Tag: writing

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5 Things to Help Me Become a Better Writer

April 22, 2014 jcladyluv

I read an article the other day on Writer’s Relief detailing five things that a writer can do this week to become a better writer. It was a very interesting read and got me thinking about my own improvement that needs to be done as a writer. I believe that I am a very good writer (at least I hope so) and that I have a lot to offer the literary world but I am not naïve or bold enough in my confidence to think that there isn’t always some way that I can become even better. In fact I think that I can stand to get a lot better, if in no other area but the sheer discipline of writing.

My routine has suffered dramatically in the last few years, due to many things, one of them being overcome with deep depression. I am trying to get back to some normalcy of a routine as far as writing because I know if I don’t produce work then I might as well not call myself a writer. In reading this article, I didn’t necessarily feel that all of the points could be applied to me personally but I did write out the five things that I feel I could do to make me become better at my craft.

1) Pledge to write at least 15 minutes every day. (Seems easy enough but harder than one might think)

2) Divide each project to having their own separate time to be worked on instead of trying to work on several different points of each project at the same time (Multi-tasking)

3) Take one day a week to focus on the social media marketing/networking aspect of my writing business. (obviously marketing needs to be continuous but I need to at least devote 1 day to the planning of how that marketing needs to go)

4) Take one day to specifically dedicate towards submitting pitches and articles and querying agents and local publications. (Again needs to be ongoing but one day to make sure to get those submissions out there)

5) Take one day specifically for reading and researching. (Reading is so important to the craft of writing and I need to make sure I don’t neglect that)

I think these are the things that I really struggle with maintaining as a writer so I am going to be working on these things. A personal thing I want to work on that’s not on this list is a health thing that I think would work in favor of my writing career as well. I need to make sure to get the proper amount of sleep because I haven’t been and my level of energy has diminished which is affecting my rate of production.

As writers we tend to keep late hours, often times even pulling all-nighters, and sometimes don’t realize the long term damage all of those late nights can do to our energy levels, and health overall. So writers take some time this week and think of at least five things you can be doing differently to improve your craft and the amount of writing you produce. If you have any suggestions please feel free to leave a comment and let me know. Take care of yourself and take care of your craft!

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

Reminding Myself of Whose Plan This Is

April 16, 2014 jcladyluv

The last couple of weeks have been a struggle and a true test of my will to stick to my purpose and hang in there for the long haul. I had a wonderful opportunity lined up through a friend and to make a long story short the opportunity fell through and it would have been a huge stepping stone towards greater things. My first thoughts were to just give up. I wanted to quit because it just seems that lately nothing is going the way that it is supposed to and everything is completely falling apart. It seems like the walls are caving in all around me to the point where I won’t be able to climb out from underneath the rubble.

I sat and wondered why would God give me this purpose, afford me the ability to obtain the tools to carry out this purpose, and then keep removing every opportunity that could bring me closer to achieving that purpose. I don’t want to make it seem as though I would ever question God and his plan or the way that his plans come to fruition but when you are trying to do everything that you think is right but nothing seems to be working (at least not as well as you would like it to) you start to wonder a little.

I keep coming across quotes and inspirational messages that seem to be screaming at me the answers to my questions, in particular “you may not like where you are but you wouldn’t be there if God didn’t have a purpose for it” and of course my favorite “without tests there are no testimonies”. These sayings keep being brought to my attention in this period of struggle and I am reminded that my plans and Gods plans are not necessarily the same. Even if they were the same as far as the destination, he may have a completely different route planned on how I get to that end result.

What God is doing, I may not even begin to understand it until it all starts to fall into place but the toughest part is having the patience (which I strongly lack) and the faith to wait out God’s plan and not get so frustrated that I give up altogether. Now I’ve never been a quitter so I don’t think that I am going to start now but I sure would not mind seeing some sort of light (even a peek) at the end of the tunnel. However, I understand that as long as God knows where the light is at the end of that tunnel and is guiding me towards it then it doesn’t matter the path that he uses to get me there. I just have to trust that he will get me there.

