Mindfulness means "maintaining a moment-by-moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and surrounding environment, through a gentle, nurturing lens," according to Berkley University.

It's a fantastic tool to have up your sleeve when you're working on improving your mental wellbeing. However, we all have heard how detrimental social media - and Facebook in particular - can be, harmful for minds young and old alike, so I am examining today how mindfulness can help us improve our relationship with these modern platforms. 

How To Use Facebook Mindfully: Examining 6 Top Reasons People Love That Platform!

1. It's great for reminding you of birthdays. An 'on-the-day' reminder may be too late to post a gift, but at least you can drop them a message. How can you be mindful about this? You could set aside some time to write the birthday boy/girl a proper message, or give them a call. From another angle you could look ahead for the month and remember who is coming up with celebration days. How do you feel about that? Would you like to do more for them than sending them a quick meme?

2. Attention seekers - a perfect tool for them!
Posting what you had for lunch, a post-workout selfie, updating the world with photos of the slow growing cactus in your greenhouse... The people who incessantly share mundane moments in their life are looking for validation and don't have much in the 'real' life to entertain themselves, IMO! Yes, share your life and connect with others, but we don't all need to know all the things. Tackling this mindfully could be to unfollow friends who post mindless crap - they won't know you've done so - and be aware of what you're posting yourself. Ask yourself why you're posting this. Should you be connecting directly with someone specific, or actually talking about what the reader may see between the lines? Don't feel like you should  comment on everything, especially inflammatory posts. 

3. "I like to stalk people."
Perusing other people's profiles obsessively can be just that: An obsession. Be it a crush, an ex, a role model, a celebrity... Perhaps more of us have done this that would possibly admit... Sure, no one will know you're looking at their profile, but isn't that a little sinister? Facebook has a specific FAQ on their help centre which addresses this, so it is VERY common.

If you're worried you may be bordering on unhealthy levels of social stalking, a way to tackle this mindfully can be to set yourself a time limit, or set yourself boundaries as to who you allow yourself to browse and scroll through. Also, make a point of registering how you feel when you observe what these people post - if it makes you feel negatively, there's your sign. Perhaps it's time to let go of the hold that ex-boyfriend has on you.

4. Facebook can help while away boring moments in your day. 
But these moments should be just that - moments. Small sections of time when life is quiet, paused - my favourite example of this is when I'm at the bus stop. It's rare, so it's not a great example, but that situation is when I find myself reaching for my phone for entertainment, without fail. In general though, life is too short and too interesting to be scrolling through masses of cat videos and family photo albums by people you wouldn't go for a coffee with. 

5. "It is an essential tool for my work."
This resonates with me more than any of the other five reasons. I believe if I didn't get 90% of my cake orders through Facebook I would use it much less. It's a great source of exposure for my little local business, and such an easy way to engage with customers. I take an approach which has a formula for my business postings - albeit a very simple one - in regard to content, but it seems to work, and keeps me focussed on why I am posting at all. I also try to keep a strict limit on how much time I spend on this. 

6. It's a great way to follow a cause or charity. 
These organisations love their followers, but you're only useful to them if you like and share. And ultimately donate, in most cases. So why not be a little mindful of your causes following and only really follow and engage with the ones you really care about? Go one step further and volunteer!

How have I stepped away from Facebook myself?
I'm not here to prescribe anything or to tell you what to do, this is purely me sharing what has worked for me. 

  - I've turned off my Facebook mobile notifications - I only see I have notifications when I actively log on. 
  - I installed a phone activity tracker for a week to see how many times I checked for messages. It was
    shocking. I have since turned off notifications for Whatsapp and Instagram too. It is me who decides when I look at
    my phone, not a pinging sound. 
  - I often take a break from Facebook - mostly when I go on holiday. I want to be present for me, for my family, to get
​    the most out of the precious times we have together. This also works at the end of the day - I don't touch social
    media after around 8pm to help clear my mind before bed. 
  - This isn't a Facebook thing, but a wider social media point - I've really stepped back from Twitter now, with my
    business hat on. I researched where my orders come from and the engagements through tweets were not fruitful
    enough. I now focus more in Instagram and Facebook. I dip in and out of Twitter still, but only when there's
    something specific happening, like #collabhour or a national food day (e.g. Chocolate Cake Day - Jan 27th - when I
    share my chocolate creations). 
  - I only share what truly amuses or informs me, something I really care about and I've enjoyed
    reading/watching and think my friends may gain something from it. Otherwise, what is the point?
  - I've had a 'friend purge', cutting right back to people I'd actually care to see updates from. This knocked out some
    old school friends I realistically know nothing about aside from what they've posted recently, and businesses who
    have their own profiles and are based far from where I live now we've moved. 

