Day 87: Who would join me?

Between You, Me and the Lamp Post

Day 87: Who would join me?

Would anyone join me at this cottage? I'll get to the why later.

We’re halfway through the NaNoWriMo challenge and for several people, it’s going really well. Every day I read about people who write 3,000 – 5,000 or even 7,000 words per day. I sit and wonder … where do these people find the time?

Don’t any of these writers have jobs? And if they are stay-at-home people, don’t they have work to do around the house? There’s always something to do: 

making/changing the beds, dusting, vacuuming, sweeping, polishing, laundry, ironing, washing the bathroom, washing the kitchen, washing windows, washing floors, cleaning the deck, shopping, tending to the garden, cleaning gutters, cleaning the car, cooking, doing dishes, and more. Am I to assume that these writers neglect their homes for the sake of writing?

I also wonder what these people write about. I know from experience that the first couple of chapters flow easily. Chapters one to three or five practically write themselves, but then the trouble starts … how to continue. 

Inspiration doesn’t come on command, plenty of good writers sit at their computer, staring at the screen, their fingers motionless on the keyboard. Eventually, they write something, only to delete it. They write something else and that too gets rejected.

In between, there are a ton of distractions: the cat needs petting, the dog needs walking, cups of coffee or tea are made, emails need answering, friends drop by for a chat, Facebook games need playing, etc. etc. etc.

Few will be willing to admit it, but writers are notorious procrastinators. They will start writing tomorrow, or they will start writing after … well, any excuse will do.

A friend of mine took a writing course and while it made her a better writer, it also made her a slower writer. She once told me that, in order to create the perfect sentence, she often plays with the words for 10 or even 20 minutes. Safe to say, my friend won’t write 3,000 words per day. Which begs the question, what is the quality of some writers’ work?

As for NaNoWriMo, it’s a nice incentive for writers to get their bud in gear, but what happens at the end of November. From what I’ve been told … nothing. There are no prices to be won and nobody looks at the manuscripts.

If writers can produce the required 50,000 words in November, why can’t they do the same in any other month? Do writers really need an incentive? Ask most writers why they write and they will say … because I have to. A day without writing is a day wasted.

That’s how I feel. Every morning I wake up with plans to write, but as I mentioned earlier … any number of things get in the way. 

Ideally, I need to hole up in a cottage somewhere, with no WiFi. So, I wonder, when looking at the cottage above, how many writers would join me for a writing getaway. 

Day 85: NaNoWriMo Project

Between You, Me and the Lamp Post

Day 85: NaNoWriMo Project

Anyone doing the NaNoWriMo project? It’s my first time and I’m not sure how I feel about it. Not only do I find it difficult to write on command but writing 50,000 words in one month seems like a daunting task.

We’re eleven days into the project and after a little over 22,000 words, my inspiration is failing me. As I said, I don’t do well writing on command.

When I sit down to write, I stare at my laptop screen and wonder what to say. I type a sentence and delete it. I write another and that one too gets rejected. However, let me start house chores, take a walk, sit in a coffee shop or lie in bed and the ideas come storming into my head.

I remember the day when I started my first novel ‘Waiting for Silverbird’.

I was at work, typing a manual for a military tank when I suddenly got this idea for a story. I started writing and the words flowed effortlessly onto the electronic paper. By the end of the day, the first chapter was completed.

Another thing that I don’t particularly like about the NaNoWriMo project is that at the end of November, writers are supposed to put their work online. This makes me wonder … what if someone sees my work and thinks … that’s a good idea. I can make it my own and make it better.

From what I understand, publishers don’t necessarily have to like a manuscript (they have editors to make the story better), but they have to like the idea, something original and that will sell.

Coming up with something original isn’t easy, it’s almost impossible. Look around at the local library, thousands of books about love, war, aliens, monsters, vampires, murderers, etc.

I can’t be sure, but I think for my new novel I have come up with something original. I’ve never read anything like it before, but then, I haven’t read every book that’s out there. Still, I feel confident about the story and as such, I feel a little hesitant putting it on NaNoWriMo for all to see.

Of course, everyone thinks that their story is the best, that they have a fish on the line that will mean their breakthrough into the publishing world. But what if that doesn’t happen? What if nobody wants to publish the book?

Those who have been published by respected publishing houses will say to keep going, to never give up. Every single one of them will tell you how they contacted literary agents and publishers and received one rejection letter after the other. But eventually found success.

I’ve been through the process a few times myself and I can tell you, it’s hard keeping your spirits up when one rejection letter follows another. For starters, it takes time and effort to contact literary agents. Then, there’s a waiting period. Some take only a matter of days to get back to a writer, others take a few weeks. 

