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Jo’s Journal

To Blog or Not to Blog?

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JoAnna Lamb

As it’s the start of a New Year, I’ve been reviewing the things I’ve done in the last year. And one of those things has been my blog – or journal as I prefer to call it. Since I created my website in January 2019 I’ve written 54 posts and managed to keep on top of it with the help of Later, a scheduling programme.  I’ve deliberately not written any ‘How To’ blogs as I feel the market is saturated with advice. I have written about things that have worked for me, things I struggle with, my process for writing and editing and shared my plans, reading and progress. However, I’ve had 8 comments in that time, three of which were mine and a shed load of spam comments which have been caught by the site inbuilt filter. Not a great return in my book. But I don’t know that many writers blog very successfully. Maybe it’s just not for everyone.

“Blogs are whatever we make them. Defining ‘Blog’ is a fool’s errand.” Michael Conniff

On the other hand, I’ve been working on my Instagram profile and putting a lot of effort into building up my connections with readers and writers alike, as well as attracting some of the more unsuitable followers who are quickly removed from my list. I started off with 30 followers last January, most of them family and friends and as of today I have 1114 followers, some of whom I communicate with on a regular basis. I’ve posted on an average of three times a week, sometimes more but never less, and had many engagements with writers and readers. Again, I’ve managed to maintain this commitment with the help of Later, but I also post random photo’s as I see fit.

 

If you don’t believe in yourself, who will?

 

So this year, I’ve decided to reduce my blog/journal posts to one a month, a kind of summary and post the kind of stuff I used to blog about on Instagram. It seems to me that the time of the blog may well be taking second place to other social media platforms, like Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter where the posts are snappier and therefore more accessible. I may be wrong of course but I know myself, that I’m unsubscribing from a lot of newsletters and blogs because I prefer the medium of visual and written information and Instagram and Pinterest provide that for me.

So what about you? If you’ve even read to the end of this relatively short piece, do you blog and if so what kind of results have you seen? Do you see it as a chore or as just one of the tasks that is essential for a writer? I’d be interested to hear your views.

Seasons Greetings

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Fancied something different to the usual seasonal stuff… I think this image is quite stunning don’t you?

Anyway all it leaves me to say is I hope you have a fun time, whatever you may be doing, where ever you are and who ever you are with (or not as the case maybe). I find this time of year the most difficult and so we’ve escaped to the Spanish coast in our van with Nellie and Scooby Doo… and will return when the whole affair is over.

Until later,

Imposter Syndrome: What I Do When It Strikes

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According to Wikipedia (and many similar sources) imposter syndrome  (also known as impostor phenomenon, impostorism, fraud syndrome or the impostor experience) is a psychological pattern in which an individual doubts their accomplishments and has a persistent internalized fear of being exposed as a “fraud”.

It happens in all walks of life and I’ve been hearing the term whispered within the writing community more frequently in the past few years. It actually wasn’t defined until 1978 by a couple of psychologists, so it’s a relatively new phenomena but one which can be crippling all the same.

It usually grips me in the middle of a project or when I’ve received nonconstructive criticism on a piece of writing (which to be fair doesn’t happen that often, but when it does happen it is really damaging). What it does remind me is to ensure I continue to be objective when reviewing other writers work, and that doesn’t mean saying everything is great if it isn’t. The key is in how the message is delivered not what the message is.

Anyway, here are some tactics I use to kick it in to touch when it strikes…

Reflect on more positive feedback – It’s too easy to concentrate on the negative stuff. I remind myself of all the good things  said about my writing, how constructive feedback changed it for the better and remind myself that many of these people don’t know me personally. They don’t have to be positive! It’s one of the reasons I don’t like the review system for authors and writers. It is so subjective. And sometimes writers can be the worst of all critics.

“It would be wrong to think that you’re always right and correct and perfect and brilliant. Self-doubt is the thing that drives you to try to improve yourself.”
—Helen Mirren

Remind myself I’m not alone – I know many writer friends go through this at some point in their writing career and probably as regularly as me! And I remind myself who I am writing for at the end of the day. Me. First and Foremost.

“I’m just Michelle Robinson, that little girl on the south side who went to public school’.”
—Michelle Obama

Stop comparing myself to others – instead celebrate their success and achievements as much as my own. Writing can be a lonely world and developing connections with other authors who understand how you are feeling, is critical. It’s taken me a long time to appreciate this.

“Never compare yourself to others. Only compare the person you are today to the person you were the day before.”
― Unknown Author

Keep writing – my first reaction is always just that, reactive! I tell myself, often aloud or to the animals, that I’m rubbish and I should stop wasting my time and give up. Often, talking things through with my husband helps put me back on the right track and I never feel like this for long. I just can’t not write, it’s in my soul. And once I do start writing, I’m lost back in the worlds I create with the characters I’d like to meet. No better place to be.

“I have written 11 books but each time I think ‘Uh-oh, they’re going to find out now. I’ve run a game on everybody, and they’re going to find me out.’”
—Maya Angelou

Have you ever suffered from this crippling syndrome? If so, how did you manage it, let me know and if you are right now, then shout out so we can support you 🙂

 

Writing Goals: December

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Last month I only had one goal:

😎Participate in National Write a Novel in a Month Challenge – and I clocked up over 56k words (yes, fifty six thousand words). My plan at the start was to write 2k a day for 6 days, having Sundays off – they are usually my PJ and off screen days – and I obviously wrote a little more than my target. The first half of the month I wrote longhand, with a pencil and notebook. A staved middle finger on my writing hand made that a little difficult as well as a pulled back muscle!  I reverted to transcribing scenes and character development via the keyboard. I’m still working on transcribing and still have a lot of decisions to make, as things changed, as always, as the story fell out of my head.

How did you get on?

For the month of December I’m going to be realistic. We go away in our van on 15th December to spend the festive season and the New Year in Spain and I don’t plan on doing much, other than walking with the dogs, cycling and sight seeing. 🙂 So for the next two weeks my goals are:

  1. Continue to transcribe my NaNo project five days a week
  2. Complete the authorschallenge2019plus on Instagram (I can plan these posts ahead)
  3. Draft out my Social Media plans for 2020
  4. Finalise Wolf Moon for publication – hard copy proof has arrived!

Let me know what you’re planning to work on and what plans you have over the silly season – you may have guessed I don’t particularly enjoy this time of the year 🙄

 

Writing Toolbox

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I’ve had my nose stuck in NaNoWriMo for this month so have been desperately trying to ignore all distractions… but here are three things that I tripped across during November…

A List – A Complete Glossary of Terms for Fantasy Writers. Whether it’s complete or not I don’t know but it sure has been useful reading and one list that I’m sure I’ll come back to!

A Word – thought it would be a bit of fun to think about words that I could add to my vocabulary toolbox. Though with caution, I hate having to look up words mid read so you need to give some clues to the reader. This month the word is MORDANT – biting or sarcastic in word or manner

A Blog Post – you know last month I shared some random generators? Well Jami Gold has gone one step further and dedicated whole post to them. Great for when things get tough and sticky.

Wolf Moon: Cover Reveal

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No, it’s not the cat, but it’s a good way to get your attention. 😉

This is the current choice of cover for the publication of my first fantasy novella, Wolf Moon. I do have others but a decision has to be made and as I’m knee deep in NaNoWriMo words at the moment working on my second fantasy series, I had to post something…

I changed my mind twice in the space of creating this post! But I believe this one represents the story most. Thoughts, comments are welcome and now I must bury myself in the words once more… Ciao!