I won’t lie and say that I completely understand the methods. I won’t even lie and say that I don’t wish that they could be a lot less stressful on me. While I don’t like to be in a position of struggle I understand that for some people, the struggle is a part of the journey in order for them to be a blueprint to others. So today, and every day, embrace your struggles and be proud of the tribulations that you have endured and will endure because you never know who your story is going to be a blueprint for. Stay strong and hang in there, the struggle will be worth it.

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

Springing Into Overdrive

April 10, 2014April 9, 2014 jcladyluv

While Spring is the time of year where everyone seems to have that sudden bursts of creative energy it seems to be that time of year when I start to reflect on what I haven’t gotten done yet. I know, it seems like a negative thing, it really does. However, if you think about it, it could be the swift kick in the pants that some of us procrastinators (at least me anyway) need to get into higher gear.

I have a lot of things to carry out this year and because I set unbelievably high goals for myself on a yearly basis that even the most brilliant and best-selling novelists might not be able to get achieved in one year, I am realistic enough to know that every single item on that list will most likely not be carried out. However, I do know that over half of the things are able to be completed if I just stop my procrastinating ways and do what I know needs to be done.

What needs to be done is a lot less sleep and a lot of early rising mornings. This is hard for me to fathom because I barely sleep as it is but I remember the days when I used to pull all-nighters and slept even less than I do now and stuff got done then. But I have come to the realization, as May approaches and almost half the year has flown by, that if I don’t start sleeping a lot less in order to work a lot more than I might not even get half the things on my list accomplished. I can’t accept that.

So springing into action is what I will be focusing on and getting into overdrive. Just hope I don’t burn myself out in the process. But all sacrifices will be worth it in the end, right? Well I hope that your creativity has sprung into high gear and that you are getting all that you need to get done. If not, then let’s get moving, the year is only going to move faster from here on out. So stay driven and keep that butt in the chair, writing!

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 Was This Close To Just Giving Up

April 9, 2014 jcladyluv

I want to give up. I want to just throw my hands up as I am knocked down by life yet again and admit that I’m just plain tired and that I don’t have any fight left in me anymore. I want to just succumb to being average and stop trying to fulfill this extraordinary shit that I thought was my damn purpose in this world. I want to just stop having faith in the future that I can’t see ahead of me because how do I even know that any of that shit is going to happen anyway, just because I believe that is what is meant for me. I want to just say my mother was right and I am never going to amount to anything. I want to just say the hell with everything because I just can’t keep trying anymore and keep continually being disappointed every time I think everything is about to turn the corner and it doesn’t.

But I was reminded by a friend yesterday (we’ll just call him Mr. J) that I can’t think that way. I can’t have a defeatist mind set. I have to just accept what has happened, or the changes that are occurring, especially the changes that aren’t good, determine the solution, and then fix the problem the best way that I can, the best way that I know how. He reminded me that you can’t just let life knock you down and then lay there and not get back up. If I were to do that, then the devil wins and he is smiling because he knows that he overpowered my will to serve out my purpose.

The devil has been extremely busy with me these past few weeks, hell months, and I’ve been told that when the devil is really busy with you, that not only means that you are doing something right but that you have a hell of a victory coming your way. If that is in fact true then my victory is going to be unbelievably sweet. It’s hard when you fall to not just want to stay down because getting back up is hard, particularly when you keep getting knocked back down before you can even catch your breath and get all the way back up.

I couldn’t have wrote this post yesterday because I felt completely defeated and everything in the first paragraph of this post was what I was feeling and what I was going to accept. However I reminded myself this morning that I am not average, nor am I meant to live anything but an extraordinary life. I am not a quitter, I am a fighter by nature and I could never look at myself in the mirror if I didn’t give this absolutely everything that I’ve got and nothing less. My mother is most certainly not right about me because I will amount to everything that God has predestined for me. And I may not have complete and total faith in mankind and the man-made obstacles that are going to fall in my path but I do have absolute faith in God and his power to remove those obstacles when he sees fit.

