Insecure Writers Support Group: Is Blogging a Chore or a Joy? #IWSGbloghop

 

Insecure Writers Support Group Blog Hop

#IWSGbloghop

What is the Insecure Writer's Support Group?

Founded by author Alex J. Cavanaugh, the Insecure Writer’s Support Group offers support for writers and authors alike. It provides an online database, articles and tips, a monthly blog posting, a Facebook and Instagram group, Twitter, and a monthly newsletter. 

To find out more, click this link:  Insecure Writer’s Support Group

The purpose of the group is 

* to share and encourage. 

* Writers can express doubts and concerns 

without fear of appearing foolish or weak. 

* Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. 

*It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds! 

You're invited to become a member of this supportive group. 

Click here to sign-up and/or to visit the bloggers this week.

Happy IWSG Day!

Happy April!

Our awesome co-hosts for the April 3 posting of the IWSG are Janet Alcorn, T. Powell Coltrin, Natalie Aguirre, and Pat Garcia

April 3 question - 

How long have you been blogging? (Or on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram?) What do you like about it and how has it changed?

I believe I started seriously blogging in 2011. I tried Word Press and gave up. Too complicated for me. Then I tried Blogger. I discovered I could get the gist of Blogger a lot better than WP. Perhaps it was because of my attempt to master WP that opened the door to understanding how to use Blogger.

Oddly, today's question is about blogging. I just saw an announcement from an author friend who is giving up blogging. She titled the article "MY FINAL  Blog Post." Wow. I felt a bit of grief when I realized I would not have a window open into her world anymore. 

I must admit I have thought about giving up blogging. But for some reason, I feel such an attachment to JQRose.com, I can’t imagine dropping it completely…yet. I have started writing an article every week at Substack.com, so this could take the place of my blog. Hopefully, my readers would follow me to Substack. But who knows how long I’ll keep writing there??? And a newsletter? I won’t be sad to see it go. Do you notice how insecure I am in making the decision to drop blogging or not?

My blog is my "home" on the web. I am comfortable here. Everything is on this blog--my books, my media kit, my series through the years, my history, interviews with guest authors, and the IWSG blog hop and friends I can keep in touch with every first Wednesday of the month. Gosh, I'm getting misty-eyed just thinking about it.

Do you have a warm, fuzzy feeling for your blog? Or has it become a chore? Please leave your thoughts in a comment below. Thank you!

💮💮💮💮

Updates

💮💮💮💮

Recipes 'n Reads Series
Guest author Helen Henderson

*Please stop in on Wednesday, April 17, when author Helen Henderson will share her favorite recipe and her latest book release.

     *WIP--I am working on a journal for Mother's Day sales. I know, I know. It's pretty late to be ready for 2024 sales, but I'll have it ready for 2025!! 

Click here to visit more Insecure Writers Support Group  

members participating in this month's IWSG Blog Hop! 

Scroll down the page to find the bloggers' sites.

Click here to link to my new Substack page. It's FREE. My Substack title, Picking Noses, is all about keeping your Easter lily looking fresh. Click the link to find out, especially if you have an Easter lily at your house or office.

Click here to be notified when a new article is posted on the J.Q. Rose blog.

Click here to follow me on Facebook at J.Q. Rose, Author.

Thank you for stopping by today! And for clicking around this post!

Author Toolbox Blog Hop: Soundcloud to Record Your Blog, #AuthorToolboxBlogHop

 

#AuthorToolboxBlogHop

Hello and welcome to the Focused on Story Blog and to the Author Toolbox Blog Hop #AuthorToolboxBlogHop which meets every third Wednesday of the month to share resources and tips for authors. Thanks to Raimey Gallant for hosting this venture. 

Please join us to learn more about the craft of writing and to meet bloggers who are dedicated to helping each other become the best writers possible. Click here to visit other blog hop participants.

