Category: writer

Posted in A Writer's Life, Celebrating the Journey Of, Reedsy, writer, writing, writing journey

Celebrating The Journey Of Rachel Weatherley (Writer)

Posted on by Cynthia D. Griffin

I love supporting people in their journeys, especially writers. Today I would like to introduce Rachel Weatherly a writer for the amazing website Reedsy known for their support of authors looking to refine and publish their works. So please join me in this post as we celebrate the writing and life journey of Rachel.

Tell us a little bit about your journey as a writer? What inspired you to take this journey?

I haven’t been writing for that long––I properly started writing in university. I have a book review Instagram page, where I have written smaller reviews, mainly for my friends. After that, I decided I liked writing criticism and wrote for my university newspaper. However, my love of writing fiction really stemmed from when I started reading short story collections a few summers ago.

What do you like the most about what you do?

I enjoy having a creative outlet that is flexible to my current moods, interests, and desires. I also like using writing as a means to take popular culture and creativity more seriously––especially forms of culture that traditionally get written off as ‘feminine’ (and by that mark, non-serious).

What sort of writing do you do?

I am currently a writer for Reedsy, which allows me to write all sorts of interesting things. The writing I have done up until now has been mainly journalistic––I love reading and writing reviews of books, but I have also reviewed films and albums too. I majored in sociology and politics major, so I love a bit of critical analysis! I am also a hobbyist short story writer. They haven’t yet seen the light of day, but I like turning my life experiences into neater, fictional vignettes, à la my favourite short story writer, Lucia Berlin. 

Do you have any current projects (or goals) you are working on you would like to tell us more about?

I’m trying to learn Italian at the moment. I was reading about Ann Goldstein, the New Yorker journalist who translated Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan Quartet. She started learning Italian when she was in her late twenties, and then landed this incredible job. After the pandemic I would like to live in Italy and develop my proficiency in the language––and perhaps start using it professionally––who knows!

Is there anything else that you have learned or discovered on your journey that you would like to share (or give others advice about)?

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Posted in networking, Other Writing Stuff, The Writer's Toolbox, writer, writers, writing

5 Twitter Tags For Writers

Posted on by Cynthia D. Griffin

Twitter is becoming my favorite place to hang out. I’ve had an account for many years, but it’s been within the last few months that I’ve really started using it. I really enjoy the conversations and the uplifting environment, especially for writers. Here are five Twitter tags that I keep an eye on, and sometimes use myself to help support the writing community.

#amwriting It’s inspiring to see so many people writing and talking about writing in this tag. Sometimes people talk about writing successes, and sometimes writing failures. It’s nice to see both. Writing is such a solitary activity. Much of what we do is never known or discussed, but it’s nice to know that we share the same solitary activity with so many others out there.

#writingcommunity This tag is used for a number of reasons. If a writer needs to ask a question, or get feedback on work or an idea, or just share some exciting news with other like-minded individuals, this tag is perfect. I always love seeking out this tag to get a real feeling of writer connection. It really is the best writer networking tag I’ve found so far.

#writerslift This tag is all about writers helping writers. This is usually used to help writers grow followers, but it can be used to make an offer like reading books for reviews or a place to post links for published works, author websites, or blogs.

#writerslife I love seeing all the different types of lifestyles that writers have. This tag can be writers talking about what sort of writing routine they have, where they write, or just about writing stuff in general.

#pitmad This tag is mostly used three times a year during the Twitter Pitch Party, but it’s great fun to get in on. It’s so fantastic to see so many people either participate by putting up a pitch, or fellow writers who help retweet pitches to get more exposure for the pitchers. Then agents and publishers can like the pitches they want to approach for a potential book deal. The next one this year is December 5th. You can go to pitchwars.org for more information.

Those are the top writer Twitter tags that I keep an eye out for. Do you have any writer Twitter tags you favor? Feel free to post them below!

Want to connect with me on Twitter? Come say hi at @Awesome_Dawn. See you there!

Posted in Indie Author, networking, writer, writing

@IndieCall.org An Indie Publication Resource

Posted on by Cynthia D. Griffin

If you are an indie author or indie author supporter, then you will love this new website that’s dedicated to help independent authors get their work out there. @Indiecall.org is a place for authors, editors, and beta readers to connect to complete books for publication. It’s also a place to showcase your work, and help out by reviewing other authors’ books (and possibly get yours reviewed as well).

This site was created by Camilla Margiana ( @camillawrites) this year to be a leg up for authors by bringing them together in a significant way. She is still underway adding services and opportunities. This is a great time to get onboard and setup a profile so you can be on the frontline as these opportunities roll out! Check the site out now.

Do you know of other indie or self-publishing support sites or blogs? Please feel free to post links below in comments. One of my goals to start compiling places of support specifically for these kind of authors. Thanks in advance!

Posted in A Writer's Life, better writing, inspiration, The Writer's Toolbox, write, writer, writing, writing advice, writing better

Everything Else Comes First, Before I Write

Posted on by Cynthia D. Griffin

Yes, I know. That title contradicts every single piece of writing advice I have ever been given, or heard. In fact, it’s probably the number one advice most give about writing––to put writing first, and do it every day. And perhaps for many that’s what they need––to put writing first, and do it every single day. But I’ve been doing just that for years, and it’s been having a very negative effect on all the other parts of my life.

I need balance. And when I put writing first, I can’t achieve balance, no matter how hard I try (and believe me, I have tried).

So I’m trying something new. I have reprioritized my life and made a new list of how things with happen and it goes something like this…

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Posted in publication, publisher, publishing, the writing journey, write, writer, writing collaboration

Starting a New Journey

Posted on by Cynthia D. Griffin

I have been thinking about it for a while and have decided to finally commit to doing instead of thinking and talking. I am beginning my own publication business. I even came up with a logo for it and everything. lol…

In all seriousness though, I am excited to be doing this. I feel a need to do this for myself and for others. In fact, Endless Journeys very first published work will be my eleven year-old son’s junior chapter novel. He’s been writing like crazy for years now (and it makes me so proud!) and I feel he finally has a great piece to be published. So we have been working on it diligently as a homeschool writing project for some time now. We are now entering the final stages of editing and putting the book together. I am proud and excited to be helping him realize a dream as well as encouraging him to reach for more.

I honestly don’t have any idea how far I’ll be taking this new adventure, but I am incredibly excited about it. I have quite a few writing projects for myself that I can’t wait to start putting out, but just the idea of being able to helps others do the same makes it even more fun and adventurous.

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