Mindfulness Guest Post Opportunity for Bloggers and Authors

I am looking for guest posts for the month of September. If you like to write about the life of an author or blogger this is an opportunity for you.

The twelfth of September is Mindfulness Awareness day and as a mindfulness practitioner, I want to help spread the word of the benefits of the practice. Mindfulness is the practice of being present and focused in the moment without judgement of yourself or others.

If you are interested in contributing a post about practicing mindfulness in your life as a writer or blogger (or both) then please keep reading.

Here are the requirements:

1. Post must be about your LIFE as a mindfulness practitioner - formally recognised or not.
2. How do you practice being mindful in your daily life - work, kids, relationships, writing, hobbies, art, crafts, household chores, spiritual practice - the works. Some emphasis is required (please) on your writing schedule. Blogging and journaling also count as writing.
3. Pick one day of the week, and tell my readers what your schedule looks like, from waking up to bedtime. Offer lessons learned, benefits gained, what works for you, what doesn't, etc.
4. If you are mindfulness meditation practitioner - please include that in your post.
5. Word count 1500 to 2000 words, minimum. You are welcome to go up to 4k, as long as the post is relevant and keeps to topic.
6. Use references if necessary, and use your own life experiences as the basis for your article.
7. No advertising, but you are encouraged to include links to your website/blog, social media profiles, etc. - max 5 links.
8. Author bio - +/- 300 words, or shorter if you prefer. A recent picture of fairly high resolution - at least 100dpi x 100dpi.
9. Deadline for submissions: 31 August 2019. Please submit your post using the email address in the graphic below. Subject: Mindfulness Post
   

   
   And that is my story for today. For more regular updates follow #TheTinyBroom on Twitter.
   
   Until next time!
   💜 Linzé
   

   

   
   
   
   

StoryCubes Short Story Writing Competition 2018

The Competition

1. Write a short story using the nine story cubes in the graphic (see HOW TO ENTER below).

2. The cubes must be used in the way they are laid out, ie. the opening 3 must be in the opening scene of the story, the middle 3 in the middle, and the last 3 in the ending of the story. The order of the use of the three cubes in every part of the story, is left up to the author.

3. Each story must have a single author.

4. No changes are allowed to stories already submitted.

5. By entering this monthly competition you declare that the stories you submit are your own work, and that you have not committed plagiarism in any form. If any story is found to be the work of another author, copied from any source on the internet, or other published work, the entrant will be banned from any future entries and any work already published will be removed with a public announcement to that effect.

6. By entering this competition you grant permission that your story may be published on Butterfly on a Broomstick and promoted on social media

7. The entry fee is not refundable, so make sure you submit your story on time.

8. South Africa is located in the GMT+2 time zone. Late submissions due to miscalculations on the time zone, will not be accepted as an excuse.

9. Three winners will be picked every month and their stories will be promoted on my blog, Butterfly on a Broomstick. Promotions will take the form of shares on Facebook, Pinterest, Google+, and Twitter.

10. Linzé Brandon is the administrator/judge of this competition, and will not take part as an author.

11. Judges for the month are not allowed to enter, but are welcome to do so for other months.

12. The judges' decision is final.

13. The submissions remain the intellectual property of each author.

14. The top three authors (with the most votes) at the end of the year will be awarded Amazon gift cards to the value of - $25, $15 and $8. In case of a tie, the prizes will be combined and divided equally.

15. The cubes will send out the 1st of the following months: February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October and November.

The stories will be judged based on the following criteria:

1. Word count, excluding the title, must not exceed 750 words.

2. All nine (9) of the Storycubes must feature in the story.

3. All family friendly genres are welcome - that means no explicit sex, no violence, and no offensive language.

4. Stories that thrill the judges or make them laugh, cry, horrified or touched by your characters are what we are looking for.

5. The story is the most important, but take the time to edit your story before submission. Where stories are tied for a winning place, the better edited story will be chosen.

6. The top three authors for each month will be contacted by email.

How to enter?