Whenever I saw a reply from an agent in my inbox, I got my hopes up. Was this it? Did I finally find someone who was willing to take a chance on me? It never was. Eventually, I gave up.

Now it’s the NaNoWriMo project. Me, along with a few thousand others, are thinking and typing as if our lives depended on it. From what I understand a few writers have been discovered through the NaNoWriMo project. This time, I’m not giving up.

Day 71: Analysis of how to write an article

Between You, Me and the Lamp Post

Day 71: Analysis of how to write an article

Do you know something that might be of interest to others?  Do you have a speciality that you would like to share or teach?  If you do, you have the stuff great articles are made of and captivate and audience.

Respected authors recommend that when starting out as a writer, you should write about what you know. Just as a child has to learn to crawl before it can walk, so a writer has to get experience in his craft.

 

If you’re not sure what to write about, think about your job, your interests and hobbies. These are usually the things you know a lot about and are passionate about. When you write about them your passion will shine through.

Once you venture outside your comfort zone, thoroughly research the topic you want to write about. You need to know the facts. Nothing destroys your credibility as a writer more than presenting an article with incorrect or outdated information.

A great title is important. You need to make your article easy to find for people who search the web for information. A suitable title will tickle their curiosity. The introduction of your article should consist of a summary of what the reader of your article can expect. 

Remember SEO content. SEO content is keyword phrases that search engines pick up on. These keyword phrases should be pertaining to the subject of your article and repeated a few times in the body of your article. Keywords should preferably be at the beginning or very end of a paragraph. Don’t pepper your article with keywords though, remember that you are directing yourself in the first place to a reader, not a search engine.

If you are writing a recipe, be sure to include all the ingredients and materials so that your readers have all the tools they will need for a particular dish.  Then write step by step instructions on how to go about the preparation of this dish.

Read your work, preferably out loud so you can hear the flow of the sentences.  Pay attention to punctuation.  Finally, spell check your work and read it again. A spell checker may pick up on most of the mistakes, but not all of them.  When in doubt, Grammarly can help. Not only will Grammarly help with spellchecking your document, but the

program also pays attention to good grammar and can be used as a plagiarism checker. 

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Day 56: Writing - Should we listen to others?

Between You, Me and the Lamp Post

Day 56: Writing - Should we listen to others?

A long time ago, I was chosen to compete in a national ten-pin bowling tournament. The question was, did I want to play in the bronze or silver division. Bronze players played with a handicap, silver players played without a handicap.

“Choose silver,” Jean-Pierre, a friend said. “The last thing you want is to lose to someone’s handicap.”

“In which division are you playing?” I asked him.

“Gold,” he said.

In my opinion, he was overestimating himself. While he was not a bad bowler, he was nowhere near good enough to play with men who scored a 200 average.

“If I’m gonna be beaten, I want to be beaten by the best,” he told me.

This got me thinking.

Yesterday I posted a writing sample in a writer’s group and my work got slammed left, right and center. One or two people had something good to say, but the majority found fault with it.

Then today I saw a writing sample from another member. To say that it was awful is putting it mildly. Not only was the piece crawling with typos, the grammar was atrocious and the story itself seemed to be written by a six-year-old.

Here is an extract from what she wrote:

I went to bed last night. I lay in bed looking at the ceiling. I couldn’t sleep. I got up and watched the moon. I couldn’t sleep because my brother was snoring. I wouldn’t wait for morning to come. My mother was out with her boyfriend.

Do you consider this good writing?

The other members of the group, those who had slammed me the previous day had nothing but good to say about the childish writing. They found it fascinating, captivating and looked forward to reading the next chapter.

Thinking that I was perhaps a little biased, because of the bad feedback I had received on my work, I asked two other people to read the work of the other member. Both their reaction was more or less the same ... who wrote this crap and how did she dare publish this online for all to see. Did she actually think this was good writing?

When I told them about my experience of the previous day they laughed and said “Why you do even bother? If you want feedback, ask the professionals, don’t bother with amateurs, they don’t know any better than you do.”

So I did. I asked two well-known authors, who have sold millions of books how they feel about criticism. Both of them laughed and said, “If I had listened to others, I never would have finished my first novel.”

They asked me if I enjoyed writing. When I said yes, they shrugged and said, “Then keep doing it. Who cares what anyone else thinks?”

I guess those are words I have to keep in mind. From what I’ve gathered so far, for some people writing is fun, for others it’s therapeutic, a way to pass the time, or to hang out with their imaginary friends. Whatever the reason, if writing is enjoyable ... go for it.

One more thing to remember ... what’s good for the goose isn’t necessarily good for the gender. There’s no accounting for taste. Do you think Stephen King, James Patterson, Lee Child or Dan Brown care about amateurs’ opinion ... no, they have an idea and set to work. We should do the same.

