New series: 56 My Ambiance Life things

Hello, long time, no see, rather no write.  I have been thinking.  They say that if you think too hard, something ugly might come up.  OK, I am the only one who said it, BUUTTT….

I just celebrated my birthday.  Yeah, that one.  July 21 is the date.  I am not one to reveal my age because I do not feel it and I do not think it.  Let’s just say that I am a Gen X, the forgotten generation.  They talk about the Baby Boomers and they talk about the Millennials, and they talk about the older folks (my parent’s age group) but they never talk about mine.  I guess that we are the people that others warn each other about.  So, if you were born between 1964-1979, you know exactly what I am talking about, but this is not that conversation.  Not here, and not on this blog.  I can explain further as I go through “56 My Ambiance Life Things on that blog, or not.  You never know until you read all 4 blogs.  Did I say 4?

So, today and for the next couple of weeks or so, I will have 56 Home Prep things on that blog, 56 My Ambiance Life things on this blog, 56 P. Lynne Designs things on that blog and 56 Miss Froggy Loves Traveling things on that blog.  Each series has no rhyme or reason except that it has to do with what each blog has in store for the reader.  In My Ambiance Life’s case, it is about writing, blogging, and inspiration to name a few. So here’s a start.

 

Today’s topic:  Writing during Covid

Today, I want to talk about being a writer during this time.  You can call your profession anything you want to help you sleep at night.  I call myself a writer.  I am not comfortable at the moment of calling myself a blogger, and the reason is I am not basically at the moment putting down my feelings.  I have 3 other blogs; one that covers home life (Home Prep), one that covers my business and crafting (P. Lynne Designs), and a new one that covers travel (Miss Froggy Loves Traveling).  I have enough content that can cover this blog (My Ambiance Life) and the other two blogs, but, as soon as I announced that I was putting the travel section into another blog, Covid-19 hit with a vengeance.  The only place I have been since that time is to my brother’s house in Dayton, which is an hour and a half from Columbus. 

Currently, if I were to go to Walt Disney World, I would have to self-quarantine for 14 days before going into the parks, since I am from the state of Ohio, which is now one of the high risks states in the country.  Yeah, idiots who refuse to wear a mask around here.  I hope you are happy about your right to not wear a mask.  Thanks to you, I cannot move freely throughout the country with one on.  You have impeded on mine.

Back to the subject….

As you can see, I am kind of sore about that, and thanks okay.  As a writer (blogger or not), you can write about your experiences with Covid.  There is plenty to write about, and you can put as much or as little details as you want.  After all, it is your article/post/novel.  You can have it fictionalized into something like the “Virus that Ate Manhattan”, or something that Robin Cook could only visualize in his mind.  Humm, I wonder if his book, Pandemic (2018) was about Covid in the future.  The virus in the book describes a “flu-like” virus invading parts of the world.  This is hitting to close to home.

How about writing about your personal experience with the virus, being “Stuck in the house and in the house bored” as the famous Tik Tok video suggests? I was thinking about trying some of the cute recipes that are on Tik Tok.  I already failed that breakfast sandwich trick.  I do plan on writing about it in my Home Prep blog and have a video on my YouTube channel.  Let me give you some other examples.

Examples for Motivational and inspirational type blog posts

First off, if you write motivational and/or inspirational type blog posts or want to start one during this pandemic (or any type of blog post for that matter), do not start on the negative side of it.  February and March 2020 was a shocker in the first place.  I cannot remember in my lifetime where I am ordered by the local or federal government to stay inside.  I also cannot remember a time where there is uncertainty throughout the country.  In fact, by the time I was born, the civil rights movement was almost over and by the time I started school, I was able to be in a classroom with children of different races.  I never experienced a time when I was told that I could not do something during my childhood unless my parents did not want me to do it. They tried to give me every opportunity to make a living, and have a better life. So, start with your own life.  Recall life before the pandemic. 

• Who are you and what is your background?   
• Where do you live?  For this, do not give out your exact location.  Notice at the beginning of this blog post, where I mentioned where my brother lives.  I said only the city and state.  Giving out your exact location can be bad for privacy. 
• What have you been doing during this time?  While you are in your home or if you are working during this time, how has it been? Have you been displaced in your job?  An example of this would be “that as a gig worker and entrepreneur, it has not been easy for me, but I have been trying to stay positive by improving on my skills and creating work for myself to do.” This is how I came up with the 56 blog posts idea for all of my blogs.”  You may have something similar or mention that you have been working remotely.  I am only mentioning things that are allowed in the United States, it may be different in your country.

Examples for “Home living” type blog posts

This is easier than the motivational and inspirational blogs.  The reason is it brings together something that most people during this time, working in the home.  I am not talking about your job, but renovating and doing little remodeling jobs around the home. 

• Have you an increase in your shopping habits? Talk about what you have bought during this time.  Haul videos and haul blog posts have become very popular during this time.  I have made a couple myself.
• Have you discovered a new way of cooking?  Food delivery has increased since we are still limited from going into a restaurant and having a sit-down meal. 

In my first “56 Home Prep things” blog post over on my Home Prep blog, I mentioned that Uber Eats has sort of becoming my BFF, and now I need to rediscovery my cookware and other things because it is eating into my budget. Yes, you can get carried away with the idea of someone bringing your food to you, and they can sit it in front of your door with you making contact.  A word of advice, have the grocery store bring you some goodies.  I gained 20 pounds in delivery prepared food and my Ipad has become my new timer, LOL.

