Elise Fallson and "Ologies" - Challenge Participant Feature

Today I welcome the lovely Elise Fallson to share her theme for the Challenge. And it was very unique. And informative! Careful, you might learn something…

What made you chose _ologies as your theme?

My theme last year was Entomology and since is went pretty well, I decided to look for another _ology theme. Trouble was I couldn’t decide on just one. There were many fascinating and odd _ologies to choose from that I decided to highlight them all. Well, not really all of them, but just the ones I found interesting or quirky. Then, when I found a list of _ologies from A-Z online I thought to myself, “Jack pot!”

Which one was your favorite?

That's a hard question to answer because I liked so many for different reasons. For example, D for Dactylology comes to mind because ASL (American Sign Language) interests me and when I stumbled upon songs interpreted using ASL, I was glued to the screen. I can't tell you how many times I've watched those videos, they always impress me. H for Hoplology is another one I enjoyed because I've been a fan of the fighting arts for many years and found the video of the longsword technique simply awesome. Then there's R for Rumpology and that was just butt-loads of LOLs to write. And I have to admit, I did enjoy I for Ichnology, but only because I masterfully managed to slide in a music video of Jensen Ackles doing Eye of the Tiger. Grrrrr  ==swoon==

I'm sorry, did you ask for just one? ;)

You kicked off the Challenge with the science of stupidity – agnoiology. Just so no one ends up studying us, what’s it all about?

Unfortunately, I feel the human race will always be under the microscope when it comes to studying stupidity.  Agnoiology however, centers on the study of culturally induced ignorance mainly through the publication of inaccurate or misleading data. I guess it just boils down to one group of people wanting to control another group by keeping then intellectually inferior. The dumbing down of the masses isn't a new strategy, but it does allow government to maintain control over the masses.

You HAVE to describe rumpology for us!

Ahhh, finally. I couldn't bare waiting a second longer to reach the bottom of this post!  Rumpology, sometimes referred to as "Bottom Reading," is fortune telling by reading people's butts. A 'rump reading' is performed by a rumpologist who examines crevices, dimples, warts, moles, and folds of a person's buttocks in much the same way a chirologist would read the palm of the hand. And to add some much needed creditability, astrologer Jackie Stallone (actor Sylvester Stallone's mother) states that rumpology is known to have been practiced in ancient times by the Babylonians, Indians, Ancient Greeks, and Romans (hard evidence proving this theory pending). You think Sylvester get free readings from his mom?  

You struggled with J but finally found Japanology and stated you find Japan fascinating. What are some of the things you’d like to see if you visited? (And you should visit – I lived there as a kid and it’s an amazing place.)

I'm glad I found J for Japanology because I've always held a fascination for Japanese culture, food, art, tradition, and really the Far East in general fascinates me. If I were to visit Japan there is so much I'd want to see that I could fill up an entire post, but off the top of my head I'd want to . . .

• Go to Hiroshima's memorial park.
• Visit Osaka and Kyoto mainly for the history and to visit the temples and shrines. 
• Visit Tokyo, go shopping in Akihabara, get drunk in a Karaoke Bar, ride the bullet train. (: 
• Climb Mount Fuji.
• Visit Tokyo National Museum, Hakone Open-Air Museum, Adachi Museum . . .
• Visit a samurai district.
• See the forging of a true katana sword.
• Eat in a real sushi restaurant where the food comes to you on a conveyor-belt.
• Eat ramen soup in Fukuoka.
• Go to a sumo tournament.
• See the cherry blossoms in March/April . . .

     Anyone want to take me to Japan???? 

Yogurtology isn’t really a field of study – what is it?

I had a hard time finding a y_ology word but luckily (thank you internet) I came across this: Yogurtology, a chain store that sells frozen yogurt and ice cream. I've never came across one, but if I ever did, I'd probably wander in for some frozen yogurt.

Any meltdowns or freak-outs during the Challenge? 

YES, during my Q post for quinology. I only had prewritten posts up to Q, so when my Q post went live, I started to freak out. Luckily, I had a butt-load to talk about the next day for R. (;

If you participate in the Challenge next year, do you have any themes in mind? 

I'm not sure if I'll participate next year but that hasn't stopped me from bouncing around some ideas. I may have a few things brewing but, mum's the word. (; 

Thanks for having me over today Alex, it was fun revisiting some of these old posts. (=

Elise, thank you for enlightening us!!

Co-host Ninja Captain Alex is the author of CassaStar and CassaFire and his blog can be found HERE

Stephen Tremp

Road Trip 2013: Let's gather for Another Pit Stop!

