Tag: Blogging

Why you should be scrolling through social media instead of always writing!

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This opinion might not be very popular at first, but hear me out here…

We are often told that social media scrolling is the ultimate time suck and whilst this is a valid point, our daily quiet time with Facebook or Instagram ultimately doesn’t have to be “a waste of time.” 

Social media opens up a range of possibilities for advertising and reaching new customers or fans via an online platform of viable and visual information. But just as much as it is a way of reaching out to new people and engaging with followers of your brand it is also an opportunity to educate oneself; learn, gain new insights and ideas, and develop on trending or current topics. 

That’s right, only by ‘being on social media’ (and by that I don’t just mean having an account you post to once a week) but by actually scrolling, reading, and engaging with like-minded individuals, will you actually get the most out of what these platforms have to offer us. 

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Revisiting The 5am Club

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In my 2018 post entitled Just Start – Waking up for Success! I spoke about how I was attempting to change my daily routine by waking up earlier and ensuring I spent the time on those things most important to me (i.e. novel writing, dearest dreams of the heart, etc.) prior to the demands of the day sweeping what precious little time I had away via the petitions of others people’s whims, i.e. the daily job.

It’s currently 5:08 am as I type this draft and I cannot help but reflect that a lot has changed since I wrote that post. Not only have we moved, but I’ve since packed in working the 9-5 with writing on the side and have taken my freelancing business full time; offering services such as article writing, beta reading, copy editing, and of course my pièce de résistance, being an authors assistant. My health and well being have vastly improved and with every new day, I am a few steps closer to achieving my goal of becoming a published author (I’m not counting ghost-writing and pen names).Read More »

So Beautifully Organised – Floral Stationery Box Review

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Anyone who knows me knows that I am obsessed with stationery and books. Let’s face it, I’m a writer and you can’t spend all day bashing away at a keyboard without going slightly crazy. I personally love the aesthetic and tactile experience and nostalgia of writing on paper and am an avid planner, paper-crafter, and pen paller, so when it comes to stationery – I’m a bit of an addict.

As you can imagine, buying piles of planner and stationery supplies can get quite expensive. Not to mention bulk buying can have a negative effect on one’s ability to enjoy said products in an orderly fashion.

With that in mind, I have decided to start a book and stationery subscription box mini-series on my YouTube channel. Within this series, I will be purchasing the odd subscription box from various retailers, seeking the best value and quality, and taking my viewers along on my creative journey via unboxing videos.

Today my first box arrived…Read More »

Coming to an AuthorTube near you!

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I’ve been toying with the idea of starting my own writing channel on YouTube for some time now and with the current situation bringing back-burning projects to the forefront, I have decided that there is no better time than the present.

I previously attempted to start my channel whilst I was pregnant, but with hideous morning sickness I didn’t even want to talk to people in the physical world, my on-screen presence blurred into a distant dream. I was too icky to be on camera.

But now I am only semi icky and so this past week I got the camera back out again and am pleased to announce my first (though actually, it would be my second…) video on YouTube, going live on Wednesday.Read More »

Community Spirit Without Contact

agentlewomanandascholar3 Comments

With potential lockdown on the brink of possibility, I know a lot of people are starting to panic as to how they can remain social, keep up their spirits and most importantly, keeping the kids entertained whilst shut indoors.

And whilst there are people out there still ignoring the safety and social distancing advice – there are others doing everything they can to maintain their community spirit whilst in self-isolation. To these people I applaud!Read More »

A Change of Pace

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As writers, it is very easy to get into a routine when tackling larger projects such as re-accruing assignments and novels. In fact, it is one of the smartest things we can do – to train our subconscious minds to work on command and thus prevent the detractions that are inevitable when working from home.

And yet, whilst home offices and writing routines are a Godsend for our productivity, they can also become somewhat stale over a long period of time. It’s inevitable really. Eventually, all of us need to re-schedule a meeting with our muse and shake things up a bit so as to get out of a slump or take away the eventual boredom of living every day like the last.

This recently happened to me. Read More »

Why I Use Grammarly

agentlewomanandascholar5 Comments

I recently wrote a post about my experiences with a teacher in High School who seemed hell-bent on giving me bad advice regarding my dream of being a writer. I must say I have been blown away by the private messages I have since received from my readers, many of which have also been from teachers, saying how much you all believe in my decision to power through the criticism and go for gold. Can I just say a huge thank you to everyone who has written to me, as your encouragement means more to me then I can ever put into words!

But this was not why I wrote the post. As heartfelt and wondrous as your comments are (and believe me, I am truly grateful!) my aim with The teacher that told me ‘no’!  was to inspire others by my story. There seems to be a common stigma in our world that writers have to be linguistic and grammatical geniuses and always know exactly where every comma goes. And it simply isn’t true. As much as I have found negative responses to my dyslexia, I have also found that people are more likely to ask me how to spell something because I am a writer.Read More »

The teacher that told me ‘no’!

agentlewomanandascholar15 Comments

I’d like to think I am not the sort of person to hold a grudge but even I must confess to not always being a saint about this. In fact, there is a grudge I have been holding on to – for over 16 years now…

But in many ways, this grudge is a good thing. It has fuelled me through hard times and given me enough determination to overcome obstacles and fight the battle for my dreams.

Back when I was just 12 years old I used to take support classes for my dyslexia. Now here’s the confession no writer ever wants to make – my thirteenth birthday was coming up and I still could not read or write!Read More »

Winning

agentlewomanandascholar1 Comment

With all the daily bustle and grind we put ourselves through; the thankless tasks, the hardships no one else sees, the constant nagging feeling of having something else to do…it can be hard to focus when life gets busy or rush. But when we have an overwhelmingly long list of tasks and commitments, we must also remember to take a little time to stop and celebrate the wins in life.

Admit it! How often do you throw your hands up in the air, jump up and down and scream at the top of your lungs ‘I got the kids to bed on time!‘. Probably never. And though this might be partly due to not wanting to wake said children up again, its because you probably also think it’s not an accomplishment worth shouting about. And I’m here to tell you it is!Read More »

Just Start – Waking up for Success!

agentlewomanandascholar17 Comments

Have you ever really achieved your full potential? Are there things in your life that, if you only had more time, then you would blow them out of the water? Things like exercising, writing your blog, reading more self-help books, meditating….the list goes on.

I have always been one of those people that fall into the trap of ‘Not enough time’ and I think a lot of people suffer from this concept too nowadays. We all seem to be so ‘busy’ doing things, working daily grind, catching up on social media, cleaning the house; whilst having these dreams and ambitions that continuously go unfulfilled.

After all, it takes so much energy just to survive the average work day. There are just so many demands on our time that when we even think about adding in the morning work out or trying to schedule in a daily novel writing session, we feel a cold sweat and self-doubt edging in. There is so much to do! I don’t want to overwork myself. It can wait until tomorrow! I’ll feel like it tomorrow… Read More »