IWSG~FB Sharing

The purpose of the IWSG is to share and encourage, posting on the first Wednesday of each month. You'll find writer doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Support and a common understanding spread throughout the group as many fellow writers can relate. Feel free to JOIN in anytime.

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So it seems like feeling insufficient comes naturally to most of us, at least at times. The other day, while surfing through status updates, posts, and shared articles on Facebook, I noticed something. Some of my amazing FB pals share. A lot. And I'm not just talking about I'm at Five Guys or Watching a Movie status updates. I mean wholesome posts and shared articles. 
My eyes brushed upon subjects of public education woes to five things you never knew about your teacher to marriage advice. Really good information. Of course I love to see meaningful sharing on social media instead of some of the hate-mongering we've all been subject to read or those horrific animal cruelty videos that now auto-play - which I think is so unfair, BTW. 
Whether writers or other work endeavors, I know the majority of those who share great material have children, families, and other responsibilities besides their day jobs. So how in the heck to they find, read, and share so much social media? I can hardly find the time to do what is necessary in my daily life to be able to find all that quality. Sometimes I feel like I owe those FB/Twitter/Tumbler/Pinterest friends a share in return.
Can you relate or am I nuts? 

The New Writer's CREED 2015

A writer is not a lone solder, mucking it up among words, phrases, and paragraphs. No, a writer is never alone with his/her work. Each writer is only one thread in the tapestry of communication and creative escape our world desperately needs.
WE are community. 
Three years ago, when I released my first Writer's Rebel CREED, my intentions were simply to give myself a method of self-encouragement and accountability. Being a visual person, I needed to SEE it everyday. After creating it, I decided others might benefit from it too. 
The writing community shares a plethora of strengths and weaknesses. We experience similar creative frustrations that slowly gnaw away our motivation. One writer's grammar sense pales in comparison to another's. Creative ideas seem to ooze from some writer's brains, yet others struggle to come up with that next scene. Despite one's strengths and another's weakness, writers never pin those against each other. Instead, we lend our knowledge and experience out in hopes of aiding each other - a community of generosity.  
This year's creed shares similar messages from the last two, but I've added a few new elements I hope you'll be excited about.
1. Any writer who pledges the creed will be added to a Twitter list, which I will share with all creed members. Using hashtag #writercreed, members can share encouragement, good news, needs, and anything else with all members any time they want. There is no set date or time. My hope is that members will take advantage of this easy way to keep in touch and keep the creed alive throughout 2015. 
2. In conjunction with the hashtag #writercreed, members can also tweet #BR or #CP, indicating you are in need of a beta reader or critique partner.
3. I will also be choosing a writing quote at the beginning of each month for members to retweet on Twitter. If members don't have a Twitter account, feel free to share anything via Facebook using the hashtag. 
4. Finally - and my favorite (thanks Robyn) - in conjunction with our hashtag #writercreed, members can also request a #wordsprint - challenging any other member to write nonstop for at least an hour and then report back to each other. Yay! How fun and productive! This writing method is super worthy to produce lots of wordage from you. I've done these before, but they always seem to fade out. I wanted to create an easy way to organize it and keep word sprints alive. Hope you take advantage of it. I know I will. 
Here is this year's creed:

I would be honored for you to join me in committing to this CREED. 

• Simply add your name & Twitter tag (ex: mine is @SA_Larsen) to the linky list below. (Required)
• Add your blog/site link.
• Copy the CREED Badge and paste it on your site, encouraging others to join us. I've included a smaller size for your convenience. (Not required)

I will continue to share this post via social media outlets now and again, hoping to encourage others to join us. The commitment is virtually effortless, but the gains will surely be great. It's be wonderful if you'd share away too. 
This is my last post of 2014. It's been a tougher year for me and my family than in previous years. We've been presented by many challenges, most of which forced me to cut my already blogging time and posts in half. Most of those challenges I've yet to share with you, but do plan to in the near future. 

I look to 2015 with hope and a positive attitude that all is looking up. I wish you all the same. Thank you for allowing me to be part of your lives and for blessing me with you in mine.
Have a wonderful and safe holiday! Until the new year, Alleywalkers ...

I'm an #IWSG Member ... FINALLY!