Hellooo? Is there anybody out there? Is anyone still on the road visiting A-Z participants from April 2013? I'm calling another pit stop, so pull your virtual car into a spot here, and let's catch up.

Hundreds of us set out in May for a road trip around the world. Some headed for the fast lane and kept on trucking. Some took the back-roads and meandered. Some of us have run out of gas, some have had our cars breakdown, and some have been called home for pressing family matters.

However far you made it, no matter what number of blogs you visited, I still want to thank you for participating. I know it's meant a lot to many bloggers who for whatever reason didn't get a lot of visits during the Challenge. THANK YOU for persevering, however far you came.

It's not over though! You can still visit for as long as you like. The big list is still clickable, as is the Reflections list. How about making just one visit now? You know how exciting it is to get someone new at your place! Give someone that thrill.

As for me and my trip, I've converted to “Sunday Drives”. I take some time on my down-time-day-of-rest to hit a few more Reflections posts. I promised to read them all and I will. I'm concentrating there, and will return to the “big” list after that.

May your road be smooth, may you hit all the green lights, and don't forget to enjoy the scenery!

~Tina

Konstanz Silverbow: Cover Reveal ~ Only Half Alive

Good morning! Today I'm excited to help out a great friend reveal the cover to her first novel, to be published in a month.

Title: Only Half Alive
Author: Konstanz Silverbow
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance
Release Date: 9-27-13

A VERY SPECIAL THANK YOU to Lady Amber, who is hosting the cover reveal! 
And a very HUGE THANK YOU to Stephanie at Steph's Cover Design for the gorgeous cover! 

Synopsis:

The world's darkest creature, will be their brightest hope.

While darkness haunts her, she craves the light. Christina is a demon, but she doesn't want to be. She is willing to sacrifice everything to change it. Only one person stands in her way, and he will stop at nothing to keep her the way she is.

The greatest battle of light vs dark threatens every living creature, a battle that could destroy all. And the demon in love will only have one chance to save everyone.


~ Add the book to your Goodreads shelf -

Konstanz Silverbow has always been a dreamer . . . but not a writer. Being an author was something she was dragged into. But since that day, she hasn't stopped. It has become more than a hobby, it is a passion. 

During the day Konstanz works, making jewelry, playing the violin, collecting dragons, and learning all she can about medieval weapons. But at night she creates made up worlds and places where those dragons come to life and the weapons are used in battle."

Young adult fantasy, paranormal with a dash of romance author, Konstanz Silverbow; Proud Creator of magical worlds, fictional creatures, ideal super heroes and sarcasm since 2007!

AuthorPage- facebook

Twitter - https://twitter.com/konstanzs

Blog- “No Thought 2 Small”

Yes, her name is familiar to you! She was a co-host for the 2012 and 2013 April Blogging from A-Z Challenges! Please pay her a visit, and be sure to pick up her book when it comes out!

Best of luck, K.!

~Tina

From a Blog to a Book--Pam Williams's A to Z Publishing Experience

     

     

    

   

        In my previous post I wondered about A to Z participants who actually put their Challenge posts into publication.  Today we hear from one of those who did.  Here is a success story from Pamela D Williams.

From a Blog to a Book

How can accepting the April A to Z blogging challenge lead to a book publishing offer? For me it was like a bird following breadcrumbs—I took one inspired step at a time!

I started my blog, 2 Encourage, on Valentine’s Day 2011. I had no idea what I was really getting into—besides joining two writer friends, Dawn and Brianna, who also started blogs around that time. In March, the three of us decided to participate in Arlee Bird’s April A to Z Blogging Challenge.

During that challenge, God led me to write short meditations. I loved it! Every day I mulled over what I wanted to write and then pushed “publish”. I discovered many of my posts spoke to the hearts of writers.

The Challenge was an amazing experience—all the wonderful comments and blog posts! I made so many friends in the blogosphere that I have kept in contact with since that time.

About 18 months later, I felt God nudging me to use my A to Z Blogging Challenge posts as the basis for a book. In very little time A to Z Devotions for Writers took shape.

My heart’s desire in writing A to Z Devotions for Writers is to encourage those who want their writing to stir the faith of others. Each entry offers pertinent scripture readings, a meditation focused on various aspects of the writing life, a short relevant prayer and a “block” busting writing application. My hope is that A to Z Devotions for Writers  will not only drive pen to paper but will also illuminate how writers can apply God’s truths to their writing.