• How have you organized and decluttered?  Talk about the space that you are trying to organize and what you want out of the space.  Come up with a plan and make it a journey. 

My craftroom, kitchen, and home office are three spaces that needed attention.  I am almost done with the kitchen and home office.  My main attention is now on the craftroom. For the craftroom, I mapped out my plan, the furniture pieces, which began before the pandemic, and now I need to order, build (most of it is from Ikea), and plop stuff in place.

• For parent eyes ONLY… how have your kids faired during the pandemic?  Does your school system have at least a partial plan for August and September?  What have you done to keep them occupied?  Are you considering permanent homeschooling your kids?  Pet Parents… how has your furbaby felt about you staying at home?  I have a niece furbaby, and I know she is wondering why everywhere she turns, I am right there.  In fact, she has hidden from me on several occasions during this time and tried to escape, LOL.  Most times, she has enjoyed my company, and I have enjoyed hers.

Tips on making writing work for other types of writing besides writing in a blog…

You do not have to write to keep others happy in this form.  If you are a novelist, this is a great time to start that novel.  Of course, if you have already written your first novel, you already know this.  This advice is for those who have always wanted to write one. 

So, what do you write about besides the pandemic around us?  You do not have to write about the pandemic as I previously mentioned.  You can go to another space in your head that speaks to your desires.  For this, there are some wonderful articles on how to start a novel.  I am not a novelist.  Sometimes I wish I were that person, or I can advise you better.

Do you like poetry?  Prose? A good non-fiction how-to book?  All of these would make a good book if you put your mind to it.

Well, it’s the end…

But not for long.  I have lots to say and not enough time to say it.  Some posts will be short and some long-winded, but never boring.  If you like this, stay tuned, there more posts to come.  If you have any comments, questions, and suggestions during this “challenge” (yes, I officially calling it that), please put it in the comments section of this blog or any of my blogs.  You may also address it to my email address, plogan721@att.net.

Until then, see you next time.

 

Some things have to change

Disclaimer: P. Lynne Designs is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Have you ever wanted to tackle a task that needed to be changed in the first place?  Hold that thought for a moment.

In a world that for the moment everything is uncertain; your job, your finances, your shelter, food, entertainment, or the lack of any of these things have been questionable.  This virus has even slowed down those people who have thought they were invincible and thought that they had plenty of money to deal with the uncertainty.

Although this is not the conversation I am having today, the one thing I do want to talk about is the word THINK.  Think and thinking are taking on new meanings these days. More importantly, the question I want you to think about is, “where will I be in 6 months? 1 year? 5 years?”  I will tell you that your answer for right now is different from when that question came up if it came up at all, and some of us knew exactly how to answer, while others struggled to get a word out of our mouths.

Three things

I am struggling with my business.  This is the main topic for entrepreneurs for the last month.  We all thought that this was some cute little virus like the flu, and like the flu, it will go away, and we will all get to laugh about the chicken soup remedies we shared online, what happened while we were in for a week or more.  Well, Covid-19 is not your cute little virus.  This virus is like the plague, the Spanish Flu of the early 1900s, and so on.  When you have whole countries shutting down, telling people to wear masks and gloves when going outside, staying 6 feet or more away from each other.  S Even shutting down Disney parks to the point where they will be furloughing employees on April 19 because of this pandemic.  It is messing with essential things like food, toilet paper, and other important supplies, as well as people not taking things seriously, but it is serious.  My minister says that God is asking us to do a hard reset, and re-evaluate what is more important in our lives.  It does not matter if you believe in Him or not.  On second thought, it really does. More on that later.

school systems and all but the essential jobs come to a screeching halt.

It is to the point where the government has to help out those people who are struggling, which we all are.  A stimulus check was in order, but who will get it and when.  There are several flaws to the check requirements, which I will not get into, but it made me put in an application to help out my business.  I signed up twice because the first one, which is a grant from a group called Hello Alice, said that they were setting up a grant for a few select people.  I thought it was part of the one from the SBA (Small Business Administration).  They are separate from each other. The one from Hello Alice is not a guaranteed grant, and neither is the one from the SBA, which I signed up for today.  I signed up for the one at Hello Alice two weeks ago.  This is where the questions I proposed were based on.

6 months

That is the easy question, but in a way it is not.  Personally, I want a new home.  The current home is an attached condo, and though I am blessed to have one, it would be nice to have a change of scenery before I enter into senior citizenhood. I also want a new car.  I am questioning the ability that my car’s transmission for the moment is not the best, and those who had to replace a transmission on the car know that it is better to get a new car than a new transmission on a car that is over 10 years old with no new models being made for this car. (2008 Dodge Caliber). 

As for my business, within 6 months I would like to have more brand recognition.

1 year.

This is even harder than the last one.   A year ago, I thought:

• I would have good memories of my trip to Walt Disney World in December.  I had to cancel it in October due to some financial situations with myself and other family members.  Plus, I had not even told my father that we were going.
• I would have more customers and my business would be in a space away from my home.  That has been delayed.
• I would have a new car.  I am currently having transmission problems with the current car (see under 6 months).  With this corona thing.  The test drive alone will have to wait. 
• I was going to own a house and have my second membership with Disney Vacation Club.  Guess what?  (crickets!!)

