Stuck in the Same Old Routine? Attend Creative Ink Festival to Jump Start Your Writing Career!

Are you a wannabe writer, artist, illustrator, or graphic novel creator? You know how it's the same old thing day after day—you work hard, then come home, eat dinner, and watch TV.

But you know that what you'd really like to do is accomplish something big. Something special.

It might be an article, short story, book, or graphic novel, but often it's hard to know where to begin.

Well, it turns out you're not alone. The Creative Ink Festival is ahead, and it's where you'll get to meet many other people just like you who are in the beginning stages of a special project.

At the Festival you'll learn stuff.

• Where do I find ideas?
• How do I find time to write my book?
• How do I find illustrators if I can't draw?
• Where do I find an agent?
• What if I want to self-publish?
• Can I really get paid for writing?

Not only will you learn answers to these questions and more, but you'll also get to meet leading people in the publishing industry, bestselling authors, short story and book authors, publishers, and other experts.

Did I mention that it only costs $80 for three days of fun... and learning?!

You can find more information here: CreativeInkFestival.com.

See you there!

Creative Ink Festival—Where Artists, Illustrators, Readers, Writers & Publishers Unite!

ABOUT — HIRE ME — CONTACT

THE CREATIVE INK FESTIVAL IS ON MAY 6, 7, & 8TH! 

Only two weeks left to register!

by Mel Dawn

Many years ago I met Sandra Wickham at La Fontana Caffe, but we never really chatted until VCON 2011. We discovered we had the same writing passion, and eventually she formed the Ink Club, and talked of having an Ink Festival. 2013 was a turning point for me. I had left a supportive job at Telus in 2009—where I won the Director's Award for my writing in their monthly newsletter—to a terrible job where they reamed me out for drawing cat photos in my notebook! Eventually, I had a breakdown and simply couldn't return to that job. But what would I do? Where would I go? It turns out, to Ink Club, and Ink Festival!

I needed some cash to pay the bills, so I returned to writing non-fiction articles for websites, blogs, magazines, and anyone else who would pay for my creative services. I began by being hired by Yahoo Canada to write articles for their website in 2007, and that had expanded into writing for many other big sites too. In that time I've even edited, proofread, done performance poetry, and written scripts for apps, games, board games, and Youtube. Somewhere in all this time I've had six zombie/steampunk/historical short stories accepted and published in a variety of anthologies around the world. It's certainly been a fun journey!

If you ever need to get back to your creative side like I did, I suggest joining a club, group, forum, or even heading out to a convention. The Creative Ink Festival will inspire you as much as it has me. Creative Ink Festival was a one-day-teaser, held in 2015. Sandra Wickham was the hostess, and her event planning, network, and creative abilities have been used to create a fabulous three-day event for this year.

Please find more information at the Creative Ink Festival Website—click here. You'll discover that it may just be what you need to get out of that box.  

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If you enjoyed this article, please Like and Follow me on Facebook & Twitter.

You may be interested in these other articles:

The Devastating Effects of the Vancouver 2015 Earthquake

The Odds Are Against You Being Born a Human in Canada

Steampunk Kitty Poem by Mel Dawn

If you’d like me to write an article for your site, 

please learn more here.

6 Dark and Shady Sides to the Publishing Industry

When you’re an online content writer, or short story or book writer, after a few years of experience you’ll come to realize that there are some, how shall we say it, rather shady practices in the publishing industry.

I’m not talking about credit card or identity theft, but about certain practices that can leave a bad taste in the mouth. I won’t get into the vanity publishing industry here, which has been gaining more respect with the advent of e-book publishing. What I’m talking about are some really nefarious practices that you’ll experience when you’re trying to make a buck. Most of these are applicable to writing non-fiction articles or blogs, but some are also applicable to writing short stories and books as well.

I’ll bet Stephen King or Orson Scott Card never had to deal with any of the 6 dark and shady sides to the publishing industry. And, until you hit it big, most likely you’ll come across some of these practices too. We’ll get into the top six that I’ve encountered during my time as an online content writer and short story writer. 

