Tag: Writers

If Only I Could Have All the Answers

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Having all the answers

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

https://write-2-be.com/

http://write2bemagazine.com/

https://twitter.com/write2bemag

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

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Can I Really Fit In Reading A Good Book?

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lost in a book 2

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

https://write-2-be.com/

http://write2bemagazine.com/

https://twitter.com/write2bemag

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

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If I Put My All Into It Will it Really Be Enough?

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Just not enough

I’m having one of those weeks (yes I know the week isn’t over yet) where it feels like nothing I do will be enough.  I’m not a very patient person and it’s something I’m working on.  When I don’t see the results I want at a decent pace I get anxious about the whole process.  It’s not just in my writing and my finances, but also in the area of romance (or lack thereof).  This blog is not about my romantic woes so I won’t branch off too much into that except to say I feel like I could be described as the perfect person for someone and they still (somehow) wouldn’t even see me standing right in front of them.

But this blog isn’t about that though.  It sort of spills over into other aspects because that love thing can be the emotion that makes you feel alive and ready to jump for joy, or ready to just go hide under the covers somewhere and wake up when someone notices all of the right things that you are doing.  I know that there is always more that I can be doing (talking about writing now) but it seems like no matter how many hours of sleep I don’t get that it will never be enough.  Of course that doesn’t mean that I am going to give up or slack off (okay well there’s a slight chance for slacking off here) but just wish I could see some progress.  I know it’s being made and the baby steps are nice but some gigantic leaps would be a little nicer.  Some major dents in my journey would be gratifying to see.

I couldn’t watch the Oscars the other night but Lupita Nyong’o’s words were posted everywhere throughout social media.  “No matter where you are from your dreams are valid”.  Those words and my friend Ms. L’s blog post about her acceptance speech that she will give when she gets her Oscar one day (probably sooner than even she thinks) made me think about the awards and achievements that I will one day receive (Oscar included) and what I would say and who I would speak my words to.  However, at this particular moment, where I feel a little disheartened, a little discouraged, perhaps even a little less optimistic than usual about my dreams becoming a reality, all I can really think about is when am I going to start to see that light for the tunnel that’s headed that way.

It’s not as if I’m in question as to the possibility of it happening, or the fact that I still want it to happen, it’s just a matter of when.  I know that my patience is probably one of the main things that I need to work on when it comes to pursuing my dream but some days, days like today, I just start to wonder if all that I am doing is good enough.  Is anything I am ever going to do going to be good enough.  Hopefully tomorrow I will feel a lot more definitive and sure about things but for now my lack of knowing what the outcome will be is getting the best of me.  Okay ranting over with for the day, time to get back to working at making all of this happen one way or another.  Stay blessed and keep hustling!

 

Jimmetta Carpenter

My Write 2 Be is…

CEO/Writer/Editor

Write 2 Be Media/Write 2 Be Magazine

https://write-2-be.com/

http://write2bemagazine.com/

https://twitter.com/write2bemag

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

https://twitter.com/jcladyluv

It’s All In the Promotion of Your Brand

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promotion day

So I decided that today is promotion day.  I have quite a few projects I’m working on and I want to share the details about them with you.

Ebook Series

This ebook series (tentatively called “For the Crazy Makers) will be focusing on motivating and inspiring writers and artists who are struggling with their own fears and their insecurities when it comes to following through with your creative endeavors.  Sometimes we need an outside voice to quiet all of those inside voices that keep telling you the wrong things.  I have been working on this ebook series for quite some time now and I am excited to finally be releasing it in the next few months.  If you are interested in information on how you will be able to receive this ebook or other details in relation to the ebook simply leave a comment below with your email information or you can email me at jcladyluv@yahoo.com.     

Novel Releases

I am going to be re-releasing my debut novel, The Diary: Succession of Lies, later this year along with my second novel When Love Calls.  I will keep you posted on the progress of those works periodically but for now, below I have shared with you what each book is about.  Let me know what you think in the comments below.

The Diary: Succession of Lies

What if you discovered that the sins of your mother’s past will forever haunt your future? That finding out the secrets she took to her grave would turn your life upside down?

