- You all were right, every post did not have to be perfect and was not perfect. I didn’t throw any crap out there so I am satisfied.
- I got a bunch of new followers. What up new followers! I am excited for you to be here and move along side me on this journey called life
- Prompts don’t really work for me. I need to be ‘inspired”. I wrote out 31 prompts before I started this challenge and I only used about 5 of them. I don’t know what it is about having to hear something or read something to get me to write but the prompts just didn’t do it. Maybe my prompts were wack, lol
- I need to free write more often. I should be writing everyday or every other day. The free write really helped me get ideas to write about much more than having the prompts.
- The WordPress community is so supportive. I am very appreciative of that.
- There is a lot of really cool stuff out there. As I was trying to find more post ideas, I ran across a lot of interesting blogs. I knew this before of course but taking some time to read and not just write, really opened my eyes.
Tag Archives: writing
Is Jesus at the center of your goal (28)
Is Jesus at the center of my goal? I believe so. I am not saying I want to save the world. I do however want to use the gifts that he gave to do good. I don’t want to waste any opportunity that I was presented to me. I want to be able to say I did the very best I could with what I was given. The bible says anything God is in can not fail. . This is a reminder for all my Christian bloggers who lose motivation because we may not have the followers that other blogs have, even though we are saying the same thing. People are being impacted by the words we write down. When you are changing lives their is no failure. I often times get caught up in likes and views but if even one person read what I wrote and was impacted then that is a win for God. Even if that person doesn’t believe if it got them thinking a little bit, then that is a win. Don’t lose hope, for our work is not in vain. Its our job to plant the seed by being obedient and we can do that. Every little bit counts.
I used to think that why would anyone want to read what I had to say. I wasn’t saying anything special or doing things that had not been done before. Then I realized, it hadn’t been done before, because my voice was needed. Your voice is needed as well. So write when you don’t feel like it. Write, even if you don’t think it is good. People will resonate with you because your story is important.
Do you want to he successful by the worlds terms or Gods?
Stream of consciousness (22)
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “T, tea, tee.” Theme your post around “tea” or “tee,” or find a word that starts with “T” and talk about that. Bonus points if you manage to incorporate all three. Enjoy!
Since I am not allowed to plan out what I am going to say, the first word I think of when I think of T is time. I didn’t want it to be time because I feel like I do a lot of thinking about time. My pastor says the thing that you think about the most is what your focus is on. I wish my focus wasn’t on time so much. I want to be able to live a normal life, drink tea with my friends, or maybe even go play a little tee ball with my coworkers. I do most of those things more or less, but when I start digging down deep into my feelings, the first thing that comes up is this baby or lack there of. How long must I wait? How much more time needs to pass before it happens? What else do I need to do? I want my first thought not to be about getting pregnant. I want my first thought to be about something random like the cost of white tees at Target. Or does Flattummy tea really work? I don’t know. I just don’t want to be so pressed. I can’t help it though. This feeling of desperation that I am running out of time, is constantly in my thoughts. I probably think too much. That’s the real problem.
This is from lindaghill.com and this is my first Stream of Consciousness https://wordpress.com/read/blogs/38812713/posts/11582
Here are the rules:
1. Your post must be stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing (typos can be fixed), and minimal planning on what you’re going to write.
2. Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be. One sentence – one thousand words. Fact, fiction, poetry – it doesn’t matter. Just let the words carry you along until you’re ready to stop.
3. I will post the prompt here on my blog every Friday, along with a reminder for you to join in. The prompt will be one random thing, but it will not be a subject. For instance, I will not say “Write about dogs”; the prompt will be more like, “Make your first sentence a question,” “Begin with the word ‘The,’” or will simply be a single word to get you started.
4. Ping back! It’s important, so that I and other people can come and read your post! For example, in your post you can write “This post is part of SoCS:” and then copy and paste the URL found in your address bar at the top of this post into yours. Your link will show up in my comments for everyone to see. The most recent pingbacks will be found at the top. NOTE: Pingbacks only work from WordPress sites. If you’re self-hosted or are participating from another host, such as Blogger, please leave a link to your post in the comments below.
