Tag: Write 2 Be blog

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What Does the Term “Being A Real Writer” Mean Anyway?

March 12, 2014 jcladyluv

Some days I wonder, if I don’t write that day does it make me any less of a writer? There are those that will tell you that you must write every single day, whether it be one page, one paragraph, or even just one sentence. For years I felt that the periods of time when I was blocked and when I wasn’t able to write anything (not anything of any merit at least) that I was no longer able to consider myself a real writer. There was even a period of time, after having my first novel published, that I felt that because it didn’t do well that I wasn’t really a writer.

I often forget about the poetry book that I self-published and don’t even count that, although I should, just because at the time I didn’t really possess the tools that I needed to really be able to promote myself and my work. So throughout the years I have discounted my work (some of it anyway), and I have considered the times where I slacked off a bit as days when I wasn’t to be considered as a real writer. But who is to determine what a real writer is except for the writer themselves.

There’s this line in the movie Sister Act 2 where she told the young lady if you wake up every day and all you can think about doing is singing, then you are supposed to be singer. The same holds true for any chosen profession including writing. That is all that I think about. My craft, how I can make my writing better, how I can promote my writing and myself better, what I want my writing and my media company to be able to do for people throughout the world, what I want my words to be able to change, what story comes next, what project comes next, what I want in the bookstore/lounge that I will one day open.

Writing, many different capacities of writing, is what I eat, sleep, and breathe on a daily basis. Even if I’m not writing I am writing because I am thinking up a story in my head, a new idea for a stage play that I want to write and produce, lyrics to a song that I want to record, articles for my magazine that I might write or want to publish within my magazine, novels that I want to be turned into screenplays someday. I write in my head a lot so even when it appears that I am not writing, I am in fact writing.

So should someone say to me that because I don’t put words to paper, or type words on a computer, on a daily basis, that I am not a real writer. Because I get to do what I love to do from the comfort of my own home and make a living at it (as unsteady as it may be right now), does that make me any less of a writer? I think you are what you say you are, and even more importantly, what you prove you are and what lives in your heart.

So if there are some of you who may be experiencing writer’s block of some sort, or even if you are feeling guilty because you don’t write every single day, stop feeling guilty. There are no set rules for the profession of writing. No proven way that it works for every single writer. What works for you is what works for you and you should never let anyone else tell you that your way is wrong. It may very well be wrong for that person, but your career path is not theirs. So write in whatever fashion that you write in, in whatever time frame that you write in, without guilt and without pause. It’s your journey to travel however you see fit. Be blessed and carve out your own writer’s path!

Jimmetta Carpenter

My Write 2 Be is…

CEO/Writer/Editor

Write 2 Be Media/Write 2 Be Magazine

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

If Only I Could Have All the Answers

March 11, 2014 jcladyluv

If you are not someone like J.K. Rowling, Terry McMillan, Steven King, or James Patterson, then making a substantial living as a writer can be a somewhat daunting task. Admittedly there are some writers who are just starting out at trying to make a living as a writer and have it a bit easier than others. Quite frankly there are some writers whose talent and execution of their words are not nearly good enough (not saying there is no potential for it to be) to have the success that they are having right out the gate, and yet their luck seems to be iron hot.

I don’t think of myself as the best writer out there, and I consider myself to always be working on my craft trying to make my writing better. However, I do feel like this rise to the middle ground (which for now would suffice for me) is taking quite longer than even I had expected. I know the sayings and the pep talks that people give, that I myself have given. That it takes time, you have to be patient, your time will come, you just have to keep putting in the work and everything will work itself out, etc. I know all of that but I feel like I’ve been putting in the work (I only sleep 4 hours a night), I feel like I have been patient, and I feel like my time should have already been here.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not jealous of anyone else’s success level. They give me someone to study. It’s more like I’m curious to know or be shown what I’m doing wrong and what I could be doing differently, or more efficiently. I study and research methods of others who seem to be having the success that I am trying to achieve (not moderate but rather steady stream) and I implement some of their methods (tailor made of course to my style) and still nothing. I know that no one can have all the answers but right now I sure wish that it was possible. I just want to know what I am doing wrong.