So you see, even though these are goals, which I am not going to talk about 5-year goals yet, change can happen any moment now, and even if it may hurt for a moment, you have to do a few things, like readjust and rethink.

Photo by Pixabay (c) 2020

The Readjustment Period

I am not going to leave you hanging.  After all, this is about things changing.  Let me explain:

These days, everyone is “about doing it now or else”, but what has this season of uncertainty has taught us.

• Life is short.  Instead of concentrating on making goals to be completed in a day or a year from now, make sure to concentrate on “If they are not completed by THIS DATE, reexamine and move on.”
• Maybe the task does not need to be completed NOW, if ever.  Not everything is meant for you or to be done by you.  concentrate on the basics, and add things when they come up, but do not wait too late.  If anything, seek a second opinion on things such as remodeling a kitchen or opening a second business. 
• Some things require a little more, like finance (money).  I always say to budget everything.  For example, I have an idea to have a craft room.  I talk about it all the time to family and friends.  I know what I want in the room, which is my second bedroom. This was to be complete in 2018.  My nephew and his girlfriend moved in, and at first, it was only to be a couple of weeks, which went into a month. There sat my second bedroom, filled with stuff that needed to be put in other spots in the condo.  I gave them a task: clean out my second bedroom, and you can stay in it until you can find a place.  Ok, they went to cleaning, and they stayed for 2 years until the birth of their child forced them to my parent’s home two months ago.  Both of us agreed that carrying the baby up and down the stairs would be too much.  Now I have this empty room (well not quite, a couple pieces of their furniture is still in there), and I am ready.  Alone the way, I had to adjust to fit things into the room for when they did move out, as well as making financial plan adjustments.

Do not look at this virus as signs of defeat.  Think of this time as a slow down period and regroup.  Also, consider this:

Reconnect

Readjustments also mean reconnect.  Not only reconnecting to things you once held as your guiding principles and your moral values, but reconnect to family and friends.  I know at the moment we cannot visit them if they are far away, but you can do other things:

• If you have kids, take the time to do things with them.  If they are school-aged (4-18), they may not be able to see their friends, so helping them with their schoolwork, doing activities with them, and teaching them your values is a way to connect with them, see what is going on in their head, and so on.
• Read with them.  Mom and dad’s homeschool is in session.  If you are Christian (I am going by what was taught to me by my parents when I was a child), this is time to introduce them to the bible and God’s teachings and how He wants us to live.
• History lesson:  if they do not know about their family history, teach it to them.  Contact their grandparents, aunts, and uncles if you cannot remember it.  Teach cultural history, such as Black history.  Yes, February has passed, but if you are Irish, Asian, even an independent woman, teach that history. Give your child a reason to know that they have come from somewhere.
• Go on outings…. Inside your home.  For example, create things such as safaris, a trip to Disney, or a trip to the moon.  Have a cooking show (nothing that involves a stovetop), shop in your own closet.
• If quarantine permits, have a real outing, but not far from your home.  Remember 6 feet apart.
• Journal.  If you have an extra notebook or two lyings around, have your child start a journal.  This is a good time for you to start one too.

When it is all over….

When the governments give the okay sign to get back to normal, it is not going to be the same.  By now, you should have a good sense of what is going to change for the better and what is going to be business as usual.  For one, I hope that we all will take into account to:

• Never take anything for granted.  I do not know about other countries, but here in the United States, we have been wasteful, quick to judge and walking over each other.  Now that everyone from the rich to the poor is basically in the same boat, I hope that we will realize that when we get back to do the norm.
• Everything can change in an instant.  It has been a month since this whole thing hit the United States.
• Everything is a luxury item.  When you panic, you can think the worst, from running out of products (masks, gloves, toilet paper) to not having enough money to pay bills.  Big corporations, as well as the 1%, are finding out what is it like for the lower middle class to the poor to not have.  Perhaps it is a reminder for them when they did not have any money or maybe this is the first time (meaning they were born into money).  However, they have arrived at this or because of their income they may not see that stimulus check is coming, the 1% are finding out what it is like to be denied. 

It is kind of funny how everything is working out, but as the title says, some things had to change…for the better.  It will be alright if we exercise a little faith.  

Comment below on how you are adjusting and regrouping your life and how is your family dealing with this change.

What the Heck is Well-nigh and Other Ponderings

                       Subtitle-how to use rewrite software

I want to interrupt your normal reading of this blog for a very important message:

THIS BLOG IS MOVING SOON!!

No, I mean it this time.  I have been meaning to move it to a WordPress platform for some time, made several announcements only to not do it, and frankly for even me, it is getting quite annoying.  This is one of the reasons why I do not have traffic on this blog anymore.  I am working on that.  Later on this blog post.  I promise…..

         

                        That is not why this post is being interrupted

Disclaimer: P. Lynne Designs is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Today, I want to talk to you about one of the bad subjects in the writing world, and that is rewrites.  After all, the world is full of rewrites, redo, remakes, sequels, and so forth.  There is nothing so far that has been done that has not to be tested, tried, fried, dyed, laid to the side.  Oops, wrong subject and wrong blog (At Home with Tricia's Baskets needs to address this subject on hair).  But the point is that if it has not been on the market before now, THEN it is new.  Otherwise, it has been done before, EXCEPT in a different way.