5. Read at least one other person’s blog who has linked back their post. Even better, read all of them! If you’re the first person to link back, you can check back later or go to the previous week by following my category, “Stream of Consciousness Saturday,” which you’ll find below the “Like” button on my post.
6. Copy and paste the rules (if you’d like to) in your post. The more people who join in, the more new bloggers you’ll meet and the bigger your community will get!
7. As a suggestion, tag your post “SoCS” and/or “#SoCS” for more exposure and more views.
Lessons from 100 posts (21)
- Blogging is more than writing. I have read this a few times from various places. Its not that I forget but writing is already so much that I don’t take as much time out for the other stuff. I’m not writing for money or anything like that. I do want people to read what I write though. I want a website that is pretty to the eye as well as the words being good. People certainly judge a book by its cover.
- You also need to consistently read other people’s work and comment on their posts. I have had so much going on that I haven’t been reading much on WordPress. I haven’t been engaging in my blog as much as I was earlier this year. I noticed the visible difference. I noticed that when I read other people posts it drives them to my blog. This sounds like common sense but until I did it myself, I didn’t take it seriously.
- Sometimes its better to start something and do research later. This sounds weird as I write it because it goes against the very person I am. I am a classic researcher. I love gathering information. I read a lot of posts about the top ten things to do to get your blog to grow. Lately I have been reading books on how to write, how to start, etc. That research was helpful but it also delayed me. It was a stall tactic and I didn’t really “get it” though. It is much more clear now that I am in the midst actually engaging in what I am trying to do. I can see the actual real time happenings of this advice.
100th post (20)
I can’t believe I’m here. I thought it would take me longer but 31 posts in 31 days (1) helped get that done. I never thought I would get a 100 strangers to read my story or anything that I write down. I have big writing goals. I have been listening to books on how people write and when they got started. I don’t feel so behind. I have so many ideas, I just need to pick one and start writing. I’m all over the place, fiction, non-fiction. I haven’t found an idea I really wanted to start.
I wrote 87 of my posts in 2018, which is crazy to me because I published my first post in October. I count that as my true anniversary not June when I purchased the domain.
I asked about classes or training and I got some good info that I will be checking out. I’m excited to take the next step. It’s comforting to hear writers you really respect say, “I threw away 4 books before I had one good enough to publish”. – Janet Evanovich
I know that I’m on the right track. I just need to do it. Failing is so hard and not something I do often. I don’t fail often because I don’t like to do things I where I am not great. I hate to be one of those people that talk about writing a book but never do it. I don’t want fear to hold me back. What’s the worst that could happen? If nobody wants to read it, at least I finished it. That is a big deal. It doesn’t have to be perfect and I am ok with that.
Technical difficulties, Help! (17)
Do you all do your drafts in some place other than WordPress? I am seem to be having trouble sharing them from the notes in my phone, to the WordPress app. It doesn’t really make any sense to me and it didn’t start until I started my 31 posts in 31 days (1)
Do any of you have experience asking for help from WordPress? The website seems pretty daunting to me so I just putter around until I figure out what I am trying to do. I know other sites boast really awesome technical support, do you feel that is true for WordPress? This is getting frustrating because it is slowing up my progress in uploading my posts.
If you have any suggestions for dealing with technical issues that would be great.
ps.-this counts as a post 🙂
Challenge is half way over… (13)
If you haven’t noticed, I definitely haven’t been doing a post a day which, I knew I wasn’t going to do. I am a little behind and feeling the pressure. I have time though, so I am trying not to freak myself out. Its been a good process even if I have done as well as I thought I would. I have already learned some things which I take as a good sign.
- I have to be incredibly intentional, which was really my main goal of this exercise.
- I have to write even when I don’t feel like writing. I don’t feel like writing more I thought, lol
- The more I am hanging out, watching tv, listening to podcasts, things that have a spiritual bend, it also takes away my inspiration to write. I am on summer break because I work in a high school so I am only working part time. That should give me plenty of time to write. Definitely not! I am finding lots of non-productive ways to fill my off time.
