Writing is something that’s always come naturally to me. In fifth grade I remember writing a 7 page story about a boy who made up new words. Throughout middle and high school I wrote a lot of poetry instead of stories. In college, I started writing and didn’t stop until I ended up with a romance novel. Ideas would pour into my mind and reflect as a timeline on my paper. Writing is personal and vulnerable, as with all forms of art but, my stories, poems, and words in general were relatable and I wanted people to be able to read them and know that someone else understands. I had no idea how to land a publishing deal and this month I learned that I don’t have to. Learning about the independent publishing and distribution segment has revived my faith in writing. The first place I plan to exercise my literal skills right here, on my blog. Once my imagination is properly stretched from writing these blog posts, I’m going to start writing the first book I wanted to write but didn’t know how.
Organizing an Outline- Dan Gookin
Over the past 12 months almost every instructor I had the pleasure of knowing has a book they’ve written or helped write. My first thought is always, “How do you organize your thoughts?!”; My biggest fear is confusing the reader. Have you ever read a post online that made no sense and your brain kind of malfunctions trying to make sense of it? Yeeaaaah, I want my readers to feel the exact opposite. In my natural fashion, instead of asking how this was done, I researched it. My research led me to the most helpful LinkedIn Learning Video about organizing an outline using Google Docs free software! I’m not only equipped with how to organize my thoughts but also with the software that can help me keep track of them. Furthermore, Google Docs is accessible from any device so any thoughts or ideas that formulate can be implemented immediately.
In May, my kids brought me home flowers that they planted in school. What kind of plant they were growing was unknown to me and of course, I didn’t care. My only mission was to help the little plants thrive. In order for that to happen, I put them in a windowsill with the best light. Fast-forward a month or two- the stems has thickened and the flowers were budding. My mom forgot they were there when letting the blinds down one day and the plants snapped in half. In a hurried frenzy, I grabbed a bottle of water and put the broken off plants in. My hope was that they would survive long enough to bloom so I could find the type of flower and replace it before my kids noticed. Unbeknownst to me, they would do much more than bloom. They grew roots! Amazed at the white, stringy growth dangling from the bottom of my plants’ stems, my curiosity grew hungry and wanted to learn more about this magical process taking place. The first place I started was…. well, ya know, Google. Google led me to Gardening for Dummies and laugh all you want but, this book was free on Audible and I found a free PDF version which I think is spectacular of the publishers. In modern AI fashion, my phone took note of the fact that I was Googling plants and I came across an ad for Picture This. When looking it up on the App Store, it was pretty popular and I highly recommend it. Since then, I’ve propagated flowers, vegetables, and vines. My most successful propagation thus far is from the flowers my children brought me home for Mother’s Day. It turns out, they’re Zinnias and instead of two, I now have 9.
SPre is me 