I would say that I picked a profession that lends nothing but struggle and rejection (at least in the beginning) to it but it was what I truly believe I was placed on this earth to do. It picked me, or should I say God picked it for me. I just had an opportunity that I felt would’ve been changed a lot of things for me, for the better, pretty much snatched away from me. It was made even worse by the fact that the friend who came to me with the project (admittedly because she knew it could possibly be a game changer for me) didn’t fight for me to stay on the project, as I felt she should have. Everyone wants to say that perhaps that was God’s way of saying that opportunity wasn’t meant for me and I’m still very far off from believing that this opportunity wasn’t meant for me but I will say that I am not going to let this new fall keep me down. It is their loss, not mine.

So if you too have been thinking about giving up this week, or this month, I am here to say I understand exactly how you feel. I also know that if you do, you will never forgive yourself and you will always be left with this feeling of what if. The wondering will end up crippling you because you will forever live in the past trying to guess what would’ve happened if you had just hung in there a little longer. Just don’t quit. Don’t give up. Keep fighting because it won’t always be this hard (I have to believe that) and on the day when everything starts to fall in place you will look back on this time period where you had the crazy notion to give up and be thankful that you didn’t. So just hang in there, the victory is coming!

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

Leaders Must First Learn To Follow

April 2, 2014 jcladyluv

I know that you’ve heard the saying “Be a leader, and not a follower” a lot, probably more often than you even care to count. This saying is particularly used towards those who are aspiring to run their own businesses and striving for successes of great measure. I always believed in that saying, for the most part and have always tried to steer clear from ever being put in the category of being a follower. However, I recently have come to a realization that you can’t really be a true leader if you have never known what it is to follow.

I mean following is essentially being a team player. Learning how to work within a setting where it is not just your opinion that matters and things don’t just rely on what you say but on what others say or do as well. After all, once you reach your leadership status, you are asking others that are working for you to be that team player right, and follow you on your journey to help build your dream and your legacy up. Is it not only fair that you, the leader, would have some knowledge of what it is like to be a part of a team, to work with others to form a well working collaboration, to in essence, follow.

How can you blindly ask people to do something for you that you have never at one time had to do for anyone else? You can’t. In all actuality, unless someone was just born into wealth and an already built legacy, you have to follow for quite some time before you ever get to lead anyone. So where did this saying come from? Where did people get the idea that following at some point in your life, is a bad thing? Yes you have people who are natural born leaders but they too must first be followers before they can learn how to lead anyone.

I think that sometimes people get hung up on this saying and pass up on many opportunities that would allow growth within themselves because they don’t want to be labeled as a follower. I myself have done that. Passed on something that would mean I am helping someone else build up their dream but yet taking away from working on building up my own. Not even realizing at the time that those whose dreams that I help to build can then show me the way to in turn build up my own. I may have not seen certain situations for the opportunities that they truly were, all because I didn’t want anyone to ever see me as a follower and not the leader I know I was destined to be.

But see the good thing about getting older and making certain mistakes is that you also get wiser and learn how to work smarter. One of the bigger lessons that I am learning now is that in order to lead you must first learn how to follow. It is the lessons that you learn while following others that you can then take into your journey of leadership. So remember that before you turn your back on opportunities that require you to follow all because you don’t like that label. All leaders were once followers. Stay focused and pay attention!

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

Productivity Doesn’t Always Come Easy

April 1, 2014 jcladyluv

Last week was just not a very productive week for me. Well maybe I should say that in terms of actual writing being done, it was not a week of progress. I actually managed to read quite a bit more than I normally get to do but that was mainly because I felt so guilty about not being able to get anything done, writing wise. But the question is should I feel guilty?

Every week is not going to be perfect for a writer. We don’t always know the words we want to say and we aren’t always able to just sit down in front of a computer and just start writing non-stop until the work is done. We have really good weeks where we get all the work we set out to do and more, we have those weeks where we get just what we needed done but nothing more.

