To Be or Not To Be...A Blogger???

Well! 

It looks very much like I need to create some writing prompts for myself as I have done nothing with this blog in a very long time.  So, tell me then, am I a blogger?  Am I a writer?  Just what am I?  At 62 I find myself still exploring to find out.  Now there could be a prompt for someone in there somewhere.  Just what is it within us at these older ages that brings out the new?  Grandma Moses, the artist, and Laura Ingalls Wilder, the author.  Well don't count me out yet.  Writer?  Photographer with a mission to use her camera for a different kind of art?  Painter?  Mixed media artist?  Blogger?  Or another senior citizen sitting at home watching television with nothing to do? 

I'm retiring some of my older blogs for various reasons.  My wonderful dog and friend, Jonah, passed away Nov 22, 2015.  I had him for 4 years.  I still miss him.  I had 2 blogs for him and didn't do well keeping them up either.  They have been sealed for private eyes only.  I had a blog for sharing ideas with long term care activity directors, like I had once been.  It also became another inactive blog so it is sealed into the private chambers of long term blog tomb.  Others may disappear as well.  Or not.  At this point, I don't know what my plans are.  However, this blog is sticking around, at least for the short term.  We'll just have to see what happens next.

New Writing Prompts for All Ages

Since it has been so long since I've written anything on this blog, it's time now for some new writing prompts.  Obviously, I need the help myself, so here we go.

Teachers Corner Daily Writing Prompts 

Writing Prompts 101 
 What are writing prompts and some good examples

Creative Writing Prompts 
I think I have used this one before, but it's always good to repeat the good links. 

Writer's Digest Writing Prompts
Writing prompts from the best writer's magazine around.

Writing Prompts from Tumblr
Here are some very creative ideas to prompt your writing.

Writing Prompts for Elementary Kids
Some excellent ideas to keep kids writing, and maybe for adults writing for children as well.

Writing Prompts for Children of All Ages
Maybe even for the child at heart.

25 Creative Writing Prompts
Writing prompts for all ages.

Journal-writing Prompts
These were geared toward school children but many could be used for adults as well.

44 Short Story Ideas
Mix and match various story ideas listed here to challenge your writing.

Use These Photos to Start Writing
Years ago I had two paperback books titled Pictures for Writing which were full of photographs for coming up with story ideas.  Check out these photos for ideas.

More Creative Writing Prompts for Journal-writing

There you have it for this time.  This should keep us all busy for awhile. 

The Writing Craft

Whether you write for yourself or write to be published, the information in this post may be of help to you. Maybe you write non-fiction books or articles for magazines, or maybe you write fiction such as romance, mysteries, dramas, whether in novel form or short stories.  If so, there is information here for you. Many writers are poets, or write for children. Some are songwriters. Many writers don't know what to do once they start writing to turn their work into something publishable. There is help here for that as well.

I've talked to many people who are writers but don't know what to do with what they write, or they believe that the only way to be a professional writer is to have an actual job in an actual company, so learning about how to freelance as a writer is a totally new subject for them. I've also talked to several lyricists and writers of music who don't know what to do to get their songs and music published. If any of this fits you, keep reading for there is information to help you here.

Do you blog or are you trying to break into self-publishing which can be rewarding as well as risky? There is help for you here too. Whatever type of writing you do and whether you write it for the public or just for your own private eyes, you will find something useful on this page for you.

 Writing To Be Published

Where Do I Start?

Whatever you have written, if you are ready to think about being published, the best place to start is with The Writer's Market. The Writer's Market is an annual directory put out by Writer's Digest Magazine. In this directory you will find listings for every type of market out there that buys and publishes the works of writers. You will also want to get a subscription, or visit your local library for Writer's Digest Magazines so you can learn more all the time about the craft of writing. Writer's Digest is known to be the best reference for writers that there is out there today. Whether you are just a beginner or have published many books and articles in the past, this magazine is the best option for you. Both Writer's Market and Writer's Digest go hand in hand to help you make the best of your writing. Below you can find where to purchase Writer's Market as well as where to subscribe to Writer's Digest Magazine. If your writing is specialized, you will also want to purchase one of the marketing directories for that specialty.