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Day 159: I’ve been called a liar and a cheat

My Project: 365 Creative Writing Prompt

Day 159: I’ve Been Called a Liar and a Cheat

As a freelance writer, I always keep an eye open for new opportunities. When I noticed a group on Facebook called ‘Content Writers’ I thought it might be a good idea to join, thinking that there might be writing jobs. I applied and got accepted.

It didn’t take long for the Jax V.M., the moderator, to post the message “just wait ,but can you do me a favor ? Please provide your real picture on your profile ,thanks.” 

So far, my profile picture was that of a cat. Sometimes it was Charlotte, sometimes Holly, Halley or Greyson. I changed it regularly. 

Jax responded with “you can't get job here if you do that, no one believes in you ,ok,please be responsible if you want to do this kind of work.

Okay, I could understand that, sort of. Personally, I don’t see what a picture has to do with someone’s writing abilities. A picture will reveal if someone is female or male, old or young, beautiful or ordinary, etc. But is any of that important? As a client, I would prefer to see a writing sample rather than someone’s face.

Judging by Jax’s writing, I didn’t have much confidence in her. She didn’t capitalize her sentences. She left a space between the last letter of a word and a comma. She didn’t leave a space between the comma and the first word of a new sentence. And she stated ‘you can't get job here if you do that’ instead of ‘You can’t get a job here if you do that’. 

This was not the work of an accomplished writer.

Anyhow, I complied and posted a picture of myself, this picture. 

Jax responded with “ i am asking a real picture of you right?” 

I didn’t see what the problem was, this was a real picture of me. She replied by posting this picture, taken from Wordpress and said “Ok if you say so that is not copyright”

I responded with “Not sure what you mean by that Jax. Are you saying that I took someone else's photo?" To which the reply was “ it isn't necessary but i do have an instinct ,anyways leave it”

This irked me. This person thought that I had stolen someone else’s photo and pretended this was me! Where did she get off calling me a liar and a cheat? Not in so many words, but that was the gist of it. When I tried once more to assure her that this was indeed me, she responded with “ok if you say so,goodluck” To me, ‘ok if you say so’ is as good as ‘I don’t believe a word of it’.

So looked at Jax’s Facebook profile and … I found a picture of a young girl, little more than a child really. I’m not good at guessing ages, but she looked about 15 – 17. That’s who I was dealing with! A kid! No wonder she acted so immature.

The other members didn’t seem very credible either. One claimed to have studied at Oxford but her writing let me doubt that.

She wrote:

My name is xxx am a content writer with over 5years of experience do check out my gigs

Contact me asap let get it started

Am here let deal

I don’t know at which Oxford this girl studied, but judging by her command of the English language it wasn’t the one in England.

Other writers’ spelling was even worse. They applied to jobs with “R U looking for a writer?” Now, this really rubs me up the wrong way. It’s bad enough that regular people write in abbreviations, but so-called professional writers should know better.

Either way, I decided that this wasn’t the site for and left.

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Day 136: Halley and the Geese

My Project: 365 Creative Writing Prompts

Day 136: Halley and the geese

I just dawned on me that it’s been a while since I’ve given you an update on the 2.5-million-dollar project. The last two pictures I posted were these:

 For about two weeks after these pictures were taken, I didn’t see anything happening. Not that the men weren’t working, they were – as I now realize – busy placing supports in the parking garage in preparation for the next phase of the project.

Last week Monday I came home and was greeted by this sight:

From then on, the pit just became bigger and bigger.

The noise of the jackhammer (white machine on the far left) is deafening. The works starts promptly at 9:00 a.m. and continues until 5:00 or even 6:00 p.m. I try not to let it bother me, but after a few hours this is getting more and more difficult. More so because watching something on TV is impossible as I can’t understand the dialogue. The same with listening to an eBook, I can’t concentrate on the narrator.

Even Halley has a hard time dealing with the noise. She was sitting on the ledge, watching the men at work, and her eyes were clearly asking … what are they doing? 

She was trying to attract the attention of one of the men with an “Hey you! Can you keep it down a bit? Some of us are trying to sleep up here.” 

When that didn’t work she decided to call on a higher power with a “Please God, make it stop!”

Last Friday the noise did stop for a little while as the foreman came to inspect the site and he and the six men took a stroll in and around the pit. While one of the workers did a lot of gesturing, the foreman stood with his hands on his hips bobbing his head. He seemed pleased with the progress.

Then on Saturday, a different kind of inspector and his entourage came to take a look at the works. I heard a strange noise, went to take a look and there they were ... five Canadian geese, casually taking a stroll along the construction site. 