I’m trying to reach certain goals and achievements in my writing career and I am way off course in terms of the time that it’s going to take me to get there. Now of course, even with all of this frustration that you are probably gauging from this post, I am never going to give up on my dream and never going to stop working hard at attaining it. I just wish that I could see some of the fruits of my hard labor thus far. True I guess things could be worse and I could not be having any level of success at all but is it really wrong to want more. Is it wrong to want to have met my own expectations of myself by now if not exceeding them? Well I know that I can’t be the only one feeling this way so hopefully my venting has somehow helped someone else out there to realize that they are not alone in their struggles. Keep working at it, WE will get there!

Jimmetta Carpenter

My Write 2 Be is…

CEO/Writer/Editor

Write 2 Be Media/Write 2 Be Magazine

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

Taking Baby Steps to a Broader Horizon

March 7, 2014 jcladyluv

I was working on a pitch for a guest post yesterday (cross your finger for me that it gets accepted) and within that post one of the things that I advised readers to do was to think of all of the things that they are afraid to do, or things that they said at one point in time that they would never do and still haven’t done yet, and make it a goal this year to go out and start doing those things.

It dawned on me this morning in talking with a friend about needing to broaden my horizons and experience different places that I needed to do the same thing. There are quite a few things that I always said that I would never do, or that I thought that I couldn’t do for one reason or another, and I think that I am going to take my own advice and start doing them. Now they may not be big things (at least not yet, have to work my way up to those) but there is nothing wrong with starting small because even baby steps allow you to move forward.

There are a lot of you out there who have those little things that you always said you wouldn’t do (ex. go on a boat, go hiking, learn how to swim, etc.) but what if you going out and doing those things, even if it was just one time, is the experience you’ve been missing from your life. I mean if it’s something that you discover you don’t like then you never have to do it again but at least you can say you’ve done it. However, if it happens to be something that you find out that you love to do then it can open up a whole new world of experiences for you.

When I joined a gym (one thing I said I was never going to feel comfortable doing) a few years ago I said I was not a runner and I would never use the treadmill because I didn’t like to run (mind you I also said I didn’t like to exercise either but I love it) but when I got on it I first discovered that I could run and then, surprise of all surprises, I actually liked to run. Now how would I have ever known that if I had never just gone ahead and done it. Now I love to run (still working on the running outside part—maybe that’s something I’ll do this year) and I miss it if I don’t get to.

So take some time and make a list of all of the things that you have been ruling out thus far. Make some plans to maybe not rule them out just yet. Allow yourself to be open to the new experiences, especially the ones that scare you. Those are the ones that you will learn from the most. Have a blessed and exploratory weekend!

Jimmetta Carpenter

My Write 2 Be is…

CEO/Writer/Editor

Write 2 Be Media/Write 2 Be Magazine

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

Can I Really Fit In Reading A Good Book?

March 6, 2014 jcladyluv

If being a good reader is what goes into making someone a better writer then I must confess that I am not the writer that I think I am. Let me just say that I love to read, so much so that when I don’t get a chance to it hurts my heart just a little bit more with each opportunity that slips through my fingers.

After all, reading is what made me want to be a writer in the first place and it is what allowed me to enhance my abilities as a writer, learning more about crafting words, and the proper structure of them, what having the write setting and time period can do to enhance a book. I read about how important small details are to a book and how to get more in touch with my characters and who they were really portraying. With reading I even got to learn about certain things that I otherwise wouldn’t have known about and about places that I have always dreamt of going but that are not a guaranteed staple of my journey.

Having said all of that, lately, in the last few years I have not been the best reader that I can be. That last two years it seems as though I have not read at all (unless you count the fact that it took me almost a whole year to finish one book) and it saddens me. It is not because I don’t still have the desire to always have a book in my hand and take it with me wherever I go. It is because once you really thrusts yourself into being a writer, both the creative and the business sides of it, it seems like the time to read is minimal at best.

I feel like I can’t even balance the time to write and market my business, along with taking care of my daughter and making memories with her, so by the time I sit down to read anything I am so tired that I end up in the same place I started with the bookmark lying somewhere on the floor and the pages bent because I have tossed and turned all over my book.