And to think that this project came about as a direct result of the A to Z Blogging Challenge. That is just plain cool—no doubt about it. Thanks, Arlee, for following the leading of your heart and starting the A to Z. Can’t wait for 2014’s Challenge!

           Thanks Pam!   

            Be sure to check out Pam's blog 2 Encourage for information about her book and upcoming book tour.   For more information about the book A to Z Devotions for Writers or to purchase the book you can follow the link below.

Where to buy A TO Z DEVOTIONS FOR WRITERS

• CrossLink
• Amazon
• Barnes and Noble

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• How Many Books Have Resulted from the A to Z Challenge?

How Many Books Have Resulted from the A to Z Challenge?

 
         I've been wondering how many books have come about as a direct result of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge?    We should probably start keeping track--maybe create a special page on this site to promote them.   I know there have been quite a few since the Challenge began in 2010.

          When I first put out the call to join me in blogging through the alphabet in April of 2010, coming up with an A to Z inspired book was not something I even thought of.   A few participants such as Damyanti and Doris Plaster caught on quick and put out books based on their A to Z posts.   Later I ran across some others who also used the A to Z as a publishing catalyst.  Unfortunately I negligently failed to keep track of those authors.

         Subsequent Challenges have seen outpourings of even more books.  Some I've heard about, while others will catch my attention after the fact when I happen to run across them.  What I do know is that the Blogging from A to Z Challenge has been instrumental in getting many interesting and unique books in the marketplace.

        We'd like to hear from you if you have authored one of these books.  You can use this blog as a forum for getting word out about your A to Z inspired book.  Let us know if you'd like to submit a guest post about your book.  Tell us about how you went about putting your book together and what kind of response you received.

       Or perhaps you are considering doing an A to Z book in a future Challenge.  We'd like to hear your thoughts about that as well.   The concept of A to Z inspired books is of interest to many who have participated in a past Challenge or plan to participate in a future one.

         If you've already published an A to Z project, please let us know in the comments and provide links for more information and maybe we can compile the list for reader reference.

          Next Monday August 26th we will be joined by Pam Williams whose A to Z Devotions for Writers was recently released.   Be sure to return to hear her story about how the book came about.

          Have you published a work based on your experience with the A to Z Challenge?   Have you thought about putting one together?   Can you think of any books that have been the direct result of Blogging from A to Z?

       

Related articles

• Do You Have a Book to Promote? Let Damyanti Help
• Goodreads
• A Novel Natter #6: Book Blogging is Not Easy

Mina Lobo: Cover Reveal - That Fatal Kiss

Today please welcome Mina Lobo who blogs at Some Dark Romantic and is about to publish her latest work.

Mina Lobo has long held a passion for Greek mythology. The story of the goddess Persephone's marriage-by-kidnap to Hades, Lord of the Underworld, has particularly fascinated her, and thus came about Mina's debut novel, That Fatal Kiss. Coming September 2013, the revisionist tale features a fiery and noble heroine, a handsome and broody hero, and some heated, earth-shakin' lovin'!

Given Mina's self-professed neurotic nature, it took her and cover artist Steven Novak a few go-arounds before settling on the cover design for That Fatal Kiss. It had to be curiously compelling, slightly spooky, and yet super sexy—and so it is!

The Book:

Feared by mortals for his inexorable power, and loathed by his fellow Greek gods for the same, Hades rules the Underworld alone. A stark eternity looms before him until he discovers Persephone. Struck by the youthful goddess’ beauty, kindness, and spirit, he must have her. But Hades believes Persephone could never love him, and so he conspires with his powerful brother, Zeus, to take her by force.

Persephone too seeks a mate but her possessive mother, the goddess Demeter, frustrates her husband hunting. Then Hades abducts Persephone, tearing her away from the Upperworld she loves to reign with him in the dank depths below. Though outraged, Persephone cannot deny the desire ignited within her by the dark lord’s touch. And even as she hopes that Demeter will unearth her, Persephone aches to surrender to the heat in Hades’ immortal soul.

The Teaser:

“Enough,” Hades said, closing the distance between them. “I have taken you with your father’s consent, as custom allows. You are in my kingdom, under my rule, and if you have any care for your continued well-being, you will get into my bed. Now.” And with the removal of the pins that held together the black cloth about his waist, he stood naked before her.

The anger warming Persephone clashed with another fire that roared to life within her. She choked on a breath and turned her face from him. “Be warned; I will resist you with the full force of my being, through violent means, if necessary.”