Facebook will always throw in a curveball, the odd advert/possible connection/news article/blog post/friend update to tempt you to buy or view elsewhere or connect with someone you don't really know; that's their business. You can control what you see, to a degree, (especially by having a purge, like above) even though the algorithms have massive control.

Being 'present' and aware of your activities and emotions helps. Try not to mindlessly scroll, but actively look for people/things which interest you. Facebook is the biggest social network in the world, but you don't want or need to know about it all. 

In summary, and as Parentology says, too much Facebook is bad for your health. Actually, the Guardian suggests that a 'Facebook holiday' -  taking a break from it - can be very beneficial, especially for heavy users or 'lurkers'. Yes, it's addictive, but maybe turn those notifications off for a while to resist temptation. But when you do log in, try to be mindful about how you're using the app, for your own wellbeing's sake. 

Let me know what you think - am I talking sense? Anyone have any more tips?

Lou x

Find me on Facebook
...and on Twitter
Born to be a Tourist

To say ‘so shoot me’ seems a little inappropriate, but that’s how I felt this weekend when a friend of mine (let’s call her ‘L’) told me she’d been told by a ‘mate’ that her inaction on changing her Facebook profile picture to a French flag was ‘offensive’.
 
I too haven’t changed my Facebook profile picture to the watermarked French flag. 
 
The reasons I haven’t changed my picture to the red, white and blue in support of Paris and the French after the atrocities, sadness and horror over the last few days is because I refuse to be a part of a minute symbol going viral over social media. Of course I feel angry, scared, horrified, sad following the events of the Paris attack, but I refuse to jump on the band wagon here. Many won’t know Beirut (Yemen) and Baghdad (Iraq) also suffered Isis attacks in the same 24 hours. Where are those two flags on Facebook?
 
There’s been 289 terror attacks so far in 2015. Given 16th November is the 320th day in the year, that’s pretty astounding.Sure, some of them happen on the same day, but that’s still not far off one a day in the world.
 
Where are the Facebook flags for the other countries hit by similar horrors?
 
My point is, as you can hopefully gather, that similar events of terror happen around the world almost every day, yet why do we give special attention to the Paris attack? Yes, France is our next door neighbour. Yes, the attacks are creeping into western nations, not just restricted to ‘dangerous lands’, but this has been happening for decades now, I think it’s fair to say. My awareness of terrorism started on September 11th 2001, news coming in from New York city and Washington.
 
But why the media storm and public support for this one? Perhaps it’s because of the British links. We’re more than just neighbours, with 0.8% of the Parisen population being British (17,500 people). There’s been no census taken in Lebanon (capital being Beirut) since 1932, so this kind of data is just not available, but my assumption would be there’s far fewer British people living there. Same goes for Baghdad – I can only find stats for British Iraqis living here, or troops in Baghdad, but no population numbers of British people living there.
 
Maybe that’s the secret: France features strongly on our radar for jobs, second homes, holidays, politics.... From an early age we’re aware of France. History education when I was at school focused strongly on the Allies in the two world wars and the royal family tree, with French ancestry. My school also taught French to all students from the age of 11-16. And how many British people haven’t visited France? Myself, I’ve been to Nantes (French exchange at school), skirted in and around Calais and the surrounding villages (booze cruise), I’ve spent at least three family holidays in and around Frejus, I’ve driven through it on a road trip to Rome, and spent a weekend in Paris with a friend. There’s probably more occasions, but memory fails.
 