You see it’s not as if I never make the attempt and even squeeze in what I think will be just enough time to read a chapter before I try and get some sleep. Mind you, that I wake up most mornings at 6am and don’t usually make it to bed until 2am (sometimes later) so I am operating daily on four hours of sleep. Example, I started the book I am currently reading in January with the New Year. At the most it should have only taken me a month to finish it (used to be less) but here it is March and I am still just halfway through. So does the fact that I can’t seem to squeeze in reading to my already filled up schedule mean that I am not as good of a writer as I once was? I sure hope not.

This is a reminder to all of you out there, find the time to read if you’re not already doing it. It will not only make you a better writer overall, but a better editor for those novels you have to edit, and just a better storyteller in general. Take it from someone who can’t seem to fit in a good book and who is desperately trying to find the balance so that I can, read almost as much as you write. It will make a world of a difference. Stay curious and stay captivating!

Jimmetta Carpenter

My Write 2 Be is…

CEO/Writer/Editor

Write 2 Be Media/Write 2 Be Magazine

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

Blurring the Lines Always Leaves One Side Lacking

March 4, 2014 jcladyluv

As I work to market my brand, my blog, my magazine, my upcoming ebook series (tentatively titled “For the Crazy Makers”), and my writing services, it is hard to actually find time to put into my writing. I mean I am still finishing up work on the first book in the ebook series and getting ready to start work on the second book but that’s a non-fiction project and has nothing to do with the novel that I still need to finish or the other novel that I need to have edited.

Sometimes the lines between the business of writing and actually creatively writing get a little blurred. They don’t always meet in the middle and more often than not you end up doing one end of the spectrum than the other. I’m not sure I have come across anyone yet that can give equal amounts of time to both effectively. So why did I expect it to be any different for me? I don’t know. Call it crazy optimism or just plain wishful thinking but I really did think that there was a way I could adequately focus on both without sacrificing time for either one. That is not the case.

I guess I am doing a disservice by even trying to split my time between the two in half because then it means I can’t give my full attention to either one. I am still trying to figure out a system to make it work for both sides but so far, my creative writing side is suffering drastically because I felt I needed to get my business side of my writing together. After all, what good is having large amounts of content with no one caring enough to read it?

I can’t do everything perfectly and that’s something I have to come to terms with as well. I have to stop trying to do everything perfectly and stop thinking that everything can get done all at once. All things will happen in their due time. Right now, I have to hustle to keep getting my name out there or else I’ll have a shelf full of books I’ve written and no one to actually read them. Did you get your hustle on today? Stay hungry and Stay Foolish!

Jimmetta Carpenter

My Write 2 Be is…

CEO/Writer/Editor

Write 2 Be Media/Write 2 Be Magazine

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

What’s My Motivation?

February 24, 2014 jcladyluv

I saw a post on Facebook that asked “What motivates YOU to work hard?” and it got me to thinking about the times when I lose my motivation. Initially the artistically correct response would be that my passion is what motivates me. In many ways this is true because honestly unless you start off with a lot of connections in the writing world and you could breeze past the whole submit/rejection portion of rising to the top in your field of fellow writers then who would really want to struggle along this particular path if they weren’t passionate about the art of putting words to paper.

However, if I dig deep into the crevices of my brain and my heart, my motivation for being a writer goes beyond that. Yes it is true that since I was 6 years old this is what I have wanted to do but the reasoning became different as the years went on. It was first a fun thing to tell stories and dream up these big, sometimes, unrealistic worlds. Then it evolved into being the only way that I could truly express how I was feeling because no one would ever listen to my words, but they never minded reading them. Then it became my escape, where I didn’t want to really tell my story as much as I wanted to tell the story that I wished I was living in. But once I had a child, it became the way that I could do all of that but still be the mom that my mother wasn’t for me.

