choices are a little confusing or maybe I am lazy, but I can’t seem to find a job that quite suits me. You be the judge?
Please check it out and let me know what you think.
A wise friend once told me not to make promises I can’t keep, not even to myself. I made some goals for myself at the beginning of the summer. And, I did pretty good until August hit and then my life seemed to get caught in a tail spin. Nothing tragic or anything, just out of my control. I think I need to change my tactics. So, here are my goals until my trip home on December 6th.
Write for 2 hours per day. Win Campnano.
Sweat for 1 hour per day. Exercise in any form.
Post on my blog 4 times per week. Quality post, no fluff.
Stop buying books until I read the ones I have.
Pay off my credit card (3,012.05 down from 10,000.00 at the beginning of the year). Which means stop spending money. Which means, when I am bored, see 1-4. (READ, WRITE or SWEAT).
What do you do when you feel your life is going off track?
Present
The move to Shanghai is under way and I figured if I was going to be living in a new city, I should learn a little about it. Five facts about my new home town:
There are 23 million people in Shanghai. That’s a lot of people.
20,000 jews fled to Shanghai to escape the Nazis. I didn’t not know that.
Parents still gather at the Shanghai Market with the resume of their unwed children in the hope of finding them a spouse. I need to tell my mother.
KFC showed up in Shanghai 5 years before McDonalds. I wonder if it’s real chicken.
There are 2.5 female toilets for every 1 male toilet and about 80% of public toilets are ‘squatters’. If you have never had to squat to pee, count yourself lucky.
Bonus: I think I mentioned it before, but it’s worth repeating. My new home is a high rise apartment on top of a mall with a movie theater. Sydney Quotes the Movies will get a boost in frequency.
Return to the Past – Blog Love Returns
Daddyknowsless.org – The adventures of a single father and his 8 year old son and other really funny/amusing/sad/sexy stuff.
torcivia.com – Author Phil Torcivia – “I’m one relationship disaster away from my third cat.” Another male blogger who writes about relationships and life and calls people on their stuff. Really good writing.
Sevastian Winters – “Blue Print for Building a Better me” – Great lessons in this post.
Mikereverb.wordpress.com – “F-ck It” or A Treastise on Procrastination – I can procrastinate with the best of them, so Mike told me I needed to get to that point where I say “F-ck it” and get to writing.
Michaeljholley.com – Great post on “Why a Daily Routine is so important.”
Amschultz.com – I know you are probably thinking by now “Why does AM seem to have a mention every Sunday”, but what I can say, he writes quality. I am all about quality. ‘Wired Writers: Why do Writers Drink so much Coffee?’ – No need to wonder any longer. AM breaks it down.
Four days in and I have to say that it is a lot more challenging then the last writing challenge I did. Being on goal is about the only good thing I can say about the experience so far. But . . .
It is still early and I still love the story. I was happy to get some great advice about POV last week from my blog friends. My concerns about writing from the male point of view were reduced by an admission from AM Schultz.
amschultzcom says: We have had lots of fine interactions on the Twitter and on the blogs, so I am going to share a little secret with you, but you can’t tell anybody else:“But, my biggest concern is that I have never writing a story from a man’s POV. What if my big strong, sensitive guy starts sounding like a girl?”When nobody is around, and our machismo is not on public display, ALL men sound like girls.
For the rest of you doing Camp NaNoWriMo, how was your first few days?
Compliments
I received one of the best compliments the other day and all because I RT’ed a post.
I am not brining this up to brag (although it is official, I am awesome), but to bring attention to what doing so little can mean to other writers and bloggers.
I will continue to support the blogging community to make myself worthy of writing along side great bloggers such as Paul at All Groan Up.
Candy
I was in the Green Grocery yesterday and they had restocked. Let me back up a little and explain. I live at a resort 45 minutes away from a decent grocery story. But, there is a little convenience store on the resort campus, which stocks it shelves once every 6 months.
I was pleasantly surprised that yesterday was a restock day. That means, writing snacks for the week; Sour Skittles, Soda Water & Cheese Crackers.