Should the fact France is our close neighbour be the reason why we bowed our heads this morning, and leave other nations, like Iraq and Yemen, ignored? The close relationship link does make sense why we may be more supportive to the French, but then why would USA-owned and Latin America dominated Facebook choose France to support so openly over all the nations under the force of terror? No one created a widget for the Yemen flag this week.
 
The two minutes silence today held across Europe was, of course, respectful and supportive. After all, why shouldn’t we show our respect for those who died and support for those who live on? We did the same for the Charlie Hebdo terror attack in Paris in January.  
 
Perhaps it’s the sheer numbers of casualties involved that we feel so connected and shocked? It’s obvious the attacks with bigger impacts will make more of a global media impact.
 
Here are the terror attacked in 2015 (so far) which, as in Paris, killed over 100 people each time:
 
137 people were killed in Yemen’s Sana’a mosque on 7th March
25th June: 148 people died in Syria in a massacre involving car bombs on the Turkish border
In July, 145 people died in a shooting in a Nigerian market place
It’s estimated that 100-180 people were killed in July’s car bombs in Iraq
In Turkey itself, 102 people were killed in Ankara in October, 508 injured, when suicide bombers decided to destroy a peace rally.
 
There’s similar numbers of dead involved in all cases, and it makes it no less horrifying when the attacks happen somewhere most Europeans probably won’t ever set foot in (with the exception of Egypt), and most know nothing about the atrocities.
 
Perhaps terror is accepted as inevitable in these countries? How awful. Just because France is deemed safer than many parts of Asia or Africa or compared to the Arab nations… but those innocents affected by the violence won’t care about that. That’s their town, their country, their family. The one glimmer of hope is that the Egyptian plane bombed last month, killing 224 people, was in the news for weeks, and there were no British people on board for national morbid interest. However, although Egypt is not seen as a particularly ‘safe, western area’, we as a nation have been happy to holiday there. The incident being a bombed flight was also bound to produce more media attention than a terrestrial attack. So that’s why. Horrendous. Still no Egyptian flags on Facebook.
 
I wonder if Syrian, Yemen, Turkish, Nigerian, Iraqi nationals posted their flag on Facebook in solidarity? I don’t have any Facebook friends from these countries, but it sure didn’t make the viral waves the French flag did. (PS. Wonder what Syrians are posting and searching for on Facebook?)
 
It’s all politics. That’s what sucks. Often devoid of human traits, politics is a powerful thing. Egalite, fraternite et liberte, indeed. However, I am no politician. I am a member of no political organisation, but I try to keep up with world events. I don’t watch the news, preferring to get snippets when I choose instead of being bombarded constantly with negative stories.

So, what was ‘L’s’ response to her offended friend on Facebook? “If you’re offended, that’s your problem”, she argued, and pointed out that L’s profile picture is too small to host all the flags of terrorist tormented nations and peoples. Well said. I, like ‘L’, would rather reflect in private, and pray on a wider scale. Pray for the world. 

​I’m a caring, thoughtful, sympathetic person and I don’t need to colour my photo to prove it. I choose to pray for the world and I don't believe it's all French. No offense.

Lou x

Find me on Facebook
...and on Twitter
Born to be a Tourist

P.S. What's worse that posting the flag as a watermark on your face - and I won't go on about this for long, I promise - is when people have posted pictures of them on holiday in Paris, perhaps under the Eiffel Tower. So what, you've been? Show off. 

Do you need to give your opinion on EVERYTHING?! I don't think so!

Currently, if you do not like or comment on something, you can get away with 'not having seen the post', ignoring the new cat photos and news about your 'friends' lives you might not be interested in. However, with the advent of the 'dislike' button, I imagine people will expect more interaction! There's no hiding on Facebook...

What's next? A 'no opinion' button? Would posts without a thumbs up or down mean the possibly cold/unfriendly/disloyal/unsociable/uncaring user had no thoughts or feelings on the matter? This could damage relationships with people who take Facebook too seriously... but then maybe you're not friends with anyone like that!