Use Soundcloud to Record Your Blog Posts

All the blogging experts agree video is the "in" thing to have on your blog to keep viewers on your page. Podcasts are certainly popular too. Part of the reason is people need a break from screen time. Another reason is a lot of time is spent waiting for the kids while they practice soccer, football, sports. How about those long lines waiting to vote??? Don't forget all the lengthy times you have been in the doctor/dentist's office and twiddled your thumbs while stuck in traffic. Entertaining podcasts make the time pass more quickly while waiting.

Today you can add a tool to your toolbox for recording your blog and sharing it. You don't even have to be a podcaster to do it. This may help garner more eyes (or ears in this case) on your blog posts. (Podcasters use this tool too.)

I experimented using Soundcloud to record my blog. The blog is written on the page with photos and links as usual, but before the actual post, I share a link to the recorded blog post for those who prefer to listen to it perhaps due to sight problems or, again, they are waiting in their car for their kids, etc.

Click the link below to listen to a recording of one of my blogs.

Pink Flamingo Day Blog Post Recording

Flamingos on the first book cover of Sunshine Boulevard, a novella

The recording is about a rarely celebrated holiday, Pink Flamingo Day. You'll discover how it came about and why I love flamingos in this 3-minute recording made with Soundcloud.

Click here to listen. 

Check out Youtube for several videos on how to make your recordings. You can also use these in emails, newsletters and social media. There is a learning curve, but it's worth it especially if you don't want to appear on camera. 

Click here to check out this video about how to record using Soundcloud.

Conclusion: I did several recordings of my blog posts with spotty results. One received 25 views, while others only 3 or less! It's all about content, just like everything else. If you have the content and keywords to make readers aware of your blog, then you will have success.

I confess recording is time-consuming. I have not used Soundcloud for a few years, yes, years, but after writing this post, I am inspired to try it again....once I get a couple of projects out of the way.

Terror on Sunshine Boulevard

Rescuing a naked woman lying in a geranium bed?
Investigating mysterious murders?
These are not the usual calls in a Florida retirement community for volunteer first responder Jim Hart.

NO alligators! (Listen to the recording to find out about this comment. LOL)

BWL Publishing released Sunshine Boulevard, but it was a revised and expanded edition. Cover artist Michele Lee came up with a book cover that portrays the terror and mystery in the new novel, Terror on  Sunshine Boulevard, a scary read for Halloween.

Click here to download this scary read, perfect for this month, at your favorite digital bookseller.

Do you listen to podcasts? Want to share your favorites? Do you record your blog or have you ever thought of doing so? Please leave a comment. I look forward to reading your answers.

Thanks for visiting.  Click here to visit other blog hop participants.

Pointers on Writing a Blog by J.Q. Rose Updated, Facebook Live Videos

Blogging
Courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net
Photo by Stuart Miles

I love blogging and enjoy penning blog posts. Besides writing, I enjoy reading blogs. 
I can see that scowl of disbelief forming on your face. But, yes. I DO love sharing information, inspiration, and fun with readers. 

Most of all, I like receiving comments. Writing is an isolating job, so when blog readers actually respond with a comment, I feel more connected to the world. Thank you to all who take time to say hi, leave a thought about the content of the blog, or ask a question. I know you have lots of other things to do, so I appreciate the time you spend here on the blog.

Reading blogs is one of my satisfying "hobbies." I don't do it and leave a comment strictly for marketing purposes. I love meeting new folks and keeping in touch with friends. Blogging is the vehicle that allows me to do that.

TIP:  By the way, when you do leave a comment on a blog, please leave a way for the blogger to return your visit. Here's the secret formula, well maybe not so secret anymore, for constructing the HTML link to your blog so a blogger can click on the link and be taken right to your site!

You MUST copy this exactly, especially being careful not to add or delete a space in any of it, in order to make a correct link. 

<a href=http://yoursite.com>yoursitename</a>

Replace the bold sections with your information. 

