Guides for Writers

Have I mentioned anywhere yet that I simply worship Jenna Glatzer? Why? Well the girl knows how to say what she needs to say, with brevity and make it highly interesting.
I think I've scoured the Internet a zillion times looking for every word she has ever written.
Some writers BORE me. NOT HER!!!

She lays out what she wants to say and I can drink it all in and absorb what I am reading.
I cannot give the girl any higher praise. If you are new to writing. Read everything she writes.
Start here. This guide goes through all the beginner steps for freelance writers. She talks about the Big Idea, Researching markets, everything. She teaches you how to use time wisely and not waste it.

I admit, I go back often!!!! Oh, and she has her own web domain. Her site is also bookmarked. I visit often. She has written several books on writing. She also wrote Celine Dion's autobiograhpy, and she has a weekly podcast. What can I say.... Jenna rocks!
The journey of one freelance writer as she begins learning the process, submitting fiction and gaining entrance to the writing world on the Internet.

New Medication may be the answer for me.

After a summer of complete agony, I had a chat with my doctor today. Lupus sucks sometimes. I laid it out on the line and let him know I really didn't care too much for the chemo medication he had me on and how I felt like a prisoner in my own home. Needless to say, he listened!!!

We talked over the alternatives and decided together to try something else. I like the way he respects my opinions. It is MY Health!!! So, we talked about a new medication. It isn't as devastating to the system. It doesn't make you nauseated all the time like my other chemo did. Yes, I need to suppress my immune system, but I also need to be able to function from day to day.

He is trying me on cellcept. I linked the name so you can read about it.

Now, I just wish I could find a pill for fatigue!

Tags: Lupus, cellCept, medication, KuMidwest,

Using Tags Wisely

Like I said in my last post, I have been reading a lot of other blogs on the net. Having a blog that people want to read may not be important to you. As a writer, I like to think people will read what I have to say about just about anything.
For this reason, I didn't want to jump into blogging with blinders on. Blogging has become so popular every housewife, newsjunkie and knitter on the web has one. Most of these bloggers want to make a quick buck. So, they are putting additional content on their blog like ads, and links to their merchandise and much more.

How are we supposed to find them? Tags! Yep, anyone who knows anything about blogging, will be using some tagging system.

You may have noticed, my entries are tagless. Why, you ask? I went and changed to Beta Blogger. Stupid move. And.... I changed my template... both of these moves made me lose all my changes to my original site. I lost my Links as well.

Well, look for that to change in the next day or so. I've been sick as a dog for the past couple days. (remind me to discuss what a freelance writer does when illness strikes) In the meantime... I did a bit of reading at this great site that explains all about tagging with Technorati. Another great tagging site is del. icio.us Both sites require a short apllication. Both of them are free. When you find stuff like this you have to share!

Blog Success Means Homework

No, I haven't been lazy the past several days. I have been doing homework. Yep, you heard me right, homework. Having a successful blog means putting in a little legwork now and then. Though my house has been extra crowded (my foster daughter's A/C went kaput, stranding her and the two grandchildren here at my house).

I've been reading up on Feeds, Marketing, tagging my posts and so much more. I think everyone who starts a blog should check into sites like technorati, and the media toolbox. The amount of information you can get to help you with your blog is amazing. I personally found tons of stuff there and ended up reading well into the afternoon.

It also may mean choosing whether to monetize your site with Google Adsense or some other ads you can place on your site. Each time someone clicks on an ad on your site you make money. After a short while, you will get a check in your paypal account or you can have it
mailed to you if you prefer.

Naturally, you want to spread the word about your website. You need to make sure it is registered with search engines. This is done automatically through some blog sites such as
blogger.

When it comes to blogging, I found some really sucessful folks out there. One guy who knows his stuff is Mr. Ploppy. The guy knows everything about Internet marketing, tools you need to optimize your site and make your links do the work for you. I need to spend about a week reading over all the stuff I bookmarked on his site.

Writing for the Internet

Your Internet readers want to know a bit about you. They like to feel they "know" you. This means you will be writing in the first person. Give your opinions. Write in your own voice. Remember to answer the five questions: Who, what , when, where, and why. If you do this your readers may stick around for more details.