My primary concern about the introduction of a possible 'dislike' button is the increase of negativity it will inevitably bring. There's too much negative feeling on Facebook - bad day news dominates - and the world and Facebook's 1.49 billion users don't need more. Luckily, Zuckerberg and his colleagues agree.  

No doubt Facebook is introducing the 'dislike' button for more than just public demand. The 'like' button has a feature since 2007, but it's become something the clever Facebook boffins use to tailor the adverts which appear on your feed. It also uses what you say you like to fill your news feed with more of what you like in terms of news, features articles, games and friend news.

Did you see what happened when Matthew Honan liked everything which appeared on his feed for 24 hours in an interesting experiment? The link is worth checking out - read to the end for the result. What you like on Facebook says a lot about you; it can reveal your work networks, the music you listen to, the high street shops you frequent... The list of trivial stuff goes on, but what is more concerning and revealing, is whether you advertise the fact you support extreme political groups on social media. Counter to that, your links to illness or charity work can be linked to your profile, should you choose to reveal it. The 'like' clickable is a huge marketing tool, and the future 'dislike' button, in whatever form it takes, will have the same function. It's all about the money and the value of Facebook. 'Dislikes' will only make it more accurate to judge what the user may like to see advertised. 

The 'like' button can mean so many things: I LIKE the fact you shared this latest news story about the Syrian refugee crisis - the world needs to be aware. I LIKE that refugees are drowning in the Mediterranean Sea, desperate, being smuggled from their countries with nothing but the clothes on their backs. I definitely think twice before liking something nowadays, as my feed is more and more dominated by news articles. 

Professor Andrea Forte, an expert in social and participatory media at Drexel University in Philadelphia, said users will not suddenly turn on each other's posts. "I suspect it will mainly be used to express mild disapproval, or to express solidarity when someone posts about a negative event like a death or a loss." 

Maybe an 'empathy' button would be more appropriate? I'll be interested to see what this button will look like...

Hands joining together? ​A hug might work?

​Personally, I think Facebook should stay away from introducing a 'dislike' button. One click, a knee jerk reaction. Honest, but sometimes it can do more harm than good. Facebook could turn into a place no one wants to be because they are judged and made to feel bad, where the online world is full of body image expectations, cyber bullying and mental well-being issues. 

​Whatever Facebook decides will represent the 'dislike' action, I hope it's not a simple 'thumbs down'. I don'nee'no'negativity! Empathy, yes, and I think the world would agree. 

**UPDATE** 21/10/15 ​http://www.wired.com/2015/10/facebook-reactions-design/_

Here's the latest on the issue.

See you on the next blog!

Lou x

Find me on Facebook (you're not able to 'dislike' me...yet!)
...and on Twitter
Born to be a Tourist

But blogs should be pithy and have a point. If your blog is 1,200 words long, how many readers will finish it? So learning to say what you need to in a punchy way is a really important skill in advertising yourself online, and trying to encourage people to read what you're about. Set yourself a challenge: write something that you want to tell people about, and then revisit it and see how many words you can remove whilst still saying the same thing. You may find you surprise yourself (or you may surprise yourself - see 2 words out already)!

Don't get me wrong, I am not in any way trying to argue that you only ever want to read short blogs. I have read some great articles online that have taken up a number of screens. And let's never forget that beautiful world of books packed with perfect lines of prose. Each has their place in the world. But in terms of getting your message across on the internet, your message needs to be short, snappy and eye grabbing and if you waffle on you will lose people's attention. Readers online have a much shorter attention span than people in a library or a book shop. People want to find what they're looking for, connect with it and move forward. That's the instant world we live in now.

So the next time you have to painstakingly edit a tweet, look at what words you're cutting out. Can you say the same thing and still lose a word? Or re-frame the sentence and see if you can use less words? No, it's not going to be a novel but you may just find that your tweet or your blog gets more attention and isn't that the point of it?

-------

Wonderful Louisa, encouraging post. Best of luck with your writing, and thanks for guest blogging for me today.

Want to hear more from Louisa?

