Mearcstapas, the Media, and the Hope Thesis Podcast Trailor

I have some exciting news.

I’m releasing something.

No, I haven’t finished a book. But it does have to do with art, writing, and finding purpose in creativity, which is something I believe is an important topic to think and talk about as creatives.

It’s the (drumroll please) hOPE THESIS PODCAST.

And I’m releasing the first two interview episodes of the podcast as well as the website on April 1! But you know what is already released?

Episode 1: Trailer and Introduction. It’s up on iTunes Podcasts and Spotify!!! Check it out!!

But wait, you say. You’re hitting the return key way too much to the point where this post is starting to look like a terrible freeverse poem. Also, what the heck is the Hope Thesis Podcast about?

Answering My Blog’s Search Term Results Pt. 2

A year ago I compiled all the ridiculous search terms that led to my blog. WordPress is a lil rascal and won’t show me all the search terms unless I pay, but I’ve been able to pick out some pretty weird ones from what WordPress does show me from the past year. I decided to do another one of these posts because 1) it’s been half a year since I’ve posted anything and 4 months since I’ve written due to academia, so this is my way of easing back into the swing of blogging/writing, 2) I’m feeling rather sarcastic and random at the moment, so if you were expecting some sincere answers to search terms, keep reading because you’re not getting any. Onward!

Being a Writer in a World of Instant Gratification

Most of the time, the best things take the most time.

As a writer, this statement could not be more true.

So You Want to Be a Writer? Here’s 10 Things You Need to Know

So you think you’re pretty decent with words and you enjoy telling stories, and you want to be a writer.

You should think you might want to be a writer. Here’s what you need to know about being one.

(Note: This post is mostly cynical humor as I speak out about the harsh reality of being a writer. Because in reality it’s not all sunshine and rainbows; it’s more like no sun and rainclouds––which can still be pretty cool.)

Why Taking Breaks from Writing is Important

Taking breaks is important. As mortal Earthlings, moderation with everything is vital; we can’t handle too much of anything. This is why we sleep at night. This is why we take breaks at work. This is why we take school breaks during the summer and Christmas time. And this is also why we should take breaks from creating.

Bullet Journal: Organization for Creatives

I’ve published a few bullet journal posts in the past with my writing bullet journal (which disappeared and hasn’t been attained since) and my first regular bullet journal (which I tried to use to put my life in order and that fell apart). It took me a while to pick up bullet journaling again, but a couple months ago, I saw the perfect color one at Barnes and Noble. I thought about that teal-colored notebook from Barnes and Noble for a whole week and finally decided to give bullet journaling another try. And boy, am I glad I did.

You can use a bullet journal for anything. You can use it any way you want (check out this website to get a gist of how the original bullet journal works), and the best part about it is, you can get as creative and artsy as you want. Time management, class schedules, year planner, homework due dates, food planning, daily journal, story/plot ideas, character caches, monthly overviews, blog schedule––all in one place. Cool, right? Pinterest is a great place to start for journaling tips and prompts, and inspiration of page layouts (and super fancy lettering and art that I could certainly never pull off but like to pin anyways because it looks pretty and who knows, maybe if I miraculously have some time on my hands, I could try). As a writer, blogger, student who works part time, and a human who tries to have a life, bullet journaling has really helped me with time management, priortizing tasks, and getting things done. And it’s also a creative outlet.

The Writer’s Tag

 

Deborah Kelty is a Christian writer based in Wales (how awesome is that?). She recently tagged me for the “When You Learn More About me” Writer’s Questionnaire, an honor I am axcited to participate in (mostly because that saves me from having to come up with a blog post topic for Tuesday, I’ll be honest with you).

Fixing Tropes in Fantasy Fiction

The Google dictionary defines the fantasy genre as “a genre of imaginative fiction involving magic and adventure, especially in a setting other than the real world.” With fantasy, you have freedom. You can make whatever you want possible. You can create your own worlds, your own species, your own rules and laws. And yet, fantasy does have its stereotypes. And that’s okay. I find a lot of similarities between my writing and many other fantasy books I’ve read. Tropes aren’t necessarily a bad thing, unless you’re relying on them in an attempt to box your story into a particular genre. If you’re a fantasy writer who’s struggling with eliminating stereotypes, or if you’re any kind of author who wants a fun and slightly sarcastic post to read, you may benefit from the following tropes and the possible alternatives for each.

Liebster Award Tag + 11 Questions Answered

Hey look! The wonderful Hannah Krynicki tagged me in her post for the Liebster Award. She’s an awesome person and writer with brilliant ideas and thoughts, so please, check out her blog and give her a follow. Thanks Hannah!

So, tags have rules. I need to answer 11 questions, list 11 random facts, tag 11 people and give them 11 questions to answer. You’d think the person who created this tag really liked the number 11. Now, on to those questions from Hannah.

My Writing So Far in 2017 + A Wattpad Publication!

Things have shifted crazily with writing this past year. As most of you know, my NaNoWriMo 2016 novel Fiction’s Lie is on the way to indie publication through Amazon’s Createspace, but there’s a lot of other projects going on as we speak I type. I’ve developed new worlds and characters, rewrote some fanfiction, stressed out over Camp NaNoWriMo, and jumped back into my main project, Netherworld. 

As indie publication looms brightly on the horizon, I’ve started getting a little frightened with the fact that pretty soon, I’m going to have to put together deadlines and release dates and post schedules for marketing. Which means lots of organization and planning, which is why I aspire to be a time lord or invent a way to create clones of myself. If only, right?

So, without further ado, here are some highlights of my writing world, as well as a very exciting announcement. The announcement? *accentuated advertiser’s voice* Read more to find out. (Or look at the blog post’s title.)