Then go to your blog and in your own comment section, c/p the link and submit. You will see immediately if you have the link correct because only yoursitename will show up.--no symbols or letters. Good luck! It may take you a few tries.

Updated--Pointers on Writing a Blog by J.Q. Rose
originally published on this blog in October 2015

In my marketing research, my experience,  and reading blogs, I've picked up a few pointers I thought I'd share with you. I hope you find them helpful. Please add to the list so we can all learn more.

• When I come across information or have an idea for a blog post, I go immediately to my blog page and click new post. I make a few notes, copy the URL of an article that got my attention, and type in a working title. These ideas already collected in my behind-the-scenes unpublished blog posts give me a bit of peace when I'm struggling to think of a post. 
• Choose a day each week that you can commit to posting up your blog. Keep it like you do for a dental appointment or your kid's soccer practice. Your appointment with yourself to write your blog should be on your calendar every week or more often if you wish.. 
• All the blog gurus encourage us to have a photo of ourselves on the top of the page. The purpose of a blog is to connect with readers, so having a picture helps them to do that. Not an avatar but a real-life photo of you.
• Images help attract and keep readers. Take your own photos or look them up online. WARNING: Please be sure you can legally use the photos on your blog. Sites for finding images are freedigitalphotos.net (my favorite as you can probably tell,} pixabay.com, presentermedia.com, and makerbook.net. Leave a comment to let us know your favorite sites for images.
• Video is coming to the front as a real draw to attract readers and keep them on the site. You can make your own video from your laptop, phone, camera, record it on YouTube, Hangouts, and PowerPoint programs. 
• LIVE video is all the rage and it's fun. On FB Live, visitors can leave comments and you can interact with them in real time. Or if they have a question, they can ask and you can return to your video post and answer questions later. You can also post the Facebook video on Youtube to increase viewership and share it on all your social media. Watch my FB Live video below--Writing Tip: Focus on the Holidays 
• Make attractive, eye-catching graphics with quotes or poems quickly with Quotes Cover and  Quozio. Canva is another choice for making lots of kinds of graphics, but it takes a bit of experimenting and practice to get a decent product.

Quote image made using canva.com

TIP: When adding an image to your blog, be sure to add a caption. Phones and tablets don't always show the images, but they will display the caption to let readers know what the picture is. 

• When offering a link to a page, don't use" click here." Instead, write out the name of the URL link so the reader knows what page they will be jumping to. Be sure to set your blog to allow a new pop-up box for the link the reader is going to instead of leaving your blog completely.
• At the end of your post, ask the reader to subscribe to your page. Direct her to the location on your page so she can easily find and add her email.  The Follow by Email should be above the fold so the reader sees it right away.

Jeni Elliott, the Blog Maven, suggests bloggers not include their social media links on their website because clicking on the page will direct the reader away from the blog. What do you think of that idea? You can read more about it and other tips in her FREE guide, Five Things You Can Do to Increase Subscribers. She offers lots of resources for bloggers on her site.

# # #

FB Live Video--Writing Tip: Focus on the Holidays

VIDEO--Writing Tip: Focus on the Holidays by J.Q. Rose

If you have time, click here to watch more of my videos at the J.Q. Rose, Author Facebook 
Page including "How NOT to Make a FB Live Video." Warning! I'm just learning and experimenting with this new way of connecting with folks.

***

Thanks for spending time at the J.Q. Rose blog. Do you enjoy reading articles like this one with helpful tips and information for writers/bloggers? Do you have some suggestions for topics for this blog?

And just as I schooled you, please enter your email address in the Follow by Email box in the sidebar so you'll be notified of new posts on the J.Q. Rose blog. I promise, NO SPAM. Thank you!

Blogging from A to Z Challenge: Words That Make Sounds

Hello and welcome to, sadly, the last blog post in the Blogging from A to Z Blogging Challenge. What? I feel like a little kid who'd respond with "Say it ain't so." Alas, the feeling is bittersweet knowing it's the final post in 2018 for this fun, but daunting challenge. 