And then there are those weeks where nothing (seemingly) gets accomplished and we are sitting there banging our heads against a wall trying to figure out why nothing is coming to mind and your fingers just don’t want to more across the keys of the keyboard. Those are those moments when you have to remind yourself that your mind sometimes needs a break too.

We are not machines, no matter what profession, but particularly writers. It is hard to take mental breaks when so much of what you do lives inside your head. You have characters screaming at you all the time (lol) and ideas just popping in your mind at a moment’s notice and sometimes your mind just needs a break. So I guess last week was my mental vacation. I caught up on some reading and I even caught up on some TV shows.

However, this week, I am ready to get back to the business of writing and working on these projects and finishing up others. Hope your week is starting off right and that you’re ready to get your hustle on this week. Stay focused and be blessed!

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

To the Beat of My Own Drum

March 27, 2014 jcladyluv

Back in High School I had so many things going on at home outside of school that made me feel unworthy that I really didn’t need the extra negativity at school. I was never the most popular person in school. For some reason or another I was always disliked by those who others would consider the ones to follow. You know those in crowd clicks, if they didn’t like you then pretty much no one else did. But I was fine with my small circle of friends because they were there when everything at home was crazy. To be honest I cared far too much what others thought of me back then.

I can’t say that I don’t still, to some small (and I mean very small) degree care what certain people think of me but for the most part, now I just don’t give a damn. I have learned in trying to please everyone at the same time that you just can’t and you end up being displeased with yourself. If people are going to choose not to like you then they will find ANY reason not to. In thinking about where I am trying to get to in life, the most successful people are not necessarily the most liked people. They typically stand for something that others may or may not understand.

I feel sometimes like I can’t really win because if I don’t state where I stand on something then I am being anti-social and not giving enough input but when I give input and it’s not going along with what is being said across the board or just not what others want to hear then I am being difficult and bringing negativity. It can never just be that I have a voice of my own that just doesn’t agree with yours. It can never just be that my opinion is respected and left at that. But if I stopped to care, or broke down over, every single person that found fault in me for one reason or another, then I would never make it down this path towards my goals that I am on.

Everyone is not going to agree with you, like you, love you, or even respect you. But what matters is how you feel about yourself and how you represent yourself to others. I’m a person that’s not going to cave just because you want me to. If I feel a certain way then that’s just how I feel and if that in someone else’s eyes makes me problematic or negative then I can’t change the opinion that they may have. I for one think that it means that I don’t waver on what I stand for, I don’t bend to everyone’s will, and I most certainly don’t follow with the rest of the crowd.

I am my own person, I have my own voice, and because of that I will get to my destination because I won’t be caught up with trying to please the general public. You just can’t please everyone. But it’s a good thing that the only thing that I am here for is to serve the purpose that God has for me and to reach the destination that he has already pre-destined for me. I’m going to get to where I am going and those who are my true supporters, who truly are for me and not against me, will still be there while everyone else falls by the waste-side. So today I hope you are not neglecting you own voice to satisfy others and I hope that you don’t forget just how important your voice is, even if it does stand out from everyone else’s. Stay blessed and stay true to what you have to say!

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

Showing Up Can Be the Difference from Standing Still and Moving Forward

March 25, 2014 jcladyluv

The most important thing you can do as a writer, as an artist, or just as an entrepreneur in general is show up. Speaking from the standpoint of a writer who has made this her business, just sitting down in preparation to write something or promote what it is you are working on is showing up and is in some way (even if it’s in baby steps) moving your business and career forward.

I’m hard on myself sometimes, for essentially no reason, because I may sit down and the words may not even come for me to put together a blog post (as in yesterday) and I may not write (or type) one single word on the current project I may be working on but completely look over the fact that I did some social media promotion (as much as I can do anyway) or that I read my book or a writing magazine to fuel my creativity. I somehow discount those things when I should be celebrating those things for what they are which is progress.