My mother was cold and unfeeling, I can’t even remember hearing the words I Love You too much in my house growing up, and I’m not sure if her having to work so hard and so much (sometimes 2 jobs which felt more like I was being raised by my sister) was the reason why she felt she had to shut down emotionally from me and my sister but if that was a reason then I was going to make sure that I didn’t have that reason when it came to my child. I wanted to be home with my daughter, there when she got out of school, there when she needed anything, said I love you for no particular reason, there to tuck her in at night, and there to play when she wanted to just play. Writing allows me to do that, to be tuned in to my child the way that I couldn’t be if I were working the traditional job.

I tried that when she was younger, in an effort to get that stable, absolute income while still trying to make it as a writer. Not only did that take away from the time I could have been putting into my dream but it also drained me mentally and emotionally and I couldn’t show up for my child the way that she needed me too. Now I know there are millions of women who do it, and manage it well, and perhaps they are better suited to be that kind of parent but I just know that I’m not built that way.

Now I’ve been criticized so many times for not just jumping back into the “regular” work force and having that stable income there and been accused of not thinking about my child in that regard but I disagree. I think that monetary things and possessions cannot provide emotional stability for a child and yes if you can do the “regular” job thing and still provide emotional support and stability for your child then that’s great. I know that I can’t. I’ve tried and I saw myself starting to turn into my mother which was the last thing I wanted for my child.

Going this route is difficult, true, but it also will instill in my daughter another thing my mother didn’t instill in me. It will teach her to go after her dreams, no matter what they are, no matter how many people tell you that you’re never going to get there, no matter how many people are standing against you, go for them in spite of all of that. In the end she will have her dream and everyone who was against her will be wishing they could have come along for the ride. I want my daughter to believe in herself the way that I never did until I was well into my adulthood. I want her to know that when she waivers on what she dreams up for her life that I will be there to remind her not to give up. That my giving up will help remind her not to give up.

I want everything for my daughter that I didn’t have growing up and none of that comes with having the largest bank accounts. Don’t get me wrong, of course there are things I want my daughter to have that money is definitely necessary for in order to give her that, but I want her to know that the important things in life cannot be bought. Things like love, self-esteem, confidence, work-ethic, belief in oneself and their dreams, and the tenacity to go after those dreams. Those are things that money can’t give or provide for you. Think about motivates your hustle today. Take that motivation and use it to fuel your drive.

Jimmetta Carpenter

My Write 2 Be is…

CEO/Writer/Editor

Write 2 Be Media/Write 2 Be Magazine

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

There’s No Box I Seem To Fit In

February 20, 2014 jcladyluv

I used to always want to be that person who fit in with everyone else. I wanted to hide in the corner, blend in with the crowd, and make sure that I didn’t stand out in any way possible. It never really worked because for one reason or another I always stood out. Whether if it was for going against what everyone else’s opinion was or whether it was for looking different and having a different style from others. Whether it was being simple when others were outside the box, or being too far outside the box when others wanted to keep things simple.

No matter what I have always gone against the grain but it was never intentional. Truly I would never choose to make myself the target for other to consider me to be difficult because that’s the last thing I want. But at what point do you say that you’re not going to sacrifice who you are, what you think, or how you feel, just so other people can say that you’re easy going and that you’re not being the difficult one.

I’m not going to lie and try to pretend that I’m one of those people who doesn’t care if others like them or not. I do want to be liked, what person doesn’t. But if people are only going to like me because I agree with what they say or because I am going along with the majority opinion just to go along with it, then are they really liking me or the person that they would like to mold me into?

Now I’m not saying that if I express an opinion that everyone else has to agree with it but I certainly don’t like to be attacked personally for having an opinion that’s different from everyone else’s. I don’t seem to fit in any one box. I’m not really sure that I want to fit in with just one box. I like that I am different and think differently. I like that I don’t just repeat what other’s want to hear for the sake of being easy going. But it does get hard to always have this label of being the difficult one just because you don’t agree. I just wish that people who claim to accept everyone no matter what were really true to their statement. Have a blessed day and just be who you were meant to be!