- I need to be more organized in my time.
- Being perfect is not going to happen but I can still put forth 100% effort.
So stick with me. I am just going to continue to trudge along.
*Update
I will say it is getting easier. Post ideas are flowing. Writing is not feeling like a chore. I haven’t run out of things to say and I have only used a few prompts from the prompt list I made when I first started. I’m excited to see what the next two weeks look like.
How much do you invest in yourself? (10)
I am not talking about spiritually or emotionally investing in yourself which is important but how much money do you spend on your well being? I never really paid that much attention before to that kind of thing. I don’t spend a lot of money on myself per se but what I do spend tends to be on experiences then something that gives tangible dividends.
I know I need to work on my writing if I ever want to write books that people will want to read and buy. How much do I invest in my writing? Business owners how much do you invest in your business? How do you determine if its worth it or if you have spent enough? People always say it takes money to make money. Another saying is you get what you pay for, so if I am putting out a product that I didn’t really invest any money, what is the quality of that product?
Writing is multilayered you are first and foremost selling yourself before you are selling a product. I have to be comfortable with the world knowing my business. I think I have more or less gotten over people knowing my business. I have moved on to level 2. How bad do I want it? What are my writing goals? What am I willing to sacrifice and invest?
It’s been almost a year since I published my first post. I need to start thinking about what’s next. If I put money into myself, into my writing and I don’t succeed, did I waste my money?
Spending money on my writing is taking the step to take it more seriously. A way to be held accountable and get some good constructive criticism.
Bloogers/Writers have you taken classes? Were they helpful? Do you have any recommendations?
31 posts in 31 days (1)
Hello out there,
Its already July. Can you believe it? I certainly cannot. It feels like the days are just flying by. We are officially over half way through the year. Do you feel like you are accomplishing the things you set out to do this year? I feel decent about my goals. I know there is always more that I could be doing, particularly when it comes to this blog. So I am issuing a challenge to do myself to do 31 posts in 31 days. It may not be 1 post a day because technically I would already be behind. By any means necessary at the end of this month I want to have 31 posts.
This will certainly be a challenge because sometimes I don’t feel like I have content for a post everyday but I would like to try. I won’t ever know, if I don’t try. This will help me expand my writing and give me more practice in general. It will also help me be more intentional about when and what I am writing. It sounded like a good idea in my head, so I am going for it.
Any writers out there that have done a post a day challenge? Any tips on content when you don’t feel inspired? Please leave any good tips in the comments.
Wish me luck,
Dominique
One year!
One year! I can hardly believe it. When I registered this blog a year ago I would never have thought I would be here. I have almost 80 followers which doesn’t seem like a lot but I didn’t think that people would want to hear what I had to say, especially because I was talking about God. My start was bumpy. I registered this site in June but I didn’t do my first post until October. I was scared. I was following what God told me to do but I was moving really slow about it. I wanted it to be perfect, I wanted to have 10 posts before I went live. So many things now, I realize didn’t matter.
I write because it makes me feel good. I write because it helps me get all the things that are inside my head out and on to paper. When I write I feel closer to God. I started this blog because I know this crazy journey I have been on wasn’t just for me. I am happy that it has helped and inspired people. I am proud of myself because this blog has helped me more than it has probably helped anybody. Self examination and growth is hard. Like real hard. Putting the wild things you think on paper for people to judge is also hard. I never wanted to be judged by things I wrote because I probably already judged myself harder than any random person could. I know I could be doing things better, responding better, living better. I see people going through harder trials then me with a smile on their face every day.
I am working on it. I am proud of the woman I am becoming. I don’t know everything and I no longer feel like I have to pretend I do. That is a big deal. I am getting people to reflect on their behavior, which is great. It is the thing I want to do the most, is help people be the best versions of themselves.
Keep reading, keep following, keep supporting. I am so appreciative. I hope you are getting something out of these words. I am excited for what the next blogging year will bring.
Yours in writing,
Dominique
Always finding the silver lining 