I am currently working on a blog post called “How to write a 500-Word Blog Post” or “How to start a blog”, depending on which title I am going with.  It is my new, “I am not writing like I am mass-producing blog post” campaign challenge I am giving myself for 2020.  Here is the backstory:

    Image by skeeze from Pixabay

 (Pensive Female) 

I was feeling bored with this blog, all of my blogs.  One of the issues I am having is being honest with myself, and the honest truth is I was not liking my posts.  Some are great and I love them, it was the rest of the post from all three of my blogs that made me say, “ugh” to them.  It was a combo of things such as editing issues to I was not really feeling the subject I was writing about.  At times, I was feeling rushed, that “I got to make this deadline or else” feeling.  I did not like the links to a blog post, I did not like the photos, etc, and the low numbers from clicks proved it. So I decided to take the time to evaluate each blog and each blog post and main subjects. 

Tip:  If you are feeling bored with your blog, do a re-evaluation.  Do not beat yourself up about it, just find the places that need improving, even if it means to start over with a fresh blog. 

Now, before you start saying to yourself, “she is going in a different direction and talking about something else”, the answer is “no, I am not”.  I love all my subjects on all of my blogs.  From writing about “how to write a blog post” to “journaling” and now adding using planners with your writing with My Ambiance Life, Traveling to Disney to homelife and organizing with At Home with Tricia's Baskets, and finally crafting tutorials and product reviews with P. Lynne Designs, there will no change in that.  I was unhappy with my approach to these subjects.  If I change anything about the subjects it would be to split At Home with Tricia's Baskets to where the traveling would be separated from the homelife and organizing sections, making it two blogs again.

I decided that I did not like the flow of the “500-word blog post” post, so I turned to a blog post rewriting software program or site.  I must say that it was an eye-opener, and depending on how I feel, I may do it again.  Word has a feature now that allows you to rewrite a line or a whole post, but I do not think that is how this feature works, and I have to research it a little more.

This is when I came across the word, Well-nigh, which sounds like something that a British person would say, not an American, still wet behind the ears writer like me.  The word is an adverb, and it means “almost”.  So I am going to show you two sentences from my post that I am still working on to see how this word is being used.

This is the original sentence:

“Have you ever wanted to write something you are passionate about or have a unique skill that others crave they had?”

Now for the rewritten one:

“Have you overly wanted to write well-nigh something you are passionate well-nigh or have a unique skill that others require they had?”

 “Dear rewrite software maker:

I do not think that in my original sentence I did not have the word “almost” in it.  Why do I need to use the word, well-nigh”?”

This is what I would ask the website creators.   This is one of the sentences, and believe it or not, “well-nigh” is used a couple of times throughout the post.

Then I decided that I must replace the word.  Now, keep in mind that what I was about to use was Word’s synonym checker.  This was against the website’s rewrite copy of my post.  The words used were:

·         Nearly

·         Almost

·         Virtually

·         Just about

I am sorry to say this but just about every word in this word list does not match to what I was trying to convey in the original sentence or the entire post.

Tip:  The first sentence in a post after the title should set the tone for the rest of the piece.  It is not the means that ends it all, but it should give your reader some idea of what you are trying to arrive at.  Your title tells the reader about your subject matter.

So, what am I trying to say about rewrite software, websites, and all related items:

I have nothing again rewrites at all IF it is your original and YOU wrote it. What I have a problem with has to do with plagiarizing:  Those that do it are too lazy to come up with their own articles for their own blogs.  Now before I get any further, this is different from ghostwriting and guest posting.  

With Ghostwriting, the original author is willing to not take the credit for anything they produce for you or your company.  The only difference with the post, article, or book is the original author’s name is not on the byline, the individual or the individual’s company is on the byline.  This is not considered cheating at all, and in the contract, you draw up with the author, it states that the author is not allowed to use the copy on their blog o resell it if the post is in book form.  It is now considered the property of the individual and cannot be contested in court. 

Guest posting is when the author agrees to post an article for your site.  It works the same way as if the post was written on their blog.  It is not considered a rewrite, but the author can do a rewrite of that article for their own blog post.

Cons to rewriting a blog:

As I stated before, rewritten posts can be a problem if a person plagiarizes the original post. 

Say you want to write an article about cats and the benefits of being a cat mommy or daddy.  You have never owned a cat and you have not interviewed a person who owns a cat.  You just thought it was a good idea because cat ownership is a trending topic because everyone is doing it.   So, you decided to do some research on the subject of cat ownership, and in your research, you find this great article online about me loving being a cat aunt.  Gizmo is not mine, she belongs to my nephew and his girlfriend who both live with me. (True story) Instead of emailing me to as if I would give an interview on why Gizmo makes me happy (and I would be happy to do an interview, BTW), you take my article, use a rewrite software, and have it rewrite the whole article for your blog.  This is still considered stealing.  It may not look like the same post to the naked eye, but if I run across it, and it sounds like the same post I wrote, I could sue you.  This is one of the reasons why I do not like them.

So, use rewrite software and websites with a grain of salt.  Use them for your own posts to do a comparison on which version of your post you like better.  When you read the rewrite, make sure that the copy flows the same way that the original flows, if not, change it within the rewritten copy or be willing to combine the two. Never use it to copy someone’s idea and post. If you do, you could come off as a lazy writer, or you will be hearing from the original author’s lawyer.  If you are a writer, there are ways to check to see if someone is copying your work or if you have copied a passage that sounds like someone’s work. This will be the subject for this topic next time

That is all I have to say at this time.  Next subject….

