Tag: nanowrimo

you don’t know me okay?

On By MarquessaIn Blog, On Writing18 Comments

(Repost)

Is it too late to be “anonymous”???

Yup, I killed the anonymous option a very long time ago.

When I started this blog years ago, it was ONLY to participate in the WordPress Writing 101 course.

I didn’t know anything about the world of blogging but I FELL IN LOVE with the exchanges with fellow writers and the creative writing itself reignited my love for what I had buried six feet under for almost 2 decades due to OPOs (Other People’s Opinions).

But I’m still here, still writing and still wanting to publish the stories rolling around in my head if I can get over my procrastination due to..fear?

Yeah, I said it but I digress…

In looking around at other indie authors, I realize that lots of them use pen names or initials as part of their published names.

Maybe it’s because these internet streets can get crazy weird and keeping your true identity anonymous is the smart thing to do.

Maybe it’s because an author can reinvent themselves and pick a name that’s crazy sexy and cool (I like that idea).

Or maybe it’s because lots of female authors use initials to have more street credibility, like JK Rowling and many others.

So…

I’m thinking that even though YOU already know who I am, maybe I’ll still follow suit with a different name or initials when I actually do publish something.

But it will likely be difficult to choose something that rolls off my tongue or that I really, really like.

Do you have a pen name? And if so, how did you choose it?

Bisous,

M

a little indie love #nanowrimo

On By MarquessaIn On Writing5 Comments

If you read my last post, you know how I’m approaching this year’s Nanowrimo this November…

I’m not going to write a daily post telling you what I did because that would just be plain boring but I will share something that I finally sat down and did today.

I made a list of all the indie books I have bought, read but haven’t written reviews for.

That’s what I did.

But I’ll be honest – if it hadn’t been for the severe rainstorm followed by a severe windstorm that knocked out my internet and cable, I probably wouldn’t have done it so quickly. I was blessed enough to not lose electricity and I had no flooding since I “triple” waterproofed my property a few years ago, but I had plenty of time waiting on hold with the electrical company to tell them about this…

Yeah, I’m lucky that when this tree snapped, it decided to fall AWAY from the property. Unfortunately it fell onto the electrical pole and I’m trying not to worry about it. Hopefully, the situation will be regulated soon.

But I digress…

I now have at least a dozen books on my short list to review and have jotted down what I liked about the characters and story lines to refresh my memory and to make my review write-ups easier.

And for the books I didn’t enjoy,especiallu due to the genre? I’m deciding to not review. It’s not the author’s fault if I didn’t enjoy the genre, right?

I know that Amazon and Goodread reviews are priceless so it’s about time I get back to doing this, especially since I follow a lot of these authors on Instagram and enjoy their work.

So I’m thanking 2 storms for giving me a kick in the pants to draft up my reviews. 🙂

What about you? Do you regularly leave a review of books on Amazon or Goodreads? Do you know that indie authors need reviews?

Bisous,

M

doing Nanowrimo my way

On By MarquessaIn On Writing13 Comments

Okay, so starting today, I’m doing the Nanowrimo challenge like millions of other writers who are diving in for the next 30 days.

But I’m not doing Nanowrimo in the traditional way…

I’m doing it my way and no one is going to tell me otherwise.

i cant GIF

My goal isn’t to write 50,000 words by November 30. My goal is to write a little every day and do to AT LEAST ONE writing-related activity everyday for the next 30 days.

Why?

Because I have soooo many writing-related things I never prioritize because I’m either working on a scene I’ve been thinking about or catching up on something else.

Long story short, I’m aiming low.

And today, I managed to accomplish a few writing-related things…

  1. Yesterday, I was finally taken off the wait-list for a “how to” course on email newsletters. My newsletters have been lacking (to say the least ’cause I’m never quite sure what to share) so not only was getting off the wait-list great timing, I’m considering my sign-up as “accomplishment #1”. I’ve only heard good things about this course so I’m really looking forward to diving into it in January 2020;
  2. I read/cleared out EVERYTHING in my email account where I receive blog posts, newsletters and writing-related articles. Is it weird to say that it felt soooo satisfying to be at Inbox Zero? Sorry, it felt good!
  3. I finished editing the next installment for my Wattpad story. All that’s left is to spellcheck and I’ll post it.

Who knew that aiming for the minimum could give such good results?

And why didn’t I think about aiming low before?

Are you doing Nanowrimo? What have you got on your to-do list?

Bisous,

M xoxo