Reference Books For Writers

There are more reference books for writers than you can even begin to imagine. Each writer has his or her own styles so there are books to help with that. There are books about the writing craft in general. And there are books that are much more specific to genre and more. You will find many of these options for you here as well as listings of websites for writers. These are all put there to help writers network with other writers as well as learn valuable lessons from them.

Poetry

There are so many people writing poetry today. It's great to know that people can express themselves in such a beautiful way. Many are writing only for themselves. Others wish to be published at some point. With poetry, it can be a little different than it is with writing fiction or non-fiction. But it can be done. The thing to do is to learn all you can about publishing your poetry.

There are websites and ads in magazines offering to publish your poems in their annual anthology. Many times these are fee-based and as long as you pay your fee, you are likely to have your poem "accepted". I'm not sure at all if these places are as legit as they claim to be. It is such an attraction to have someone offering to publish your work. Be careful where you look and who you respond to. Just because something is online or in a magazine, does not always make it true. As with any other form of writing, do your homework. Learn what is real and what is a scam just to get your money. We publish for several reasons, one of which is to earn a living if possible. Therefore, while some legitimate companies require a reading fee, especially for contests, make sure that if you are being asked to pay to be published, it is a good site with a good reputation. Sticking with Poet's Market is the best way to know which direction to follow. Writer's Digest Magazine has a section geared for poets as well with lots of good information to help you.

Songwriting

Like poetry, writing music or lyrics to be published so that an artist will perform them and make the big bucks is not an easy task to accomplish. You will need to do your homework. It is highly unlikely that you are going to write something and have it end up being used right away. I know a guy who "writes" music who doesn't put a note down on paper. It's all just recorded as he creates it on his computerized keyboard. He expects his music to be used as the soundtracks for movies. However, he doesn't really know how to go about reaching his goals. I think this is a common problem for many writers of all genres. They just don't know how to follow through from the writing stage to the publishing stage. Songwriter's Market is the place to learn everything you need to know on what steps to take once the music has been written. Again, like with poetry, don't let yourself get trapped by a website or magazine ad that might only be a scam to get your money and give you nothing in return.

Blogging, eBooks, and More

The internet is opening doors to all types of writing and self-publishing. The problem with this is that a lot of grammatically bad writing is getting put out there and the people who are doing this writing consider themselves great authors while expecting to make an income. Just because you can do it yourself so easily now, does not mean that you don't have to offer the same kind of quality that regular publishers require.

Everywhere you turn today you can find people promoting their new self-published eBooks however, their promotional grammar is horrible. It makes you wonder what kind of writing is in the actual book. The same thing applies to blogs and other forms of writing. More and more you find writing on websites, even those such as Yahoo! Voices which used to be Associated Content, and those articles are poorly written, and obviously not proofread. One of the things we all must remember, especially if we are doing our own writing and publishing, that spell checkers do not catch grammatical errors. They do not catch correctly spelled but wrongly used words such as "there" and "their" for example.

I've seen it happening over the past decade as the popularity of the internet has grown, and educational requirements have begun to falter. Grammar is suffering. People are not following the right rules for proper writing including spelling and grammar anymore. I saw it happening when my children were still in school and they are grown and have their own children in school. School was only focused on getting correct answers, but neatness, spelling (other than actual spelling tests), and following grammar rules was not emphasized like it was in my day and prior to that.

It's a great thing to want to express yourself and as long as what you write is just for you, you can do it in whatever manner you want to. But if you want to publish it for others to read, you will want it to be readable. Then you will want to make sure that you do your homework as to where and how to self-publish. Just because it is easy does not mean you can allow yourself to forget to be cautious. Writer's Digest has a section for blogging, self-publishing and more.