I shared my favorite and fascinating words using the letters of the alphabet as the prompts. Yes, I'm a Word Nerd and proud of it. I could only choose 26 because that's all the letters in our English alphabet.

 I learned on Sandy Carlson's blog there is no W in the Spanish alphabet. In fact, I learned a lot of interesting bits this month when visiting fellow bloggers. And I met many talented, creative folks too.

So, ta-dah! Drum Roll Please---Here is the final blog post, and it has to be a Z word. Read on to find out what it is. Thank you.

~zizz~

verb

1.    a whizzing or buzzing sound.

"there's a nasty zizz from the engine"

 2.

BRITISH

a short sleep.

"Philip's having a zizz"

Google dictionary

Thanks to Blogger/Author Chrys Fey for sharing this Z word on her blog. In fact, she has a whole list of Z words. Click here in case you’re stumped on the letter Z for your blog post.

When writing a story/novel/poem, a story is much richer if you include the five senses in the writing—see, hear, taste, touch, smell. Hearing is a difficult sense to convey through writing. So I love to use words that make a sound when you read them e.g. sizzle, rattle, buzz, jingle. 

Zizz is a word that makes a noise. Say it out loud. It’s even more effective when the z sounds are released through your teeth into the air. Try it.

A man napping

The definition for a short sleep reminds me of cartoons with a bubble over the character's head, and all it has in it is “ZZZZZ", so we know the fellow is sound asleep. 

What words can you think of that make a sound? Share them in the comment section below. Thank you.

Click here for the MASTER LIST

of all participants who signed up

for the #AtoZchallenge 2018.

# # # 

Coming up in May on the Focused on Story Blog.

Wednesday, May 2--Insecure Writers Support Blog Hop Click here for more information about the IWSG. You can join us and be part of the blogging phenomenon! Hundreds of insecure writers supporting each other.

Wednesday, May 9--Reflections on the A to Z Challenge and Book Hooks

The 5 W's Guest Author Event continues!

The Five W's Event Returns with Guest Authors and prizes. Meet new-to-you authors and favorite authors and discover great reads!

May 16--Ellen Jacobsen, the Cynical Sailor

May 30--Helena Fairfax

# # #

Terror on Sunshine Boulevard book cover selected for Cover Wars.

I'm thrilled to announce my mystery, Terror on Sunshine Boulevard, is battling in Author Shout's Cover Wars this week. If you have time, take a peek at the competition and vote for Terror on Sunshine Boulevard if you like it the best. Thanks to cover artist, Michelle Lee, for her eye-popping book cover! Click here to vote. Voting all week through Saturday. Thank you.

# # #

It's been my pleasure to share words with you this month. Thank you for visiting!

Be sure to return every Wednesday for more fun, discussions, and information.

Blogging from A to Z Challenge: Yams vs Sweet Potatoes

Hello and welcome to the Focused on Story Blog by J.Q. Rose. Are you a word lover? Then you're at the right place. All this month I'll be revealing words that fascinate me during the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. 

~yam~

: the edible starchy tuberous root of various plants (genus Dioscorea of the family Dioscoreaceae) used as a staple food in tropical areas; also : a plant producing yams

a moist usually orange-fleshed sweet potato, Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Yams vs. Sweet Potatoes

Yams are yummy. Sorry, I just had to get those Y’s in there because this IS Y Day. And I’m getting a bit punchy as we near the end of this daily April blogging challenge.

I bet what you think of as a yam is actually a sweet potato. So here’s the “dish” on the difference between a yam and a sweet potato.

According to the North Carolina Sweet Potatoes site (NCSP): “That sweet, orange-colored root vegetable that you love so dearly is actually a sweet potato. Yes, all so-called “yams” are in fact sweet potatoes. Most people think that long, red-skinned sweet potatoes are yams, but they really are just one of many varieties of sweet potatoes.” 