1. Subscribe to my blog to get the nine Storycubes sent to your inbox, every month. No spam, I promise.

2. Submit your story in the BODY of an email message. Emails with attachments will be automatically disqualified.

3. Put the title of your story in the SUBJECT line of the email as follows: STORYCUBES {The Month you are taking part} - The Title of Your Story. The email addresses for submission and payment will be sent with the cubes every month.

4. Stories received after the deadline are not eligible. Since the cubes are different for every month, late stories will not be carried over to the next month.

5. Deadline for each story will be in your inbox.

6. Entry fee: $2. The Paypal reference number must accompany the entry to be valid.

How to get to the top spot?

1. Promote your story to all your friends on the internet.

2. Ask them to vote for your story.

3. Take part in the next month's competition.

NOTE: The details of this post will be relocated to a TAB on my blog, so you don't have to search for the rules next time.

Infographic: 15 Ways to Write Faster

SOURCE @ www.custom-writing.org

On Being a Writer - Paulo Coelho style

Click the image for more detail

Live in Balance: Daily Choices

It always amazes me that once you decide to either do or work at something, information about that subject seems to pop up everywhere. From my mailing lists to articles shared by online friends - living a life in balance or harmony suddenly appeared to be the flavour of the week.

Live in Balance 2017

I am not complaining, quite the contrary. Seeing all this information, or experiences shared by others, work well to inspire me to keep working at it. Of course, it is early days, but reading about good intentions versus commitment, can be a good starting place. A place that helps to get (and keep) my head in the right place and on track towards my goals.
I am not sure that we actually learn from the mistakes or the experiences of other people. Many people are of the opinion that we read about others' experiences (good or bad) and yet deep down still think that we won't make the same mistake even if we make the same choices. I am no expert in human behaviour, but from what little I understand of the world, I have to agree.
Take smoking or alcohol as examples. There is no way that people who smoke or drink excessively cannot be aware of the consequences of their actions unless they live in a hole somewhere and then at least they won't hurt anybody else with their choices. But the information is there. People who have rehabilitated themselves from these bad habits, share their stories to anyone who wants to listen, and still, the number of smokers is on the increase. And the same can be said of alcoholism.
Please understand I am in no position to judge but didn't they make a choice at some point in their lives to use these dangerous substances? Or do they choose not to seek help to stop once they have become addicted?
So if we don't learn from mistakes made by others, and we persist in living down the rabbit hole, what do we have to do to break these chains around our own minds? Is it simply a choice, or is there something more?
I think the first step is the choice, but it shouldn't end there. All choices to change something in ourselves or our circumstances will come with sacrifices. And therein lies the fundamental reason why we continue to live doing the wrong things to ourselves or others.
Why it is so easy to slip back to old habits?
No one likes sacrifices. No one will choose pain. So why should you?
Why should I?
Why did I choose to lose weight? Or do more art? Or write the equivalent of three novels in one year?
Doing art and writing provides me with a lot of satisfaction, and pleasure even, but the sacrifices still have to be made. To be honest, I have been writing for sixteen years now, and I don't miss the one thing I decided to sacrifice to make the time to do so: watching TV. Taking up art again, was simply another creative activity I added to please myself.
Losing weight, on the other hand, is not that simple. The choice is easy: I stick up my hand and say 'I do', but this choice comes with both sacrifice and pain. Trust me, I will avoid pain as far as I can. So what now?
It is early days. And my will-power when it comes to the temptation of food and snacking is anything but strong. I don't know if I will make my target. I don't know how difficult it is going to get.

Live in Balance 2017

What I do know is that if I don't learn from the mistakes made by others, or heed the advice of those that went before me, I could end up killing myself. If that is not something that scares you into commitment, trust me, it sure as hell scared the living daylights out of me.
So here I stand at the beginning of week 2 of my year to Live in Balance. My bravery of before is seriously lacking right now. What I do have is the choice to do this today. And choose to do this tomorrow. And when I get to the day after, I will have to make the choice again. Pain and sacrifice now. So that a month or three from now, I can continue making these same choices, perhaps with more bravery and less pain. And if I can manage to make this choice enough times, the pain will go away and so will the threat to my health and ultimately my life. So I choose the pain, today.

