Blog Archives

Morning Muse - Make Social Networking Work for You

2/17/2017

“Write what you know,” they say. “Pick a niche and go with it,” others proclaim. “Get your name and product out there at every opportunity,” you hear.

All good and well if you’ve got the time and what it takes to promote the hell out of yourself and your product.

Plans for the month of February were to focus on the writing vein. Sharing information I find, or I know from experience. This, so far, has been a good theory on paper. It has produced the knowledge that my community prefers a content variance. The result of the past few weeks has given me information to digest, analyze and plan with.

It’s always interesting how the thought process takes you on a journey of looking after the number one.

Writing what I know? Yes!
One niche or a few? A few.
Getting my name, my books and my visual art to those outside the bubble? Absolutely.
Do I need to stir things up to accomplish a desired social networking? Certainly.

Breaking out of the friend and family bubble of social media is daunting. You have to be prepared to show off a little, say what you feel, and reach out to new people. The last part, for most, is the hard part.

So how do you get your name and product out to the masses without spending a fortune and relying on others to do the job? You change things up a little, or a lot if that’s the urge that takes you.

For starters, look at downsizing. Yes, you read right, downsizing.
Remove the clutter. The little things that have built up over time. The things that take up your time. It has to happen to focus on the important.
Strive to take charge of social media platforms. Take a new direction through merging, separating and removing time wasters.

Changes to your network marketing doesn’t have to be radical, unless that’s what you want. It has to encompass your priorities and what works for you. But, consider the old adage “change is as good as a rest”. It just might be what is forthcoming to take you to the next level.

What do you do to freshen up the marketing side? Do you outsource? Do you do it all by yourself? Have you done it all at once or baby steps? We’d love to hear from you. 

Ann Edall-Robson
Author, Photographer, Lover of Life
"Capturing moments others may never get to experience."

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Morning Muse - InCoWriMo Check Up

2/15/2017

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How have you been doing with the InCoWriMo challenge? Haven’t started? No time like the present to get involved.

For those who picked up the gauntlet at the beginning of the month, we’re about half way through. Your probably realizing you have written to everyone on your list you think would enjoy receiving a hand written anything from you.

Let’s take a deeper look at this challenge. Of course, sending and receiving hand written letters is an anomaly in today’s society; however, if that letter could become part of a bigger picture, the challenge may just benefit you and your families future.

Write letters that tell a story of your family history or ask for family information. Write letters that include time honoured recipes. Write letters with anecdotes of a child growing up. Use the opportunity to create a genealogy trail. It’s OK to send to the same person more than once. Share these moments with your children and grandchildren.

How have I been doing at this challenge? Not bad. Actually, pretty darned good. Out of 14 days I have sent something off to the post office 10 times. Hand written notes, mostly. The best part, is meeting up with someone or getting a telephone call thanking me for the wonderful surprise they received in the mail.

I'd love to hear how you're making out with the challenge?

Ann Edall-Robson
Author, Photographer, Lover of Life
"Capturing moments others may never get to experience."

Blank note cards available from our Shop.

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Morning Muse - Unexpected Heart Sighting

2/11/2017

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People hearts and feelings are not as giving as Mother Nature. Humans expect some reciprocal give back if they give you their heart. And, quite often, there is some kind of string attached to the body part that pumps life through us.

Mother Nature, on the other hand, gives sometimes for a fleeting moment, sometimes for an hour, or sometimes forever. Each time she bestows upon you a heart, she is happy just to have made you smile. No strings attached!

Imagine, if you would, seeing a heart in the most unexpected places. Definately a gift no human being could ever give.

Enjoying a summer day in the back yard.

This one takes a little imagination and focus. But it's there, where the long slope meets the first rise along Chimney Rock Road.

On a walk at Silver Valley Ranch.

From the shores of the Pacific Ocean.

Have you had an unexpected heart sighting? Share your pictures and stories with us.

Ann Edall-Robson
Author, Photographer, Lover of Life
"Capturing moments others may never get to experience."

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Morning Muse - Using Scrivener

2/10/2017

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Scrivener is one of the favourite tools I like to use when I compile my writing thoughts. The program allows me to keep information together for my all of my projects. Organizing storyboards, research, links and prewriting in one location. Best of all, it’s not just for writing books.

The extent in which one would use Scrivener is up to the individual.

Reasons I Use Scrivener

Jot down ideas for future use in writing.
Write & store blog material by topic.
Keep research links and information in one place, by project.
Write & archive flash fiction pieces.
Collect family recipes.
Write photo stories.
Genealogy.
House my book projects in their entirety.

What program do you use to keep writing ideas organized?

To purchase a copy of Scrivener for MAC or Microsoft, visit our shop.

Ann Edall-Robson
Author, Photographer, Lover of Life
"Capturing moments others may never get to experience."

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Morning Muse - Writing Raw

2/8/2017

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When is it OK to express how you feel?

When you write raw.

