Showing posts with label Advice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Advice. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Looking For WordPress Advice….

I have had the thought in the past to take my fiction page and convert it to its own domain name, thereby giving me the ability to monetize it and earn some paltry (almost spelled it poultry.. but not much difference either way) income from my writings. Curious, has anyone else done this and what are the pros and cons to such an endeavour?

Also, any hints, tips or tricks to the process would be greatly appreciated.


http://ift.tt/1H1BSzv

Looking For WordPress Advice….

I have had the thought in the past to take my fiction page and convert it to its own domain name, thereby giving me the ability to monetize it and earn some paltry (almost spelled it poultry.. but not much difference either way) income from my writings. Curious, has anyone else done this and what are the pros and cons to such an endeavour?

Also, any hints, tips or tricks to the process would be greatly appreciated.


Thursday, May 7, 2015

Well Worth Watching…

Alliteration aside… (see what I did there?) here is a bit of encouragement and words of advice from Neil Gaiman from a commencement speech he gave in 2012. Twenty minutes, but worth every second.


Well Worth Watching…

Alliteration aside… (see what I did there?) here is a bit of encouragement and words of advice from Neil Gaiman from a commencement speech he gave in 2012. Twenty minutes, but worth every second.


http://ift.tt/1EfBP20

Saturday, April 25, 2015

Writing, Breaks, and Questions…

So, I need to take a break from the project I am working on. It’s a reworking of a flash fiction I wrote called, “They Made a Mistake…“. It’s kind of a dark story, and one that although I am enjoying writing, is really difficult to write.  I’m turning it into a short story that is going to be about 10,000 words and once finished, will be one of the longer stories I have ever written.

So, here’s an interesting question… does that fall into the short story category? According to some, yes it does, according to others, nope. One place says 1.000 to 20,000 is a short story, another says nothing over 2500 words.

Then there is the whole… how do I publish it? Do I sell it (that would be cool), do I release it in parts on my fiction blog, do I release it as a whole on there (seems like it would be WAY too long to do that), or what?

If you have any comments, experience with any of this, or just want to throw in your 2 cents, let me hear (or read as it would be) what you have to say on the matter down below in the comments.


http://ift.tt/1HDsAyN

Writing, Breaks, and Questions…

So, I need to take a break from the project I am working on. It’s a reworking of a flash fiction I wrote called, “They Made a Mistake…“. It’s kind of a dark story, and one that although I am enjoying writing, is really difficult to write.  I’m turning it into a short story that is going to be about 10,000 words and once finished, will be one of the longer stories I have ever written.

So, here’s an interesting question… does that fall into the short story category? According to some, yes it does, according to others, nope. One place says 1.000 to 20,000 is a short story, another says nothing over 2500 words.

Then there is the whole… how do I publish it? Do I sell it (that would be cool), do I release it in parts on my fiction blog, do I release it as a whole on there (seems like it would be WAY too long to do that), or what?

If you have any comments, experience with any of this, or just want to throw in your 2 cents, let me hear (or read as it would be) what you have to say on the matter down below in the comments.


Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Of Pearls and Swine…

I have 44 years of experience at life.


44 years of getting it wrong and somehow still making it, 44 years of getting it right and still screwing that up, 44 years of asking other people for help, and 44 years of lessons learned.


No, my experiences are not the same as yours, so obviously I can’t 100% understand what you are going through. Hey, but good luck finding someone who has. What I do have (invokes Liam Neeson voice) is a particular understanding that the boat you are in is yours, but the lake you are on… well, that’s something I can grasp. I also have an uncanny way of seeing things for what they are (I have been wrong on occasion), and hearing what you aren’t saying or are trying to hide (it’s not a magic trick or esp, I’m just really good at reading people along with a bunch of other stuff).


Unfortunately, added to all this is my desire to help people through tough times, or to try to walk along the road with them and point out the landmines that I have walked over (ok, so we are out of the boat metaphor and onto dry land). My tactic is not straightforward though. I don’t want to give people the answers, but instead try to lead them to a place where they can figure it out and make the answer their own (it’s the teacher in me, I’m sure). Oh, I’m also a bit cocky, snarky and apparently cynical. An abrasive personality in these kinds of situations, I’m sure.