Advice from other writers on getting better at writing https://www.grammarly.com/blog/experts-on-writing-better/

Book Feature: START TO WRITE by Christine Royse Niles

About the Book

Start to Write began a few years ago as a talk for new interns in a storytelling development program called “Eight Things I Wish I Knew When I Started As A Writer.” After sharing the talk a couple times, one of the organization’s staff writers suggested the book. Author Christine Royse Niles had worked on books for a many other authors, but had never finished or published one of her own, and the first edition was born.

Synopsis

In Start to Write, Niles shares eight lessons she learned in her first years of being a writer, and offers eight steps to help overcome the most common fears and barriers facing growing writers. She addresses questions every writer asks, including “Will anyone will ever read what I’m writing?” “What if this has already been said?” and “How can I find a mentor to guide me?”

Start to Write will help the reader recognize—maybe even articulate for the first time—something that’s been holding them back from growing as a writer. Maybe it’s the myth that writers need a formal education or the fear that each word must be perfect before it’s set down on paper or through the keyboard. Whatever it is, by seeing it, naming it, and facing it down, each writer can start to write.

Buy Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IX5GUPS/

Christine Royse Niles

About the Author

Christine Royse Niles is a corporate refugee from Fort Wayne, Indiana where she and her husband are raising two teenage girls adopted from Ukraine. She likes to make up stories before the crack of dawn, and she works with growing writers to publish and launch books by the light of day. She has coached apprentice and staff writers for a non-profit, managed book launch and online course development for a bestselling author, and she moderates the My 500 Words Facebook group.

She is the author of The Step-by-Step Guides for Growing Writers and the forthcoming Jennifer Hughes thriller series under the pen name CM Niles. Her fiction isn't for everyone. If you are offended by bad words and want the world to be populated with unicorns, she wishes you well. But if you don't mind slipping down into the dark parts of humanity for a few hours at a time, her stories might just be perfect for you.

When she's not writing, she loves to travel around the world, always finding great hiding places for bodies whether she's in the city or the wilderness.

Follow Christine online:

Tools, tips, and tricks for growing writers: riverofthoughts.com

Edgy fiction: nileswriter.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CRoyseNiles

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChristineRoyseNiles

35 Day Blog Challenge - Day 35: A Writer's Journey

While writing a post for this challenge, a few days ago, I reached a total word count of 1.8 million words. I was quite surprised when I updated my word count spreadsheet to see that it had actually happened. One moment I was a few thousand words short, the next moment...there it was.

It is something I started about two years ago after a Facebook friend mentioned her lifetime word count. Since I still had every manuscript I had written on my backup drive (I changed computers a few times over the years) it was purely a matter of opening each file and recording the word count on the spreadsheet.

While I include the word count of blog posts (it is creative writing after all), it accounts for less than ten percent of the total number of words.

In the overall scheme of things, this number of 1.8 million doesn't mean anything. What keeping track does show me, is how many words I write per day, on average. Right at the beginning I was still feeling my way around at creative writing and have only been a serious writer for the past four years. This is evident in my daily average number of words that have more than doubled from where I had started fifteen years ago.

I personally believe that it is not only the number of words that I have written over the years, that has helped me improve as a writer. What stands out to me is that it has become a daily necessity to me, to write. A habit has been established, and it is the habit that grows my word count.

Of course, doing 50,000 words in one month makes a significant contribution, but if it is only 50k in one year, there is no real habit, no real growth. At least not for me.

Anyone can write 1667 words per day for 30 days. The true test comes if you can write 500 words per day for 365 days. It is not the 500 words that is the issue but establishing the discipline of writing each day.

My daily average this year is 740 words per day. During NaNoWriMo months, the average goes higher, but that is temporary and I don't worry about it.

At 740 words per day, I can write 270,000 in a year. This translates to 30,000 words for blog posts (+/- 300 words twice per week) and two full-length novels of 120k words each.

Just looking at these numbers is enough to make my pants shake, and yet that is what I do.

I don't see a huge mountain of words rising before me, I read the numbers as they fall behind me. Because, like any other goal, I take it one step - or rather one sentence at a time.

This has been 35 days of sharing some of the things that I have learned on my journey as a writer. Thank you for being on this blog challenge journey with me. Until next time!