Progress may not happen all at once like we so often want it to but typically the things that we want most, that matter the most, are not going to be easy to come by and they most certainly are not going to come all at once. Progress, in any form, no matter how little, should be acknowledged. I wrote a post a while ago about the fact that I felt like I was slacking in my reading and as most of you writers know, reading is a huge part of writing. I felt like I wasn’t measuring up in that department and I wasn’t being fueled creatively in that area.

Since then I have made time, in fact, I have gone so far as to include reading on my to do list for the day because I realized that if I didn’t put it on my list I might never get to it. I’ve not only been reading my fiction book that I am nearing the end of but I even have been reading some things on my craft. Just that little bit of progress has made me open up a little more in my creativity and I’m not going to discount that because it wasn’t actual writing that was being done.

I say all of this to say, celebrate the progress that you make in your daily endeavors and not just the big moments but the little ones as well. Don’t count out the baby steps that you are making. They may feel like you’ve only moved an inch closer to your goals, but keep in mind that it was an inch of ground that you hadn’t covered the day before. So stay persistent and keep making progress. You will get there and it may be in slower fashion than you would like it to be but if you remember, slow and steady wins the race. Be blessed and keep moving forward!

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

Tooting My Own Horn!

March 21, 2014 jcladyluv

It’s Friday and as I get prepared to work on quite a few of my projects this weekend as I know a lot of you are as well, I did not want to go into the weekend without updating and promoting some things within Write 2 Be Media and without extending an All Call to all the writers and artists out there who read my blog. As someone who is constantly working on trying to become a better marketer of my business and my brand it is important for me to have days where the focus is on the sole aspect of marketing and not so much the creativity of writing.

Upcoming Releases

Of course some things that I have mentioned before and that I am still in steady progress of, my ebook series, which is tentatively called “For the Crazy Makers, focusing on motivating and inspiring writers and artists who constantly struggle with their own fear and insecurities which holds them back from following through with their creative goals. The first book in this ebook series is set to be released this Spring and details on how to get a copy will follow soon. I also have at least two novel releases that are due out later this year, one being the re-release of my first novel, The Diary: Succession of Lies. The other novel, titled When Love Calls, will be released soon after.

How Write 2 Be Media Can Help You?

If you have recently finished your novel and are looking for an editor? If you are in the editing phase and you’re not sure how to go about getting the promotion started? If you have a blog that you just don’t have the time to maintain or promote? If you have just launched your business and have yet to create a solid social media marketing platform in order to get noticed?

Write 2 Be Media can help you with those things and much more. To read more about our services just click the “Hire Me” tab to your right or email me at jcladyluv@yahoo.com.

The Magazine

Write 2 Be Magazine is a magazine is back as of last month and I will be publishing it every month. You can go check out the latest issue of Write 2 Be Magazine and follow the magazine by clicking on this link or finding the link to the magazine to the right of your screen. You can also check out and like the Write 2 Be Magazine fan page for updates on what’s coming soon for the Magazine.

Now here is where the all call comes in. Of course a lot of you that read my blog are writers, artists, or photographers. Well Write 2 Be Magazine is looking for more writers and photographers and artists work to be able to showcase. We are also looking for authors who would like to be interviewed as well because as I stated in a previous post this week, I love author interviews and I especially love being the one who does them. So if you have poetry, short stories, articles, artwork and photographs that you want to display, please feel free to email write2bemagazine@yahoo.com or leave a comment below to inquire more. If you are an author who would like to do an email interview with me please email me at jcladyluv@yahoo.com. Also for anyone who goes and like the Write 2 Be Magazine fan page once you have liked the page you are more than welcome to promote your books, or projects on the page for free. I look forward to hearing from you and would love to see what some of you are working on!

Promoting Others

I would also like to take this time 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 promote Next Up Media Consulting, Inc. Founder and CEO Jocelynn Drawhorn, also a freelance photographer and the social media coordinator of WEEN (the Women in Entertainment Empowerment Network), launched this company with the intention and purpose of helping to shape the innovative brands of the future. Next Up Media Consulting, Inc. provides services such as copywriting, resume, and interview services. Contact them today for a consultation!

I hope all of you out there are working hard on your projects and that they are moving forward. 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

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