To the rest of the world Corynn Hayes was a brilliant writer and entrepreneur. To Karlee Jones, she was not only a mother but a best friend. Until Corynn’s unexpected death, Karlee thought that she knew everything there was to know about her mother. Then, Karlee receives her mother’s diary as a farewell gift. The depth of the secrets within those pages end up devastating Karlee, forever changing the memory of her mother.

The Diary: Succession of Lies is a novel that exposes the secret life of a mistress. It is a tale of love, lust, loss, and redemption as well as the trials of two generations of women. The Diary takes a new spin on the mistress image, a woman often vilified throughout literature as a harlot and a home wrecker. It tackles several questions. Why does a mistress stay? Is love possible in such a taboo relationship? Is love enough to endure the consequences that come later.

When Love Calls

Autumn Jennings had thought that she had finally put all of the mistakes that she had made in her past behind her.  Her heart had finally mended from heartbreak and she was able to let go and let someone else love her again with nothing hanging over head.  She never thought she would have to deal with the lies she had told so many years ago but when an old flame that she had never truly gotten over comes back into the picture she is reminded of all of the secrets she has been trying to keep buried.  Those same secrets could not only disrupt the lives of everyone around her but the new life that she is trying to create for herself and her son.  As her secrets begin to unravel so do the lives of the people she loves.  When Love Calls is a novel about a love lost, a love that heals, and a love that was meant to be and the circumstances that can either bring two people together or tear them apart.

Write 2 Be Media Services

Just finished slaving over a novel and you’re ready to begin promoting it?

Is your blog not getting the attention you feel it deserves?

Just launched your business and need to create a social media marketing platform to make everyone take notice?

Write 2 Be Media now offers Social Media Marketing services to help your project get the attention that it deserves in addition to our creative writing resources.  To read more about our services just click the “Hire Me” tab to your right.

I would also like to promote the work of a great photographer. If you are looking for a photographer for your project then please go check out Rashaad Amed McNeil’s page, R&M Photography. He does absolutely amazing work for all of his clients, one of which happens to be LaMonique Hamilton, the CEO and Editor-in-Chief at PIEhole Magazine, a new magazine on the rise. So if you are in need of a photographer and want outstanding results then head on over to his page, R&M Photography, and hit the like button and find out how you can get the best photographer for your next project!

I would also like to extend the offer for anyone who has a book coming out or already published, if you go over to the Write 2 Be Magazine fan page and hit the like button you will be allowed to promote your work on the page.

Have a blessed weekend and hustle hard!

Jimmetta Carpenter

My Write 2 Be is…

CEO/Writer/Editor

Write 2 Be Media/Write 2 Be Magazine

https://write-2-be.com/

http://write2bemagazine.com/

https://twitter.com/write2bemag

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

https://twitter.com/jcladyluv

You’ve Already Created Who You Are In This Moment

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Create your best life

How many times have you heard someone say that they have to go and find themselves?  That they have to search for that knowledge of self, for that sense of purpose?  I have heard that saying a lot used by people, some who were truly lost and others who just truly needed an excuse for why they weren’t doing anything.  I actually hear that phrase from writers a lot because they are always so caught up in making up a life for their characters that they sometimes forget to live the life that they already have.

I heard this quote the other day “The self is not something one finds, it is something one creates”, and it just stuck with me.  People who are always trying to find themselves, trying to figure out what it is they want in life, they don’t realize that in their journey to find themselves, all of the decisions they are making, the mistakes that they are enduring, is already creating who they are meant to be.  Some decisions made for us, when we are too young to know any better, they are in a sense out of our hands, but how we deal with the fallout, the end result, that is in ours.

When we choose something, be it right or wrong, little by little it shapes who we are, and eventually who we become.  None of us start off knowing what kind of person we are going to be at the end of our journey.  Growing up I had to learn and teach myself how to love me.  I guess you could say that who I am now, I created that person and had I made a choice to continue not loving myself and to continue to think that because my mother didn’t love me, or at least didn’t express that love to me, that I was somehow unworthy of that love from others, especially from myself, had I continued down that path I suppose I would have created a whole other type of person than I am now.

So before any of you get it in your head that they need to find themselves and discover who they really are, keep in mind that the decisions you have already been making are already creating the person you were meant to be.  Stop searching for who it is that you think you should be, or should have been and embrace the person that you have already created thus far.  Our journey is not done yet but who we are meant to be is already inside of us, we don’t have to find it, we just have to create it.  Stop waiting for some moment of revelation to come, some big moment where suddenly everything you are is so clear to you.  Create the life you want, don’t sit and wait for it to be created for you to find.

