Wanna Be A #FabulousFridayGuestBlogger ?

/ Marcia Meara / 1 Comment

The floor at The Write Stuff could be yours for the asking. Just email me for information. (Sorry this probably isn’t in time for tomorrow. I thought I had someone lined up, but I seem to have lost her.) You may write a guest post on any subject that interests you (excluding religion & politics), and chat to your heart’s content. If you are a writer, you may include your bio, cover images, and Buy Links. If you don’t write, you may talk about your blog, or books you love and why, or pretty much anything you think others would enjoy hearing about. And we here at TWS will then reblog, share on Facebook, Tweet, and otherwise pass your guest post along.

Even if you’ve been a guest blogger here before, we’ll welcome you back. Just send me a note: mmeara@cfl.rr.com

#Excerpt from Words We Carry – Essays of Obsessions and Self-Esteem by D. G. Kaye

/ Marcia Meara / 24 Comments

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What’s The Attraction?

Do you ever wonder why we gravitate to certain types of partners? Is it because we randomly meet people and connect with them, or are most of us in search of the perfect partners, not willing to settle for anything less than our ideal mates? I dare not say that anyone is perfect. We all have flaws, and sometimes we choose the wrong partners for a number of reasons. Perhaps we’ve spent a long time searching for meaningful relationships and we’re tired of being alone, so we settle.

When we find the opportunity to hook up with someone, we may be willing to forego some of our requirements in a mate, grateful that we’ve finally met someone. Or maybe we only see the qualities we like in that person and tend to overlook the things we don’t? Either way, I think these choices are a recipe for disaster in the long term. I can speak from experience about this because I too once fell into this situation.

I can say with certainty that I was better off being alone than allowing myself to succumb to a partner I abhorred. I allowed myself to settle for a relationship with a charming, nice-looking guy who I continued to go out with while trying to ignore my inner knowledge that there were just some things I didn’t like about him. I thought I was being too picky, and as it had been a few years since I allowed myself to get involved with someone, I thought perhaps I was being too selective and had to give the guy a chance. Well, one thing led to another, and before I knew it, I was trapped in a bad relationship. Continue reading →

My #MidWeekPOV – January 13, 2016

/ Marcia Meara / 33 Comments

POV

I’m looking forward to starting this new feature, and have several topics in mind already that I hope you’ll all enjoy, and will want to pass along. I hope I don’t start off by getting into trouble with my first post. Gleep. But here it is.

Today, my POV is about . . . ready? . . . POV’s! In your books, specifically.

I’m always surprised when I hear people say they hate a book with different Points of View. Why, I wonder? Surely as they read, they wonder what’s going on in the heads of each character? Of course, it would be difficult (and probably annoying) to read a book that featured the thoughts of everybody in the story, but there’s likely plenty of room to include the thoughts of a few of the main characters. So, I’ll say it right now: I love a book that lets me see into the minds of more than one person, especially if it lets me see what the villain of the  piece is thinking, now and then. Multiple points of view can enrich a story on every level for me.

This doesn’t mean a book has to have them. I’ve read entire series where the only brain I’ve been let into is the main character, and I’ve loved them. So that’s all well and good. But if a book does have multiple POV’s, and they’re done well, then that’s a whole ‘nuther kind of fun. However, the writer has to be careful not to confuse the reader, and therein lies the trick. Continue reading →

Another Thought on #TWSWritingPrompt

/ Marcia Meara / Leave a comment

I forgot to mention in my last post, those who are already set up to post on this blog may post their #TWSWritingPrompt exercise for the month whenever they wish. I hope a lot of them will take part! 🙂 Those of you who would like to take part, but aren’t set up to post directly, please email me for more instructions. EVERYONE who would like to do this is invited to participate, and I will make sure you are able to! Contact me at mmeara@cfl.rr.com

Thanks! As you were, folks! 😀

#TWSWritingPrompt for January #amwriting

/ Marcia Meara / Leave a comment

Shhh-writers-working_001

Yep, I know we’ve missed the first 12 days, and I apologize for being behind, but I’d still like to have a writing challenge for January, if anyone else is up for it. I have a very simple prompt in mind. Since January is a month of new beginnings, resolutions, and hope for a better year, I think one word will do for our prompt this time.

Promises.

Feel free to interpret that in positive ways, or in negative ones. (After all, in a thriller, for instance, promises are often centered on revenge.) So I can see this as going either way, in any genre or style that suits your fancy. Your submissions can be as long or as short as you like (or have time for). You won’t be graded on them. Just think of it as an exercise , much like doing the scales on a piano. We’ll be waiting to see what the word “promises,” makes YOU think of.

And remember, most of all, have fun!

 

#New at #TheWriteStuff

/ Marcia Meara / 19 Comments

sharing

I promised you guys some new ideas would becoming this month, and I’m finally ready to roll out a couple of them. Hope you’ll find them fun, and will participate wherever you can, especially by sharing with the Immediate World. 🙂

First, I’d like to bring back our #TWSWritingPrompt. I will try to post a prompt on the first (or very close to it) of each month, and you have the entire month to contribute something fun. It can be interpreted in any way you like, in any genre you enjoy. The point is just to have a fun writing exercise each month, with no restrictions on length or subject matter (other than the ones that always apply on this site–no religion or politics). As soon as I finish with this post, I’m going to put up the prompt for January, even though we’ve lost the first 11 days. I think most of you can still write a paragraph or two, if you’d like to participate, and I hope you will.

Secondly, it’s time to get going again with our #FabulousFridayGuestBlogger feature, so you folks who would like to be spotlighted this week, email me please at mmeara@cfl.rr.com and let me know. I’ll fill you in on the details. If this week’s spot is taken by the time I hear from you, we’ll pick another Friday. So give a holler! We’ll ask everyone to share your guest post, including your  Buy Links, Bio, and Cover photos.

Third, I’m planning to start a new feature next week called #MondayMeme. Just what it sounds like. Memes, humorous or not, but mostly book, writing, or reading related. Just to get your week off to a good start.

#WodinsDaySmile is moving to Thor’s Day. Why? Because I like Thor better than Wodin. 😀 So starting in two days, keep an eye out for #ThorsDaySmile. This doesn’t mean you can’t share jokes, cartoons, memes or other fun things on other days. Just that I’ll be sharing one for sure on Thor’s Day.

On the other hand, Wednesday will now become My #MidWeekPOV. This is something I’ve wanted to do for a while, and it will be my chance to chat about things on my mind. Most will be book or reading related, though I can’t guarantee that all will. Hope you’ll enjoy my ramblings and will share them, as well.

I haven’t made up my mind about the remaining days of the week, yet. I thought maybe I’d try these things out, and see if I had the energy to throw in any more or not. 😉 And of course, we will continue to schedule regular #ExcerptWeek events, and anything else fun that comes to my mind.

Recapping:

(Weekly)
Monday: #MondayMeme
Wednesday: My #MidWeekPOV
Thursday: #ThorsDaySmile
Friday: #FabulousFridayGuestBlogger

(Monthly)
#TWSWritingPrompt

(Whenever)
#ExcerptWeek

So there you have at least the start of some new things. I hope you’ll enjoy taking part when you can, and sharing with others. Now stay tuned for this month’s writing prompt. And happy Moon’s Day night. Hope all is well in your part of the world.