35 Day Blog Challenge - Day 34: The Last Word - Back Matter

About the Author

This may be the last paragraph in your book, but do not disregard its importance. The About the Author paragraph (or two) provides your reader a personal view into the person whose book they have just finished reading.

What should this paragraph entail? It is entirely up to you, but here are a few pointers to help you decide how to word your Author Bio:

1. Don't lie about yourself. This does not mean that you have tell all, but don't say things that are not true to make yourself sound more important or more educated.
2. Don't brag. It is all good and well that you have a PhD, but you can word it in such a way that people won't feel inferior to you when they read it. You want to come across as someone that your readers can relate to, PhD notwithstanding.
3. Share something that you are interested in. A hobby or two, or something that you like to do with your family.
4. Keep the bedroom door closed. While the sex lives of celebrities might be fascinating to the tabloids, you do not want to air your bed sheets in public. It is bad enough that the perception exists that any and all sex scenes in books are based on the writer's own experiences. It is not true for the majority of writers, but even if it is the truth in your case, refrain from mentioning that.
5. Since you are a writer, don't forget to mention something about how you got started, or what made you write your first story.
6. Keep it short. This is not the time for colourful prose and literary thoughts. Keep it under 200 words as far as possible.
7. Social media contact details. Add you four (maximum) best social media profile links of which one should be your blog or website. 

For print books a photograph can be added, but check the ebook requirements as some platforms may not allow another graphic aside from the cover to be part of the published files.

35 Day Blog Challenge – Day 33: Does the Front Matter?

Photograph by Linzé

The front matter in a book is everything listed before the book starts at Chapter 1, excluding the cover. We will look at print books and ebooks separately since the front matter of these are not exactly the same.

Let’s start with the ever popular ebook. The first virtual page after the cover deals with copyright, publication info and details about the book itself: the title and the name of the author.

There is usually also a space to mention other books or a link to other books by the same author. This link is useful for your reader to see that there are more books on offer if he or she likes your book. If you added a link, make sure it is working correctly and the link takes the reader directly to a place where the books are. People don’t have the time or patience to go around clicking to find something they thought would be there at the first click.

Then follows the Table of Contents (ToC) with links to each chapter and the all important About the Author details. Your reader can skip things like a Dedication page, or Note from the Author at the start, and click the link to get reading immediately.

Make sure the links are all there, in case your reader are interested and would like to read your dedications or notes too. If you are using these pages, make sure they are spell and grammar checked. Just because they are not part of the story, doesn’t mean that they are not also a showcase for your writing.

In a printed book, there is an extra page in the front that usually only contains the title, the author’s name and the publisher’s name at the bottom of the page. This is the page where you as the author will autograph the book for a reader.

Printed fiction books do not have a ToC for a single story. Multiple stories published in a single book could have a ToC, but that is not a rule with all publishers.

Of course, printed books cannot have active links to other books by the same author, but it could be listed if it is not too long. Usually, a printed list of other books by the same author is included as part of the front matter, for information.

Often this list is accompanied by short reviews of each book to inform the reader on what other people thought about the stories, and tickle their interest in purchasing those books as well.

You can do the same for an ebook, but add a link in the ToC to Reviews so that the reader has a choice to skip them.

Tomorrow we will have a look at the Back Matter.

35 Day Blog Challenge - Day 32: To Submit or Not to Try?

For some unknown reason, people are scared to enter writing competitions. I say why not? If you win you get all kinds of exposure, if not a publishing contract. And, it saves you the pain and sleepless nights of having to write a query letter, which seems to be worse than writing an actual novel. There is no pitching an agent or editor, or any of those worries about what they will think of you.

The competitions are judged anonymously, and you don't have to do anything except submit a story, long or short.

The downside is that most of the time they don't talk to you either, i.e. there is no feedback. Although there are competitions where feedback is provided, so even that one is no longer an excuse.

The only problem I have with submitting to writing competitions is timing. They always come at the worst times. Either because my next novel is not yet ready for a submission (not finished writing that is) or I don't have a short story on hand that fit the scope of the competition, or there isn't time to write a story, at least a decent one that is.

