Writer-vation: A Writer’s Manifesto

So I think Sunday’s are going to continue to be wordless. I’ve been trying to write something of substance for the last few hours now and guess what?! I. Gots. Nada!!! Buuuuuut I refuse to “skip” a day of posting. I’ve been doing to well the last couple of weeks and it would be such a waste of effort if I skipped today’s post.

So with that said, I found the below graphic on Pinterest a few moments ago. Well I take that back. I saw it a few days ago but I don’t think I posted it to my Writing 101 board. In reading over it today, I think it’s perfect for a Writer-vation piece.

I hope it’s helpful!!

Thanks for reading…

The Southern Yankee

Writer-Vation: #NaBloPoMo

So today, I joined the BlogHer #NaBloPoMo blogroll. The only premise of this is to blog everyday. Oh you guys thought it was going to be something arduous and stressful? Nope not in the least bit. The only hard aspect about this daily blogging challenge is ya girl getting up the ganas to post everyday. But I’m determined to accomplish this feat because it’ll bring more readers to my little corner of the blogosphere.

But uhhhh did I mention that I’m late to start? No!? Yeah… well… If you know me my favorite saying is better late than never at all. No I don’t always operate on CPT. I really try to be punctual at all times but see what had happened was…. Not believing me are you guys? I didn’t think so. It was worth a try tho!

Hey looooooooooook changing the subject my blog has already been added to the blogroll. I am #1360.

And be proud of me. With the two posts I published this morning, Chapter VII of The Chronicles of Xavier LD Monroe and Rock Da Vote!!  plus this Writer-Vation which i promise i’ll get to the point of in a few short moments I will have published THREE posts today! THREE!! MEEEEEE!! It’s the little things that excite me about my blog and writing accomplishments.

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So today’s Writer-Vation is about taking a chance on yourself and your writing.

If you change your mind, I’m the first in line
Honey I’m still free
Take a chance on me
If you need me, let me know, gonna be around
If you’ve got no place to go, if you’re feeling down
If you’re all alone when the pretty birds have flown
Honey I’m still free
Take a chance on me
Gonna do my very best and it ain’t no lie
If you put me to the test, if you let me try

Writing is more than a skill I have possessed since I could fully comprehend the many MANY facets and concepts of writing. Writing is more than just something I’m good at or a nazi with when my friends and family ask me to critique their writing samples for school and/or employment.

It’s how I express myself.

It’s how I convey my inner most darkest emotions and thoughts without having to talk to a real live person.

I use this very beautiful mode of communication to keep me sane.

To prevent me from doing something stupid.

To ensure I actually think before I speak or in this case type.

But unfortunately, I’ve never had a lot of confidence in my writing. I troll my WordPress Dashboard to see if anyone has stumbled upon my blog. I aimlessly click refresh five or six or maybe a hundred times to see if anyone has left a comment on one of my posts. It’s like I need some sort of validation in order for me to actually believe I’m actually a good writer.

Friends and family tell me that I’m a good writer but they are bias because they love me. Don’t get me wrong I know they would tell me um yo.. you need to try something else. like yesterday! And I love them for their brutal tough love honesty. But there is something about a complete stranger or a fellow writer telling me hey, you know what you wrote really got me to thinking… 

I suppose that is why I joined the BlogHer #NaBloPoMo challenge. To put myself out there. To expose a whole new world literally to all thangs that is my SouthernYankee style.

Plus, I’ll be treinta y seis años next month. Ejole! I’m not getting any younger and it’s about time I started doing what I should have when I was twenty-something. Not sure exactly what all that entails but I hope you guys will come along for the ride. It should be interesting.

As always… Thanks for reading…

 

The Southern Yankee

Wednesday Writer-vation: Writing Tips

As usual, I was surfing Pinterest and I came across the above infographic about writing. While these are great tips, I’d like offer some additional tips from my own personal vault.

#11: Get Outta Ya Head
I often tell people that I tend to get my head too much about writing; meaning I make writing much more difficult that it really needs to be. Writing shouldn’t be such a dern process. Don’t put unnecessary pressure on yourself and just write for the sake of writing. It isn’t like we writers don’t have enough to say but because we tend to overly stress about our writing we just don’t say enough. did you catch all of that

#12: Find the Write Place
I am not one of those writers who needs to have a quiet place to write nor do I have to be in the same place at a certain time. More often than not I will just go to “the dealer” i.e. Starbucks to write before work. I suppose the smell of coffee brewing and the hustle and bustle of people filling up on their crack fixes sorta inspires me to write. Of course, perhaps the coffeehouse atmosphere is too noisy for some. That’s perfectly fine. The point is to find a place that works for you and your writing.

#13: Be Honest
As the old saying goes, “honesty is the best policy”. Stay true to writer self. Don’t let anyone deter you from being the writer YOU know yourself to be. Often times, I feel as if I censor myself for the sake of someone else’s feelings and/or interpretations of my writing. And for what? To appease someone those who have no idea what or how I’m feeling right here right now? I. Don’t. Think. SO!

#14: Create a Pen Name
We all have an alter ego. I think as a writer it is almost required to be several people at once because it makes a story that much more interesting. Plus having a pen name allows a writer to venture into another genre without tarnishing his or her already established published name.

#15: Have a Sounding Board
Every writer needs a person who will proofread and be critical of his or her work without any sort of malice felt. Take for example my sister, Phoenix, who is a regular reader of my blog. She knows I just write to write and really don’t more like can’t proofread my posts. When I wrote last week’s Writer-vation piece, I made some obvious errors that were not so apparent to me. Without missing a beat, she sent me a message saying “hey did you mean this? And what about that? Oh yeah this too.” And of course after re-reading my post, I was like *face palm* and *fried egg on ma face* and corrected my errors. Sometimes a fresh pair of eyes and/or ears are good for a writer’s soul.

Thanks for reading…

The Southern Yankee

Blogging Advice: From the Daily (w)rite

So over the weekend, I made the decision to rebrand my blog. How exactly I’m going to do that  is, presently, beyond me. What I do know is that I need to research how to approach the whole notion of re-branding and how it will affect my blog and me as a writer.

Enter one of my new followers thanks for following btw Damyanti, who is the writer of Daily w(rite). She has a page dedicated to Blogging Advice for Newbies: From My Blog Audience. I cannot even begin to express how incredibly happy I was to find this on her blog. I’ve had my blog for a little over three years and I feel like it isn’t going anywhere. So I’m really excited to read all the posts and comments about how to make my blog better and more appealing to my current and future readers.

Anyway… hopefully these tips and tricks will help you guys as well. Please feel free to leave some helpful tips and tricks of your own in the comments.

Thanks for reading…

The Southern Yankee

“Follow Back”

This makes sense on so many levels. Be kind to others and they’ll be kind to you.

Thanks for reading…

The Southern Yankee