I've Moved...to a New Blog

Dear John,

You've been such a good blog. But I think it's time for me to move on. I've found someone else. This was a difficult decision and I sincerely hope we can still be friends. We have been through so much together. I will keep you in my online scrapbook forever.

I'll always link you,
Sarah

P.S. If you'd like to keep in touch, I'll be here: My New Blog

Writing When You REALLY Don't Want To

The show must go on. Do people still say that? When you have a blog you write for every week and post to every single (insert day here), the show must go on. It doesn't matter what's going on in your life with your house or your spouse or your kids or your health. And so the show goes on. It might not be the best play you've seen. In fact, you might have a good laugh over drinks after the curtain goes down, but at least you sat in the theatre and watched the darn thing.

I've ruined my entire (long) weekend by hurting my back (again), and I'm painfully typing out a "show-must-go-on" post. It's silly. Yes, it really is. And I'm in pain so I'm not sure if any of this is making sense. What I'm pretty sure of is that it won't be terribly interesting. But they can't all be gems. 

As an aside, I find it fascinating that even though I did nothing to bring on another herniated disc, the word choice above is this: "I've ruined my...weekend by hurting my back..." Huh. Why am I turning the anger inward? Why do I blame myself for this? This is something else I love about writing. When you freewrite, as I am doing here, I discover my word choice reveals eensy weensy things hiding in dark corners hoping not to be noticed. Just something to chew on.  

Anyway. It's Monday. My show must go on. 

*takes bow* 

Ouch!

Letting Go of Social Media

Let go of social media?! Yes, I know. We can't do that. We're not allowed. As writers, we must be on all the social sites to build our platform and brand ourselves and whatnot. But I'm letting go. Does that mean I'll have less success? Maybe. Maybe not. Probably. I'll miss out on opportunities if nothing else.

I read this post by Lisa Reiter and it resonated with me. She talks about being busy and organizing her writing. Pfft. Who needs that? With two young kids, a husband, a house, a job, appointments, meetings, blah, blah, blah, I have all the time in the world to sit down (uninterrupted) and write.

As the saying goes, "If you do one thing, it'll be your best. If you do two things, they'll each have a bit of your intent to do your best but they won't be your best. If you do ten things, they'll suck." Okay, that's not at all how the saying goes and I'm not sure there's a saying even remotely like that but you get my point. Hopefully.

If I do those ten things with a bag full of the fifty things I'm not doing sitting on top of my head, the ten things are going to really suck and I'll wind up hurting my neck. Something's got to give. And, if I look back and realize I haven't sent anything in yet for my column this month or worked on my book or submitted anything to...anywhere, then social media has to go.

Okay, I'm not getting rid of social media entirely, I'm just attempting to stuff it into a box and shove it in the corner. Social media is a rope. (I'm going somewhere with this. I swear.) Instead of throwing the rope to the ground and leaving it unattended or allowing it to lasso me, I have to take control of it. "Letting go" of this rope means untangling myself from it so it doesn't choke the life out of me but making sure it doesn't get soaked and moldy in the rain. Hence, the box in the corner.

The rope of social media shouldn't be a noose, it should be a lifeline.
A connection to my audience, potential editors, agents, and other writers.

The Rope of Social Media
(AKA a ball of string I found around the house)

Lisa says in her post that she has set aside a day (one day!) a week that she calls her "Blog Admin Day". In the post, she uses words like "addictive" and "compelled". I feel like that sometimes. Technically, she's talking about blogging but I'm applying it to all social media. I don't know if I can set aside one day to write my blog, read other blogs, comment, read litmags, research submission guidelines, catch up on my Twitter account... Seems a tall order. But I'll try. Because I need the rest of the week to do that thing I love to do with words like putting them together and making cool sentences (and fragments). I need time to write. Also, I'm on call 24 hrs. a day as a mom so there's that.

I'm going to attempt to organize my own Social Media Admin Day. Let's be honest: Days. I think I need two. For now.