Not one but five of those big birds were just waddling along, seemingly belonging to nobody. Now that was of interest to Halley. 

Day 135: AWAI Online

My Project: 365 Creative Writing Prompts

Day 135: AWAI Online

One of my pet peeves are people trying to take advantage of other people: Nigerian princes who want to share their millions, financially strapped mothers who can’t provide for their children and ask for support, and writing sites making unrealistic promises to aspiring writers. One such writing site is AWAI Online.

It’s understandable why freelance writing has become so popular. Men and women of all ages get to work from home, get to be creative, and some of them manage to earn a decent income.

AWAI Online recognized that freelance writing has taken off faster than a car on nitro and zoomed in to lift unsuspecting people of their hard-earned money. The plan is simple, get people’s attention with the line

““The Accelerated Program for Six-Figure Copywriting salary”

When I see a line like that I immediately know that I’m dealing with a scam. No copywriter, amateur or professional earns a six-figure salary. If they did, everyone and his uncle would choose that profession.

Generally, freelance writers work for pennies, they are among the most underpaid people in the world. Some of them get paid 3, 5 or 10 cents per word and gradually work themselves up to a better payout.

A friend of mine is such a writer. She started out working for pennies, build up a portfolio and a reputation and today she is one of the most successful and respected writers in the business. Save to say, she makes a very nice income but she earns nowhere near $100,000 a year. However, she is one of the few, the rest of us take what we can get where it comes to writing.

But let’s get back to AWAI Online. As always I did some digging and found this article:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/53003768@N06/8494566540

At Writers Beware I found the following:

https://accrispin.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-barefoot-writers-club.html

At the time of publication, there were 127 comments pertaining to AWAI Online. Let’s have a look at some of them:

The head honcho of AWAI, calls herself "Katie Yeakle" That happens to be a fake name, as are the names of many of those who run or write for AWAI. Hmm...

Check Elance or oDesk if you want to find out what freelance writers really earn. Those sites are chock full of very capable writers charging $10-$20 per hour.

If AWA has accomplished anything aside from making "Yeakle" and her insiders fabulously wealthy, it has flooded the market with pipe-dreaming wannabe $500-an-hour writers, which by their sheer volume have eliminated the chance that many will earn a reasonable living off writing.

I just found out they are taking $49 out my credit card account every year, and I have not authorized this repeated charge. Also, I cannot find anything in "My Account" on their website that shows I will be or have been charged or how I can stop the charges. This qualifies as a scam. I've never gotten anything worthwhile from them either. Stay away.

Thanks for this post! I've been wondering about these AWAI people. I signed up for their mailing list at some point but I've never spent money on them. I just get emails from them every few days that always sound about the same and never give me any actual info. Like you said, it's just all fluff that reads like one of those get rich quick scam pages. Sure it sounds glamorous and beautiful and who wouldn't want that... but it's got way too many red flags.

If I call in the next 30 minutes, I will receive two, that's right, TWO subscriptions for the price of ONE! They'll even throw in a free shower head valued at $19.95! But wait--that's not all. As a special introductory offer, they will provide me with a 1,000-page email list that I can use to spam unsuspecting people with the hypnotic power of my newly-acquired copywriting genius! If that's not a deal, I don't know what is.

On second thought, it might be easier to just take a blunt blow to the head.

There is only ONE way to be a profitable writer--have talent, wow a publisher. Get your education in the field of writing from reliable educators, work, work at it until you have a WOW piece. Now go out there and WOW one.

There is no way, as I see it, that some snake oil salesman on the internet can make you a writer.

What I want to know is, "who are all these people writing the testimonials?" 

AWAI is pretty much of a joke.

Unfortunately, the naïve, and the ones who don't do their homework on AWAI get sucked in.

I have lost count the number of business owners I have written for who got burned after hiring "copywriters" through AWAI.

The stories I could tell you about this place. Just the way AWAI advertises themselves should tell anyone with a half a brain that they are not good at copywriting. Their lame articles alone should tell you plenty. Buyers beware. 

I guess this just about sums it up. If you go searching for AWAI Online, you’ll no doubt find favorable reviews, but the question is … who wrote those reviews, even if the writer states that he/she is unbiased.

Take it from me, anyone who believes that earning a six-figure salary (meaning in access of $100,000 a year) with copywriting is possible is dreaming.

The only ones who make money from the six-figure writing course are AWAI Online and you can be sure that they’ll be smirking … we caught another sucker.

You want to learn how to write? There are two ways of doing that: 1) go to school, an actual school where a teacher/professor will explain the process and the finer points; 2) go online and read everything you can get your hands on. Don’t just read through, study the material. Next, you practice, practice, and practice some more. You’ll get the hang of it soon enough and it won’t cost you a dime.