 

Jimmetta Carpenter

My Write 2 Be is…

CEO/Writer/Editor

Write 2 Be Media/Write 2 Be Magazine

https://write-2-be.com/

http://write2bemagazine.com/

https://twitter.com/write2bemag

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

https://twitter.com/jcladyluv

 

It’s All In How You Word Things

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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

https://write-2-be.com/

http://write2bemagazine.com/

https://twitter.com/write2bemag

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

https://twitter.com/jcladyluv

 

Creating an Ebook Looks So Easy….But It’s Not

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Creating ebook post

Okay so my latest project (my ebook for writers who are guilty of self-sabotage) is coming along but let me just say that doing an ebook is not as easy as it seems.  Sure I guess if you have done a lot of them and have a formula down pact then it would definitely be a bit easy going.  However, since this is my first ebook that I am putting out and it is a subject that is personal to me, and one that I think so many writers, and artists in general, struggle with, I just want to make sure I give you all nothing but my very best.

It doesn’t help that I am a perfectionists and that in my mind everything has to be just right (which of course I know it’s never going to be 100% right).  I just really want to be able to provide some insight and help to those writers, and artists, that are struggling and who constantly get in their own way.  I want them to know that they’re not alone in their struggle to succeed by doing what they are most passionate about.

I know that this ebook is going to be a great one and an even better way for me to connect with all of my readers out there.  I will also be offering some really great things along with the ebook but you will have to keep reading here to get updated about those a little later.  I hope that all of you will support me in this and that I in some way will be able to help you.  Now I have to get back to work on the finishing touches of the ebook but you will be hearing more about it very soon.  Have a very blessed day!

 

Jimmetta Carpenter

My Write 2 Be is…

CEO/Writer/Editor

Write 2 Be Media/Write 2 Be Magazine

https://write-2-be.com/

http://write2bemagazine.com/

https://twitter.com/write2bemag

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

https://twitter.com/jcladyluv

Expecting What Is Deserved

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Expect good things

Today is going to be my day.  This year is going to be my year.  No really I mean it this time.  I have said that with the passing of each New Year.  That it was going to be my year.  For the couple of years it had turned out not to be my year.  While I sat back and wondered why the year didn’t turn out how I imagined it would I was completely missing the bigger picture.  Now granted I know that last year wasn’t my year because I just threw in the towel but that’s no excuse either.

Watching Joel Osteen yesterday talk about expectancy and true, unwaivering faith in the things that God can bestow upon our lives it hit me.  Every time I claimed that my day was going to be a good one and every year when I proclaimed it would be my year, I didn’t really believe what I was saying.  I wanted to believe it was true but I was so full of despair and doubt that I only halfway believed it.  But if you want God to give you what you expect out of life, what you deserve, and what he wants you to ask for, you can’t halfway believe in his power.  You have to have complete and total faith that God has got you and that what he has for you is yours and yours alone.

So I say today is my day this morning and that this year is my year, totally believing in God’s power and having faith in his plan for me.  However, I also say that with the knowledge that I can’t just expect that everything that is for me is going to just come to me with putting in the work to earn it.

I am working on a couple of projects, one being an ebook series that I will be releasing soon (really soon) and I can’t just expect outstanding results without putting in the work to get them.  So today, for all of you out there who are still struggling with self-doubt and self-sabotage (ebook series on how to work past this coming soon) claim today to be your day, say it with conviction and complete faith.  You have to start somewhere!

 

Jimmetta Carpenter

My Write 2 Be is…

CEO/Writer/Editor

Write 2 Be Media/Write 2 Be Magazine

https://write-2-be.com/

http://write2bemagazine.com/

https://twitter.com/write2bemag

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

https://twitter.com/jcladyluv

Thinking Out Loud

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thinking out loud

I know that it is National Novel Writing Month and I am supposed to be participating.  I had a plan, I signed up, and even tried to motivate myself to focus on doing it.  Nevertheless, I have not written anything on the novel that I was supposed to be finishing (that truthfully should have been finished by now) and to add to the lack of production, I have not done a very good job lately of keeping up with this blog which I love.  