Well, it only took the masterminds of the Insecure Writer's Support Group to come up with the cool idea for the anthology/writer-help-guide in celebration of their three year anniversary to get me to finally sign up for the group. So, yeah ... guess I'm an official IWSG member now. Kind a sweet ....

And in honor of all that, I wrote my very own entry for their writer's guide book. For information on how you can send in an entry - deadline is Oct. 2nd - go HERE. Without anymore mumbling from me, feel free to read it below: 

What to Do While Riding the Submission Train

Write something new is the obvious first answer to my title thought. Even better, create a piece of work outside your normal writing arena. Don't write poetry? Try it. Sci Fi not your thing? Jot down a scene from your comfort zone, but add Sci Fi spice from out of your comfort zone. Feeling a little internally disconnected? Journal your thoughts and feelings. Better yet, do that for a potential character.

All this is great and even productive, but what else can we do while waiting on the rails of our subs? Whether your words are already out there between a hardcover or you’re awaiting on your first book baby, whether your agent is subbing for you or your trenching it on your own, waiting is waiting. And it stinks.

Writers need a diversion from the insane sting of anxiety assaulting our stomachs or the mounds of chocolate we’d like to eat. NOTE: dipping chocolate into a jar of peanut butter can curb the sting, though you’ll have to burn off the calories from that peanut butter later. Greater evil? You decide.

Marketing our writer selves is my simplest answer. Now, don’t be intimidated by the vastness of social media. Yes, it’s big and fast and ever-changing. But so are you. You’re a writer, existing among a barrage of shifting markets and living, breathing language. Let’s see how we can tame the beast. 

STEP 1: Understand the reality of social media and use it.

Even the most cautious social media users find themselves dazed into an extra hour or two of surfing interesting posts after sweet-treat dessert ideas. Then those posts must be shared. After all, we do need our Twitter fix. And we definitely have opinions about what we’ve viewed or read. Why not share them as your writer self? Show your supporters and fans—even if they are still potential future fans—who you are as a writer. Let them see you, your likes and dislikes, your hopes, dream, and struggles, the elements of life that inspire you to write what you do.

STEP 2: Define your writer self.

Readers don’t just want the characters they fall in love with to be real. They want to know the mind behind the creation lives in the same world they do, has struggled and been stirred in similar ways. They want to relate to you, just as they want to connect to your characters. They want to cheer you on and revel in your successes, ensuring you continue to create beloved characters and worlds that whisk them away. Of course this suggestion comes with a note of caution. Be wise with what you share on a personal level. Share from your writer self, not you the person.

Think about you, the writer. How do you differ from the person outside the writer title?

Are you a grammar freak? Do you see in pictures or are you a verbal person? Are you funny and do you incorporate comedy or snark in your writing? What subjects do you touch upon in your stories? Futuristic machines? Otherworldly beings? Life issues such as domestic violence or world hunger?

Once you develop your writer self’s identity, sharing and interacting with the world will grow you as a writer and as a person. Dress your writer self in the words and scenes, topics and social perimeters, emotions and fears you share through your stories. Don’t stress about it. Be natural. Be you, just in your writer’s attire. How do you do that?

STEP 3: Find your writer self in daily social media venues.

Seek events, videos, and posts that interest your writer self, articles that could inspire a scene or a character. Expand upon those by either directly sharing or commenting. Engage in comment conversation.

Sharing your writer self on a personal level will promote you without flooding media sites with links to your work. Continual interaction will intrigue others, which will lead many to seek you and your work out.

Ever read a comment under a blog post and thought, “That is a great point. Who is this writer?” I have. And guess what? I clicked on their profile and found their site.

STEP 4: My favorite – Be a balanced social media-rite.

Sometime ago, I discovered the number one way to market my writer self. Funny thing was I didn't even know what I’d stumbled upon. It all had to do with being a full-fledged member of the undefined yet universal writing community.

  Show appreciation by sharing others work—fellow author, TV producer, or activist. Share what moves your writer self to move others.

  Cheer fellow writers’ successes.

  Offer understanding during their valleys.

  Lend your eyes as a reader of their work. Give solid advice as both reader and writer. Accept their help in return, and be humble.

