Know Thyself Challenge

It’s that time of year again. The point of the year where I am again trying to figure out where to which level I would like to take my writing and my writing style. I’m not a conventional writer. I don’t really follow any rules or any sort of standards of writing. I just do. But I want become a successful writer. I want to make a difference in someone else’s life through my writing. I would like to have a positive impact and/or influence over the younger and older generation in the same way writers such as F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Jorge Amado, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Sandra Cisneros, Eric Jerome Dickey and Maya Angelou have had on me, my life and my writing.

As usual, I’m forcing myself to complete a writing challenge so that I can “jump start” my motivation to write more. It’s a horrid cop out buuuuuuuut it’s all I know how to do. Not so much cop out of things, but to try to complete challenges. And just because I’m feeling adventurous, I might just try to complete two maybe three challenges at the same time. Lawd what in the fuck am I about to do to myself.

The first challenge is called the Know Thyself Challenge. I found this challenge about two years ago when yet again I was going through a creative slump and tried to reinvent the wheel instead of just spinning the sucker round and round. From what I can tell, this challenge is trying to get the writer/blogger to analyze and examine why he or she writes. What motivates the writer? What do you hope to accomplish as a writer? Yadda yadda yadda…

It’s a 25-day challenge. So that’s a post a day and if I start today then I should be done by August 23^rd. fuck that’ll be sooner rather than later! I could just wait until Saturday which is August 1^st buuuuuut I need to go shopping. #priorities

So there you guys have it. The daily prompts are below. I hope you guys embark on this journey with me. Please feel free to leave words of kindness and encouragement.

 

Thanks for reading…

 

the southern yankee

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Day 1: What do you consider your greatest strength as a writer?

Day 2: What is your biggest writing weakness, and what do you think you need to change to work on it?

Day 3: What’s the BEST writing advice you ever received?

Day 4: What tends to serve as the most reliable source(s) of inspiration for you?

Day 5: What do you hope a reader will take away from your writing?

Day 6: What do you find to be the most rewarding aspect of being a writer?

Day 7: Do you find that inspiration to write happens organically, or do you sometimes feel that you need to seek it out?

Day 8: How old were you when you started writing? What did you write?

Day 9: Do you feel that you have found your voice in your writing? Or are you still searching?

Day 10: What are your favorite and least favorite parts of the writing process?

Day 11: How much of your writing time is purely research?

Day 12: What is the last book, story, or poem you read that had an effect on your writing? Are you a better writer for having read this work?

Day 13: What motivates you to keep writing?

Day 14: Share with us your strategies for overcoming writer’s block.

Day 15: Which writer or teacher most influenced your work?

Day 16: As a writer, what are your biggest fears? How can you overcome them?

Day 17: Which genre of writing is your forte? Why?

Day 18: Which genre of writing have you not explored but want to? Why?

Day 19: Describe your revision process.

Day 20: Who has been your biggest writing supporter?

Day 21: How do YOU hope to help your fellow writers–now or in the future?

Day 22: Why should someone read your work?

Day 23: If you held all the cards, where would you want your writing to take you? Would you want to be the NEW YORK TIMES next big hit or a voice for the underground?

Day 24: Who are you writing for? Do you have a target audience in mind?

Day 25: What makes you want to write more?

Fit Fabulous & Fahn: Staying Motivated

 

Keep ya head up peeps!

 

the southern yankee 

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

#NaBloPoMo Daily Prompt: Magical Blogger Skill

So this post was supposed to have been published yesterday. You guys ‘member! I mentioned in yesterday’s Dr. Seuss for the Soul post that I had been working on three posts but only one obviously got published instead. I know I know I can’t remember past five minutes either sometimes. It’s okay it’s Friday. I’ll let you guys slide just this once.

Anyway, this post stems from yesterday’s NaBloPoMo Prompt: What is the one skill you see in other bloggers that you wish you had?

Here goes nada…

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You ever have a lot to say but not a lot of time to write everything swirling round and round at the speed of light.

THAT’S ME TODAY!!!

I have NOW started four posts this week and still have to plan Saturday and Sunday’s posts and am I even remotely close to finishing said posts!? Hell da fuck NO!

I have been quite successful at writing everyday since Tuesday, November 4th. I haven’t missed not one day. But today, I came soooooo close to not writing anything at all for today. NOTHING. ZILCH. NADA!!!! And it bugs the living crap out of me. I hate when I have the words swirling around in my head but I don’t have the time to compile them into a blog post.

So that is the magical blogger skill I wished I possessed that other bloggers seem to have but could possibly be just as disorganized as I am.

How does a successful blogger muster up the time to write every single day without fail? I’m surprising myself by doing the amount of writing I have been lately but folks I think I have hit a plateau and have run out of creative ideas.

No, I’m not giving up on the challenge. Just know for the next couple of days, my posts may be short and sweet and to the point.

Kinda

Like

This

One!

Thanks for being patient and reading…

 

The Southern Yankee

 

PS. Comment below and the magical skill you wish you had as a writer, if you have any suggestions on what to write about or if you just want to say hello and keep up the good work.

Okay thanks byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Writer-Vation: The Words Escape Me

I haven’t wanted to write much lately.

I just haven’t been in the “mood” to write. Call it minor writer’s block or a lapse in complete brain function. Either which way the words have been escaping me and I hope they come back soon. It’s sorta weird not having anything to say since I usually have more than enough to say. Almost to the point where I’m thinking “geez guh! Sh-ut-u-p already!!!” Yeah I’m that person but only with people I know well and know me well.

Lately tho, i want nothing more than to be able to whip something out lol no pun intended… Well maybe =p and go about my business. It’s not like I’m super busy or that I have not posted anything in a long time.  

shameless plug: please go read The Chronicles of Xavier LD Monroe: Chapter V

The college football season is almost over well that’s if all the top players lose between now and December 31st which means work will be slightly slower than it is presently. Which makes it more possible for me to write, right?! Yeah we shall see about that folks.

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Okay so what exactly is the point to this already discombobulated Writer-Vation? I’m not completely sure which I suppose that’s okay. There has to be a point in every writer’s lifetime where he or she writes mindless babble just to make the day go by.

Does every creative person always create with an intense purpose? Is that even possible? Yes at some point I would love to influence social change but i have to be honest with myself and realize that there are more than enough writers in the blogosphere trying to do the same thing.

Granted no two writers are the same. And no two writers have the same ideas at the exact same time. Well I take that back. At some point, I think we all have that ah ha moment and think “what if I wrote about _______________________?” (insert brilliant idea here)

Yet… Here I am sitting at the dealer in between two other Apple nuts and I still gots absolutely nada coherent, logical or intelligent to write about. Please tell me this period of absolute nonsense goes away and I’ll be writing by next week.

Please feel free to leave words of encouragement in the comments below.

Thanks for reading…

The Southern Yankee