How do you manage your social media? How do you get any reading/commenting in during the week? How you do have time to write?

The Write Path is Here!

A few months ago, I wrote a letter to my younger self. So did many other bloggers. Remember that? "How I Found the Write Path"? Well, the book is here. A compilation of letters from over 60 fabulous writers collected and formatted into an eBook by the lovely Carrie Butler and PK Hrezo.  

It's out and it's available for purchase. And by that I mean you can spend your time going to any one of these sites and downloading all these fantastic letters full of advice for FREE.

AMAZON

NOOK

KOBO

iBOOKS

SMASHWORDS

'TXTR

SCRIBD

AMAZON UK

AMAZON AU  

The letters range from thoughtful to humorous (and everything in between) but all speak to the writer's younger, less experienced, self. The anthology gives advice while entertaining readers with the many different voices and takes on the prompt. A brilliant idea from PK and Carrie. A huge thank you to both of these amazing authors for taking the time to compile these letters. How I Found the Write Path is a must-read for all types of writers at all stages in their writing careers.

Why I Write

This post is part of the series "Why I Write"

Thank you to Robin Flanigan for selecting me to participate in this blog hop.

Why do I write?

How do you answer this question? It's a conundrum. There are too many ways to answer this, and there are not enough. This is a question that requires a great deal of thought and soul-searching but also one that is easily answered because the reasons have been with you forever.

I write because I love to write.

I write because I need to write.

I'm certain that many bloggers who have participated in this series have said similar things. What can you do? It's true.

I love words. When I choose a book to read, I think about it in terms of whether I’ll munch on it like a Chips Ahoy cookie or savor it like a gourmet chocolate mousse. That determines when and where I’ll read it. Will I toss it in my beach bag, bring it with me to the dentist, or save it for when I have a large chunk of time and can curl up with a glass of wine or cup of tea? When I write, it’s the same way. I craft microfiction (in 140 characters or less), create flash fiction, twist fairy tales into humorous satire, and write lengthier pieces about parenting or my children’s disabilities for litmags and local newspapers. Whatever I’m writing at the time, I’m feeling the satisfaction of putting those words on paper. Whether I’m laughing about a silly dragon story or digging deeper and bleeding onto the page while I relive a family crisis, it’s all me. It's all writing. It’s all an amazing, indescribable feeling.

The statement "I need to write" may seem a bit dramatic but it stems from my inability to feel complete or content unless I am creating something with words. It's a restless, itchy sort of thing. I started journaling and jotting down short stories when I was about nine years old. I've been writing ever since. I wrote poems for my friends, book reviews of The Little Mermaid or Charlotte's Web, plays for my stuffed animals, and newsletters of my wildly exciting life as a 9-yr-old kid.

There is nothing else I’d rather do.

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Although... There is one more reason I write. It's therapeutic. This is not something I just realized but more something I’ve rediscovered. Or maybe it’s been brought to my attention recently. I write because I need to vent. Sometimes I scribble in a journal, sometimes I type it out on my blog. (Lucky you.) Writing is a comfortable outlet. It's easy for me to rant on paper. And, when all is said and done, I have a story to keep or share.

I guess a short answer is I write because it is part of who I am. 