His large, unyielding hands encircled the soft flesh of her upper arms as he said, “If you must. Though your surrender to me would prove more satisfying to us both.”

The Author:

Mina Lobo has a lot of Scorpio action going on in her natal chart, which makes for a rather sybaritic and lust-driven Sagittarian. She aims for a wildly successful future as a writer of dark and whimsical romance while dodging the slings and arrows of her outrageous teenaged son, who's buggered off to college (hence the "Lite" in her Twitter handle, below). She enjoys comedic horror and alt rock, goth, & new wave music, as well as quality Belgian chocolates.

Mina invites you to keep abreast of updates regarding That Fatal Kiss, as well as the development of any new neuroses, by stalking her at her usual haunts:

Her blog: Some Dark Romantic
On Facebook: mina.lobo.1
On the Twitter: @GothMomLite
And GothMomLite Will Tumblr For Ya as well

Rosanna: Strategies for Next Year's Challenge

Today please welcome Rosanna of  Writing and Photo Prompts from Life. She hails from The Philippines, and has completed two challenges. She's so excited for next year, she's ready share some tips to get your thoughts going. It's never to early to start planning!

Last year I joined my very first 30-day blogging challenge - The Blogging from A to Z  2012 Challenge - and it was quite stressful.  After picking up my "Survivor" badge, I wondered if it was worth all the stress and decided that it wasn't.

"No more blogging challenges for me."  It was a firm decision that stayed with me till early this year, but as April approached, I asked myself, "Why not?"  I had been mulling the idea of featuring my country, the Philippines, in my blog and I figured that the A to Z challenge would be the perfect way to highlight the many beautiful aspects of my country.

I survived this year's challenge as well, and I'm proud to say that this time I had fun. I did things differently this year: I began the challenge with a list of topics that I wanted to write about - from A to Z of course. This year, I also made it a point to visit at least ten other blogs after posting - and that by itself  was a fun experience.  It was like visiting different places and meeting all sorts of people.

After this year's A to Z challenge, I was ready to join other challenges - both blogging and photo challenges. As a result, I have been blogging more and I've been having a blast. I've also been learning a lot about blogging, and come next year's challenge, I know I will have more tools at my disposal, which will make the one-month challenge easier, and will leave me with more time to visit other blogs.

Up until recently, my blogging skills have been quite limited, and as it was with my posts in this year's challenge, I wrote articles accompanied by photos in each and every blog post.  Now I know there are other ways to blog - a late bloomer I am!

Here are some things I hope to do for next year's challenge:

• Feature video clips in some blogs. As we all know, there are thousands of videos on file on YouTube. To embed a video in a blog post, all one need do is click on "Share" which appears under the video box.  Upon clicking, a highlighted code will appear.  Copy the code and paste it on your blog.
• Do a photo essay - colorful, inspiring, and easier to do than writing so much text!
• Switch guest posts with another participant
• Reblog an interesting post by one of the participants
• Feature a list of the five, seven - even ten - participating blogs I like best
• Interview one of the challenge organizers or another blogging participant
• Feature the blog of a frequent commenter

As you can see, I'm already gearing up for next year's Blogging from A to Z Challenge.  See you then!

Those are some great goals! I also encourage you to learn something new when it comes to the technical side of your blog. Thanks for taking the time to be with us today, Rosanna!

~Tina

Sylvia Villalobos: Why Do We Blog?

I’m relatively new to blogging (seven months or so), and still learning about this fascinating world filled with communities and challenges and stories. Great personal stories. As I make my way through the blogosphere, I discover equally interesting places from faraway countries and old neighborhoods. I discover a lot of other things, but will focus on the first-mentioned aspects of blogging.

So, why do we blog?  To share our stories, I would say, but that’s hardly the only reason. Perhaps to promote a product, establish our writing, build a platform, express our creativity, be part of communities.

Some communities are so well organized (and crowded), I can’t bring myself to be commenter number 189. Does the large number of comments affect the blogger’s personal rapport with followers? I don’t know. I’m asking.

What I do know is that not having a blog is a thing of the past.  Since I like to write, I started blogging when I was told no writer is without a blog nowadays. So far so good, but are we blogging because everyone else is or for reasons that will last?

According to quora.com most blogs are abandoned soon after creation, with 60-80% abandoned within one month, and many surviving blogs are not regularly updated.  That may mean nothing to the serious blogger, but in the world of data those are large numbers.