Jimmetta Carpenter

My Write 2 Be is…

CEO/Writer/Editor

Write 2 Be Media/Write 2 Be Magazine

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

It’s All In How You Word Things

February 19, 2014 jcladyluv

I saw this video on Ms. L’s timeline on Facebook and it spoke volumes to me. Words can be so powerful and you can say things in so many different ways that take on many different meanings to people. Be mindful of what you say to others, not just the tone in which you say it, but the words that you choose to express yourself. It’s also a reminder, on the business side of things, that everyone can use a good writer and if words are not your thing, if you don’t always choose the best words for the appropriate situation, then by all means please hire a writer.

Let Write 2 Be Media show you how valuable our professional writing, editing, and social media marketing services will be to you and your business. We offer various writing services such as professional blogging, portfolio creation, company newsletters, ghostwriting, typing services, research, and web content. Take the pressure off of having to be your own marketer and let us do the work for you. We’ll create and monitor your Facebook page, Twitter, Pinterest, and LinkedIn accounts, as well as create and maintain a blog or email newsletter for your project.

Simply leave a comment below or email us your request for services and a price quote to Write2BeFreelance@yahoo.com. Upon receiving your request, you will be contacted within 72 hours to assess the next step for your project.

Jimmetta Carpenter

My Write 2 Be is…

CEO/Writer/Editor

Write 2 Be Media/Write 2 Be Magazine

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

I Could Pick Another Career….But I Like the One God Picked For Me

February 18, 2014February 18, 2014 jcladyluv

I will preface this post by stating with an absolute certainty that I love (love, love) being a writer. It is what I am most passionate about. It is what gets me through most of my bad days. It is when I feel like I am doing the most good, in general, throughout the world. And most importantly it is, what I feel, is the best legacy that I can leave behind for my daughter, and her children to come after.

Having said that, some days it is hard to be a writer when that is your only source of income and when the thought of doing anything else for a living makes you literally cringe. People seem to think two polar opposite things about the life of a writer. They either think that you are basically using a hobby as an excuse as to why you don’t have what they deem to be a “real” job or they think you have large sums of money in which you are not even close to having. Now if you have made it like J.K. Rowling, or Stephen King, or James Patterson, or Terry McMillan, then sure, you do have large sums of money at your disposal.

However, if you have not made it to that milestone in your writing career yet, then you are just scraping by like any other average working person, it’s just not doing the traditional job. That does not in any way diminish what you do or make it just a hobby that you are trying to get paid to do. There is a huge difference in doing writing as a hobby and doing it as a career. The struggle is different. Once you make writing a career, it is not just about the sheer love of putting a fictional story, or even your story, on a piece of paper for all to see. It then becomes a business in which you must then market yourself and your work. You have now become a business in which you are your brand.

The business side of writing is what I sometimes dread because I have not always been the best at “selling myself” so to speak. I can sale anyone else’s work and promote many others but for some reason when it comes to me it gets difficult. It’s something that I have to get used to and get better at gradually but gradually does not garner me any immediate income the way that I need it to.

Writing is definitely not a career choice for the weak, or faint of heart, or for those that are looking for an easy source of financial stability. I look unstable to those outside of the creative spectrum and I even feel that way most days but when I look at it in terms of whether my child is taken care of and if she has what she needs (plus a few things that she wants) and if the basic needs are being met, then I have to acknowledge that my modest way of living is working for now.

True I can’t do outlandish extravagant things and I can’t get every little thing that I desire but it makes it so much more worth it when I can obtain those things because I know that I worked hard for them. Like I said in the beginning of this post, I love writing and I wouldn’t choose any other career. There are ones that I would love to do in addition to writing like singing and counseling others but nothing I feel as passionate about as writing.

If writing is something that you love to do, then ignore all of the days that you feel like it’s just not worth it. Ignore the feelings of you not being good enough to do this successfully. Ignore all of the days where a regular job seems like the only option you really have to have everything that you want and desire. Ignore the days that you feel like you’re not truly meant to be a writer because you can’t seem to promote yourself well enough. Your days of struggling as a writer may seem like they are just beginning but in the end, if you work hard, if you fight hard for what you want out of your career, then it will all be worth it. Work hard and struggle harder.

Jimmetta Carpenter

My Write 2 Be is…

CEO/Writer/Editor

Write 2 Be Media/Write 2 Be Magazine

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310