1. Ghostwriting is becoming exceedingly popular. 
In fact, ghostwriters may now comprise the largest portion of online content. When I first started writing for Associated Content back in 2007, I always had my byline. Even when they farmed out my services to other websites, my own name was added as a byline. But with the advent of blogging, usually the person who posts the blog is the one who takes the credit. It even happened to me a few months back, when a client promised to use “by Mel Dawn” in the byline. For months I wondered why they never used my article. Then it “Dawned” on me. I went back and reread all their past blogs. Sure enough, there was my blog on their website, but claimed by a “well-known” writer. Can you believe it? So, chances are that even Stephen King and Orson Scott Card aren’t writing their own stuff either! In fact, I have ghostwritten many short stories for other writers. I even ghost wrote an entire novel! But nope, even if these pieces make it into the mainstream market, I won’t see any further royalties, or credit, though at least I did get a payment for them in the beginning.

2. Online content writers aren’t rich.
In fact, many online content writers are only paid a few dollars for the articles that they write. I’ve seen content websites that only offer $1 per article, and that’s before the site takes their cut, or Paypal takes their fee. I write for a variety of sites and while the ones that pay out $50 for a blog are great, these articles often take hours and hours to write. One famous blog writer told me it took her three days to write an article. You can start to understand how time-consuming the writing craft can be, when you factor in writing an outline, doing the research, writing the actual article, proofreading and editing your own work, adding in sources, footnotes, and references, and then having to format the article and email or upload it to the required address. 

3. Writers rarely get the full price of an article and are lucky if they get 5%.
Most online content writing sites pay writers a portion of the amount they actually receive from the client or customer. Oftentimes, if a writer has only been paid $5 for an article, the middle man is actually getting $50 or $100 for an article that the paying client has ordered. If you can find your own clients to pay you that $100, then great! That’s the goal you’re aiming for anyway.

4. Publishers, websites, and businesses buy Likes, Follows, and Shares.
Occasionally you may be impressed by the number of followers or likes you see on a Facebook page or Twitter account. But often these are purchased under the table. Why do they do it? Because the more followers and likes a page has, the more it’s validated in the eyes of real paying customers. Or, a publisher may take notice of a book that has hundreds of thousands of likes, before deciding to buy the book. It’s an underhanded but still legal way to market your website, book, or publishing company.

5. Corporations spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on articles but never use them.
I’ve written over a thousand articles now, and have yet to even see a small portion of them posted online. Corporations buy up articles in bulk from an online content mill for thousands of dollars. And then, they never use them. We already know how wasteful corporations are, yet when it comes to employees, they cut them from the company, and farm out all the work. Except, it ends up costing them even more to hire a content mill for a $100,000 writing gig, when they could have hired a good writer for an entire year for $40,000. Yes, I’m bitter. 

6. A content writer may get paid several weeks down the road.
I’ve had articles sit in my queue for weeks. Until they’re edited and approved by the client, I don’t get paid. While I constantly ensure that I have jobs in my queue, thus ensuring a steady stream of income, getting paid three months later isn’t exactly an acceptable business practice.

After reading through this you may be wondering to yourself, should I embark on a writing career? Yes you should, because you’ll still get to work from home, and be in charge of more aspects of your working life. Let’s face it, working in an office, retail, food, or factory isn’t so great either. There’s a whole lot of crap that happens in the working world, that we try to brush over when we tell China how great it is to work in North America. But, the truth of the matter is that humans sometimes behave badly in all sorts of working situations. If you’re prepared before going in, you may decide to try a different style of writing, or avoid the crappy paying content mills. In the beginning a business seems fabulous to work for, until you learn all the ins and outs of the trade. 

I wish everyone best wishes in their future writing endeavours, and hopefully you can avoid some of the pitfalls of the publishing and writing industries.

My process on how to write a blog entry

What have I been doing all month? "Where are the updates?" my readers have been asking. Have I been snuggled up to my cat in her basket? Why yes, I've been working on other projects, from writing, to a website, to making crafts for Vancouver Fan Expo.