On the other hand, the longest running blog, according to newswireless.net, belongs to Rupert Goodwins who started blogging in 1996. Now that’s staying power and dedication -- seventeen years of blogging. I’d like to think staying power is one of the goals. Otherwise, it seems like a lot of work and dedication gone to waste. A long-standing and active blog, it appears, stands on two pillars: great content and persistence. Since blogs are similar to personal journals, as a new blogger I find posts with personal touches most inviting.

For a time I thought blogging was something young people did, another aspect of the social media revolution. It didn’t take long to learn that’s not the case. Some of my favorite posts are written by bloggers transformed by life experiences. Not long ago, I read a post titled Good Girl Disease, by Doreen McGettigan. I think you’ll be moved by this true-life story. I was.

So, what is it that makes you blog?  And what motivates you to blog often?   

About the author: Silvia lives in Los Angeles with her husband and son. Her stories have appeared at Fiction365, Red Fez, and Pure Slush.  She is currently working on her mystery novel, Stranger or Friend.   

Shhhh! I am Sneaking In Today!

Not really sneaking... I wanted to tell you that my Art/Design book tour called "It's Time" has started and I would love for you all to take a look. There are giveaways, interesting stories and me... if that isn't enough did I mention a big giveaway in the end. If you don't know who I am... well I can tell you, I am the person who created many of the art/logos/badges/headers here and many others places in the blog world.

So here are the dates: [CLICK ME, CLICK ME]

Be one of the cool kids!

Giveaways are at top, just below the Header!

 

READ/COMMENT/SHARE!

Thanks, have a great day!

Jeremy [Being Retro]

http://www.beingretro.com

New Name, New Place...

What Happens When You Are an Obscure Superhero?

Today’s Challenge Participate Feature is master Mark Means from Left and Write! His theme for the Challenge was super in more ways than one. 

What made you decide on the theme of obscure superheroes?

When I was trying to come up with themes the first thing I thought of was 'would I be able to come up with things that started with X,Y, and Z'. Also known as my "X,Y,Z Question". After discarding a few other themes, such as a "Back to the Future" theme and an old t.v. show theme, one of my other loves popped into my head.....old comic books. I asked the "X,Y,Z" question and found that, yes, I could probably do this theme.

Which letter was the most difficult?

Believe it, or not, the letter "R" gave me the most trouble. With most of the other letters, a name just sprang to mind. This one had me doing a bit of research until I came up with "Razorback".

Which letter was your favorite?

I think "H"....for The Human Fly. It was fun to reminisce about a character I hadn't thought of, literally, in years.

You had a mix of DC and Marvel – care to take a side?

Hmmm....that's a toughie. Back when I first got into comics, I was a huge Marvel fan. In fact, I think one of my very first superhero books was Captain America. If you asked me back then, I would have said Marvel, for sure. Recently, though, I'd have to go with D.C.....even through their sort of cruddy "New 52" stuff. I just feel the D.C Universe is more "heroic" and, for the most part, fun. (DC rocks!)

You said you were a fan of team comics. (So am I.) Tell us about The Liberty Legion.

Back when I first started buying comics, I was drawn to the team books and, besides The Avengers, another way to get my Captain America fix was in the pages of The Invaders. So, in one issue they featured a brand new group of heroes that was brought together after The Invaders had been captured by the Red Skull (I think it was), called The Liberty Legion. I didn't know it, at the time, but the LL was made up of actual characters from the Golden Age of comic books. Back then, I had thought they were just made up for that issue and, since this was in the "B.I" (Before Internet) days, what did I know? Anyway, the characters really appealed to me and I always wished they had gotten a series of their own but, alas, it wasn't in the cards and the Legion soon faded into comic book history.....again. It was neat, though, to see a few of the characters pop up years later as they guest-starred in other titles.

Who is your favorite superhero?

Definitely, Captain America.....though Batman is a close second. I've always liked the 'man out of time' aspect about Steve Rogers and how he sticks to his principles, even in the face of being unpopular. That resolve is a lot of what makes him a hero.

Which obscure superhero deserves his (or hers) own movie?

I think there are quite a few obscure heroes that could carry their own movie (if done correctly). Booster Gold and Zatanna are two characters that immediately spring to mind. A Booster Gold film could even get away with being on the comedic side and not take itself too seriously, as some of these sort of movies have been done in the past. Zatanna, on the other hand, would lend itself to a more darker tone, perhaps. Regardless though, I'd pay money to see either on the silver screen.

If you participate in the Challenge next year, what theme do you think you’ll tackle?

I'm still thinking of that "Back To The Future" theme or, maybe, something "old school" pro wrestling related. If all else fails, I think I could get by with an 'obscure t.v. show or character' theme. It's a pretty good bet that, if it's 'old and obscure', I could probably make it work.

