What cocktail waitressing taught me about writing by Jina Bacarr
September 11, 2018 by Jina Bacarr in category Jina’s Book Chat, Writing tagged as author, books, cocktail, waitress, Writer, writing
I once worked as a cocktail waitress…great research for stories
Back in my sassy cocktail waitress days, I dreamed about being a writer. I worked until 3 a.m. cleaning up, checking stock, etc., then I’d go home and write. On a charming PC with a black screen and alien green text.
Ah, yes, those were the days.
Dreaming, planning. Wishing and hoping. Always believing if I worked hard enough, I’d get published.
No one told me the road to Oz was a long and winding one. A road filled with curves and pit stops and wrong turns.
Which brings me back to my days as a cocktail waitress. I got the job because I fit into the skimpy costume. A black fringe short, short dress. High, skinny black heels and fishnet stockings. I looked the part, but I had no idea what I was doing. The cute bartender helped me make up a list of the drinks on a placemat (I kept it as a souvenir) and I had adorable pink tip trays.
I spilled drinks. More than once. Okay, I spilled a lot of drinks.
The competition among the waitresses was fierce. Like a beauty pageant. I got punked by another waitress when she set me up with a grabby, belligerent customer who almost got me fired.
I got asked out on dates by customers, but I kept my nose clean. The only date I had after work was with a bear claw at the 24-hour doughnut store.
I became a darned good waitress. I learned the drinks by heart, got my tray balancing on like a pro, knew when to steer the bouncer to a table of tipsy, unruly drinkers, navigated the jealousy of the other girls, made good friends, and enjoyed the job.
So, what does all this have to do with writing?
Cocktail waitressing taught me that like writing, it’s not one thing that makes you good at what you do. Sometimes it’s going outside your comfort zone to get the job done. Whether that’s learning new technology, expanding your social media network when you have no idea what works, taking criticism (I learned how to serve a drink by dipping and bending my knees) and writing is rewriting. It’s about learning your craft, persistence, and getting through the tough moments when you want to quit. Have your cry and get over it.
I have several book projects on submission….keep you posted!
6 0 Read morePlanning Your Writing AND Your Life in 2019 – by Kitty Bucholtz
September 9, 2018 by Kitty Bucholtz in category It's Worth It by Kitty Bucholtz, Writing tagged as It's Worth It, Kitty Bucholtz, organization, time management
In July 2018, I interviewed bestselling author Susan May Warren on my podcast, WRITE NOW! Workshop Podcast, about her latest romantic suspense novel. We had a great time talking about all things writing, but we had to cut things short because there was so much to talk about! I brought her back in August to focus just on her classes and writing retreats and other tools for authors.
One of those tools has had me salivating ever since she told me about it. Susie May has been creating and tweaking and recreating and tweaking some more a personal planner to organize not just her writing life, but her whole entire life. And she’s offering it for sale to other writers. She calls it My Brilliant Writing Planner, and it’s available for pre-order now with a $20 discount through October 31, 2018.
Now, I have no skin in this game – Susie May doesn’t even know I’m writing this article yet – but you might know that I’ve been teaching time management courses for over ten years and I love a great planner! I’ve been using the ARC system from Staples for the last 21 months, and I really like it. But I have my time/calendar/planner in one ARC notebook, my writing notes in another ARC notebook, and other notes in other notebooks. Susie May’s planner puts a lot of that all together in one place.
Why? Well, when aren’t we thinking about our story and needing to jot down a few notes? Or in the middle of brainstorming and realizing we forgot to make some kind of plan for dinner? Or waking up in the morning trying to remember our new First Five (if you’ve taken my course) or other healthy habits we’re trying to incorporate into each day? Or wanting to capture a motivational or inspirational line to think about more later?
My Brilliant Writing Planner puts all of this together in one place!
Yes, that means it’s big. At 490 pages, this is not a little notebook you can shove in your purse. And maybe just the thought of having everything together in one place is both a relief and…a bit daunting. For me, my question before I buy almost anything is, “Am I really going to use it and get my money’s worth?” And I had to ask that question about this planner, no matter that a part of my brain really wanted it. (Magic bullet thinking, anyone?)