Why do you write?

~~~ ~~~ ~~~

I'm tagging these three lovely ladies. Please check out the blogs and books of these wonderful writers and watch for their posts on why they write:

 
Loni Townsend

Wife. Mother. Writer. Ninja. Squirrel.

By day, she writes code. By predawn darkness, she writes fantasies. All other times, she writes in her head. People call her peculiar with a twisted sense of fashion, but don't let those understatements fool you. Her behavior is perfectly normal for a squirrel disguised as a human. That's part of being an epic ninja—blending in.

She makes her home in Idaho with her sadistically clever—yet often thwarted—husband, two frighteningly brilliant children, and three sneaky little shibas.

Loni blogs at Squirrel Talk. Her novel, Thanmir War, is available for purchase in both paperback and e-book here.



Georgia Bell  

Writer, reader, navel gazer. YA author. Mother of son. Drinker of wine and scotch. Eater of chocolate.

Georgia Bell was raised on a steady diet of science fiction and fantasy, courtesy of her father, a man who loved his family, fishing, scotch, and science (although not necessarily in that order). She is an avid reader of young adult fiction, and a lover of good wine, music, children, and cats (although not necessarily in that order). She is currently hard at work on Unknown, the second book in the All Good Things series.

Georgia blogs at Unbound: All Good Things. The first book in her series is available for purchase here.

 

Karen Faris

Writer of things large and small. Responsible government proponent and dessert advocate. Author of Grumbles the Novel Trilogy. 

As an advocate for responsible government, Karen Faris has been complaining for as long as anyone can remember. Rather than go live on a planet for one, she decided to write fiction about the things she thinks matter.

Her current projects include a time travel novel and Seasonal Adjustment, a story told in novellas.

She has a tendency to get silly because life is too short and too serious too much of the time. Grumbles the Novel is her antidote to that.

Karen resides in Rochester, New York with her husband and son. She enjoys swimming, biking along the Erie Canal, and running almost as fast as she can walk.
On her website, Grumbles the Novel, Karen blogged occastionally until her characters took over the site. Her characters now control their own destiny and are serializing their story. Read along here. 

The Grumbles trilogy is available for purchase in both paperback and e-book:

Grumbles: Take a Pill (Book 1)

Grumbles: Take Another Pill (Book 2)

Grumbles: How Many Pills Did You Take (Book 3)

Rage, Rage Against the Building of a Blog

Writing a letter to myself as a part of this awesome blogfest, How I Found the Write Path, really made me think about how much I didn't know, how much I thought I knew, and how much I still have to learn.

I quickly typed out a letter to myself about networking and how it is a necessary evil. It's not evil for every writer, of course, but for me. I am an introvert. That's being kind. But I learned that I had to put myself out there. It was horrifying.

Talking to people. Going to conferences. Joining social media. Promoting myself. 

Words like "Social Media" and "Platform" and "Brand" assaulted my poor, sensitive introvert ears. I didn't know exactly what these things were but I knew enough to know I didn't want to do any of it. I just wanted to hide in my room with a cup of tea and type away whatever characters were bugging me at the moment to be written about. Or slump in my chair with a glass of wine and write about a real-life scene that just happened at my house. 

Something I heard a lot about was blogging. "You have to have a blog." Ah. I knew more about blogs so this one was easier. No. I would not blog. Never frickin' ever. No.

Then, after much crying and complaining, I started a blog. And I read about blogging. "This is how you blog." "This is NOT how you blog." "This is how you get more followers on your blog." "You're blogging the wrong way." "You're not using all the tools available to you for your blog." Blah, blah, blog, blog.

I almost erased myself. Sounds menacing, eh? I made a list of all the sites I was on and systematically deleted accounts. I had been on Twitter for only a month and I hovered over the 'delete account' button. Kidding. What I really did was search in vain for how to delete myself and couldn't find it. Also, Facebook wouldn't let me delete myself for some reason. I'm still waiting for it to go away. And then I turned to my blasted blog and was two seconds away from deleting that, too.