Old and obscure sounds cool to me, Mark! Thanks again, Mr. Obscure Superhero.

Co-host Ninja Captain Alex is the author of CassaStar and CassaFire and his blog can be found HERE

Amy Burle: Write! Write! Write!

Amy Willoughby-Burle is the author of Out Across the Nowhere, a collection of short stories. Her fiction has appeared in numerous literary journals such as Potomac Review, Inkwell, Sycamore Review, Reed Magazine, The MacGuffin and many others. She is the editor of Blue Lotus Review, an online journal for literature, art, and music.

Amy was raised in the small coastal town of Kure Beach, North Carolina. She graduated with a BA in English (and an unfinished Masters in Creative Writing — "sorry Mom and Dad") from East Carolina University. She spent several years in her husband's home state of Missouri before getting homesick for North Carolina. She now lives in the mountains near Asheville with her very gracious husband and three children. In her spare tune she searches the universe for hidden portals to magical places.  Please welcome her to the A-Z Blog!

The Secret Hidden Portal to “Writing Time.”

During my time on the A to Z April Challenge I chose to post excerpts from my novel in progress The Lemonade Year. As a homeschooling mom of 3 (4 by the time this post appears), homemaker and part-time grocery clerk, I knew I wanted to try my hand at daily blogging, but my writing time is limited.

Who’s isn’t, you’re probably chortling. Well, that’s my point exactly. I’ve been asked on many occasions—“How do you find time to write?” Answer” “I don’t.”

I make the best use of the time I already have. There’s no extra time hiding under the couch cushions. Believe me, I’ve looked. Writing time already exist within your day, you just have to utilize it. That sounds a lot like good old fashioned time management doesn’t it? You nailed it. That’s all it is. There is no secret portal to “writing time.” Darn.

Here’s some advice that I give for making sure you use the time you have and use it well.

1.      No amount of time is too small. Don’t wait for some magical large amount of free time to present itself. It might not, so keep your writing utensil (laptop, notebook, etc.) at the ready. Keep it open and available. Write even if you think you’ll only get 10 minutes or 250 words on the page. All that writing will add up fast! All the days you spent waiting for more time will go by even faster!

2.      Don’t worry about writing crap. You will. I do. It’s called a first draft. Don’t say things like “I can’t write till I know exactly what’s going to happen or how I’m going to say it.” There’s a good chance that you’re just stalling. That’s why you revise and edit.

3.      Don’t set up too many rituals around your writing. You can LIKE, but don’t NEED to have complete silence, a cup of tea on the upper, right hand side of your desk, sun shining in your window, to be wearing your favorite shirt or drinking from your favorite cup, etc. 

4.      Be able to write anywhere. You don’t need a writing desk, a private room, or a padded wall sanctuary. Be flexible. If you know you’re going to be sitting in the waiting room at the orthodontists for 2 hours, take your laptop or notebook and write. Your legs stretched out across two chairs make a fine desk. (Yes, I actually did this.)

5.      Write when you’re not even writing. At the start of your day, turn your brain on. Tell it which scene, character, plot twist, etc. you plan to deal with that day. Let your brain churn while you’re driving, folding laundry, filing, making copies, whatever. This will surprise you. Ever been searching your brain for the name of some actor in a movie you saw 20 years ago only to give up, assuming you’ll never remember it and then 2 days later, while you’re in the middle of a meeting, you shout out the actor’s name while your boss is talking. See what I mean?

6.      Monitor the time you spend online. Answer e-mails and visit message boards quickly and effectively. You don’t really NEED to know whose cat just ate a box of crayons or whose adorable children just built a replica of the statue of liberty out of toilet paper rolls. You don’t HAVE to comment on these things. Don’t let the internet become a time vampire. Be purposeful, blogging and following blogs that are meaningful to your overall goal. Networking IS important in this business (HUGELY), but those contacts will only come in handy if you actually have a product for sale. Keep a good balance on these two aspects of the writing business.

7.      Be realistic. You know what you will do and what you won’t do. Don’t plan to write for 2 hours starting at 5am if you know you aren’t going to do that. Don’t sabotage yourself and your writing by setting goals that you aren’t going to keep.

8.      Don’t tie your writing time to your goals for a perfect life. Meaning: This is not a New Year’s resolution. This is real. Don’t include “finding” time to write into eating healthy and doing yoga twice a day and remodeling the guest room into a writing den and wearing only organic cotton. Don’t make your writing part of a list of things you aren’t really going to do.

