THE DOGS DAYS OF SUMMER APPROACH
Welcome back my friends! It is Tuesday, May 14, 2013, and it is a good day for writing. In truth, every single day is a good day for writing….wouldn’t you agree?
Summer approaches and that means warm weather and outdoor activities and yes, distractions that can take us away from our chosen field. One of the hardest parts about being a writer is that we have no boss hovering over our shoulders making sure that we do our job. We are either motivated or we are not, and if we are motivated then warm summer days cannot derail us on our journey.
TIP OF THE DAY
With all that in mind, one tip I learned early on and I have not forgotten, is to make a daily schedule and stick with it. For me, I start writing at seven a.m. and stop at four p.m. There are various types of writing that have their own time segments within that schedule, but the basic schedule of nine hours rarely changes. Yes, there are special circumstances that call me away occasionally, but those are the oddity rather than a norm.
Why? Because I am a writer! This is my job and this is my passion. I am not going to achieve my goals and see my dreams realized by finding excuses not to write.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“If you want to get rich from writing, write the sort of thing that’s read by persons who move their lips when they’re reading to themselves.” ~Don Marquis
I have been laughing for two days because of this quote. I found it this past weekend and I’ve been so excited to share it with you.
It brings up an interesting point about SEO Content Writing. I admit it…I am somewhat of a snob when it comes to writing. My heroes, Faulkner, Blake, Steinbeck….now those were writers in the truest sense of the word. They were craftsmen…they were artists…and I greatly admire their work.
Then we have the content writers, or as I refer to them as technicians. They take keywords, insert them into an article, and yes, they get paid for what is referred to as writing. Content is king; quality is a serf.
On the other hand, I have good friends who spend every day doing content writing and they are good at it. They make a decent wage doing it, and they take pride in their work. Hell, folks, I do it each and every morning to help pay the bills. When I’m doing it I think of all the actors and actresses over the years that waited tables to pay the bills. We do what we have to do to get by until our big break comes and frees us from the drudgery of writing to those who move their lips while reading.
SITE OF THE DAY
This one comes from my friend Sha. It is called All Freelance Writing and you can find it here.
I will let Sha tell you about it in her own words:
“Bill, I just came across this website today and thought it may be a good “site of the day” for Artistry with Words. I’ve just registered. The site offers forums, advice, marketing and business plan templates, free writing courses, opportunities and a whole lot more.”
Thank you, Sha! I did check it out and your words are true. J
WRITER OF THE DAY
I would like you to stop by and say hello to Lurana. You can find her on HubPages here.
This young lady writes beautifully poetry but then has the ability to switch genres and write social commentary that will have you questioning the world around you. I promise you will not be disappointed if you visit her soon.
CONTEST OF THE DAY
The Faith Poetry Contest has a deadline of August 3rd and you can read about the submission requirements right here.
SHOUT OUT FOR THE DAY
My good friend Melanie published her ebook today…..Make Happiness Happen…you can read about it right here. Way to go, Melanie!
PROMPT OF THE DAY
Here is your latest visual prompt from the beautiful Pacific Northwest. I hope you find something in this picture that will stir your imagination and give birth to some great prose or poetry.
THAT’S ALL FOR TODAY
The lights are flickering as we have a spring storm move through, so I had better stop and save this. Hopefully I will see all of you tomorrow for another session of Artistry With Words. Thanks as always for visiting my site. I hope you found something worthwhile.
Bill
Billybuc
This explains why you are so prolific! I picked up my poetry journal and realized that it had been almost a week since I had written anything new—-yikes–but I am enjoying the weather!
Audrey, you might say I have a passion for writing. 🙂 Thank you for stopping by.
Bill, I had Emma’s circus today at pre-school and also had a lovely family day, but finally catching up a bit and had to stop by. So glad I did, because you now I agree about having a schedule and I too am trying to stick to that as I can at this point. I also have found just like you that my weekends I do need a bit of down time for myself and family, which does help tremendously now.
And huge congrats to Melanie. I downloaded her book today and have to take a look at it later for sure 🙂
Thank you Janine! I hope the circus was a success. I look forward to seeing the pictures which I assume are coming soon.
Hi Bill, You make very good points. Discipline is the key. In order to stay focused and motivated it is important to set aside all distractions and even those people who tend to slow us down, you should disconnect from.
You said it perfectly, Marlene! Without discipline very few things in life can be achieved. 🙂 Thank you for stopping by my friend.
Scheduling is good…man, that’s one of my challenges right now: sometimes I’m at school three days, sometimes four and it all adds up to 25 hours/week so I can have some time to write and do all my other things. One of these days, I’ll walk away from traditional teaching forever and just do my thing online. 🙂
Cyndi, I couldn’t do what you are doing…more power to you, lil’ Sis! Some day indeed. 🙂
Wow, what a nice surprise to come across that shout out at the end…I wasn’t expecting that! Thanks Bill! 🙂 You made me smile after sitting here trying to get the book on Amazon and going through all their jargon for the last 2 hours. I like your schedule and I also try and start earlier in the morning so that I can be done by 4pm and do things like paint and cook supper. Isn’t it awesome being a writer?! Great post!
Mel, you are welcome and yes my friend, it is awesome being a writer. I’ll be glad when I can do less customer stuff and more my stuff, but still I love my life.
Another inspiring note. I have been looking into some free courses for editing…might check out that link you have there.
Melanie’s book looks inspiring…will check it out soon.
Thanks Bill for another fantastic read.
And thank you, Ruchira, for being so loyal and stopping by once again.
Bill, I am going through my inbox in chronological order, though I am days behind on catching up….and what a gift I found in your post here! Thank you for mentioning me, it means so much. I am grateful for this blog because of all your many insights and ideas to inspire other writers. Sometimes when we are plodding away it can feel thankless, but the community-minded people like yourself make being a writer so much less lonely!! 🙂 Many thanks.
My pleasure, Lurana! I think you are a quality writer and a quality person and I’m always happy to help those kinds of people. 🙂