The truth of a person is found within his /her inner motivations. Be true to your writer self and pure in your social media motivations, and writerly blessings will find you.

Social media is a perfect place to exercise all of the above, which in turn markets you, not to mention it’s a great antacid to dull the sting while waiting on submission. I give full permission for this article to be used in the INSECURE WRITER'S SUPPORT GROUP Guide to Publishing and Beyond.

To post your own insecure writer thoughts, plights, and other misgivings once a month, click HERE and add your name to their long list of writers. And remember, you RAWK!

I'm On TV!!

There are many ways I could intro this piece, but I'm going to leave it simple. As I mentioned on Friday, there was a reason I wasn't around to blog during Cruising Altitudes fabulous Deja Vu Blogfest.

Most of you know that I entered the Meegenuis Picture Book contest. I'm not a big fan of writing contests via public vote, because they feel more like popularity contests than writing ones; however, when I discovered that one of the main prizes would be the entire Meegenuis Library donated to my local elementary school I just had to enter. Though the contest is over and I didn't make it into the top five, I ended up in the 32nd slot out of 300 other writers. Not bad for a little girl from a small northern town.

What this contest has brought me is just as valuable. The outpouring of support for me and my teeny picture book manuscript has been amazing. I am confident, now, that this story will find a published home. I want to thank all of YOU who voted and have shared encouraging comments with me. Participating in this contest has also enriched my pageant experience. I was interviewed about the pageant and my book via internet TV in between periods at one of my two oldest sons' hockey games. I've also been asked to speak about writing at three different schools in Maine.

This all led me to Friday and the reason I wasn't able to blog. I had to travel an hour and a half from my home to one of Maine's television stations - a FOX station. There, I was interviewed live-on air about my picture book, the contest, and my candidacy for Mrs. Maine 2012. The experience was surreal yet amazing. I guess I'll let you be the judge of that, though. Feel free to pass on watching my clip. I've yet to watch it. *shivers*  

So much for simple.

Graffiti Wall Explores Social Media & the Dreaming Anastasia Trilogy

As promised, Young Adult Author Joy Preble is back to chat with us about social media, the first two books in the Dreaming Anastasia trilogy, and to answer a signature Graffiti Wall question. You can find yesterday's discussion HERE.

Welcome back, Joy! 

Are you a social media fan? (heee….) How do you feel a writer, either pre-published or already published, can use social media to their advantage?

For me social media is a tool to promote, chat about the industry and topics like books and literacy, and to communicate with my readers. I think for most writers it is crucial to have a web presence and in some cases a well-defined platform. I know for a fact that publishers look at this before taking on a debut author. It is not a deal-breaker, but it does help. I happen to like blogging because I began my writing career in non-fiction, doing a lot of personal essays for the Houston Chronicle. So it comes naturally to me. Facebook and Twitter took more adjustment for me. It’s tricky sometimes to make those distinctions between Joy the public persona writer and Joy the private person. This is why many authors have two FB pages – a fan page and a personal page for just their actual friends. Sometimes I actually have had to remind my long time friends that what I say on line is being read by fans and readers. And sometimes, my Tweets are pretty lame. “Just bought avocado. Time for guacamole.”

Inspiration for writing Dreaming Anastasia?

The Dreaming Anastasia series began with Anne. I was at school grading papers late one afternoon and it was raining too hard to leave, and I wanted to bring something new to my critique group that night. At that time there was a history teacher/coach across the hall from me who had a very loud voice and was, well, pretty boring and not exactly creative. Each day during my conference period, if my door was open, I’d listen to him blab on and on about history in a dull monotone and much of the time he didn’t seem to know his subject very well. So I guess in the back of my mind, I was always thinking about how horrible it would be if I was a student in his class. So that afternoon, I wrote two pages from the POV of a girl I didn’t even have a name for but who was indeed stuck in this class. She was funny and snarky and smarter than her teacher and wishing that something extraordinary would happen in her life. And later that week, I wrote some more and realized she was Anne and that I was about to combine her with my other loves – fantasy stories, Russian history, and family drama. Plus a handsome hottie. Somehow, the series developed out of that.