9.      Understand that writing and the completion of a great poem, a powerful short story and yeah, you bet—a novel—is a long process. It’s a lot of hard work. It’s not sitting at Starbucks and toying around with an idea. It’s long hours of writing and rewriting, plotting, sub-plotting, rethinking the whole damn thing and starting over. Be ready for that. Be ok with that.

10.  Don’t let fear lead to failure when you haven’t even given success a shot. Believe in yourself and your writing!

Now Write! Write! Write!

Thanks for taking the time to be with us today! This advice is great for all levels of writers. We appreciate you sharing with us!

~Tina

Tree of Life: A Collaborative Writing Challenge by Samantha Redstreake Geary

Tree of Life: Origins is a collaborative journey in epic writing, where a single writer will interpret the cinematic scores of audiomachine's Tree of Life album to create an original, music driven tale. Every artist--whether a painter or poet, dancer or director, storyteller or sculptor, choreographer or composer--is driven by their passion to create. When you let your passion guide you, great things are born. It is when these passions converge that the real magic happens. My passion lies in pulling the threads of imagination that live and breathe in each eager note until I have woven a story worthy of the song. Every piece of music tells a tale, one that will bend and bow for every ear. Music is a meal rich in emotion that feeds the soul. A writer's soul has a voracious appetite, capable of devouring every last sound, leaving a plate of pure inspiration in its place.

It is my hope that you will all join me in this creative venture by following this epic tale as it unfolds. Starting July 24th through August 18th, I will be posting daily excerpts of the Tree of Life: Origins serial, each one featuring an inspirational album track. As the story unfolds, readers will have the opportunity to win prizes. Since this is a collaborative project, we would like you, the readers, to get involved by leaving your feedback in the comments section of the story's excerpts. The more you interact with us, the better your chances are of winning, say, a signed novel or ebook from one of our brilliant authors or an autographed Tree of Life album by the celebrated composer, Paul Dinletir!

Audiomachine will choose their top 10 favorite story posts. A lucky reader will be randomly chosen from the comments section of each selected post. Winners will be announced the week of August 18th!

And now for our list of master storytellers who graciously donated the following for your reading pleasure! Be sure to visit their websites to learn more about these amazing authors: Shana Abé -- signed copy of The Sweetest Dark Stacey Jay -- signed copy Of Beast and Beauty Chris Howard -- signed copy of Rootless Susan Kaye Quinn --The Debt Collector Season one ebooks Ellie Garratt -- Taking Time and Passing Time ebooks M. Pax -- signed copies of The Backworlds & Stopover at the Backworlds’ Edge and The Renaissance of Hetty Locklear ebook

Tree of Life: Branching Out is a collaborative writing challenge, where creative minds meet epic movie music. Preselected guest writers representing all genres, from all across the globe, will contribute their own 150 word excerpt (wc is flexible) to a continuing story collectively written over the course of 26 days. Each of the 26 writers will find inspiration in a featured composition from the motion picture music production house, audiomachine's new TREE OF LIFE album. These clever masters of the craft will spin the story in whatever direction they choose, picking up where the previous writer left off, resulting in the ultimate collaborative tale. The challenge kicks off July 15th through August 9th. Be sure to check back HERE daily for exciting new excerpts. When the collaboration is complete, fans will have a chance to vote for their favorite guest excerpt starting August, 10th. Submit your votes in a private message to Sam's FB page by August 17th. Winners will be announced August 18th. The top three writers will be awarded prizes.

Audiomachine will also choose their top three favorite guest excerpts! ATTENTION FANS: You can WIN an autographed TREE OF LIFE audiomachine album by LEAVING COMMENTS! On August 17th, two lucky readers will be chosen at random from the comments section of the story excerpts. The more you comment--the better your chances are of winning a piece of cinematic history! We want to hear from YOU!
Samantha Redstreake Geary :Unlocking Imaginations and Evoking the Essence of Memory
Sam's Blog: Writerly Sam
Sam's FB page

Sam, this sounds like such a great project! Thanks for sharing with us. I can't wait to write my section!

~Tina

Alicia Bien: Wine, Wonderful Wine

"You're going to write about wine?" Mr. Wonderful said setting his espresso cup on the breakfast table.

"Yep," I said stirring my green tea.

"For every day in April?"

"Yep."

"Have you lost your mind?"

"Yep!"