Traffic and Promotion

This is one area that I have the most problems with.  It is not that I do not get it, it is… well…. Let me explain.

I am currently on Blogger, in reality, it does not matter what platform you are on, as long as you do the following:

1)       Write

2)      Write consistently, meaning GET A SCHEDULE!

3)     Promote what you write.  Meaning promoting your work on social media, groups of social media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Instagram). Even YouTube and newsletter count.

OK, I get it.  What I do not get is how many subscribers, followers, viewers, or visitors you need to have on your blog visiting daily, weekly, and monthly in order for brands to even consider you to write a sponsored post.  For months, and sometimes even now, I am baffled to the number of clicks needed and so on.  On social media, you cannot lie about these numbers.  You can sometimes exaggerate the numbers on your actual blog, but not on social media.  The brand liaison can look at your profile and tell if you have over 1000 viewers or not.  My question is often, “why so many?” It is the same question I ask about my credit score, “why 800”, but that is another question for another day, and I am not a financial guru, so I will leave the question here.  But, if anyone knows to “why I need a score of 800 to have a chance to get a new home?”, comment below, and I will try to understand it.

 Image by Mary Pahlke from 

Pixabay (Marketing)

Tip 2:

Write

Write consistently, meaning get a schedule

Promote what you write

I want to go over this more in detail.

1)       Write

This is obvious.  Get into the practice of constantly writing something if you are not used to it.  It does not matter if it is digital (computer) or pen and paper, but write something.  This is where I suggest that you get a writing journal, and write down things such as goals you want to achieve in the year or in your life, a bucket list, decorating or organizing pieces in your home or office, even spiritual aspirations and affirmations. 

Write them in paragraph form, a proper paragraph form. This means correct spelling, grammar, and the whole nine yards.  The reason for this practice is one day you may have to write something for business, or you might get a promotion on your job.  Anyway, companies do not understand the need to write “Tyme” for “time” and other things like that.  It may be good for social media, but not good for business.  Plus, some readers do not like reading blogs that have mistakes in them.

2)      Write consistently, meaning get a schedule

One of the problems I do have is being consistent with my writing.  I get on a roll, and for a while, it seems like I have a habit of staying on that schedule.  Then I have a falling off period, and I do not write for a while.  This comes with discouragement. I want to have big numbers, but I also want to see the comments as well. One tip I find that helps with every time a person views a YouTube video in the comments.  The vlogger always asks viewers to like the video, comment, subscribe to the channel, and share the video.  Well, I am good at doing just that on my YouTube channel, but the same is not said on my blogs. 

For schedules, you do not have to write every day, which is what some bloggers strive for.  Do not kill yourself to try to get a blog post out every single day.  You also have a life as well.  For 2020, I am going to try to get both blogs and videos out on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of each week.

3)     Promote what you write:

Promote your writing.  It goes back to what I said earlier in this piece.  It also does not matter if you are an established author, guest poster, or even if you are a ghostwriter.  Use your social media outlets as mentioned before to promote your work.  It is crucial, especially if you are looking for clients for freelance writing, or if you are trying to drum up sales.  If you an author, have book signings.  People love getting that first edition of your book.  If you are writing more than one book in the future (think Steven King or a Star Trek series of books), your first edition could be worth some money before and after you have died.  It may not mean much to you, but it may mean something to the person who owns a copy of your first written a book or your family.

Wow, this was a long post, the first of many, many long posts.  Let me know in the comments what you think of my 2000+ words per post. I will not get mad, I promise.

Afterthought: 

Before I was about to upload this post, I was looking for some further inspiration for the word and meaning of the word re-write.  I failed to issue a positive aspect of the word. I ran upon several books on Amazon that suggests a different look at this word.  Look at the word and meaning of the word to make a character stronger than before.  In other words, in fiction and creative writing, if you made the character seem week to the reader, the rewrite would make that same character stronger. so in this case, a rewrite is warranted. 

How to Start a Blog

It is the New Year, and there are people who want to start something new and different.  Writing is usually one of those hobbies that people want to start doing, but, for the most part, they are clueless on how to start or where to start.  10 years ago, I was in that same place most people are in when the itch to start writing kicks in.  I loved writing, but I was not sure if I had the skills to be a writer.  In the past, I was that person who had tons of spelling and grammar mistakes, and I did not care when I started my blogs. One of my problems was that I was always an impatient writer. This lead to being a careless writer. Another problem was I never did any research.  I wanted the paper to be done and done quickly.  If I did any research, I copied the text word for word without putting my spin into what I was reading and still meaning the same thing.