Find Louisa on Twitter: @LouisaWhitney She's a keen tweeter on meditation and mindfulness, so go visit!
Don't forget to look at Louisa's blog too: www.louisawhitney.com

Louise x

Find me on Facebook
...and on Twitter
Born to be a Tourist

Hootsuite... Facebook Insights... Google Anayltics... Website monitoring... 

Writers are not known for being good at statistics, and I'm firmly in the no-can-do camp. I'm not a big one for numbers (words are my game, baby!), but even I can handle some web monitoring. There are many ways you can easily monitor your website use and social media reach. 

How many of us really get to grips with it all though? I'm going to share with you the statistics I think are the more useful ones and the more interesting ones from the plethora of information on offer. 

My Website

I judge the success of my website and blog by the following:

1. How many individual people visit in one month
   
   For example, when I posted the blog entry of I'M HOME, that day I got almost 400 hits. Over the week this obviously increased. I don't think many people would read my blog more than once, so his means I am reaching a lot of people daily with my blogging. 
   
   In my first month of my travel blog (Born To Be A Tourist, started in January 2013) I received over 1200 hits. This amazed me, as I was new to the travel blogging game, and nowhere near well-known. This gave me a great boost!
   
   It's interesting to see how these numbers go up and down between the two blogs. Even on the quiet weeks I get over 1800 hits on each, though, so I can't be doing too badly!
   
   
2. The number of comments I receive on a new blog post
   
   Of course, I love it when people comment on my blog. I've never had negative feedback; constructive, yes, but not negative. I love to hear from my readers, especially if that blog struck a chord with them. Please do leave me a comment!
   
   Keeping track of how many comments a blog receives is not always the best way to measure its success, but it's one of my favourite monitoring methods. It doesn't show what EVERY reader thinks (most don't bother to comment at all), but it really helps with my confidence as a writer and builds a relationship with my readers. 

My Twitter

I pretty much judge my Twitter success on the number of retweets I get. I don't keep a count, but I thank every retweeter and I'm grateful for them spreading what I have tweeted. 

This is the way to succeed in the of game Twitter - it's not counting not the number of followers you have. Sure, followers will follow if they see a retweet, but twitter is about broadcasting. And if someone re-broadcasts something you've said, it can only be a good thing. They think what you have said is insightful, funny, useful, interesting... etc. 

Of course, I retweet as much of the good stuff I find from other people (writers or not) and organisations too. 

My Facebook

My Facebook page is where it all began - it predates even my website. Facebook are very clever, creepy, almost, in their monitoring of the ways you use the social networking site. However, it can be useful for people who host 'pages'. I get regular updates as to how many people my posts have reached, the gender and age of my fans, the countries and cities they're from, which websites have acted most strongly as referrers, and what the highest performing posts are (i.e. the ones which encouraged the most engagement or which had the most people look at it). 

If I'm honest, the stats I only really pay attention to on Facebook are 'total reach' - I've noticed evening posts get more exposure - and the number of fans the page has. As long as the second one doesn't start declining, I know I'm providing content people want to read. 

So, I'm watching. I'm trying to figure out what you like to read online from my writing world. If you like what you see, please retweet. Please share on Facebook. Please visit my blog again. I am grateful for every single one of my readers, and I hope you like what you see!

How many of these tools do you use? How helpful have they been? 

All the best, 

Lou x

Find me on Facebook
...And on Twitter
Born To be A Tourist

This fell onto the page this week, so I thought I'd share. I do not hate Twitter and I do not love it - it's a just a great tool I use to promote my blog, to network, inspire and be inspired. 

LOVE - HATE

Sometimes it's a very fine line between the two!



Tweeting is a thing I do not need
To Tweet all day and tweet all night
Is obsession beyond reprieve

Yet tweet I do and tweets I write
Carefully constructed on a creative bent
But you can be sure it never keeps me up at night

Lou x

Find me on Facebook
...And on Twitter
Born to be a Tourist

Image courtesy of Leading Women

SUCCESS!!!! I DID IT!!!