What’s your method for story development? Did you map out Haunted, the next book in the series which was released 2/1/11, as you were writing Dreaming Anastasia or did you wait until you knew the first segment of the story would sell?

Initially when I start a book, I write about fifty pages or so to get to know the characters and story line. At that point, I do some outlining. For me this usually includes both a bullet point outline and some pages – generally single spaced – of general musings and ideas and explanations. This is where I will spend a couple of pages letting a character like Viktor ramble on about what he really wants, what his secrets are, etc. Not all of this finds its way directly into the novel, but it informs what happens to the characters. As for the series arc, I did know from the beginning that this story was going to take and Anne and Ethan on a journey that would last more than one book. And I wrote about fifty pages of Haunted immediately upon finishing Dreaming Anastasia. But DA sold as a stand alone. So it wasn’t until Sourcebooks asked for more that I actually moved forward. 

Signature Graffiti Wall question: You’re in a grocery store line with books on one side and magazines on the other. What book do you choose? What magazine?

Depending on my mood – a fantasy or a romance. Magazine: if I’m about to fly, I’ll take US Weekly  - a magazine that requires even less of my brain than People. I don’t want to read the article about Tori Spelling’s new Mommywood reality show. I just want to look at the pictures and wallow pleasantly.

Haha...I hear you there.

One piece of advice for writers on their road to publication.

Write, write, write. And read, read, read! If you want to write a romance, you need to read 100 romances. If you want to write a picture book, you need to read hundreds of picture books. Keep up with the industry. Join a critique group. Learn. Get a mentor or twelve. Be willing to be collaborative. But mostly, believe in yourself. Do not give up on your dream.

Thank you, Joy!! (and Kay, Sourcebook Publicist!) Once again, feel free to connect with Joy via cyberspace: Website, Blog, YA Blog, Twitter, Facebook. 

AND now, for a chance to win a SIGNED copy of book II in her trilogy - HAUNTED - fill out the form below! You must be a follower to enter. Giveaway is open until September 22nd. Winner announced on the 23rd!! Good luck and spread the word!

Hearts ~

PHISHING & a WINNER!

I have exciting sway to give away, today!! A few weeks back the wonderful Terry Lynn Johnson paid the Graffiti Wall a visit. She not only splattered the Alleyway with her wisdom and talent, but also left us some SIGNED bookmarks to give away.

Yes, life has been crazy over the last couple of weeks and I completely forgot to award the sway. I originally had offered three signed bookmarks, but Terry in her graciousness sent me a few more. And I'm passing them along to you!

 Natalie Aguirre

Shannon O'Donnell

Beverly

Riv Re

Jen Daiker

You've each won a SIGNED DOGSLED DREAMS bookmark!!

(Please email me your physical addies)


HERE'S Clue #3 to discover what really scares me: Very Hairy
In case you missed the others: 
Clue #1 It can cover a lot of ground quickly
Clue #2 They are mostly white, black, or brown, but some have been known to be purplish or red in color. 
(Remember, if someone guesses it, I'll post that horrendous Halloween picture of me.)

Now on to a more serious subject.

My wonderful author friend, Dianne - over on High Spirits, wrote an interesting post the other day about all the spam and email paraphernalia we receive on a daily basis. This got me thinking that I should share something with you. You know, for your safety.

Last week, I opened my inbox to find a message from Gmail. Here's what it said:

"Due to congestion of our services, your account has been selected to be locked down. If you would like to continue using this email account, please send us - as verification - the following information within the next 48 hours to insure your continued service."

Full Name

Phone Number

Physical Mailing Address

Why you use this account. 

Congestion of their services??? ~ What? Did they eat too much the night before? I've been selected? ~ Yeah, okay. I'm sure I had. As Verification? ~ Hah!! And the list of personal info they wanted? ~ My answers:

Full Name: Oscar the Grouch
Phone #: 666-666-6666
Mailing Addy: Just around the corner from Hell
Why I use the account: to hunt you down and become your nightmare!

The email didn't make sense and I did report it to Gmail as phishing. But...I have to be honest. I was nervous. What if they (or someone) locked my email account down? I'd lose access to my contacts and a ton of separate folders I have.

So be careful out there in cyberspace. Have you ever been phished??