I tried to pinpoint the reasons behind my recent lack of motivation towards writing in general, thinking that for some time it has been my focus and determination to finish up my degree that was enabling my laziness when it came to my writing.  But now that I am finished with my Master’s degree (and have time to contemplate whether or not I want to enter the doctorate program) I thought for sure this would be the perfect time to get back into high gear with all of my writing efforts.  

Sadly, that has not been how it was been working out.  I have felt so un-motivated to write anything, and feeling a lot like what I say doesn’t matter.  I’ve been mostly feeling a little depressed that my writing career hasn’t evolved into what I thought it would have already been by now.  I even mentally entertained the idea that there could be a possibility, that somehow I was not cut out to be a writer like I had dreamed about since the age of 6 and that maybe all this time I thought that God was instructing me that this was my calling and maybe I was wrong, maybe I assumed what I wanted to assume and that wasn’t what my calling was at all.  I even entertained the reasoning that my heart just wasn’t in it anymore, that maybe the amount of rejection for my (what I always thought was talented) writing had somehow hardened me and that I just couldn’t muster up the energy to try it anymore.  

All of those thoughts have been running through my mind and life throwing other monumental curveballs at me in the interim has added its share of unproductiveness.  But then I think of the fact that if that were truly the case, if it truly was not in me to do anymore, if this truly was not the calling that I had always perceived it to be, that I wouldn’t still have so many (good) ideas that flow through my mind and so many ways that I feel I can use my writing, my words to implement things that will not only change my life but the lives of the other people around me.  

My whole message for Write 2 Be is to instill empowerment to people, in particular to children who are constantly told that they can never be what it is that they want to be, that there is nothing that they can’t do with the willpower and determination to make it happen.  Sometimes I have to remind myself that even when it seems like what I am trying to do doesn’t matter, that it does, and not just to me, not just for my daughter, but for anyone who has ever felt discouraged and who has ever been overrun by their fears of never being able to be what it is they feel that they were truly meant to be.  I can’t say why my motivation has dwindled these past several months, but I know that I am definitely not throwing in the towel on my dreams and on my purpose.  

I feel like I needed to write this because I get the feeling that I am not the only one of you out there who has had these feelings and these doubts.  I suppose the hardest part of feeling the fear and doubt in yourself is thinking that you are all alone in thinking what others are too afraid to say out loud.  So this is me thinking out loud and hoping that it helps the rest of you who might be thinking the same thoughts and feeling the same way know that someone else gets it too.  

 

Jimmetta Carpenter

My Write 2 Be is…

CEO/Writer/Editor

Write 2 Be Media/Write 2 Be Magazine

https://write-2-be.com/

http://write2bemagazine.com/

https://twitter.com/write2bemag

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

https://twitter.com/jcladyluv

   

Don’t Think I Forgot that It’s NaNo Time!

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NaNoWriMo_4

I know I have been unusually absent from my blog recently and I am trying to get back into the swing of things.  I haven’t forgotten what time of year this is (aside from the dreaded beginning of the holiday season).  It is National Novel Writing Month and while I do not have a new novel outlined and ready to go, my plan (which is my failed plan from last year’s NaNo) is to finish a novel that I started during NaNo about two years ago (wow, didn’t realize it has been that long).  My first attempt at a mystery which I had such excitement about, and still do, is begging to be finished and I am going to put forth my very best effort to do it.  I have to admit that I am off to a bad start considering the fact that NaNo started yesterday and today, the second day of NaNo, is almost over and I still haven’t opened my novel file to work on it yet.  However, today isn’t over yet and I haven’t thrown in the towel at all.  NaNo is also usually a really good time to work on maintaining my blogging so look for November to be a very productive month from me.  I hope that all of you who are doing NaNo this year have a very productive month and that if nothing else you put forth your best effort.  Good Luck fellow NaNo Writers and hopefully you’ll clue me in on what you are working on this month!

 

Jimmetta Carpenter

My Write 2 Be is…

CEO/Writer/Editor

Write 2 Be Media/Write 2 Be Magazine

https://write-2-be.com/

http://write2bemagazine.com/

https://twitter.com/write2bemag

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

https://twitter.com/jcladyluv