But, I don’t have time to pussyfoot around stuff. My time is valuable, just as much as the next person, and since my advice doesn’t come with a prescribed per hour premium, I don’t want to dawdle over trivial crap. This has lead many to call my talks 2×4’s. Honestly, I’m ok with that. Most people need 2×4’s in their life from time to time. I do my level best to help someone, but I’m not changing my tactics, I’m not changing my style. I am who I am, so my help comes with that understanding.


See, compassion and mercy are not my strong points. Well, not the way that most would define them. I have a lot of compassion, it is what makes me want to help people. It’s just not that surface stuff that’s all, “Aww, let me give you a hug, isn’t the world wonderful, you’re so special” crap that seems more fluff than anything. And I have a lot of mercy. Lots. I can overlook a lot of offenses (which leads me to be walk on or abused), but again, it’s not this surface style mercy so a lot of people think I am just cold and disconnected.


But I do have a point where I am just done. Sometimes it’s the person’s actions, like when I spend hours with them and they return over and over to the same thing, which makes me feel as if I am wasting my time. Sometimes it’s something they say, more akin to the camel’s back snapping from that last straw, where I have finally just had enough and I am done (insert a dealer wiping and showing his hands as he finishes his shift.. seriously, I do that).


Which ever it is, somewhere in my brain that person gets marked as a swine (not literally, but that would be cool). My compassion just runs out. My mercy hits a wall. I feel bad because I really want to help, but I realize that when Jesus was talking about pearls and swine, sometimes, you just got to let that pig be a pig.


Pigs


Yep.


Or… you know… something like that.




http://ift.tt/19JKot6

Of Pearls and Swine…

I have 44 years of experience at life.


44 years of getting it wrong and somehow still making it, 44 years of getting it right and still screwing that up, 44 years of asking other people for help, and 44 years of lessons learned.


No, my experiences are not the same as yours, so obviously I can’t 100% understand what you are going through. Hey, but good luck finding someone who has. What I do have (invokes Liam Neeson voice) is a particular understanding that the boat you are in is yours, but the lake you are on… well, that’s something I can grasp. I also have an uncanny way of seeing things for what they are (I have been wrong on occasion), and hearing what you aren’t saying or are trying to hide (it’s not a magic trick or esp, I’m just really good at reading people along with a bunch of other stuff).


Unfortunately, added to all this is my desire to help people through tough times, or to try to walk along the road with them and point out the landmines that I have walked over (ok, so we are out of the boat metaphor and onto dry land). My tactic is not straightforward though. I don’t want to give people the answers, but instead try to lead them to a place where they can figure it out and make the answer their own (it’s the teacher in me, I’m sure). Oh, I’m also a bit cocky, snarky and apparently cynical. An abrasive personality in these kinds of situations, I’m sure.


But, I don’t have time to pussyfoot around stuff. My time is valuable, just as much as the next person, and since my advice doesn’t come with a prescribed per hour premium, I don’t want to dawdle over trivial crap. This has lead many to call my talks 2×4’s. Honestly, I’m ok with that. Most people need 2×4’s in their life from time to time. I do my level best to help someone, but I’m not changing my tactics, I’m not changing my style. I am who I am, so my help comes with that understanding.


See, compassion and mercy are not my strong points. Well, not the way that most would define them. I have a lot of compassion, it is what makes me want to help people. It’s just not that surface stuff that’s all, “Aww, let me give you a hug, isn’t the world wonderful, you’re so special” crap that seems more fluff than anything. And I have a lot of mercy. Lots. I can overlook a lot of offenses (which leads me to be walk on or abused), but again, it’s not this surface style mercy so a lot of people think I am just cold and disconnected.


But I do have a point where I am just done. Sometimes it’s the person’s actions, like when I spend hours with them and they return over and over to the same thing, which makes me feel as if I am wasting my time. Sometimes it’s something they say, more akin to the camel’s back snapping from that last straw, where I have finally just had enough and I am done (insert a dealer wiping and showing his hands as he finishes his shift.. seriously, I do that).


Which ever it is, somewhere in my brain that person gets marked as a swine (not literally, but that would be cool). My compassion just runs out. My mercy hits a wall. I feel bad because I really want to help, but I realize that when Jesus was talking about pearls and swine, sometimes, you just got to let that pig be a pig.


Pigs


Yep.


Or… you know… something like that.