What is your favorite writing snack?
New Followers
Sundavanjavaclub fang
Keith Addison at Sleepless in New Castle
Jillian Heath at 72 Original in Mint ConditionWriter’s Block 55Lily EnnisNicolette ReedNext Weeks Schedule
Tuesday – Tattoo Tuesday
Wednesday – Sydney Aaliyah Quotes the Movies
Friday – The Dog Days of Summer Blogfest
Sunday – My Weekly Update
Special Shout Out to my big brother. It was his birthday yesterday. He put his life online years before I had the nerve to. Thanks so much for the inspiration.
How appropriate that the August installment of Insecure Writer’s Support Group would fall on the first day of Campnano. In my case, there are going to be a lot of insecurities that will be exposed or resolved based on this months writing activity.
I have been reading and researching a lot on POV lately. My Campnano project is about two characters and I tell the story from both of their point of views; switching back and forth between the two through out the story. I have a good outline and a good game plan, but what is missing is why these two POV’s should be in the same story. I feel they shouldknown not sure how to show that in the story just yEt. And, I am a bit concerned about how to distinguish from one point of view to the other.
But, my biggest concern is that I have never writing a story from a man’s POV. What if my big strong, sensitive guy starts sounding like a girl? That can’t happen or it will throw the whole story off.
Even though I am a planner and I have a plan, this is probably one of the few times in my life that I know I won’t stick to the plan and it is a little scary and exciting at the same time.
I guess from my fellow support group members, all I need this month is a big rousing “You can do it.”
Then I am good until next month.
Anymore POV concerns I need to be aware of before I dive into this project head first?
Last week, an interview that I conducted a couple of months ago was posted on My First Book. It was a really great interview and I am happy it is out there because the interview is so me. If that makes sense. And, it surprised me just how different things where just 2 month ago. Two months ago I had not finished my first draft of ‘I’m Coming Home’. Two months ago, I didn’t have an outline for another story and ready to tackle another challenge (Campnano starts in 3 days). And, 2 months ago, I didn’t really have a clue how writing would become so much a part of my life the way it has. I enjoy conducting interviews because I can learn so much from other, but I had no idea in doing an interview, I would learn so much about myself.
Thanks so much Misha.
Interesting
A couple of items I found interesting this week:
In the last two week, I had two days with huge numbers on my site. I like to think it was because of my brilliant content, but part of it is what I am calling the ‘Stumble Upon Effect’. I have a Stumble Upon tribe in Triberr and all we are required to do is Stumble each others post and I am happy to see that it has increased my site hits. And, the most popular page viewed on those two days – Tattoo Tuesday. If you want to gain some exposure, submit your tattoo stories. I would love to feature you on Tattoo Tuesday.
Another Triberr related item of interest, my blog friend Fel at The Peasant Revolt shared her thoughts on SEO. I admit I am clueless about why this is so important to grow your blog traffic and she clears it up a bit. She also shares a fun webinar by one of the Triberr creators Dino Dogan on the this topic. Great stuff.
Another great post I came across was over at Pensuasion called A Modern Make-Over: The Classics Retold. As someone who loves movies, old and new, I found it interesting her take on how well these modern make overs retold the classics we know and love.
I’m Going to Camp
That’s right people. I am going to camp. I have once again signed up for a 50,000 words in 31 days challenge and this time it is called CampNaNo. I am basically testing out my theory that I brought up last month about whether my first writing experience in JuNoWriMo ruined me. All things came together in June, which allowed me to write a good and complete first draft. So, the real test is, can I do it again.
I am on track with finishing my outline, character and scene sketches. The more I get into this story the excited I am to tell it. You can follow my progress with daily update under the Sydney Aaliyah Writes tab at the top. Wish me luck!
New Followers – thanks so much to my new followers, you guys and gals are awesome.
Tuesday – Tattoo Tuesday
Wednesday – Insecure Writer’s Support Group & First day of Campnano
Friday – Blog Post – I am prepared this week
Sunday – My Weekly Update
Sydney Aaliyah Michelle 