Photos from Pixabay

Side Note:  I want to take this moment to talk about the art of writing in general.  I find writing a lost art and a lost skill. We, as humans, may not like to write with pen and paper anymore, but in order to write an effective paper, both in pen and paper or digitally, you need to know how to write basic sentences.  Social media has made us lazy and I must admit at the time it includes me. We depend on the computer to correct our mistakes and this includes, spell checkers, grammar checkers, instead of watching what we say, and how we write it.
You should know the difference, for example, between words that sound the same but have two totally different meanings.  You should know where to insert a comma, and the difference between a noun, a pronoun, an adjective, and a preposition, and how to use it.  In social media, you SHOULD ALWAYS punctate a sentence with a period (.), an exclamation point (!), or a question mark (?), no matter what Twitter says.  A person should not try to figure out what you are trying to say to them in a Facebook post or Tweet.  Learn how to spell.  I am saying this because it does not matter if you want to be viewed as a professional writer to your friends on social media, or when you write for a blog or a business, the rules do not change.  Blogs may be more relaxed, but that’s about it.  Okay, rant over. Back to my story.
When I first started writing the papers that my teachers wanted, I did it on a typewriter or wrote it as older people would call, “long-hand”.  By the time I graduated from high school, the home computer started becoming a thing in the household.  Now we have smartphones, tablets, and all sorts of devices that make starting a blog easy and fun to start.  The key to writing is to have content that interesting, informative, and relatable.
Are blogs still a thing?
I was asked on Quora.com if starting a blog in 2020 was a silly idea, and it is not.  In fact in an age where Instagram, YouTube, Tiktok, and Snapchat are the marketing norm, writing a blog is still relevant today, as it was over 10 years ago when I first started.  Another fact is that some bloggers use their blogs as an addition to the vlogs that they put out.  Blogs today are more of a marketing tool to sell their products than to give out information about their products. For instance, If you have a brand to promote with products to sell on your website, you need content that promotes the very thing you want to sell.
For example, if you are a crafter and you sell paintings your life in the Columbus, Ohio area, You would create an e-commerce website with portraits of downtown, the Eastside, and Southside of the city.  You decide to create a portrait of a family enjoying the Ohio State Fair.  Once you have the concept of the painting, who the family is and represent, and what they are doing.  Next, you create a story about this family and why they are important on your blog website.  Perhaps, you may not want to do that, but write a post on how to bring life to your portraits or how to bring light and shadows to portraits for intermediates or the beginnings on how to paint for beginners. 

Tip: Whatever you decide to do on your blog, make it interesting, informative, and relatable to your website or brand.

So how do you start a blog?
I was looking to see how you start a blog in 2020.  Yes, I know how, but you have to remember that I started writing my blog 10 years ago, and well times have changed slightly. A person I found called Blog starter suggested you start a blog in these 6 simple steps:
1.    Pick a blog name.  to me, pick a name that is easy for a reader to remember and is not already taken.  For instance, I wanted to name my business and blog, P Lynn Designs.  Lynn is my legalized or government middle name. Of course, the “P” stands for Patricia.  The problem with it is there was already a blog with that spelling, and I did not want people and companies I deal with to get confused with that spelling.  I chose to use P. Lynne Designs because I always wanted to change the spelling of my middle name since the 10th grade (my parents had a fit about it), and a period (.) to further distance my blog and business from the other P Lynn Designs. Little did I know how much the website servers hate it.  Etsy still calls my shop, Plynne Designs.
2.   Get your blog online. Yes, it is important to find a self-hosting site.  I use SiteGround, and I could not have been any happy with the site.  Right now, all three blogs are still on Blogger, which is not a self-hosted site.  It is owned by Google, which means Google has a say so to the things you can and cannot do on your blog.  WordPress is the type of blog that most bloggers use.  Yes, there are sites like Wix, and it is a good blogging website, but you want something that can stand the test of time. I am very confident in Siteground. 
Also, register your blog with a domain name.  I use GoDaddy, but any hosting site that allows you to create a website or blog will allow you to create and register a domain name.  Godaddy is cheaper for the first year.  Renewals, however, are $17.00, at least that is what I paid yesterday.

Photo by Becca Clark for Pixabay

3.   Customize your blog.  Once you have created a blog name, registered the blog and domain name, you will want to pick a theme.  You can use the default theme, which is usually named after the year it was created (Twenty Nineteen is the theme that is currently activated on my new My Ambiance Life site), but if I were you, I would pick a theme that resonated with your blog.  Twenty Nineteen is not that theme, so I will have to change it.  Also, choose a theme that has a “parent-child relationship (main and sub-main pages).  We could get into plug-ins later, but there are thousands of plug-ins to suit the style you want to go into for your blog.  One tip:  do not fall in love with too many plug-ins.  The reason is a server is a great big computer, and if you fill your blog with too many plug-ins, it will take longer for the blog to load.  If your blog takes to long, you could push away some readers who only want to get to your post, read it, make a comment, and move on.
4.  Write and publish your first post.  Once you have customized your blog, it is time to write your first post.  It is important that reach your audience and provide the answers that they seek, even if your post is for mere entertainment.  Here is what I do in order to write a post from start to publish:
With that being said, when I first write a blog post, I plan it out. This takes about 15–20 minutes. Next, anything that I am not familiar with, even if I am well versed in the topic, I research the parts I am not familiar with. after the research, I write a rough draft, which takes about an hour or two. Then I proofread and edit the post. this takes about 30 minutes. Lastly, I will add photos, affiliate links, and other things that may draw a reader’s attention.
I tell readers that the way to start a blog post is to start with a concept.  Choose a topic.  I always use motorcycles as a starting point but this time I am not.  Let’s take Disney as a subject.  I know, there are Disney movies, property, theme parks, food in the theme parks, and shows.  Yes, you have to be able to break this Whenever you write a blog, it does not matter if it is 500 words or 5000 words, always plan out your topic and do your research, especially on a topic you are not familiar with. So, I would have to say that depending on what I have to do that day, it will take me about 24 hours from concept to publishing the post. This is an estimated time. Some posts may take a little longer, while others may be shorter than 24-hours. Once you have written and edited your post you want to
5.  Promote your blog.  After all, if you do not tell anyone that you have written a new blog post, how are you going to get clicks throughs and traffic.  I will admit that I have a hard time doing, and I have a degree in marketing.  Silly, huh?
There are many ways to promote your post.  Currently, I am in at least 5 groups whose sole purpose is to allow you to promote your blog posts and 3 groups that allow you to promote my YouTube channel.  I am also on 3 Twitter groups that allow blog post promotion, and I use Tailwind to promote my posts through Pinterest and Instagram.  About YouTube, while you are uploading your video to your channel, fill out your description of what the video is about.  You can place a call to action link in the description area.  This is where you can place a link to your blog and everything that links your social media to both the blog and video channel.
There are also websites that allow the promotion of blogs as well.  One such website I am on is Bloglovin.  The way Bloglovin works is you submit your blog to the site.  There is a code you put on your blog that allows Bloglovin to grab your post every time you post it on your blog.  That is all there is.  For those in fear of coding, it is super simple to plug it into the backend of your blog site or ask any teen to do it for you.  They would love to be paid a couple of dollars for the chance to sharpen their skills.  There is always a catch and, in this case, follow other bloggers and like their posts.
One word about marketing.  It is getting harder and harder to promote because of states like California, who a few weeks ago passed a law that if a person does not want to receive any communication from a third-party company, you, as the company they are communicating with have to honor that request, and you need to display it on your blog or website.  This is something that requires some more discussion on the matter, and since I live in the State of Ohio, the only way it affects me is if I am doing business with a customer who lives in California.  What you need to do is be strategic about marketing, and research what is allowed in your state or country because if you are not careful, marketing can cost you additional thousands of dollars over what you have estimated the cost to be in your yearly budget.