In case you didn't realise, April was a month of blogging A-Z for 26 days. I kept to my general writing theme (as with my normal weekly posts), with a few other random ones thrown in. I've had some wonderful feedback and great support from the A-Z community, so thanks for all of that. It really encouraged me to keep going, which was key; I didn't think I'd make it far past a week trying to keep up at the start!

I'm now returning to posting on Miss Write on Thursdays... and slightly missing the A-Z Challenge! Weird, huh? 

My first post post-A-Z Challenge is a summary of my ... A-Z posts. Did you miss any?!

A - 5 ways to survive film ADAPTATIONS
B - Robinson Crusoe - BOOK Review
C - Could you COPE without social media?
D - The DEVIL in me
E - How ENVIRONMENTALLY-FRIENDLY is being a writer?
F - FIVE books which inspired me
G - 'G' is for GOAL
H - 'H' is for the colour of HUNGER
I - 'I' is for IDEAS
J - Unusual words beginning with 'J'
K - 'K' is for (Stephen) KING
L - 'L' is for LIPSTICK
M - MY CHILDREN will do it differently
N - NAUGHTY & NICE
O - OWNING UP - Three things I hate about being a writer
P - How to write a PRESS RELEASE
Q - Best Scrabble words beginning with 'Q'
R - RENTING a room? 20 tips to protect yourself
S - If I were a SUPERHERO...
T - 'T' is for TIARA
U - I'm taking to U!
V - Very Short Fiction
W - 'W' is for W*llies - A cautionary tale
X - 'X' is for EX
Y - 'Y' is for (never) YIELD
Z - Zzz... How much sleep does a writer need?

Take a look on Twitter #AprilBlogChallenge to find other A-Z blogs worth checking in on. 

Thanks for reading through April. I hope you found some of the posts useful - even the random one about baking!

See you next week, 

Lou x

Find me on Facebook
...and on Twitter
Born To Be A Tourist

April is month of blogging A-Z for 26 days. #AprilBlogChallenge Check it out! 

** C is for COPING **

I hope you're keeping up... 
---------------------------------

Could you cope with not touching social media for a few days? Have you ever taken a significant break? I have and it's liberating. The wonders it will do for your writer's alias and muse! 

Here's why I decided to cope without social media for a while...

1. Breaking up with a social network (or two or three) can refresh your love and appreciation for what it brings to your writer's page. You can take a break and reassess the uses it provided.
2. Does looking over your most recent posts send you to sleep? Perhaps you need to get some new life experiences and some more interesting stories to post!
3. Has the honeymoon period worn off? Does your Facebook page need refreshing and updating? Fresh eyes after a week of no contact might do your online profile wonders.
4. So many hours, so little time? You could potentially increase the "free" time you have in your day if you take a break from social media. 

Ok, point taken. But I hear you ask...

HOW WILL I COPE?????

Make a plan and stick to it

Specify a time period for which you will not log in. Don't break that promise!

Schedule some auto-posting

With tools like Hootsuite and Tweetdeck, you can pre-schedule anything so there is no 'down time' for your page while you are detoxing. I used these tools when I was working in Costa Rica between rainforests and beach wildlife refuges with no electricity, let alone a wifi connection. This maintained my page while I was away. 

Caution! Use this wisely... You will lose your personality and personal touch and potentially followers if you appear like a spamming robot! Automation should be used if you cannot access the internet for a period of time, or to give yourself a break. 

List the social networks you belong to

Do you need/use all of them? Which ones can you axe guilt-free and without repercussions? Focus on the ones which get you results. 

Also, consider linking your postings between social profiles (e.g. get the posts you make on your Facebook author page appear as tweets on your Twitter account). This will save you a lot of time and expand your reach with no effort. 

Focus on why you use each network and return to it feeling enthusiastic and refreshed!

Who are you trying to reach? What do your followers respond to most? What is the purpose of the page? Do you need to think about the frequency of which you post new items? Consider if you are overdoing it - you do not want social media fatigue to set in!

Spring Clean!

When you return, take a few minutes to really take note of who and what your writerly persona follows. Making them more relevant will do wonders for your brand. Don't follow irrelevant things like Marmite or Dove Soap - concentrate on writers groups, writers pages and interesting and useful writing blog links. 