Sweet potatoes
Photo courtesy of pixabay

So why all the confusion? According to NCSP, “A true yam is a starchy edible root of the Dioscorea genus, and is generally imported to America from the Caribbean. It is rough and scaly and very low in beta-carotene.

Depending on the variety, sweet potato flesh can vary from white to orange and even purple. The orange-fleshed variety was introduced to the United States several decades ago. In order to distinguish it from the white variety everyone was accustomed to, producers and shippers chose the English form of the African word “nyami” and labeled them “yams.”

So when you gather round the table for a delicious ham and yam dinner, you can educate your family/friends, they are most probably eating sweet potatoes topped off with butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon, not yams!

If you’d like more recipes, visit the NCSP site for “52 Ways to Enjoy Sweet Potatoes.”

Do you like sweet potatoes? I really like sweet potato wedges, tossed in Virgin Olive Oil, seasoned with salt and pepper, and baked in the oven at 375 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes. Place the wedges on a foil-lined baking sheet for easy clean up. Enjoy!

Click here for the MASTER LIST

of all participants who signed up

for the #AtoZchallenge 2018.

Blogging from A to Z Challenge: Do You Have a Contact Page?

Hello and welcome to the A to Z Blogging Challenge! Letter X came up so quickly. The month has flown by. I hope you have enjoyed all the words I have shared to entertain the Word Nerds. The X word is a brand new word to me. Read more below.

~xenogogy~

A map or guidebook, The Grandiloquent Dictionary – X

About the Grandiloquent Dictionary from its creator, Dr. Christopher Bird: “This is the result of an ongoing project to collect and distribute the most obscure and rare words in the English language. It also contains a few words which do not have equivalent words in English. At present, the dictionary contains approximately 2700 words, though it is constantly growing." 

Dr. Bird is correct about including obscure and rare words in his dictionary. When I googled the word, xenogogy, no dictionary definitions popped up except for this one.

So where did I discover this unusual word?. Morgan at Once Upon a Time blog left a comment on my blog on Day C. So I perused her site finding out she is a gal who loves traveling. On her page including her 39 List (of things she wants to accomplish before she turns 40) I found under # 27 her goal to write a "Xenogogy -- about all my adventures and places we go."  Click here to visit Morgan at Once Upon A Time. 

Thank you, Morgan, for my X Word!!l

One of the best perks of participating in the A to Z Challenge is meeting new bloggers and discovering creative, intelligent, thoughtful folks. I love investigating their blogs.

I would like to nudge bloggers to include a Contact Page so we who visit can drop them a line. Many years ago, I had someone tell me that when I was beginning my blog, and I'm glad she did.

Do you have a Contact Page and/or a Media Page or an About Me page with your bio, links, and a way to contact you e.g. email, Facebook, Twitter, etc? I encourage you to make one now. 

P.S.--If you leave a comment, please leave your link to your blog so I can return the visit. I don't think of it as self-promotion, but rather as being neighborly. And now you know how much I love visiting bloggers. Thank you.

Click here for the MASTER LIST

of all participants who signed up

for the #AtoZchallenge 2018.

Blogging from A to Z Challenge: Do You Love Ghost Stories?

Hello and welcome to the Focused on Story Blog. Today the letter prompt is W. Thank you to Jeremy (Retro) for designing these eye-catching badges for the Blogging from A to Z April 2018 Challenge, a special one designed for each letter of the alphabet. 

~wraith~

noun

   a ghost or ghostlike image of someone, especially one seen shortly before or after their death.

synonyms:

ghost, specter, spirit, phantom, apparition, manifestation;

o    used in similes and metaphors to describe a pale, thin, or insubstantial person or thing.

"heart attacks had reduced his mother to a wraith"

o    literary

a wisp or faint trace of something.

