Are You Tired And Unmotivated? Check This Out!

For the low, low price of nothing at all, I bring you the Ultimate Guide to Getting Over Writer's Block and Procrastination (UGGOWBP)!

It's fun! It's sparkly! And it's not guaranteed to help you in any way, but, hey, we'll try!

Drumroll, please...

Close enough.

Step One
Stop staring at that blank page. It's not going to move. It's not going to fill itself with beautiful, crappy writing. And that blinking bar (also know as the insertion point) will just drive you into a deeper form of insanity.

That's right. Stand up. Walk out that door. Continue walking for... I don't know... An hour. Or until people start staring at you because you haven't bothered to change out of your pajamas. 

Step Two

While walking, acknowledge this simple fact–

Writing is hard!! And not all people are cut out for it. You, however, are a mighty warrior who will fill all sheets of paper with drama and tension and death. Ok. Maybe not death. 

Step Three

Once you've returned home, shut the computer off. Yes, you heard what I said. SHUT IT OFF. NOW.

Good. 

Now pick up a pen/cil and some paper. That's right. We're going old school.

Step Four
Write. About anything, anyone, anywhere. Write about a memory of yours or a distant land. Write about a girl you've never met. Good, bad, disgusting, I don't care. Just write something. You don't have to finish it. You don't even have to like it. Challenge yourself to write one page, then two, then three.

If you still have Writer's Block at this point, return to Step One. If you still have Procrastination, well, you probably haven't made it this far yet. 

Step Five

Now that you have successfully reached Step Five, repeat Step Four for a couple of days until all is right in your world. At that point, you may return to the computer and fill that blank sheet of paper with joy and sadness. Should Writer's Block ever strike again, just return to step one. 

Now, may the force be ever in your favor, Mr. Potter. 

Love, 

Gandalf

That's pretty much it. I hope UGGOWBP really helped you because I know it helped me! Just follow these steps and you'll go from this:

To this:

In very little time!

The Best of Writing,

~Snowie

P.S. Sorry for the long vacation. I guess I needed a break. I couldn't think of anything to write about.

Nothing Worth Saying

For the past week or so, I have been racking my brain for ideas for blog posts. So far, my ideas are nonexistent. I also thought about talking about my new typewriter.
I don't want to do an update or a rant or anything that doesn't help and interest you in some way.

I've been reading the Writer's Digest, hoping to discover some information that I could use in the publishing field. I read twenty or thirty articles from authors who had gone through revision, editing, and, eventually publishing. Many of them have multiple books published and are full-time writers. You could probably fit every article into 3 categories: Publishing, Platforming, and Editing. Editing articles contained lots of helpful tips to make your plot and characters more enjoyable and publishable. Platforming explained ways you could expand your audience. Publishing articles tried to explain how to get published. And, failed.

The Publishing articles commanded the reader to find an agent, not how or where; to ask questions about things, but not what questions to ask; to be involved, but at the same time stay out of the publication team's way. Reading them, I came back more confused than ever.

For "rounded" writing minds, both analytical and creative, Editing articles are rather enjoyable. Usually, the author explains the problem, what to look for, and how he/she fixes it. Nice, simple, easy. Although, most of the tips can be taken with a grain of salt, because not everything will work for all writers and writing styles.

Platforming, or rather an Author's Platform, is one of the greatest assets any author can have. For example, this blog is considered a part of my platform. It is where I reach out and contact people. A good author platform includes, but is not limited to book readings, blogs, websites, social media (Facebook, Twitter, ect.), and tours. It's an author's fan base. The majority of John Green's author platform has evolved from his and his brother's youtube channel, Vlogbrothers. In a sense, Vlogbrothers is the reason for John Green's success in the writing world.

As an aspiring writer myself, this need to have a huge author's platform is quite scary. Social media has never been my thing. Writing novels is easier than writing a Facebook status or a Tweet on Twitter. One of my newest goals is to work on self promotion. Just this morning, I woke up my Twitter account that I never used and started following writers and editors. I'm planning on making another Youtube video soon, and start commenting on other people's videos. Perhaps I'll get back on Figment. I'll contact real, living authors and ask them questions. I would contact Shakespeare if I could, but unfortunately a time machine hasn't been sent to me yet. This blog has been around for four or five years, and I want to help it thrive and grow.

I have to get over this fear of social networking and find something worth while to say.

Live long and write prosperously,

~Em

The Life and Times of the Undefined
Instagram
Tumblr
Figment
Twitter

The Completely Unabashed Egotistical Promo

I'm not one to brag. For some reason, I always end up feeling guilty and disgusted with myself. This, of course, makes me about the worst self promoter ever.

Every once in a while posts like this one will come up because of my lack of self promotion. Might as well rip it off like a bandaid.

First things first. If you are a lover of everything healthy and fitness-y, check out my totally rad 100% nerdtastic FITNESS BLOG!! Results may very. Cats available while memes last.

