31 Day Challenge ~ Blog Everyday in January

I'm the type of person that usually does well when I have goals and/or due dates. When I don't have anything to strive for, I do things all willy nilly or not at all. That's why I like to take on challenges to give myself swift kicks in the pants whenever needed. Like now...

image from Babylon Search Engine

I'm going to start the new year off right by blogging everyday in January. I always have issues trying to come up with blog topics so I did a search for ideas on Pinterest and found all kinds of things to talk about.

To make things a little easier on myself, I'm going to attempt to write two to three posts a day and just schedule them. Since I already have a list of things I want to talk about, fleshing out a few ideas a day shouldn't be too hard to do.

image from ndigo.com

This blog started off as what I guess is called a lifestyle blog so I'll return to that for a while. Fear not, I'll still create writing related posts whenever I have something helpful or informative to talk about but for the most part I'll return to my roots--RANDOMNESS!

Do you like taking on challenges? What are some things you've done to make yourself more productive?

Playtime is almost over ~ Writing Plans for the New Year

photo from erincondren.com

I'm not much for resolutions but I set all kinds of goals for myself from fitness to budgeting and all other things in between.  With the end of December and my self-imposed break approaching quicker than I anticipated, I've been thinking about my upcoming writing goals.

One of the last courses I'm taking this month is called Scrivener for Beats on Udemy.com by Sean Platt, a writer whom I've mentioned in a previous post. Beats are Sean's version of outlining stories, with pictures of actors that could portray the characters in a movie. He also includes pictures of locations that the story could possibly take place.

I attempted this a few years ago when I first encountered Scrivener but I lost all of my pictures and notes when my PC started acting crazy.  I was forced to practically wipe my whole system clean, which made me cry like a new born baby for about 2 days (Don't judge me).

The notes I made were nowhere near as detailed as the ones in Sean's video. I can't wait to get started working on my failed NaNoWriMo 2014 project again. It's a good story, I guess it wasn't time for me to write it then. Once I apply Sean's tips, I'll be in a much better place than I am now.

Have you set any goals or resolutions for 2015? Tell me about them.

As always, happy writing.
I'll Holler!!!

Writer's Digest Blogging Course

The third course that I am taking this month is called Blog Your Way to Success.  I downloaded the bundle of videos and ebooks from the Writer's Digest Shop.

This blog writing course includes the following items

• 50 Ways to Increase Your Blog Traffic
• How to Blog a Book
• Build Your Author Platform Through Blogging OnDemand
• From Blog to Agent to Book Deal: Writer's Digest Conference Session
• Is Your Blog a Book:  When, How, Why (and Why Not)Your Social Media Could Become a Traditionally Published Book
• Author Blogs: How to Get Started with This Platform Essential - and Use It To Snag An Agent

I've watched a couple of the videos which are in PowerPoint presentation form.  Some of the tip are techniques that I already use in this blog but I want to improve this space so I can be on point when I start my next one.

It may seem like I have a lot going on in the midst of the holidays but hey, I still have to make a living when the festivities are over and done with.  

Is your blog the best it can be?  How do you plan to increase your views? 

As always, happy writing.

I'll holler!  

Udemy Writing Course

Another writing course that I am taking is in video form, which makes it easier to take simultaneously with the other course that I mentioned in my previous post.

The name of the class is Write. Publish. Repeat. Conversations.  The course is part 2 of a book of the same name minus the "Conversations".  Johnny B. Truant, Sean Platt and David W. Wright are the instructors of the class as well as the authors of the book.  These full-time, self-published storytellers are currently my heroes.  They are primarily fiction authors of so many books I can't keep up with the number.  They write across pretty much all of the genres at break neck speed.  I think they wrote a million words last year.

Johnny, Sean and Dave also share their writing journey in non-fiction work with readers of their books and listeners of their podcasts.  Which is what they've done in the Udemy.com class mentioned above. There are a total of 30 videos and I am half way through them.

I'm sure I'll learn a lot from these guys because they write their butts off and their fans love them (myself included). To learn more about this writing team, go to SterlingandStone.net (not .com~that's jewelry and whatnot.)

When I am done with this course, I will move on to Planning & Outlining Novels Using Scrivener. Sean Platt is the instructor of that class.

What about you? Do you or have you taken a writing course? If so, which one? Was it helpful?

This is all for today. Happy Writing.

I'll holler!

AWAI Copywriting Course

What I'm up to...

I mentioned in the last post that I was going to be taking some online writing classes.  The first of several classes that I have on my list is called The Accelerated Program for Six-Figure Copywriting.

Six Figure??? That's what caught my attention.

The program was created by a group of writers from American Writers & Artists Inc. most widely known as AWAI.  This community is made up of a number of successful copywriters that share their knowledge of marketing with people that are interested in writing for a living.

From direct mail letters to online sales pages, copywriters write all forms of marking for companies. Copywriters can specialize in certain areas from nutrition to finance.  You can learn more about this group of writers and instructors at www.awaionline.com.

What I Hope to Accomplish...

Those of you that followed my blog during NaNoWriMo may be wondering why a fiction writer is interested in writing non-fiction.  Well, I love writing, all kinds of writing.  I plan to write for a living one day and I do not want to limit myself and my earning potential.

I'm pretty sure being a storyteller can help me relate to the customers that I'll be writing to.  The skills obtained from being a copywriter will be very helpful when it comes time to market my novels and also to help when I create my author website/blog.  So it's a win/win situation.

In all honesty, I get bored doing the same thing for a long period of time so I will feel good about having different projects to work on to break up the monotony.

Don't get it twisted, I'm a stickler for schedules and timeliness so I don't think I will ever have a problem completing tasks.  Now I'm a realist and I do realize that things will come up that are outside of my control but I don't anticipate that happening very often (figures crossed).

How About You?

What kind of writing life are you trying to lead? Do you want to write for a living or just for fun?

No matter what...Happy Writing.

I'll holler.