Brevity and pace count for a lot too. Net users have so many other options online. They could easily click their way to another online site. Your job is to hook them and hook them fast. Remember, the screen is somewhat small for some people and the text can be small as well. I know for a fact, I do not like to have scroll excessively to read a story/article. Sometimes I feel like if I have to scroll one more time I'm going to scream. Well, I don't want my readers feeling like that. Brevity is also important to keep download times short as well (we all know we don't want our readers twiddling their thumbs or leaving the site because they are waiting too long) The way to keep this to a minimum is to watch out for large images, video, and large sound files.

My last important topic about writing for the Internet has to do with links. I don't know how many times I have clicked on a link on some site only to find it is a dead link. (the link doesn't work, or it goes to a page that doesn't exist anymore) I try to check my links often so people don't have this problem from links on any of my pages.

Sucessful Writer Friend

I met a woman on the Internet who has already been sucessful at writing. Her name is Vivian She has co-written two poetry books, she is a moderator on a writing site, and she works tirelessly to help others. Her books are available at many online bookstores including Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Lulu, and some others.

Favorite Writing Sites

Whether you write for yourself or to blog, or you are a part/fulltime freelance writer, there are a lot of helpful sites on the Internet. I've also found a lot of sites that just want to sell you a product. If someone has a great pitch and there is a price tag at the bottom, keep moving. Most anything you really need, you can find for free. Dictionary sites, poetry, freelance help and even writing markets can be found for free or next to nothing. Don't throw away a lot of money for this e-book or that get rich scheme. Ask your friends what sites they frequent. Most of them will be honest with you. Use Google. I do.

Some of my favorites:
Writer's Digest -- A great magazine and resource
Absolute Write --Jenna Glatzer's Site -- She knows everything. WAHM.
Content Done Better - Go there!
Write 101-- Useful tips etc.
Writer's Weekly -- Get the newsletter.
Writing.com -- a writers retreat and playground (if you join, mention olelady)
Families.com --family oriented articles
Lifetips -- I heard about this site from a friend.
The Dollar Stretcher --I really like the newsletter. :)
Ezine Articles --plenty to read. I got lost for 8 hours one day. LOL.
Gosh there are zillions more but I will update them soon.

A little about me

I thought I would share a bit about me. I will be 44 years old in a few days, on August 7th. I was born in Northern California and spent the first twenty years of my life living there. California can be very beautiful. It doesn't have the seasons like some of the other parts of the country, but we lived quite close to the ocean and made frequent trips to play in the sand and surf. Each day the fog had to lift so the mornings were quite comfortable and it never got too hot. We basically had two seasons: when it rained and when it didn't. Everyone thinks California is fairly radical and full of hippies. A lot of normal families lived there. Mine wasn't one of them!!!! My biological parents were quite young when they had me. I was twin B. My twin sister was twice my size straight from the womb and had a strong personality throughout her life. She died in 1996. Our biological parents tried to take care of us and found it impossible. They abandoned us and we went into the foster care system. Long story short we went through over five foster homes and an orphanage before finally getting adopted at age 10. Being adopted sounds like a fairytale dream come true. I'd grown hardened in the foster care system and I wasn't holding my breath for the cookie-baking mother in an apron. It was a good thing too because she was a true monster. She was physically, emotionally, and verbally abusive for the rest of the time we lived in her home. Years later when we left her home we were followed closely by a scalding cast-iron skillet with dinner still in it, which was thrown at the front door at the moment I yanked it closed behind me. Obviously I do not speak to her anymore. Obviously my life has been full. I've just touched the tip. I went on to marry a Navy man who abused me for seven years before I got the courage to leave him and take my little boy to safety. Domestic violence is not easy to handle and many women stay in the relationship a long time. I left him six times before I left for good. It took courage to live alone. I had to pull myself together and be willing to look out for my safety and my child. I was frightened at first and then later I felt empowered. All of these things pushed me to write. I wrote my feelings in journals, poetry, short stories etc. Over the years I have won some awards and contests for my poems online. My advice to those who have walked in my shoes:
WRITE
share with someone you trust
reach out.
Do not hide away alone and scared.
Get help!


****Update***
My foster daughter had another son on July 23rd. Now I have two grandsons. The picture above shows me holding Dawson. My other grandson Jaden is now 17 months old and quite a sweetheart.