Of course, since I'm blabbing at you here, that didn't happen. I'm writing and posting. I have a blog. I'm not sure how I feel about it but I have one. And it keeps me writing weekly regardless of what's going on in my life. I blog. I'm getting out there. Sort of.


Why do you blog? Why did you start? Did someone tell you you had to or did you decide to do it yourself? Do you enjoy it? 

Irony and Versatility

This is quite ironic. Two funny things about the title of this award: The Versatile Blogger

1. I’m not sure I consider myself a blogger (I have a blog but don't really consider myself in the same company as the many talented "bloggers" out there.)

2. I just had a conversation with my husband about my versatility as a writer (I'm a Lifetstyle writer who also writes flash fiction and satire pieces while working on my creative nonfiction and some children's' books. So some could consider me flighty while other, nicer people, like my husband, would say I'm versatile.)

Anyway, here I am with this Versatile Blogger Award thanks to the lovely and talented Anne Goodwin who writes at annethology. Thank you, Anne!

And because I procrastinate and love stressing myself out, I didn’t finish this and now have been given this award again by the amazing Lisa Reiter who writes beautiful stuff at Sharing the Story and challenges other writers by inviting them to participate in her Bite Size Memoirs. Thank you, Lisa!

I consider myself lucky to have met both of these wonderful women.

Versatile Blogger Award

For this award, the deal is as follows:

• Thank the person who gave you this award. Include a link to their blog.
• Nominate 15 bloggers for the Versatile Blogger Award and include a link to their sites. (This is my next step and will be done without much delay. As Anne writes in this blog post, acceptance is optional.)
• Tell everyone 7 things about yourself.

So, down to it then. Seven secrets about me that you all are simply dying to know. Okay, since I write about myself, some of these aren’t very secret but whatever. Here goes:

1. My natural hair color is (was) blond but I colored it brown. When I became pregnant, I stopped coloring my hair and it grew in almost the exact shade I was coloring it. (Except for the purple streak…that’s colored. And wicked cool.)

2. I love essential oils and use them almost every day. Lavender is my favorite.

3. I still believe in fairies. (We have fairy doors in our home and build fairy houses in our yard. Though they don't look as beautiful as this one.)

From "Fairy Houses Everywhere"
by Barry & Tracy Kane

4. I love herbal tea. I have so much that it takes up two shelves in my kitchen and I buy it in bulk.

5. I fell off a stone at Avebury and landed in nettle. (And took my dear friend down in the process.)

6. I got stuck in a phone booth in Paris with a mime outside.

I have no picture for this.
Would you really want to witness my pain in that way?

7. I have a bag in my car at all times filled with blankets, clothing, and Dunkin' Donuts gift cards so I can give items or food to someone who needs it.

And the award goes to...

As Anne and Geoff both say, some people may feel like this is a chain-letter type of award, and as such I will repeat that this is an optional acceptance. Geoff really explains it well in this post.

Okay... I did it! Fifteen bloggers. They are all awesome and there's quite a variety here so sure to be something for everyone. :-) Please check them out. 

Kristen at Little Lodestar

Loni Townsend at Squirrel Talk

Cristina at Filling My Prayer Closet  

Pete at Father Knows Little

Robin L. Flanigan at The Kinetic Pen  

B.A. Wilson Writes 

Casey Rose at Casey On Purpose

Keely Hutton at Writer's Dojo  

Elena Linville at Tower of Winds

Shane King at Shangel's Reviews (A must for BtVS and Angel fans.)

Amanda at Gun in Act One  

Georgia Bell at Unbound (All Good Things)

Three lovely ladies who tackle the topic and issues of giftedness each in her own way. Bravo to all of you for helping kids, teachers, and families. 

Jade Rivera   

Colleen Kessler at Raising Lifelong Learners   

Celi Trepanier at Crushing Tall Poppies 

I'm going to go ahead and include The Grimm Report in my nominations because, even though they are more of a collection of articles, they do reside online and therefore qualify (technically). And they are extraordinarily versatile with all the stories and voices from the different contributors as well as the amazing podcasts.

The Day I Decided To Dye

I am participating in Diane DeBella’s I Am Subject project. This project showcases women's stories about when or how they reclaimed their lives. There are many stories, many voices. Here is my #iamsubject story:

When I was young, I was blond. 