6.   Make money blogging.
This is a tricky subject as well.  I cannot tell you the full details on how, except what I am trying to do, which is through affiliate marketing, sponsored posts, and products. 

Tip: Find what works for you and your blog.  Do not try everything, because everything may not work for you and your type of business. 

This ties into promoting your blog:  Promote companies that are in line with your business and brand.  If you are a crafter, find craft companies that you use on s regular basis.  I love my Cricut Electronic Cutting Machine.  I have been using one since 2005 when the first one started selling.  I am now using the Cricut Maker exclusively, which not only cuts paper, but Balsa Wood, Acetate, and fabric to name a few materials.  I have every single type of blade this machine can use, and I have invested money for this machine.  I also have the older Cricut Explore (1^st edition), but it is on standby, in case something goes wrong with the maker.  It almost did 5 weeks ago when Microsoft updated the operating system, and I found out the computer kicked out my Bluetooth for all Cricut machines because, hey, it was not made by Microsoft (the little turds), so, I couldn't work neither machine.   “This is the very reason why I do not like automatic updates, Microsoft, stop this nonsense.”
Yes, I sometimes promote the heck out of Cricut machines, including the EasyPress, which I need time to learn. But if you want to earn some money, you need to put in the work to allow your blog to earn that extra cash.  By the way, Cricut does not pay me to say these nice things about their products by giving them to me, I buy them with my own money.  There is that aspect too, which I will dive into through the year.
Well, another long blog post is done and ready to publish.  Remember these 6 principles to having a profitable blog, and I just touched the surface on this subject.  There is plenty of content to cover with blogging for beginners.  Blogging is not for everyone, and there is a 7^th principle that I have not touched on, and that is what if you have to quit.  I have done that on a couple of blogs that I no longer write, and I will touch on that topic later.
Until then, be well, and do not give up.

Journaling Highs and Whoas

I have been journaling up a storm lately.  It is one of the things I do when something is bothering me (my recent problem with a client that ended up in a divorce from him), figuring out my next moves for a trip that I and the family are taking, and getting into bible journaling (more on that next week).  Sometimes I forget that part of this writing a blog is teaching you how to make the most of journaling, and how journaling can do wonders for your mind, body, and soul (prayer is another), allows you to have some clarity to some of deepest thoughts, and allows you to look back on it as a lesson learned.  So today, I am focusing more on rules and regulations of journaling, especially when things do not exactly go your way, and I have a small little trick up my sleeve that will help you boost your confidence about journaling.

Image by David Schwarzenberg from Pixabay 

First of all, a little scalding if you do not mind….

YOU ARE YOUR OWN WORST ENEMY!!!

There I said it, and I meant it.

We, as humans, tend to do what as known as self-deprivation.  We like to tear ourselves down and we like to take others along for the ride. 

Take, for instance, food.  Now I do not know what happens in your house, but in mine, a conversation inside my head goes a little like this (It usually starts in the car, yes, the car):

Me thinking: “I am hungry, what do I want to eat”

Next thing I know, I go through my favorite foods and cuisines: “When was the last time I had sushi?” (last week).  “Do I want it again this week?”  Maybe, but how about Poke (pronounced- “Poo-kay”- a Hawaiian dish that has made it to the mainland United States that is quite delicious (at least to me))?  “What about Mexican?” The list goes on and on, and continues for about 5 minutes.   When I have settled on something, I will as myself if I want something sweet with it? If the answer is yes, then I will get it, feel guilty about eating it, then write in my journal about how stupid it was for me to get it in the first place because I am fat, I am saving for this trip, and it is that time of the month.