However, when the opportunity arises, there I go, boots and all! You never know what will happen. And if you don't submit, your chance of winning are zero. Yip, nothing. So grab that story, give it another edit, and submit it. You might be the next winner!

Pop around tomorrow for more mad mutterings on my Broomstick!

If you want to see what the other participants are blogging about, you can find their blogs here. Why not pop on over and leave a comment?

35 Day Blog Challenge - Day 31: Blogging a Book

In a chat group someone asked the other day how does one blog a book, or do you just write posts about the book for marketing purposes? Personally I think you can go either way, but as a writer, trying to establish yourself? Write a book.
It can be fiction or non-fiction, both can work wonderfully as a series of blog posts. Just one thing to remember: once posted it is considered published because it will be in the public domain. So no entering competitions where it explicitly states 'not published before'. Competitions can be funny that way, but the rules are the rules.
On the other hand, if people like your blog posts, ie your book very much, they will tell you. 

To give an example: Yip I have one of those on hand - my friend, Vanessa Wright, wrote a series of posts about her Muse. And they were not only very funny, people like them so much that they had been pestering her to publish them in a book.
And to keep things interesting, she added a few stories, not on her blog - now, that's the part that will sell the book. People have seen and loved her posts, and the book will give them more of that.
Well, the good news is she is busy with the final edits, the cover looks amazing, and hopefully soon I will be able to twist her arm to let me introduce her muse to you right here on the Broomstick.

My attempt to complete a non-fiction book has been done the same way. Using the 35 Day Author Blog Challenge I have written several posts to be included in the book. Some of the posts were edited before inclusion, simply because of the style, but others were used as is.
One or two posts were expanded because I don't like long-winded blog posts, but the topic required more detail before it would have worked for the book.

Whichever way you decide to use your blog to write a book, enjoy the process and may your readers enjoy the journey with you!

35 Day Blog Challenge - Day 28: When a cold shower is not enough

Their+1

Erotica and erotic romance are two of the genres where people often overlook the essence of good writing. Sex sells, right? The more the better, right? Wrong!

I am going to tell you two stories - the first was relayed to me, the second I have experienced first hand.

A very good friend told me recently that she knows someone who buys erotic romance novels, and then reads everything except the sex scenes. My friend and I both went, what? Seriously? Either this person was lying, or she bought bad books. Because no book, erotic or not, should have any scenes in there that do not 1) move the plot forward or, 2) says or does something to help the reader understand the characters better, or 3) contributes to or resolves a conflict between the characters. Yes, this includes scenes where two or more people are having sex.

If you can read an erotic romance novel, still follow the plot and empathise with the characters' issues, without reading the sex scenes, then those scenes were superfluous to start off with.

My second story. I have recently read several erotic and erotic romance stories (and I am not going to mention any titles) where my first thought was: no, please just no! No characterisation, no plot (or almost a plot), and conflict? Non-existent. In my opinion the author should have been honest and upfront and called it porn. Stop trying to disguise it as erotica or worse, erotic romance. These have been some of the worst stories I have attempted to read in recent times.

The female characters especially, were weak minded, and never even think to say no, or slow down. The male characters were one dimensional, or was it one track minded? The plot had no substance and there were no scenes that didn't involve wanting sex, getting sex or more sex. Sound like porn? Well, it sure wasn't romantic in my opinion.

To review such stories can be difficult. The instances I mention above are the two extremes, and fairly easy to spot, but what about the 60-70% in-between the porn and the superfluous?

If you are a regular reader of the genre, you will probably have read the New York Times and USA Today Bestsellers too. Those authors make those bestseller lists because they are good writers. They understand the essentials of a good story, with or without burning up the bedsheets.

To be honest, the level of heat in the story is simply a choice the author makes when she or he wrote the book. The characters still need to be three dimensional, the plot still needs to be believable and draw the reader in, and the conflict driving the plot must still be the reason you keep reading until the end. And those bed sheet scenes need to be such a part of the story that if you skip over it, you have to frown and wonder: what had changed, or what did I miss?