Don't forget, social media is about connecting with your audience. If you do not take a break to reassess your methods, content and enthusiasm you will fail to engage. 

Go on. Consider it. See you tomorrow for the next installment of the alphabet blog challenge... 'D', in case you're wondering...!

Lou x

And now, slightly ironically...

Find me on Facebook
...and on Twitter
Born To Be A Tourist

Images courtesy of Likeable and the Telegraph Blog

April is going to be a big month for me. There's potentially a house move (fingers crossed!), some WWOOFing, Easter break, family do's... Oh, and a writing challenge I've signed up to!

From April 1st, I join Rebecca Giltrow and several other writers in the April Blogging Challenge. We are blogging every day (aside from Sunday) throughout April. 

As Rebecca says, "most of the time if you subtract Sundays from April, you then have 26 days--one day for each letter of the alphabet.  When April 1st lands on a Sunday you begin on that day which will be the only Sunday you would post during that month's challenge." This means day one is A themed, day two is B themed... And so on until Z on 30th April.  

I'm hoping to include social media tips, writing campaigns, reviews, more of my own material, general writing tips and more... Treasured reader, I hope you enjoy it, even if you just enjoy seeing me under pressure!

What have I let myself in for?! More to the point, who else is in?!

My first post will be Easter Monday, the 1st April 2013. Catch you then - I'm off to plan!

Lou x

Find me on Facebook
...And on Twitter
Born To Be A Tourist - have you checked out my travel blog yet?

In the wake of Valentines Day 2013, I wish to profess my love. For writing. What's not to love about it?!

Reading goes hand-in-hand with writing

I love to read. I always have my current #nowreading novel in my handbag. At the moment, it's "The Sisters Brothers", a funny yet sad gold rush story by Patrick DeWitt. 


Bookstores

It's FANTASTIC  seeing your work on a shelf (which isn't in your living room) for everyone to see.  It's a better feeling than getting flowers on Valentines Day. 

Social Media

You may have noticed, I'm a big fan. It's paying me dividends in blog traffic and some book sales, and I have learned to reap the benefits and tailor it to my needs. Check out my Twitter and my Facebook before you do anything else! I'm also on LinkedIn and Google+.

Magazines which come with the job

I hate magazines written for women. I've tried Glamour, Cosmo, Red... Hate them all. The content is tripe 90% of the time and the other 10% is likely to be adverts. Writing Magazine is so much better quality reading. It actually helps writers with their writing, boosts the confidence you have as a writer, and keeps you up to date with industry developments and competitions. I'll only ever take a break from it for travel magazines! #borntobeatourist 

I can get creative

I'm no artist, I'm not a poet, and I only dabble in photography - and mainly just getting lucky there. Writing allows me a creative side I wouldn't have shown otherwise. I love the feeling of being 'in the flow'!

Writing has opened me up to a world of new people and experiences

    - New friends I've made through writing
    - Additional transferable skills I've added to my CV (e.g. being Towcester 
      Writers' Chairperson)
    - Competitions I've entered - I've even won a runner's up prize in one!
    - I've been to many national events and workshops - a new perspective on 'having to go to 
      a work conference'!

So many people hate their job and I don't!

Sure, mine's only part-time, a kind of hobby job, but I still have to work hard for it. Keeping up with competitions, a monthly column in MK Pulse Magazine, reading writing-related magazines, balancing a social media presence, blogging (x2), oh, and actual novel writing too. Someone recently doubted I do actually do all I I say I'm involved in during my spare time. 

"Do you really do it all?! How?!" Fool - I just do. Loves it. 

I can do it anywhere

All I need is a notepad. I've written on a Greek ferry... In a coffee shop... In bed... On a train... On my lunch break at work... at home (now!)... On the M25 when it's at a standstill... In Tesco when I've overheard someone with some interesting conversation... On holiday... 

You can practice unnoticed

No one needs to hear or so the awfulness of your work... unlike when I was learning the piano as a teenager. It's a win-win for everyone. 

Lou x

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Born To Be A Tourist

Image courtesy of The Writers Advice