Part 1 – My August Schedule This is my August post schedule. I don’t put dates on it because I pick them as I go. I skip around. I have a letter first, a short title idea, and a number. The number comes last. It tells how many days I spent on the post, and I don’t know that until it’s done. August S- Instructable ideas 4 B- My book pages + 2020 PB 2 + 4 M- Social media friends 5 I- N. Rhine Westphalia 4 19 Total so far in August Part 2 - The letters stand for: I – Inspiration S – Share M – Me B – Business 'I' is for Inspiration. These posts come from the things that I want to write about, for a story, for a post. I look for people, places, and things that inspire me. My last ‘I’ post was about North Rhine Westphalia. If I hadn’t traveled there in 2007, I might not have ever become a writer, or I might have waited till I retired from teaching. I forgot . . .. I waited already. I had a story idea when my kids were in elementary school, but I put it off. I didn’t think I could teach all day and take care of my family at night. When I went to Germany, I had one kid in college, a senior, and a sophomore in high school. PS – I still haven’t written that first idea, but it’s in my list of titles, waiting to be told. ‘S’ is for Share. These posts come from things I see online, in the news, from small town Ohio and Tennessee. I pick things that interest me, that I want to share. I write for the kids I know – the ones in elementary school, their parents, and their teachers. I look for things I’m interested in. Kids usually are too. I also look for things they study in school. Then I try to expand on it, or give it a new spin. My August ‘S’ post highlighted one of my favorite websites, Instructables.com. I love the range of topics they cover from food to technology. I found my wind tunnel project design on Instructables. The kid who designed and wrote it was a 7th grader. He just graduated from college, and now he designs robots in California. I hope you’ll take a look at Instructables and let it inspire you too. M is for Me! I pick things that I think you’d like to discover about me, the things I do, the places I travel. Basically, I write about what fascinates or horrifies me. But I have to be careful. I have a husband, 3 adult children with 2 spouses, and a granddaughter. I want to tell you all about them, but they don’t. They want to keep somethings private, like pictures. I won’t share those on my website or social media because they don’t want me to, and I have to respect that. My last ‘M’ post was about my social media friends, how we find each other, and how we talk. I also wrote about what happens when someone crosses into my personal space. There was no social media when I grew up in the 60’s and 70’s. Computers were as large as a couple classroom. My kids grew up with them. It’s like breathing for them, and they were my first social media teachers! Without them I wouldn’t be on Facebook! Really! B is for Business I didn’t realize in November of 2016 that I’d become a business woman. That’s when my website went live, and I learned how to write blogs and book reviews. I didn’t earn a dime, but I built my writing skills each night. I also built a platform. It was the one small step I could take towards getting published, the only one I could control. Every 4th post is about my business. It started with the website. Now I have two books from Beach Girl Press. That’s me! My last ‘B’ post was about freebies on my website. I have a coloring page and bookmark for Neil, and a journal page and bookmark for Lake Fun. I hope someone read the post and got one freebie, maybe all 4. If I sold a book, that’s even better! I also write for my debut group, 2020 PB Stars. I highlight their books, and I hope they’ll highlight mine. Part 3 – What’s Next in August? When I started this post, I had days to fill in August. I had to decide what to do and fast. Can you guess where I started? With the four pillars. I jot down ideas when I get them under the right letter. Here are the number of ideas I have for each pillar. I – Inspiration S – Share M – Me B – Business 7 4 3 7 End of August/September S- Elvis & vaccines B- how I find/track posts M- being stuck I- Kobe Bryant Can you tell where I started? Yep, with finding and managing posts. I’m almost done. My last step is my book review. Now, to find the one that fits this post! Then – time to start the next one. I’m torn between Elvis and Kobe. Both of them just had trivia questions that will help me get started. We’ll both know Monday night! Where did I find the 4 pillars? From Deb LaFlamme. She’s a marketing guru and my teacher. Her pillars guide my blogs. They have for a year or two. What I love about them is that they challenge me. They make me stretch to offer you more. Thanks, Deb!
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AuthorWhen I write, I can only have one voice in my head, mine. A little noise is fine. But too much, or worse yet, WORDS, and I must change rooms or pull out headphones. Then I can write on! Categories
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