Helpful Links For Writers

The Elements of Style

A book every writer should include in their personal library.

 Roget's Thesaurus 

The thesaurus for all writers.

The Best Reference Books for Writers

The reference book short list.

Reference Books for Writers

A longer listing of good reference books for writers.

50 of the Best Websites for Writers

A listing of 50 best online sites for writers.

Top 25 Books for Writers and Writing-Related Topics

25 reference books for writers.

Top 10 Reference Works for Writers and Editors

About.com article listing the top 10 reference books for writers.

Top 10 Blogs for Writers

A top 10 Blog list for writers

Top 50 Blogs for Writers

A list of the top 50 blogs from Tribal Messenger

My Name is Not Bob

Robert Lee Brewer's blog for Writer's Digest.

Lincoln Library of Essential Information 

The Lincoln Library of Essential Information is a two-volume set of historical trivia written in the form of an encyclopedia. I first used these books in high school and it gave me a lot of topic ideas to write about. Later on, I was able to find these books in a used book sale. I recommend these books to any writer who can find copies. They are out of print so finding them would be only possible in a used condition.  I found a set on eBay so you may still be able to do that.

A Whole Year????

WOW!  I guess I haven't been very good at keeping up with this blog at all!  This post won't be very long but I just wanted to update what has been going on with me and my writing this past year.  For the most part I have done most of my writing on the website Squidoo where I have over 40 "lenses" which is what they call their pages.  However, I am soon leaving that site because I no longer agree to their editorial changes which have turned more to product review lenses and sales lenses instead of lenses written for the enjoyment of writing.  Yes, it's great to write and earn some money at the same time.  However, more and more Squidoo has been moving towards making these sales lenses their priority as well as limiting more and more of what we can do with our lenses.  Therefore, I am going to remove my lenses from their site, and go through them to see which ones I might put on my blogs.  Some might even end up on this blog.  They are already saved to my computer so as soon as I get my account there settled, I will pull the lenses off the site.

I've also been doing a small amount of writing on Facebook, but most of that has to do with patriotism, politics (Me?  Political?? Who knew???) and Christianity.  To be honest, I really am not sure if I can ever get back my motivation for wanting to write like I used to have.  But somewhere down inside, I know there is still a spark burning so maybe it will turn to a burning flame that will result in writing again.  For now, with everything else I am busy with, writing seems to be on a back burner.  Hopefully it won't be another year before my next post.

The Write Help

Here are a couple links I found today that may, or may not, be helpful when you get stuck in writer's block, as I do frequently.

10 Ways To Fight Writer's Block 


Content Writing Tips

If I Were To Write You Now...

If I were to write to you now,

But no it's better I not.

For you to be told of those ones in my home,

Who are keeping me company now.

They come late at night when it's bedtime.

A time when most normal folk shouldn't.

But they come to make sure I get all tucked in.

And even scold some when I don't.

They are patient and quiet and calm, you see.

Just gentle reminders that it's time after all.

These caretakers without any names that I know

Stay with me and take care of it all.

Tonight they make writing such a fun thing to do

As they dance between me and the screen.

But you'll never see them no matter you try

They just come to take care of me.

Tonight I wax poetic

Over the folks that come with my pills.

It's sleepy the little one and painful the brothers.

Three little friends taking care of my ills.

Of course I see them! How rude would I be

To have guests in my place taking such good care of me,

If after all their coaxing and floating to dance me to sleep,

If I did not acknowledge that I'd nodded their way.

So now as I close this last bit of writing,

I wrote this to send to a friend.

She gets such a kick out of the wonders I see

When it's time to put Cindy to bed.

Goodnight!

Published At Last!

It's taken awhile but I've taken the leap, or maybe it was just a small step, and written an article to be submitted to Associated Content which is part of the Yahoo! Contributor Network.  Today I received word that it was accepted, and an offer was made and accepted.  The article has been officially published.  You can view it here.