writing – Modern Notebook

My writing process

I first started this blog in the summer of 2012. With that said, I wouldn’t say I’ve been blogging for two years. I stopped and started until this past September when my posts became a little more consistent.

What really made me want to blog was seeing amazing personal lifestyle blogs in Blogland and making connections with fellow bloggers. It’s fun getting to know people and working through questions together. I’m very thankful for the women I have met through blogging for their encouragement and inspiration.

A few days ago Betsy tagged me in this “My Writing Process” tour. I had fun reading the other responses before sitting down to create my own.

1. What are you working on right now?

I’ve always got a list of blog post and article ideas going. I also have a ton of drafts saved with little notes about my ideas and half written posts waiting on a little something. I’m working on a few introspective pieces relating to feminism, more recipe posts and notes on my 24 before 24 list.

2. How does your work differ from others of its genre?

As the others said, it’s mine. I have my own voice that I’m still developing. It also changes on the day and my mood.

There are so many great lifestyle bloggers out there, but ultimately we’re all different because of the life experiences that have shaped us. What I love about blogging is seeing how although people have similarities, we’re all unique and have something special to give.

3. Why do you write what you do?

I like to share what I feel strongly about. That may mean sharing something I’m very happy or excited about, feeling sad or angry about or any other type of feeling. I suppose I want to share both my concerns and sentiments with the world. But honestly, I’m still working through this question.

I’ve always felt a need to write from a young age. Since second grade I have been convinced that I should be a writer. But when my best friend since fifth grade recently asked me what I like to write about, I had a hard time coming up with an answer. Maybe that’s because there’s not just one thing. I like to write about things that are inspiring in some way. That could mean an amazing music video, people who inspire me, falling in love, overcoming difficult things, or something good to eat.

4. How does your writing process work?

Sometimes I sit down to write a piece and have it done in an hour. It may be something I just thought of that day. Other times I’ll be considering a topic for a month or more before I finally write about it.

Sometimes a post will start from personal photos I want to use and writing will be added from there, while others get photos added in at the last minute. This blog has seen cheesy phone photos (especially in the early posts) and better ones from my Cannon Rebel. No matter the visuals, I try to keep my writing interesting and engaging too, so the photos aren’t pulling all the weight.

I’ve written blog posts on the train, buses, the passenger seat of a car and from the comfort of my own home. I’ve also used a variety of devices, from mine and my sister’s Toshiba laptops to my boyfriend’s Mac, from my iPhone to my Windows tablet. I don’t have a real process or routine when it comes to writing. I’ve heard a lot of people say that, so I know I’m not the only one, but I think my writing and blogging could be improved with more structure. It’s something I’m working on.

I also always, always have posts in my drafts folder, notebooks with ideas and keep a running list in the notes app on my phone.

Thanks again for tagging me, Betsy! Now I’m suppose to tag three people. I choose Phoebe, Cassie and Monique. Let us know if and when you get to talking about your writing process. I’d love to hear about it!

Links I love v. 7

links i love, Series

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about job searching, employment, writing and stuff like that. Of course, that’s because I’ve been doing some job searching, now I have two internships and I’m looking forward to graduating college in about three months. It’s crazy how fast this school year is going by!

To any one out there reading this who is looking for a job, thinking of switching careers or even finishing up school soon too, I wish you the best. We can do get through it together. In fact, I’m going to try to make it easier on you all by sharing some links to helpful resources on getting a job. The last few are specific to writers and the rest are good tips for anyone.

Need to brush up on the basics of job searching? These tips from Rookie are a great start. Rookie- Help Wanted, Help Still Wanted

I found this Buzzfeed article about how to score your dream job SUPER encouraging.

What if you don’t know what your dream job is? Take a quiz! (I got writer. Yay!)

Once you get an interview, it’s time to plan the perfect outfit. Cool! Actually, I find it really hard. This kind of helped. Also, be prepared for your interview.

Kerry over at Welcome To Ladyville shared her experience getting jobs in her field (writing) and I loved it. I actually emailed her wanting to know how she does it and then she wrote the blog post about getting a writing “day job” in response. Awesome!

Writers need clips. That means they need written pieces they can show people to prove they can write. This goes for a number of jobs, I’ve found, including public relations, copywriting, journalism, and so on. Here’s more info on clips.

I leave you with this GIF set:

Top image via New Yorker Magazine. Bottom GIF set from my Tumblr. Original source can be found there).

Losing unpublished work

Blogging, Thoughts

A few minutes ago I just tried publishing a post that I had spent about an hour writing. I put thought into every word, every sentence, before deciding it was done. It had a bit of depth, some humor and hints at heartache. I made a promise to myself in it, while showing showing some vulnerability but not more than I think is appropriate. I said what I wanted to say. And then I hit publish.

The web browser loaded slowly but didn’t publish the story. It got stuck, confused and slowed down somehow. I don’t know much about the Internet in that sense. But I do know that I had forgotten to save a draft. When I reloaded the page, the story was gone. Nothing remained to show for my last hour of work, of staying up late when I have to be up for actual work tomorrow.

The funny thing is, I wrote about learning something new every day. Well, today I learned that I should always save my work before pressing publish. I thought I already knew that but I guess not. I’ll add that to the list of recently discovered pieces of wisdom.

Maybe I’ll elaborate on what I was going to say a different day. Now it is time for me to go to bed. I’ll have to make this a super short post today, but I’m sure to make up for it later.