Mr. Wonderful is my biggest fan, which he should be since, well, he is my husband. In fact when we got married, his vowed to love, honor and support all my crazy plans. And in return I promised to love, honor and keep things interesting. After several years of marriage, we're both batting a thousand.

But perhaps I was biting off too much with this A-Z Blogging Challenge? Twenty-six days was a lot of writing, blogging and all around suffering. But then I reconsidered: I'd been a wine drinker since college; I was a member of a wine group and; I'd been writing about wine for some time, which meant I had plenty of stories to tell about wine, wineries and winos. The wino bit I knew from personal experience. Lots of personal experience. But the question remained: could I write about wine for 26 days in April? I had to find out.

"A" was a great place to start. Wine had plenty of "A" words like Aroma, Acidic and Alcohol Induced-Fun-Times-Rock-On! I did not, however, use any of these words instead opting for "A is for Drinking Alone" because if you wanted to learn about wine you have to be okay drinking wine alone in moderation. I know I am.

Would the other letters be as easy to write about? I had to find out.

I wrote my way through the alphabet without struggling for subject matter because I'd chosen a great theme. Wine encompasses worlds of material such as: flavor, taste, smell, geography, weather, farming, history, language, culture, international-geopolitical-fashion-giraffes. Well, maybe not that, but a whole lot nonetheless.

Of course some letters were more challenging that others. Could I write posts for "Q" or "U" or the dreaded "X"? I had to find out.

I tackled these posts and thanks to the pressure of needing to have the posts done--that glorious pressure!--I was able to write these and all the other posts for the Challenge. 

Part of the A-Z Blogging Challenge was to visit other blogs. Could I work, write and read others' blogs? I had to find out.

I started with my own name and worked my way down the list and it was a treat to discover new blogs. Clicking on a new blog was like opening a gift on Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa. You didn't know what would be there except it would be a surprise. I relished reading these other blogs. I wished I could have read all 1,900,126 of them. But next year is another Challenge and opportunity to do so.

Having completed the Challenge I now had 26 wine stories as well as many others from various outlets I'd written for, therefore I decided to collect my favorite wine pieces into a comical book about one woman's wine journey from discovery to appreciation.

"You're publishing a book?" Mr. Wonderful said sipping his espresso.

"Yep," I said stirring my green tea.

"A book about wine?"

"Yep."

"You certainly keep things interesting."

"Yep!"

About the Author:

Alicia Bien is a wine drinker and comedy writer. She lives in Los Angeles with her spouse, "Mr. Wonderful", in their fixer-upper house, which they are fixing upping. She blogs at New House Girl. Her book EVOLUTION OF A WINE DRINKER will be released July 31, 2013.

Thanks for being with us today, Alicia.  Good luck with the release of your book!

~Tina

Cori McKeivor: Channeling the A to Z Motivation All Year Long

Well, I hope everyone is enjoying their post-challenge roadtrips and new projects. I entered two blogs into the A to Z challenge and found it a great motivator for my blogging. Tiring, yes. Stressful, yes. However, it was ultimately a great motivator and a great source of inspiration (but my post challenge 'reflections' blog post will tell you more about that if you are interested).

What I want to talk about today is channelling that A to Z motivation all year round. Shelina wrote a great post last month about missing the April challenge and trying to plan the month ahead to get more regular writing done. I did just that. As discussed in my reflections post, I had a plan for April. Since then I have had a (bit more disorganised) plan for the following months.

It has been working well even if it is a bit haphazard juggling an extra blog. This month I have started a new A to Z challenge all of my own to boost the content on my new blog.  I have chosen to write an "A to Z of Skills" for my DIY Career Development Blog which was 'born' out of the challenge. It is a new blog and I am still trying to build up the useful content. This will be weekly post which I started at the beginning of the month (which means if I stick to it it will end neatly at the end of 2013).

It is a great new challenge if you are still feeling the post challenge blogging blues or have lost your momentum. Action point: Try a themed weekly a to z for a topic you want to write more content on but never quite get there. So why not try it yourself to build up you content on a particular theme or topic without the stress of the daily challenge but still maintaining some consistency. Besides, being in a weekly A to Z zone might also inspire you to check off some blogs on your post-challenge roadtrip.

Info about me:  Cori of Printed Portal is a young professional working and writing in the UK. She writes about planning and organisation at her blog Planning with Printed Portal, about writing (when she has time) at Putting Pen to Paper and more recently has started a new blog about taking control of your own career development at DIY Career Development after an enjoyable A to Z Challenge in April.

Thanks so much for being here today, Cori, and for sharing your enthusiasm and great ideas.

~Tina