A pretty, little schoolgirl with pigtails and blue eyes. My grandmother’s “doll”, my mother’s only daughter, my teachers’ cute student, my ballet instructor’s graceful dancer. They loved to see me happy. So I smiled. 

I tried to be the girl they saw.

As I grew, my hair did, too. Long. Stick straight. Still bright blond. I was cast in the lead of the elementary school play, placed front row center in my class picture in a different color chair than all the other kids, thrown into spotlights when all I wanted was to hide in the shadows. I was confused and shy. People seemed to like me that way. So I stayed. 

I tucked my discomfort away.
 
As a teenager, the “dumb blond” stereotype brought some twisted form of admiration. It got me invited to the cool parties and landed me a job as a beer girl. I earned a great hourly wage laughing and handing out t-shirts, koozies, and blinking buttons to bar-hoppers. So I acted. 

I tanked my grades and found acceptance in stupidity.

In a moment of defiance, during which I realized my life was not mine, I dyed my hair brown—a tiny slice of time, a small act of defiance. I saw this as so much more. It was me rebelling against everything people thought I was and wanted me to be. 

I wasn't that girl anymore.

Reactions ranged from disbelief to disapproval. Family was shocked. Friends asked why I would get rid of my blond hair. People told me I used to be pretty. My soon-to-be-ex said it looked awful. 

I had never felt more beautiful.  

Then I met my perfect. He had everything I could have dreamed of plus a bit more. I became pregnant and stopped coloring my hair. I expected bizarre-looking roots to start showing. My blond growing in. I was going to be a pregnant skunk. I laughed at the thought. But I swore I would get rid of the blond the minute I got home from the hospital.  

I didn't have to.

My hair grew in a different shade—shiny, beautiful…brown. I had my son. A gorgeous boy with brown hair and blue eyes who looked exactly like his mother. As many new moms do, I spent countless hours staring at my new baby. He tugged at something deep within me. The child I never got to be. The mother I wasn’t sure I could be. 

I had watched women disappear into motherhood, losing themselves in the responsibility of raising a child.

The thing that might have taken away my sense of self broke me out of the shell I had lived in and gave me the self I wasn’t aware I was searching for. The baby, who forced me into the role of mother, helped me define who I was as a woman. Someone I didn’t know. Someone I liked. 

A smart, strong, sarcastic, loving brunette. 

Writer Unplugged: Why I Didn't Delete My Blog

I’ve been beating myself up wondering whether I should delete my blog. Frankly, I’ve been contemplating deleting my Facebook (which has this side of 10 likes and I rarely use) and my Twitter account (which is relatively new and I don’t have the hang of yet). I know having an online presence, platform, brand, whatever has become essential but at what cost?

Last weekend, I realized I hadn’t written anything but a tweet since I’d opened my Twitter account. Not a word. Except my blog. But, see, I’m not a “blogger”. I have a blog but I’m not a blogger. I do not help people with my expertise, entertain people with my comedic essays, or interact with people about controversial subjects. The bloggers I’ve seen online edit and hone their often lengthy posts on their gorgeous background of a blog. They network and are part of a blogging community. They are artists. I just write.

I thought, “What's the point? Get rid of it.”

After reading this post by Cat Lumb about having a first draft become the thing you like best of all and keep instead of the subsequent edits, I realized why I love my blog so much and couldn’t delete it. I commented on her post that “first drafts have an amazing combination of raw emotion and the writer’s real voice. Which [is what] I want to read. And hear.” There it is. My blog is always a first draft. Maybe because I write it for fun, maybe because I know no one is reading it…I type and post. Done. It’s freeing, in a way, to be able to dance like no one is watching. I type like no one is reading. (Which is true, but whatever.)

I love writing my blog. No one reads my posts, as I am sure no one will read this one, but at least I am writing. You're supposed to have a target audience (I'm well aware of this as a teacher) but I don't. My blog is more of an online journal than a pro blog. Thing is, I want to write. I need to write. So I write—about my life, my kids, anything. It feels good and it keeps me on a schedule to make sure I keep writing.

And, because I just type whatever is on my mind then post it, it is me. This is me. Writer unplugged.