Don't stare yourself blind against the sex scenes, but make sure to look at all the other aspects of the book too. If you are a not a writer, review the story around the characters. Was the hero more than tall, dark and sexy? Did you like him or her? Did you lose sleep because you couldn't wait to find out what happened at the end? And were you disappointed that the story ended, because you wanted more?

The advertising industry might have convinced the world that sex sells, but don't let bad writing fool you into buying a book just because there is steam coming out of the pages.

See you tomorrow with the third post on reviews: reviewing non-fiction.

35 Day Blog Challenge - Day 27: Blowing my own blog horn...sort of

Today I am going to do something, that I don't do very often: blow my own horn...sort of. The days of the traditional publisher spending loads of money on marketing campaigns are long gone. In the same vein, self-published authors only have their own resources available and in many cases that resources are limited to non-existent.

That is where the network of other self-published authors and blogging enthusiasts pull their combined resources together to help out. I belong to both categories: self-published author and blogger. So if we don't have money, how do we pull our resources together?

Networking. Bloggers build up a following and a network over time. That network will include anyone and everyone who has anything to do with books - from writers, editors, bloggers, reviewers to readers and fans.

While I as a blogger don't charge anything for an author to have their book featured on my blog, I also get the benefit of new visitors and perhaps a new follower or two, which helps to expand my network to the benefit of all.

The featured author will be introduced to my followers who may be looking for some interesting new material for their reading lists. As a blog host, I have found more than one new author whose books are now on my to-read list as soon as they are published.

A second benefit for me is a post on my blog. While I plan to have at least two posts per week, it seldom works out that way. When I have an author's book to feature, it helps me with a post even as the author gets some added exposure for his or her book.

This is not a tap on my own shoulder, but a big thank you to all the bloggers out there who help to spread the word (and book) of the self-published author such as myself.

Click this link for the blog that supports even more authors and bloggers! Thank you, Chris!

If you want to see what the other participants in the challenge are blogging about, you can find their blogs here. Why not pop on over and say hi?

35 Day Blog Challenge - Day 26: Keeping track of detail in series writing

Style sheet: Keeper of the Dragon Sword

There is a handy little tool used by editors and copy editors that I found to be useful for series writing: it is called a style sheet. While editors will use it to keep track of unique words, facts they have to check, spelling of characters' names (especially the weird ones I sometimes use) and so on. The editor does not know your story the way you do, so by making notes they keep track of things they have to check to make the editing of your story the best it can be.

As a fantasy and science fiction author, I sometimes have to invent words. I often come up with unusual names for my characters, for instance Alu''Adr'Erinia is the Guardian of the Future, whom you will meet in Michael's Mystery. Not only do I need to keep track of multiple characters as the series evolves, I have to keep track of the spelling of their names too. Those apostrophes - what was I thinking?

It is not only the names that I need to keep track off, but also the setting. The stories of the Nations of Peace take place on several planets, but my characters also travel from one to another. The means of travel depends on the reason for their journey. In Géra's Gift, T'ara, Ta'an and Géra were on space ships involved in a war with the planet Simi.

In book 4, Waiting for Adrian (coming in 2016) there is another war, so keeping track of the technology of the war machine is important.

Also important is knowing (and keeping it straight) which characters have what abilities. Who can space jump for instance. And who can dimension jump. There is a difference between the two modes of travel, and remembering who can do what can become a nightmare without using some kind of tool to help out.

Whether your series is simpler or more complicated as this one of mine, keeping a record of things and people featuring in multiple stories, is essential.

I found using style sheets to be an easy and quick way to do it, but whatever means you choose, keeping your facts straight across several books can be challenge if you are not prepared for it from the start.

Pop around tomorrow for a special post about blogging and author promotions on the Broomstick.

If you want to see what the other participants are blogging about, you can find their blogs here. Why not pop on over and leave a comment?

35 Day Blog Challenge - Day 24: How Pinterest helped me with my Third Novel

I have always said that Pinterest is more useful than just a website filled with pretty pictures. When I start a new book, I create a new board with the name of the story as a work in progress (WIP). Then I spent some time - hours most of the time - searching for images that embodies the story as I visualise it.

