My Journey to Become a Writer 01/22/2024 Post #22

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I’m continuing to ask myself these same questions each day of the week to keep me on track with what I’m trying to accomplish:

What Did I Accomplish Today to Be a Writer?

What Am I Afraid of Doing Next in My Journey as a Writer?

Juggling right now seems to be my worst weakness – learning tech, keeping up with emails, trying to post regularly, participating in classes and writing groups – figuring out how to pay for all of it – all these things are part of the process, but I’m still having a hard time not dropping multiple balls. 

I’m praying for wisdom to eliminate what’s unnecessary, and discipline to do the rest.

Stuff I find myself saying:  I’m so thankful to have a washer and dryer. 

– Jody Susan

I’m very grateful to have unexpectedly gotten a washer and dryer installed today.  I really have enjoyed my bucket system this last month; but it will be nice to take a break from that, especially since washing by hand tends to dry out my fingertips and make typing rather uncomfortable.

How Am I Balancing the Different Aspects of Being a Writer?

Having the alarms set on my phone to switch gears at certain pre-scheduled times of the day has truly helped to get me moving along and make my days more balanced.

What I’m Doing About Building a Body of Work as a Writer

During my 8a.m. -11a.m. self-appointed writing appointment today, I wrote a post about my dad’s decision to sign up for the three-year around the world cruise that has since been cancelled. It was nice to be able to pull from other pieces I have written in the past and sculpt them into something new.

What I’m Doing to Complete My Manuscripts as a Writer

Yesterday, I spoke with some friends who are interested in reading my work.  We’re doing some swapping to support each other’s writing projects. 

I also met with my Monday Memoir group.  Each of us is taking turns reading our work, so that the others can make suggestions and be a support and sounding board. The feedback offers a good reminder to show not tell, and it’s been great to hear ideas of building tension by setting the dilemma early on in the storyline.

What I’m Doing to Grow My Website as a Writer

Today I re-watched quite a few of the videos from my Project 24 coursework.  It’s been so long since my head was in the website building space that this has been a good refresher.

What I’m Doing to Build My Blog as a Writer

I can’t believe I’ve actually kept up with the goal I set a few weeks ago of two posts per weekday.  By tonight, I should have twenty-nine total posts published or pre-scheduled for 2024.  That’s a huge leap from what I was doing this Fall, when I fell way behind on blogging. 

Not so Fun Fact About Me:  I have thousands of emails I haven’t opened.  I need to face that problem head-on and figure out a fast way to start sorting, dealing and deleting.

What I’m Doing About Networking as a Writer

Today’s memoir class was very helpful.  I like hearing other people’s questions and encouragement after each piece is read.  Their curiosity helps me think through more of my own stories. 

What I’m Doing About Monetization as a Writer

Still nothing in this area.  I don’t think I want ads, and I don’t really know that I want affiliates, except maybe if I get around to posting about my tiny house cargo trailer conversion. 

What I’m Doing About Social Media as a Writer

Cringing.  I guess I need to get some stuff in order before I meet with my social media consultant on Saturday. 

I open up Facebook and just feel confused – it’s so over-stimulating to me, and I can’t really even tell where I’m supposed to look for things.  My notifications say I have a comment; but I can’t tell where.  My over-arching feeling is that I’m going to cause offense – especially if somebody shows interest in what I say, and I don’t reciprocate.

What I’m Doing About Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a Writer

My Project 24 videos today were about winning snippets and getting the search engines to recognize content.  I’ve been slacking on those methods as of late.  Mostly, that’s because I tend to write in a much looser style. 

I did add tags to my post about the three-year cruise – something that is pretty rare for me to do.  I want to get a better system for doing this efficiently, although, with the way AI has increased, I don’t know that it even does any good now a days.

What I’m Doing to Stay Organized as a Writer

Alarms on my phone for time blocks and keeping a separate calendar for my posting plan have been a huge help in keeping me on track.

Looking Back at My Writing Journey

As I wrote about my mom’s last days and my dad’s decision to sign up for that three-year-cruise that has since been cancelled, I looked back at some posts I’d recorded about my mom’s decline and quotable quotes.  So many of the things I wrote have slipped from my memory, so it was like finding buried treasure to look back and get a glimpse of what it was like to be with her.  I’m so grateful I was able to record those days with her – that’s the kind of thing that makes me want to keep writing.

Any Other Thoughts on Becoming a Writer, Random Rants, Tales, or Trials…

It’s 7:48p.m., and I’m finishing up this draft.  I’d like to post it and then sit down to get a more strategic plan for the week.  It looks like I’ll be snowed or sleeted in for a bit, for which I’m actually really grateful.  Having a few cancellations over the last few days has helped me gain some ground and feel less like I’m putting out wildfires and more like I’m gathering wood to stay warm.

Thanks for reading what I’m writing,

Jody Susan

Life at Sea Cruises:  Why My Dad Decided to Go on a Three-Year Cruise through Miray