No, it’s not a joke or a riddle, and the answer is not, write in the raw. Although, if that’s how you prefer to write, then good on you.

There is a lot of hoopla out there in the writing world about written content that has been penned as raw.

What is writing raw?

For me it’s an idea that has to come out. Don’t think about it; and, above all, don’t edit in your mind before you put pen to paper.

It is all about write, write, write. Including everything you want to say. No holds barred type of writing. Express your feelings. Yell, laugh, cry. Get it on the paper before you think better of it, and shut down.

“But what if someone else reads it?” you ask.

Unless you hand over your raw work to people, no one need ever see it. However, it’s my thought, if they read your work without invitation, it sucks to be them if they don’t like what you have penned (or said)!

Do I write raw?

As much as I can. For me it’s just another word that says I write by the seat of my pants. No boundaries and rules holding me back. The grammar and spelling are overlooked, as is the structure. I’ve said it before, and I will say it again I am sure, editing is for later.

Unfortunately, (and they may think otherwise) there are those who write with as much ‘political correctness’ as possible in the first draft of anything they produce. Which, in my opinion, is too bad, because I think they lose out on so much.

My first drafts are a wreck. They are full of every mind blowing situation and scene I can conjure up in my mind. These thoughts don’t necessarily have a place in the final, refined version, but it is what breathes life into the story.

The first draft of anything we write should sting with every thought imaginable. The first draft needs to be raw.

Are your first drafts politically and grammatically correct, or are they raw?

Ann Edall-Robson
Author, Photographer, Lover of Life
"Capturing moments others may never get to experience."

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Morning Muse - REduce The Length of a URL

2/5/2017

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Sharing links filled with information is the thing to do these days. Social media is flush with ‘stuff’ we are interested in and think all of our friends would want to read, too.

So, how do we share links? Most copy and paste the URL into whatever it is we are writing/sending to others and hit SEND.

Most URL from blogs, website articles are usually miles and miles long. Well, there is a way to shorten your shared link. This is especially helpful on places like Twitter and Facebook when you don’t want the whole communique to use up you allotted characters or space.

I use bitly.com. It’s free and it condenses the URL I want to send into a nice manageable size.

For example, when I send out a link to our Moon Rising Gift Sets, the original would look like this: http://www.annedallrobson.com/store/p24/Moon_Rising_Gift_Set.html.

Condensing this link makes more sense and the end result is substantially smaller: http://bit.ly/2ldgmFn.

Yes, I have to copy and paste the URL onto the bitly.com page, but I keep that link handy so it takes no time at all to have a small, manageable URL link to send off to those I am certain would love to open it.

Do you use a program to shorten a link you are sharing? Tell us about the it.

Ann Edall-Robson
Author, Photographer, Lover of Life
"Capturing moments others may never get to experience."

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Morning Muse - 5-W's of Writing

2/3/2017

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An IDEA simmers in the mind until the realization hits, something has to be done with it. Time to gather and organize the thoughts.

Writing, like planning a party or choosing a vacation destination, is more productive when the rules of the 5-W's are followed. Consider them a generic form of an outline.

Each of the 5-W's are steps to take to reach the FINISH line.

IDEA: They come from everywhere. The spark to ignite the creativity.

WHAT: Create a point form list of what the story is going to be about.

WHEN: A timeline helps to keep the story on track and flowing. Include era, season and year(s).

WHO: The characters. List them all. Human, animals, extra terrestrial. Describe them. Are they young, old. Special traits and quirks.

WHERE: The setting. This could be more than one location. Describe with as much detail as possible.

WHY: The details of why the story happened. Include emotions and events.

FINISH: Congratulations, it's done! Now for a little bit of R & R before meeting the next challenge - publishing.

As you write, refer back, and make changes to the 5-W's if necessary. It’s OK to start with preliminary thoughts only to find they vary or stray completely from the original. That's part and parcel of what writing is about.

Most of the basic tools needed to reach the Finish line are found in the 5-W’s. Their guidance are known to have encouraged and directed a number of project towards a debut with the world.

Do you use the 5-W's when you write?

Ann Edall-Robson
Author, Photographer, Lover of Life
"Capturing moments others may never get to experience."

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Morning muse
for any time of the day

Morning Muse - Make Social Networking Work for You

Morning Muse - InCoWriMo Check Up

Morning Muse - Unexpected Heart Sighting

Morning Muse - Using Scrivener

Morning Muse - Writing Raw

Morning Muse - REduce The Length of a URL

Morning Muse - 5-W's of Writing

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Morning musefor any time of the day

Morning Muse - Make Social Networking Work for You

Morning Muse - InCoWriMo Check Up

Morning Muse - Unexpected Heart Sighting

Morning Muse - Using Scrivener

Morning Muse - Writing Raw

Morning Muse - REduce The Length of a URL

Morning Muse - 5-W's of Writing

​​Archives

The fine print

Categories

Guest Contributors

Morning muse
for any time of the day

Archives