"a sea breeze was sending a gray wraith of smoke up the slopes"--Oxford Dictionary

I love ghost stories, reading and writing them. Maybe it’s because when I was a kid my favorite cartoon was Casper the Friendly Ghost. Emphasis on friendly. I’m not into horror stories of ghosts and demonic spirits creating havoc for a person. 

Remember the TV show The Ghost and Mrs. Muir?

VIDEO--You Tube The Ghost and Mrs. Muir Season 1 Episode 1

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir 

Now this ghost story is the kind I like.

How about that crazy movie, Ghostbusters? And one of my all-time favorites, Emmy award-winning Ghost with Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze?

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Marie Laval’s Little Pink Taxi and the ghosts in that novel.  And if you'd like to read a series of ghost stories, check out Jo-Ann Carson’s, The Gambling Ghosts and The Ghost & Abby Mysteries.

I love stories with ghosts in them so much that I wrote a romantic suspense novel, 

Deadly Undertaking. The setting is in a funeral home—the perfect place for a ghost or what I refer to as a shadow man. Henry was a fun character to write. He's a friendly ghost that is full of mischief, but also very caring. 

Deadly Undertaking by J.Q. Rose
A handsome detective,
a shadow man, and a murder victim
kill Lauren's plan for a simple life.

Why is Henry haunting the funeral home? Is he the key to answer why a murdered man was left in the garage of the funeral home and hidden between the funeral coach and flower car? I mean, everyone expects bodies to be at a funeral home, but really!

Do you love ghost stories too? Please leave a comment below and tell us your favorite.

Thank you for visiting. Leave a link to your blog so I can return the visit.

Click here for the MASTER LIST

of all participants who signed up

for the #AtoZchallenge 2018.

Blogging from A to Z Challenge: Loving Unconditionally

Hello and welcome to the Focused on Story Blog by J.Q. Rose. 

Are you a word lover? If so, you're here at the right place. All this month I'll be revealing words that fascinate me using the letters of the alphabet for prompts. Join in and leave your favorite, fascinating words in a comment below. Thank you. 

~unconditional~

adjective

 not limited by conditions; absolute :

an unconditional promise.

 Mathematics. absolute,

Dictionary.com

Absolute defines my idea of unconditional

adjective

free from imperfection; complete; perfect:

absolute liberty..

not mixed or adulterated; pure:

absolute alcohol.

complete; outright:

an absolute lie; an absolute denial.

free from restriction or limitation; not limited in any way:

absolute command; absolute freedom.

unrestrained or unlimited by a constitution, counterbalancing group, etc., in the exercise of governmental power, especially when arbitrary or despotic:

an absolute monarch.

viewed independently; not comparative or relative; ultimate; intrinsic:

absolute knowledge.

positive; certain:

absolute in opinion; absolute evidence.

Dictionary.com

Unconditional is used in so many instances, but it always means unlimited. When I first thought of using this word, I thought about the unconditional love a parent has for a child. No matter what that child has done—lied, stolen, cheated, or perhaps even murdered, the parents will still love that child. That doesn’t mean a parent affirms the child’s actions, but the mother and father will always carry their child in their hearts and look out for the welfare of the child.

Much like the love of God is unconditional, it is difficult to comprehend unconditional love. Like one minister always said, "God loves you and there's nothing you can do about it."

"Unconditional Love is not the case of being blinded by love but rather the resolution that nothing is more important than love." 

– Talidari

According to an article at WikiHow, “Unconditional love is the action, the choice to strive for the well-being of another. The feeling you derive from acting with love is your reward, the return you “get” from your own action.”

Click here for the entire article on unconditional love.

Do you love someone unconditionally? Books and stories often include a hero/heroine who loves someone unconditionally. Can you think of one? Leave your comment below. I'd love to read your suggestions. Leave your blog address so I can visit your A to Z posts. Thanks.

Click here to connect online with J. Q. at Facebook. Like my page and I'll be happy to like you back. Thank you.

Click here for the MASTER LIST

of all participants who signed up

for the #AtoZchallenge 2018.