I also find photographs of people. Often because of their physical characteristics that are the same as my characters'. But it doesn't end there. While I was searching for images about the desert and desert people I noticed something that I hadn't thought about: their clothing. People living in a desert do not dress the same way as people living in an urban or even a rural environment. Their environment is plagued by intense heat, blindingly bright sunshine and dust. Their clothing reflects their environment, and as such I had to rethink the way my characters would live and dress.

In Michael's Mystery, Michael learned that desert people have one major concern: conservation of their water resources. He also learned how people looked out for each other when confronted with dehydration and being caught in a sandstorm. These are the realities of desert living and I became more aware of this as I found images on Pinterest to add to my board for Michael's Mystery.

Even the desert itself presented a few challenges while I was writing. Would people still be travelling by camel train? Why not? The skill to navigate a desert is not one learned overnight and Michael experienced that firsthand when he went with Andesine to see the first people that he had to interview. He also had to travel by camel when they visited a remote village.

Images and photographs I found on Pinterest made the ideas I had about Michael's Mystery, its characters and setting come alive in my mind. It had been one of the most exciting storyboards I had put together and I hope that when you read the story (it is planned for release on 31 October 2015) you will see the elements in the story as I selected them for the storyboard for Michael's Mystery.

Pop around tomorrow for my view on the use of infographics for books.

If you want to see what the other participants are blogging about, you can find their blogs here. Why not pop on over and leave a comment?

35 Day Blog Challenge - Day 21: Wattpad

Wattpad is the one platform where authors can find their feet. It allows you to post stories, or chapters of stories for readers to enjoy. All uploads are free and will remain that way. Many authors post their chapters here to get a feel for what their readers do and don't like.

This is not a bad approach as long as you remember a few things:

• Wattpad is a showcase of your writing, not a scratchpad for ideas still to go somewhere. Make sure your story or chapter is finished, edited and edited again before uploading or make visible for your readers. Bad spelling or grammar or stupid plot mistakes are not the way to convince your readers, your followers, that you are a writer.
• With every new story you upload, you have to add a cover image. Since this website is not a website for publication or distribution of books, the cover image does not have to be very big. But beware of low resolution or pixelated images. Do the design as if for a real book and your readers will feel the respect you are putting towards them with a professional product.
• Your profile needs to be professional and creative. Just because it is not a publication website, doesn't mean you can treat it with disdain. Take yourself seriously as a writer, and your readers will do the same.

From a personal perspective: I use Wattpad to upload flash fiction or short stories that I have usually written for competitions. Flash fiction is an ideal way to showcase your writing. For competitions, you are restricted in word count and often you have to tell a whole story with a beginning, middle and ending in less than 1000 words. This style has to be tight and does not allow for wasted words, and yet a story cannot exist without the elements of characterization, conflict and some kind of resolution. Challenging writing at its best. And a great way to show your skills and storytelling abilities.

I don't like the idea of posting one or chapters of a book and then my readers have to go somewhere else to buy the rest of the book if they like it. Some people do, but that is a personal choice.
As an author platform, Wattpad is under utilised in many aspects. If blogging about 'topics' does not appeal to you, or you prefer to write stories for your blog instead, why not also use Wattpad as well? Start a new series of flash fiction stories. They take mere minutes to read, which will appeal to a wide professional audience constantly pressed for time, and build your fan base from there.
If people like your stories, they will find your books at the booksellers' websites.

See you tomorrow!

If you want to see what the other participants are blogging about, you can find their blogs here. Why not pop on over and share their posts on your favourite platform?

35 Day Blog Challenge - Day 19: Planning for Pantsers - Pulling it all Together

This is the only advice where things are going to be get really vague. This is your story, right? The one that you want to write and share with the world. Since you have all the elements now sorted out, there is nothing standing in your way to write it.
No excuses are allowed anymore!