I recently signed up for article writing on one of the many websites out there for that purpose. Constant Content, Scripted, Helium, etc. I was bemoaning my waste of time, as it can take hours and hours to set up a profile, when suddenly, article orders started coming in. It's still not enough to quit my day job, but I have to start somewhere. Oh wait, this IS my day job. 

Today I thought I'd write about how I go about writing a blog. Since I'm writing to order, they give me the topic and the website. So, let's post in a numbered format, and I'll let you know how I actually accomplish this task. 

1. Research the topic. Generally my client will give me their website URL. They'll give me keywords to optimize SEO. This will significantly allow me to narrow down the topic. For example, the website is about a lighting company. I could despair of ever finding a topic to write about, but my client has given me the keywords of "LED lighting", "low-cost", and "energy-saving". So, right there, I have my topic. I'll write about effective low-cost and energy-saving LED lighting, tailored to the products on their website.

2. After I know what I'm writing about, I'll start making point form notes. 

3. Next, I'll start writing the article. If there's some research that needs to be done, I'll just leave brackets for information to be added later.

4. Now I'll do a read-through. I'll correct grammar. I'll add in the missing research, make sure owner's names are spelled correctly. I'll check and make sure I've made my word count. 

5. This next read-through will confirm word count, as well as ensuring that all key words can be found in my text. I'll correct any highlighted spelling errors. Depending on US or Canadian markets I'll adjust spelling. I'll make my article engaging and clever.

6. The final editing and proofreading stage. I'll read my story out loud to be sure it sounds engaging and friendly.

7. Submit through the website portal. One last chance to double check that everything is correct. 

Rejoice! My homework is done! Mix and repeat.

Writing Wellness

I packed it in and quit my day job! What was once a fantastic job providing support to clients turned into a nightmare. About a year ago, after I wrote my novel for the 3-Day Novel Challenge, I made my decision that I would transition into a full-time writer. I'd give my writing career a chance, or shut up and ship out. 

I meticulously did my monthly budget, cut back on expenses, cancelled all subscriptions, made extra cash when I could.

Unfortunately, life had other plans for me. About halfway through the year, my job turned upside down. The workload quadrupled and my job morphed into something unrecognizable. This was not the career that I had originally been hired to do, nor the one I had accepted when I signed the contract. 

Colleagues become stressed out and people went on sick leave. I had more of a support network at my disposal than they did but I wasn't coping much better.

After the one-hundredth day of coming home in tears, I decided enough was enough. It was time for me to leave and do what I wanted. If I never tried, I would never know. Life is short; my own mother barely lived two decades past the age I am now. Did I want to die being unhappy, or did I want to do what I loved?

If I need to get back to a regular-paying job, than I can take one that supports my first career. 

I haven't been off for a month yet, but have been getting into the writing groove. I have a schedule set up four days a week. I know I cannot work for eight hours solid a day, and I know I need breaks, so those are scheduled in. 

What I didn't realize was that for my four working days, that I wouldn't be writing continuously during my allotted times. 

I've spent a great deal of time searching out new markets to write for. I've had to document submission guidelines and make notes, so I can find a market I wish to submit to in the future. I need to tie together markets with my short stories. Today, I became confused when I had three drafts of different short stories in my folder, but no idea where I had intended to submit them to. I had to make up a submission form to keep track of everything. I have folders on my computer set up with different dates, and more folders coming. 

Editing also takes up the greatest amount of time. I've added edit numbers to all my submissions, so I know if they are draft two or draft seven. 

I remembered short stories I wrote years ago and perhaps could find homes for them. I had to dig to the back of my closet to find the disks as those stories were no longer on my computer. 

Some days it's great doing a little of this and a little of that, but tomorrow I'm gearing up to only write brand new stories. This may give me a sense of accomplishment.

I'm hoping that by the beginning of next week I'll have some of my stories submitted for publication.

I'm sure as the weeks pass by, I'll gain more insights into my writing day, and figure out exactly what works for me. 