Looking over the great website for the planner, seeing examples of all the pages on the Samples page, and checking out the pages that Susie May had filled in for her life – that all helped me see how helpful this could be for me. But the real kicker was when I read that Susie May also created a course for this (over 7 hours of planning help!), showing us how she uses the Planner to “live with joy and get it all done.” The course is free when you pre-order the planner!
In one of the podcast interviews, she and I talked about how to schedule a writing life to be productive, but still enjoy our friends and family and a good night’s sleep. If I’ve learned anything from my recent collision with burnout, it’s that we can plan and time-manage ourselves into a breakdown. What I’m seeing as I look over the sample pages and read the text on the website is a tool created by a writer who knows the importance of prioritizing and saying no.
We can’t do everything. But a good planner – this one, or something else that works better for you – can help us to keep our priorities front-of-mind. For me, I think that’s a key to having both a productive work life and a peaceful personal life.
I bought the planner five minutes after I got the email announcing that it was available. 😀 And I’ve already started the course. I figure it might help me finish out 2018 with a bang, but mostly I want 2019 to be my best year ever – and that’s going to require both planning (duh) and some hard questions. What will I continue doing in the next year, and what will I give up for now? What are my greatest strengths and how can I use them better next year? How can I hold myself accountable for the new healthy habits I’m developing?
For me, My Brilliant Writing Planner and the course that goes with it are going to be my most important tools, so I wanted to make sure you knew about them, too. Bring on 2019! 😀
0 0 Read moreRomance Awareness Month and why you need romance in your life by Jina Bacarr
August 11, 2018 by Jina Bacarr in category Jina’s Book Chat, Writing tagged as August, books, hot, romance, Summer
Find romance in a romance novel and this hunky guy, too!
August is romance awareness month.
Not sure why someone picked this month when half the world is on holiday with the family or wishing they were. Not enough time for romance when you’re watching the kids in the pool or trying to wave down a taxi in London with a toddler in your arms.
To me, romance should be about cool breezes and fruity drinks on a sexy, tropical island with lots of down time, sarongs, and him shirtless. Ah, yes… (see below)
We all need romance.
The subtle flirting of a cocked eyebrow raised in your direction, a low growl from the back of his throat when he sees you in your bikini, cuddling together under a blanket and playing footsies. Mood changers, for sure. That certain connection that doesn’t come in a bottle. The “feel good” hormone. I talked to a woman in Starbucks recently waiting for her Internet date. When I asked her why she’d meet up with a guy she didn’t know, she said, “I wanted a little romance in my life.”
Wow.
I so understand. However, the good thing is, if you’re between boyfriends or dates, you can pick your romantic destination as easily as picking up a romance novel. As writers, we get to experience both creating and writing about our heroes.
Works for me….
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Here’s the shirtless guy I promised you…oh, yeah.
Part 3: Increase SEO With Photo Image Caption In Your Posts
August 10, 2018 by Denise M. Colby in category The Writing Journey by Denise Colby, Writing tagged as Denise M Colby, Image Caption, Marketing for Authors, SEO, SEO Marketing, website marketing, writer's tips
This is the third installment on using website images to increase and maximize the SEO potential for website pages and posts. In the first part I discussed ALT text, which is text added to the image file background before being placed in a post. The second installment covered specifics on Image File Names and how naming the file BEFORE it’s uploaded to a website will get better results in SEO ranking. In this post, I will discuss Image Caption, why Image Captions are important and how to use them best.
Image Caption are the words shown underneath photos on a website page or post.
Sample of an image with the caption underneath describing the photo.
It is a known fact that readers will scan and read the image caption more than the article itself. Thus, image caption helps to highlight what the article is about and draw readers in. When writing captions, it’s important to not just state what the picture is, but to tell readers something they don’t know from just looking at the photo. Captions can be a few short words or several sentences long. The decision is personal preference, but whatever is decided, keep consistent for an overall look and feel.
