Check out this simple, but effective writing video!

There are millions of UTube videos that address writing. There are many that will help you, as a writer, overcome procrastination, put your butt in a chair, and write. I like the simplicity of this video, and I also want you to check out the website, www.750words.com. The website is a first step in challenging you to calendar your writing.

In reading so many posts from authors that will give free advice on organizing, prompts to get you writing, and the details of publishing, I noticed that one idea is consistently pushed toward the forefront - scheduling writing on a calendar is a necessity for every writer!

How to write a book - author Lisa Jewell's top 5 writing tips

Facebook Pages - - What?

Today, I thought we might look at a few Facebook Pages, and I’ll provide an informal critique of one of my favorites.   Facebook Pages are another tool for connecting to your readers, and it will help you build a platform for your writing. One of the ways to learn about Facebook Pages and how you can incorporate them into your own writing is by looking for the professionals, or pages that cover your topic, or favorite genre in writing.

I reviewed several including;  http://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-slang-c.html, http://www.facebook.com/loraleighauthor, and http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lorelei-James/290172309459. For this review, I am going to analyze Lorelei James’ page.

She is what she writes about – how do I know this? Look at her, ‘about’ tab, an introduction to her and the purpose of her Facebook Page. She writes erotic romance in the elusive cowboy world. Her page is full of dialogue between her and her readers. This is important in building a relationship with readers, why else would they follow you?

She offers contests, Friday’s funny story, and photos of her most captivating cowboy pictures. Of course, her followers are a bunch of women, but for the most part – who buys romance books – women! Lorelei James does a superb job in connecting a real person level with her followers.

Her links are to favorite author websites, the PBR – Professional Bull riding, which lends a whole lot of credibility, and snippets of information to follow in the writing world.

Overall, Lorelei James has a page that I would follow, not just because she is a favored author, but also because she uses humor, real life events, connectivity with her followers, contests, and links to her personal blog. She is a seasoned networker. She clearly advertises it on her page – Twitter, Facebook, Blogging, and RSS feeds. She wants her presence, as an author, known. While I am just getting started, you can bet I will follow the professionals, and soak up as much as I can from them when building my own.

 

Procrastinating rather than writing . . . Hmmm...

There are people, places, and things that might keep you from writing, and I'm sure they are not intentional - right? This photo, so happens to be a group of delinquents and my husband who decided that a football party was more important than an edit I was doing on a book. How much time do you think it took me to decide if I should toss my project and join in?

I'm pretty sure, with one picture, you guessed it right! Within three minutes, I was making a spicy dip with nachos, and it would be two weeks before I touched my project again. Have you ever tried to do an edit? Seriously, what new writer knows how to do an edit anyway?

Through an on-going process, I have learned there are many avenues to work around the demand of family, school, work, and a host of other interruptions. If you have ideas, please share, and I'll try to incorporate a guest post to the beginner's blog.

For now, a simple, fun, way to incorporate family into your procrastination time, is to write about them. Who knows what ideas will pop forward for your next novel, character, or short story. This one is simple, but works in more ways than one!

What you need:     a pen, a journal, a space

I like to use one of the $3, soft-covered, journals available at Walmart, but any spiral, legal pad, or scratch-paper will work.

Whoever, or whatever, is interrupting your time - write it down. Describe the details of the person, thing, or thought. Give the details, for example;  He crouched low, his eyes a matchstick away from mine. He wanted my attention. That's when I noticed the fossilized dent on his cheek. The dimple seems to deepen and stretch, contagious like, when he smiles. He wasn't smiling.

As writers, we sometimes have trouble using descriptives. This exercise is your time to develop your skills. As a writer, it is important to incorporate a system to overcome procrastination, and transform your plain, unimaginative writing, into something that will grab a reader, and make them feel, see, hear, or think they are one with you. There is nothing like the sound of a reader telling you that your words put them in the scene with the character.

Your turn, try it - tell me your experience. Did it work? Can you see how easy it is to incorporate writing into a daily activity, even when you hit a dry spell? Your family will laugh with you. Now, have you also brought your family a little closer to you, as a writer, by describing them in a way that tells them they are sealed in your memory? They have special things about them that are important to you?

Introductory and Family Writing

A family picture will always tell a story, even if only a partial one. Cheyenne Slade, that's me in the back with a black jacket and windblown hair, and those surrounding me are family members. While there are at least eight more immediate family members, this is the picture of those leaving Illinois and starting over in Texas.

Why Texas, and why a portion of the family? Well, I love to write, and I wanted to start the rest of my life living and writing about the quirks of living in cowboy country. Since this picture, two more have joined us, and two remain in Illinois. I work, live, study, and write near San Antonio where the winters promise only a dusting of snow (mostly), summer lasts forever (mostly), and I successfully manage to keep the family together through miles of unique terrains, as if they are living under the same roof!

My blog will encourage writers to use family and experiences to write about, even if writing strictly fiction. I will take you through unique opportunities to end procrastination and just write.