Please, please, please, say that you either made a mistake for eating the desert (or eating out in the first), or say “next time I will think twice before I eat out”.  I am telling myself that as well.

Tip #1:  Affirmations

One of the things I am learning to post not only on social media but in my journal as well as positive affirmations.  This is a clip I found on YouTube.  This is Jessica, and she has a morning affirmation that I like.  This was shot in 2011, but the attitude should be the same then as it is now.  She explains in the mirror what she likes and only that.  It is all positive.  While you do not have to climb on the counter in your bathroom like this spunky, little 4-year-old (who is probably in middle school now), have that same enthusiasm in your journal, as she has in the video, which you can see here.

Now with that, you can place your problems in your journal, and you should, but do not say how stupid you are, hate is such a strong, powerful word, and mention how you will come out of it.

OK, let’s move on….

Your writing.

Tip #2: Write like you are in school

I say that because I realized how bad my writing has become and it is creeping into my blog posts.

I have certain saying that I put in my journal that I do not say when I write out blog posts, or at least it should not.  For example, in the beginning of this post, I wrote, “It is one of the things I do when something is bothering me (my recent problem with a client that ended up in a divorce from him), figuring out my next moves for a trip that me and the family are taking, and getting into bible journaling (more on that next week)”.  I almost wrote, “figuring out my next moves for a trip that I and the fam are taking”.  This part of the sentence would have been reserved for my journal, not this blog post.  The professional way of writing is to avoid all personal abbreviations because not everyone will understand them.  How many people would understand that the abbreviation “fam” is actually “family”?  Probably less than .1 percent.

So my tip for you is do not separate your journal writing from your former writing.  This includes business and school. Now, if you do not work or you are not in school, this naturally does not apply to you, but get in a good practice anyway.  This includes spelling and grammar.

This is not sponsored, but I use a program called Grammarly.  I have mentioned this site a few times, but it has really helped me.  I am on the free version, which does not go deep into the grammar part, nor does it correct that part either.  It is reserved for the premium part.  Once you pay for premium, it will check and correct everything, but while it is doing this, please learn from your mistakes so the program does not have to correct you again.  I know by next month; I have to pay for it because now I use it in place of MS Word’s spellcheck and grammar check.  Now MS Word’s spell and grammar check will still do its thing, but Grammarly will go behind it, in case the feature misses a problem.

  

Tip #3:  Have fun with your journaling

I have mentioned this before, but have a mixture of journaling posts.  You can have your hardcore journaling where you are upset with something and you need to have it solved.  You can have your project journaling posts where you are working on a project, having to list your project, materials, and cost estimates.  You can also have your maternity, baby, and child update journals, where all you list are what is happening that day and how are you feeling and so forth.  All of that is fine, but do not forget to stop and smell the roses along the way.

What do I mean?  Add humor to those posts.  Add a little fun, positive fun in your posts, so when you look back on these posts, you can laugh a little as well.

For example, I am doing a project journal.  I am redoing my craft room. I am finding do much humor in planning the craft room, my small space, and even choosing my furniture and the cost of that furniture.  I decided to go the Ikea route, (not sponsored) like so many crafters.  The reason why this furniture is often choosing is for the flexibility of this furniture and in comparison to the most costly furniture, it is cheaper.  Now if I only put in the boring stuff, how can I look back and laugh at when I was building my Alex drawer units only to find out I put the wrong screw in (you do know that the instructions do not come with words, right?), or had the wrong measurements to the space I was putting them in? humor help with the spots that no matter how much you feel like you have not done anything, you have really accomplished a lot.

Tip #4- find a quiet spot.

It does not matter what you do in that spot when you write, make that spot as free from distractions as possible.  For me, it is my bedroom.  I have a television in the room, but it no longer works.  I also write in the craftroom, late at night.  The only problem is the cat, who wants attention, but when she realizes that I am in my zone, Gizmo Elizabeth will go and lay down.  This is when I feel alone and serene.  Sometimes, I will throw on a little gospel or some of my favorite types of music and chill when I write.  This now my new way of writing my blog posts as well.  No television, no distractions.

This is how I would like to see you writing in your journal, both handwritten and digital.  This is the only way you can get put your true thoughts and be your true self.  Raw, and uninterrupted.  Put on your favorite music, I suggest no harsh rock music, but maybe a rock ballad.  Same if you listen to rap, hip hop, or even Holy Ghost feel-good praise music.  Now is the time to quiet the mind and relax.  Sip your favorite beverage (yes, ladies wine is allowed), and start writing.  My drug…uhm…. drink of choice tonight was pumpkin spice latte coffee with a couple of McDonald’s cookies I picked up on my way from my parent’s house. 

 Tips and Tricks

I always say no matter what is going on in your life, writing helps.  Screaming only escalates the problem.  It helps you to let go.  No, you do not have to read it back right away.  In fact, wait a few months after it is over with.  With breakups, that is a totally different situation and something that you should read back years later.  For abuse situations, burn the entry, or at least read it when you are ready to read it.

Add humor when possible.  Write your entries like business or school documents, such as spelling and grammar corrections, but not for the idea.

One last tip.  If you handwrite your entries, decorating is allowed, as long as you can read it.  No one likes to lift up a sticker just to read an entry.

Have fun, be safe, and do not beat yourself up if you make a mistake.  You are only human.

God bless you.