Writing and Pinterest

Hey everybody! Two posts in one day, man I must be on some kind of roll. In June, I made a post called Writing and Music, and everyone seemed to really enjoy it. So I'm back again talking about another way that I get inspiration for writing, Pinterest. If you're a hermit, who hasn't been on the internet in the last seven years, Pinterest in an app that allow its users to 'pin' photos and videos to their 'boards'. For example you would pin cat pictures to a cat board, etc. There are lots of cooking and diy things on Pinterest, as well as funny images, fandom stuff, etc., but personally I use Pinterest for writing (and all the other stuff, but mainly writing).

I create a board for a story, let's use my Alice in Wonderland adaption as an example, and add things that remind me of the story into the board. Sometimes it's photos of people that remind me of my characters, clothes, cars, story prompts, and other aesthetically similar things. It's a pretty simple concept, but it's also incredibly helpful when I'm trying to reference something that I cannot quite describe without a photo. It's a great tool when I find myself lacking inspiration. For another of my series, I have multiple boards; each one for a different character or aspect of the story.

It is a free and simple way to have access to tons of photos,gifs, and videos that can capture your imagination. Leave in the comments how you get inspiration!

Taila's Pinterest  You can click this link to explore my Pinterest (but first take a moment to appreciate that I figured out how to link it).

Taila Out.

Alpha and Beta Readers

I want to start today with a quick update, before I move to the topic I want to talk about. Last week I posted about the fact that I've been struggling with a pretty severe writer's block, well it seems I'm finally getting back into the grove. I'm not making any promises that I'll have my first draft done in August, but I do think I'll be able to meet my September goal. I've gotten some really good advice, and I finally have my motivation back. Now on to today's topic. I don't know how many writer's read my blog (comment down below if you do), but I've recently learned of a new thing that I would like to investigate more; Alpha Readers.

I've always known about Beta readers (from my days of fanfiction writing, embarrassing, but true), but someone recently informed me about Alpha readers. Now if you're not familiar with the concept of Beta readers allow me explain; Once you have a completed manuscript (I'm going to say that you've completed your first run through of edits, although I know not everyone waits for that), you begin to collect Beta readers. They basically read your book (usually a chapter or two at a time), and you have a set of questions that you ask at the end of each chapter. It helps fill in plot holes, and prepares your book for all readers and final edits. Beta readers are incredibly important to the writing process, at least in my opinion.

Now that you have some understanding of Beta readers, let me explain Alpha readers. Usually only one or two people are Alpha readers for an author, and they read the book as it is written, and help fix big mistakes, give advice, etc. I will say that this is just my interpretation, and that some people only use one of the two or none at all. None of this should be confused with ARC (advanced reader copy) readers, who leave reviews on sites like Amazon and Goodreads, in return for, you guessed it, an advanced copy of a book.

The reason I bring up this topic now, is somewhat due to my previous post about my writer's block, and other struggles I have when sitting down to write. I know a lot of authors have personal assistants, usually who run their social media, keep them on track, etc. I don't think I could hand over the reigns of my social media accounts, blog, and website to someone else, even if it was someone I trusted dearly. However I desperately need someone to help keep me on track, I'm not great at time management and schedules, or knowing when I cannot meet a goal I've set. If you have any suggestions or want to help me out comment below or message me on any of my social media accounts.

Taila Out.

Writing # 5: Updates and Struggles

It's been almost a month since I posted anything here; I have had a lot go on, but the main reason I've been absent is my most recent writing block. My last post was about a short serial I want to publish, starting on this blog, and then possibly moving to a larger platform. I do intend to eventually post the first chapter up, but I'm so stalled out, I can barely write this blog post. None of my stories have gotten much attention lately, and I need to overcome this so I can reach my goal to publish a book in January of 2018. It comes quickly, and I'm not making much progress.

The main reason for this particular block is a project that I am having trouble with. I can't puzzle through my current issue, and it has left me with no motivation and inspiration. I've considered scrapping the last few thousand words I had written on it and starting anew, but that doesn't seem right either. This is the biggest reason I need an assistant/co-author, I don't have fresh eyes for this story, because it is constantly running through my mind. I suffer from some pretty significant anxiety and concentration problems, which are my biggest enemies when it comes to writing. I have no lack of ideas, just a lack of completion.

I think I'm going to try and dig in, to add at least a few hundred words to something today. I'll be back with another blog post soon.

Taila Out