Since you are here, and have all the necessary information at hand, why not link it all together to have at hand when needed. You can either use a document with a picture such as the one I made for you, and then link all the individual files to the right place in the file. What that means is when you need to look up some stuff about the town your zombies are invading, you click the link and the town information that you have so meticulously compiled, opens up, and there you go!
If you think of something to add, then save the file and the newest information is on hand again. Just be very careful about deleting info if you change your mind. Might I suggest you rather strikethrough the info instead. It is still there, if you want it back, and it is marked so that you don't feel tempted to use it.
Another method is to use a mind map to link all your files together. Most mind mapping software will allow you to link files to a node (the little nodules with info in the map) for easy reference. Or you can add all the info in the mind map itself. It could outgrow your computer screen, but that is your choice.

It is now up to you to have your main character face the challenges in your story, beat the villain, win the girl and live happily ever after. Time to get cracking, and all the best!

Looking for the rest of the Planning for Pantsers post links?

http://linzebrandon.blogspot.com/2015/09/35-day-blog-challenge-day-18-planning.html
http://linzebrandon.blogspot.com/2015/09/35-day-blog-challenge-day-17-planning.html
http://linzebrandon.blogspot.com/2015/09/35-day-blog-challenge-day-11-planning.html
http://linzebrandon.blogspot.com/2015/09/35-day-blog-challenge-day-9-planning.html
Let me know if you found these useful, especially if you are a pantser.

35 Day Blog Challenge - Day 18: Planning for Pantsers - the Plot (2)

Now that you have chosen the character and set the direction for your story, it is time to put some clothes and shoes on it, ie research. Now before you rush off to the nearest library (I hope!) or burn the keys on your computer with enthusiasm, stop!
What do you need to research?
When you decided on the setting of your story, it set you on the path for step 1. If it is a fictional place, you can make up the details. If, however, it is a real place, and you don't know it personally, research is required. But make a list!
Where in the town/city/community is your story placed?
Do you need street names?
Are there businesses or factories or houses? Is it a harbour? What kind of shipping does it cater for?
What other distinctive landmarks do you need? Historical monuments or buildings? A river, or bridges?
Only research what you need. You can get so engrossed in the information, that you will gather too much, and waste time with information you don't need and are never going to use.

The next important thing is time. When does your story take place? A hundred years ago? Prehistoric times? Two thousand years from now? Is it set in World War I?
Of course the future cannot be researched, so you have to use your imagination, but also a little savvy given the genre of your story. Science fiction will have gadgets and smart computers, whereas two days after Armageddon, who knows?

Real historical events require more in-depth research, but again, only find out what you need to know. And be aware of the circumstances that people lived in at the time. No mobile phones, food shortages, wars, etc.

Now your story has character, you dressed it in the proper threads and you wave it on its way with a tear and a smile.

See you tomorrow!

If you want to see what the other participants are blogging about, you can find their blogs here. Why not pop on over and leave a comment?

35 Day Blog Challenge - Day 17: Planning for Pantsers - the Plot (1)

Today I find myself in the murky waters where the planners excel and the pantsers shrink away in disgust (fear?) - the plot. Just as the planners are gleefully rubbing their hands together, I have to disappoint you, I have not converted. If the pantsers were about to dig out the razors to slit their wrists, I say, relax. It is not that bad. Being creative does not mean there is no rational thinking involved. Before despair blackens the horizon into eternal winter, let me tell you where I am coming from.

1. You have to know what genre you want to write. There are guidelines (I am not going to call them rules) for the major genres that you need to know to be able to compose prose that your readers will want to read. Even if you are thinking about zombie romance with serial killer dystopian undertones. Follow your gut and write in whichever genre you want, zombies and vampires notwithstanding.
2. By deciding the genre beforehand, your mind will already be plotting the story based on this genre. If you are not sure what genre it is, then write: end of the world story where undersexed teenagers are trying to overthrow the government. Not much for an actual plot, but it is a start.
3. The plot is your compass. It helps to tell you the direction your story is going. Planners have a smart compass - it can tell the future. Their compasses know that around the next corner there is a monster lurking that needs to be defeated by the hero. A Pantser's compass is intuitive - it doesn't know there is a monster lurking, but it puts butterflies in your hero's stomach when he approaches that corner.

Of course, the story winds its way around and over many obstacles that may change, but be careful of changing the character/genre of your story. Your future will be darkened with many rewrites.

If you want to see what the other participants are blogging about, you can find their blogs here. Why not pop on over and leave a comment?