How to write Image Captions to maximize SEO?
1. Choose a great image.
An image surrounded by text that is related will rank better in a search, so choosing an image pertinent to the post is crucial.
2. Identify what is going on in the picture besides the obvious.
Save the obvious description for the ALT Text. See this post for details on writing strong ALT text.
3. Write descriptions without flowery or unnecessary words.
There’s a small space to communicate the idea so choose words wisely.
4. Provide context to connect the image to the article.
Make sure to share something the reader wouldn’t know just by looking at the photo.
5. Be informative.
If a reader isn’t going to read the entire article, what information should they walk away with? If they find the captions helpful, they may read more or reference the information later.
How does this apply to us as writers?
We want to find readers for our books, right? Ask—how would someone search (type in words in the search bar) to find a book that has a topic like mine?
Example #1
My working manuscript titled A Man Was Not The Plan is set in 1869. My heroine moves west to become a schoolteacher in a small town. One of the main settings is a one-room schoolhouse. Schoolhouses are a niche, so I might choose to write a post about schoolhouses. So for that post I would choose an image with a schoolhouse and add an image caption such as:
This One-room Schoolhouse in Sacramento, CA was used for inspiration in my latest novel A Man Was Not The Plan.
Example #2
If my book is released or I have the cover done, somewhere in the post I would include a picture of my book cover which I hope to include a schoolhouse—even if it’s in the background. The title itself doesn’t say anything about schoolhouses and I don’t need to mention where to purchase because I can provide a link with the image, so I would want the caption to be more descriptive.
This one-room schoolhouse seems to wreak havoc on Olivia’s plans in A Man Was Not the Plan by Denise M. Colby
What are other ideas to use for image captions related to our books?
Animals, clothing, any setting—whether a specific building, ranch or room (a picture of the kitchen table where many discussions in the book take place for example), a map or even a quote from your book. If you did a quote, one idea for an Image Caption would be to state a behind the scenes thought to support that quote, such as:
Olivia Carmichael had no idea how much she would eat her words.
Luke’s heart had other ideas.
Note: You can bold, italicize the words, and alter the phrasing after they are placed in the post. The number of lines for the caption can vary by increasing or decreasing the size of the photo. The one thing I haven’t figure out yet was how to center the text under the photo. Of course once I hit preview it did center the text. So make sure to look at your preview-it will look different than where you input your post.
As you can see, there are several ways to be creative with the words used in the caption. I hope that this post gets those creative juices flowing. You don’t have to always use captions for every photo, but a few strategic ones here and there can help readers find exactly what they are looking for.
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Meriam Wilhelm: August Featured Author of the Month
August 1, 2018 by Meriam Wilhelm in category Writing tagged as August, Author of the Month, Featured author, Meriam Wilhelm, Witches of New Moon Beach
Meriam Wilhelm: August Featured Author of the Month
For thirty-five years, Meriam Wilhelm worked in education. From high school teacher to college dean to her favorite job of elementary school principal, she took an excitingly non-traditional pathway, always passionate about shaping young minds.
When she retired, something magical happened. Wilhelm was bitten by the writing bug and her chosen genre was paranormal romance – specifically of the witchy persuasion. Now, six books into The Witches of New Moon Beach series, she is bringing her passion for learning to her new profession.
A world traveler, Wilhelm has researched the history and culture of witchcraft and found inspiration as far away as Bergen, Norway and as close as her home town. A Redondo Beach resident, she decided there was no better location for her family of witches to reside than the beaches outside her own front door. “I think there is magic in everyone you meet,” Wilhelm says. “You just have to look for it.”
In her case, you also must write about that magic. Currently, Wilhelm is working on book seven, The Witch of Bergen. She is the recipient of the Paranormal Romance Guild Reviewers Choice Award. She is married and the mother of three grown children and a brand-new grandma. When not writing or traveling, Meriam Wilhelm can be found at her sewing machine, at yoga class or, of course, reading.
