Writers
To Self-Publish or Not Self-Publish
I’m seeing more and more aspiring writers and future authors impatiently go the self-publishing route. I say “impatiently” because it indeed takes some time to go the traditional way, namely knocking on publisher’s doors and, often, getting rejected over and over again before something happens.
Like many bloggers, I’m a writer who aspires to have her books published, but I don’t feel it necessary to constantly post or discuss it. As a matter of fact, I prefer not to discuss it. Having said this, for the sake of this post title, I’ll finally mention it. I’ve written a memoir titled Scars of Valor, but I am also considering it as fiction “based on a true story” about my experiences as a former Army wife who struggled through our nation’s period of heavy deployment to Iraq and then to Afghanistan. It’s an insight into depression and isolation caused by moving from base to base, town to town, and enduring Army life, PTSD and, then, divorce. Read the rest of this entry »
Dealing With Haters: Internet Trolls and Nasty Comments
I have been bombarded by comments as I have two blogs I write and manage, this one and tvshowjunky. I find myself mostly deleting rather than approving them. Either someone is trying to promote a work-from-home opportunity or they have nothing better to do than to troll and try to pick an Internet fight. So it was little surprise to receive a pretty rotten comment from f*cky*u@yahoo.com, originating from IP address 174.3.204.253, S0106602ad084a489.ed.shawcable.net, tracked to someone in the region of Alberta within the city of Edmonton, Canada to be specific. There was also this whois link attached: http://whois.arin.net/rest/ip/174.3.204.253.
The attack was in response to an article I posted that tends to generate the most views: From Tots to Adults: When Spoiled Brats Grow Up into Bigger Ones! Let’s just say that I was called a word rhyming with “blunt,” and my mother (who is Korean) was suddenly a Chinese piece of sh*t. Yes, we look alike, but c’mon! Read the rest of this entry »
Writing True to One’s Self
Do you have a gimmick? That’s how a lot of bloggers get noticed today. They choose their narrative voice and then they decide that perhaps sensationalism is the right approach. And judging by responses from other bloggers, I guess it works. I don’t know how big I am on writing with a gimmick in mind. Sensationalism is a good way to catch someone’s attention— I’ll give you that. I mean, some people are willing to let it all hang out.
I will at times be extremely frank or honest while commenting on a post, and recently I opened up my more “opinionated side” on my newest site, tvshowjunky.com. I mean it’s really new, as I only have three posts so far. Anyway, I suppose that particular site is written using more of an “in your face” approach. It might even be considered gimmicky to some folks, it’s not my intention but it very well can be perceived that way. Read the rest of this entry »
Choosing Your Blog Platform: WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org
When you begin designing a site, you need to consider how much time you want to invest and how technical you’d like to get. Those who use a WordPress platform for personal blog, portfolio or professional site have probably heard that there are differences between WordPress.com and WordPress.org.
Honestly, I kind of kicked myself for not first building lilpickmeup.com in WordPress.org. But if you move over a WordPress.com site you will likely lose your followers as well as links, and even more complications can arise. One of the things that I dislike about WordPress.com is that you don’t have that much control or flexibility over the template you choose. Similarly, WordPress.org lacks some flexibility. This is why if you truly want to build something totally your way, you should consider a web designer who can build it from scratch. However, for blogs some of us like to make things as easy on ourselves as possible. I am no expert at either, but WordPress.com makes it super easy for anyone to erect a quick blog. But, if you eventually want to start making money as a blogger, WordPress.com makes that virtually impossible. Well, at least extremely difficult. Read the rest of this entry »
Do Blog “Likes” Reflect Writing Quality?
I write because it’s what I do and have always done. As a child, and without thinking, I used to carry a pen and a note pad everywhere I went. The words always just flowed forth. Even as an adult, for the longest time I had notebooks and notebooks of written material I saved that dated back to elementary school. The notebooks were so old the pages bled and eventually the words were unreadable. At that point I finally had to realize that they were too old and I needed to part ways with literally a large box. When I was in the second grade, I recall my mother’s voice and how she used to insist that all of her children ought to be a doctor or a lawyer. Writing wasn’t the path to success or big money, she reasoned. Read the rest of this entry »
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Writing With Hope 