And for you people who love hearing about other people's life stories, check out my super duper awesomely epically incredible personally pint sized, available in neon colors, thoughts on my life blog BLOG!

Welcome to the fitblr side of Tumblr! We have cookies... In moderation. Not to mention Sherlock, Supernatural, and Doctor Who fandoms galore. TUMBLR!

If for some reason you have stumbled across this and happen to be a musician or band director, check out this duet I wrote for clarinet and bass clarinet. And BUY IT, well.... Sort of. It's not on the site as of yet. But, here's the publishing company's website. My piece is titled Emerging Pirates by Emily Haywood.

So, yep. That's pretty much it.

Fun stuff.

~Snowie

28 Things I Wish I Knew Before Becoming A Writer

28 Things I Wish I Knew Before Becoming A Writer...

1. Nothing will ever be perfect... Ever.

2. Even if you don't outline the plot, have a rough idea what you're writing about. 

3. Words are messy things...

4. And you won't always make sense. 

5. Find someone who loves writing as much as you.

6. There is no set way to do anything... Only Suggestions.

7. You will try and fail, try and fail, try and fail, try and fail.... Then maybe succeed. 

8. 3 AM is the best and the worst time to write. 

9. NO ONE (Unless they, too, are a writer) will understand why you write.

10. Friends and family will be the most and least supportive of you. 

11. If anyone asks you what you are writing, the easiest answer is to lie and say, "I'm writing an essay."

12. Coffee, Coffee, COFFEE followed by copious amounts of tea. 

13. Good music is the key. I recommend anything not written by Nicki Minaj, Justin Beiber, or anyone who has been featured in Seventeen Magazine.

14. Putting words on paper is easy. Making them make sense is not.

15. Don't procrastinate. In fact, procrastinate on procrastination.

16. You're still going to procrastinate.

17. When Writer's Block hits, try writing in a different room, house, or city.

18. Cafés are, in fact, one of the best places to write and edit. This is not just something Hollywood made up.

19. Writing is like exercising, you have to make time for it.

20. Writing everyday is the only way you get better.

21. Writing is like air- unpredictable, but constant, and without all of the calories. 

22. Read. Read, read, read, readreadreadreadreadreadreadread. Read as many bestsellers as you can get your hands on. Read bad books. Read good books. Read short books. Read long books. Just read!

23. Sooner or later, finish everything you write.

24. Nothing you write is crap. Ever. Even the bad stuff. The bad stuff teaches you what not to do.

25. Tell the truth when you are writing, and never write what you don't believe, even if it's not what everyone else thinks. 

26. In one way or another, little pieces of you are going to weave themselves into your work.

27. Never be afraid to say what you need to say. Sometimes words are better said on paper than from lips. 

28. Finishing something feels like this....

~Snowie

P.S. Love my use of gifs?

Late Nights With Snowie

Good god, allah, yahweh, babaganoosh, great spaghetti monster in the sky. I really should be in bed right now.

But I can't.

Wanna know why?

Because I feel like a freshman. And that's a terrible thing to feel.

Why, You ask? Because I keep waiting for someone to message me, and I know they won't. Hello, last semester of freshman year again.

On the bright side, I finished a novel just in time to start another.

Yeah, that's right. I wrote "The End" on the Night Stalker about five minutes ago. In all truthfulness, the last two chapters suck because I just wanted them done. But, that's just it. They. Are. Done. What, what!!! Four months for one complete revision. Hell, yeah. I'll take that any day.

More to come real soon.

Best of writing!

~Snowie

Another Video???

Seeing that this is the third video post on my blog in a row, I thought that I should talk about something writing related.

That is.... Camp NaNoWriMo! Yes, Camp NaNo is just around the corner, and this time you can pick your own word count! In other words, you don't have to write 50,000 words. You can write 500 or 100,000 words or 18,670 words.

The first Camp NaNo is in April, and the second is in July. This is fantastic because there is a two month break in between for editing and resting.

This year, I really hope to write three novels using Camp NaNo and regular NaNo. Just a few minutes ago, I had an epiphany about what I was going to write in April. My friend, M.L., just self published the first novel she ever wrote (I have no idea if you can buy it or not. If you can, I will hot link THIS). This got me thinking about the first novel I ever wrote called Arya Poisonhold. Arya Poisonhold was about an elf named Arya who finds a dragon... It was basically a rip off of Eragon. I love this novel to death, and tried to rewrite it multiple time. I never could get it perfect. I think I might try writing Arya again in April. It would be fun. I haven't written fantasy in a long time.

In July, I'm thinking about finishing my TNS sequel- Light. And November is still unknown.

Right now, I still have two more chapters in The Night Stalker. Speaking of the Night Stalker, I drew this....

It's Gail! From the Night Stalker! Just imagine orange hair and green eyes. I've wanted to draw her for a very long time. 

Best of Writing!

~Snowie

Nine Truths and A Lie