How to Comb a Cat and Get Away with It!

The other day I asked my boyfriend for blog ideas. Perhaps my readers are getting tired of reading about Steampunk, writing, cats, and booze. Not necessarily all at once. 

"How to Comb a Cat" is what he suggested. While he's right on the money with how-to articles being a popular blog choice, I asked why he picked this topic. 

"Because my cat enjoys being combed for five seconds and then she bites me." So, what he was really asking was not how to actually comb a cat, but how to get rid of the tangles and mats.

The topic for this article should be more like "how to comb a cat and get away with it". 

Personally, my cat loves being brushed and combed. She can't get enough of it! If I crazy-glued my hands to her body she would be the happiest kitty in the world.

I bought her one of those flea combs with the tiny prongs. I start by using the wider prongs around her face. Most cats love having their chins and necks scratched and rubbed. Let your cat get used to the comb. Flip it around and use the smooth side, the one without the prongs. Try it for a couple of minutes each day. If she bites the comb then stop. You're telling her that the pleasurable experience ends once she bites the comb or you.

Use the blunt end of the comb to gently stroke her fur from her head to her tail. Don't aim to remove fur at first, just let her get used to the feel. If she hates it, it's going to be a long combing curve.

Do this once a day for about a week. If she's already graduated to being successfully combed then give her a cat treat. If not, use the comb side on her for a few seconds, then go back to the blunt side. Always avoid her tummy, most cats don't like being touched there at the best of times, unless it's my cat.

Comb along the upper back near the tail. That's a hot spot for kitties. 

Remember, if your cat bites or scratches you at any point, it's time to put away the comb and leave the room. Don't reprimand her or look surprised. It's normal cat behaviour. Try again the next day. If she repeats the bad behaviour repeat and rinse your wounds. Biting and scratching means the fun part stops.

Cats are quick learners and will soon realize that seeing the comb in your hand means a fun grooming experience is at hand.

Don't comb your cat for more than five minutes at a time. Most cats have short attention spans. If kitty is happy, leave her happy. 

Once your cat is used to this new combing routine you can get down to business and actually start using the comb to remove loose fur and gently pull apart tangles. Keeping up with this routine on a daily basis will give you and your cat some pleasurable time together and her fur will look fantastic.

Meanderings about the 3-Day Novel Contest for Writers

Win a home! Win a car! No, wait, that's the P.N.E., not the 3-Day Novel Writing Contest and Challenge.

About a month ago I was on the Plush blog and one thing led to another, and I found the 3-Day Novel Writing Contest, headquartered in Canada. Last year had about 550 entrants, with three-quarters of that amount actually completing and submitting their novel to the contest. There are 3 top prizes, plus innumerable honourable mentions. The odds sounded good, considering that the average fiction publisher receives 200 submissions a day in email or snail mail. I'd only be competing against 400 others, with a good chance of an honourable mention, plus the first draft of my Young Adult Novel entitled, "Aqua Marine".

We were allowed to outline, research and set up character development in advance. I set up my outline of twenty chapters, with each chapter appromimating 2500 words.

The Labour Day weekend slowly drew nearer. Could I do this? My writing habits are sporadic at best. Could I write for an entire long weekend? I filled in everyone, and I even gave my boyfriend a schedule of the times that I would be able to visit with him. He scarcely bat an eyelash, after all I'd done weirder things in his presence beforehand.

The long weekend loomed nearer. I cleaned my house, bought healthy snacks, and set up a beverage and snack station on my counter. The cat's scratchy post was moved beside my dining room table, so I could pet her and write at the same time.

The contest commenced at Friday, midnight. The cat went to sleep and didn't bother me. I wrote two chapters that night, errr, morning, and called it a day. 

I set my alarm for the next three days at 8 am. I didn't even both bathing, I'd grab the laptop and bring it back to bed with me. I averaged about three chapters each morning. 

While it wasn't too bad to write two chapters in a row with a fiften minute break in-between, by the time of the third chapter I felt exhausted.

I scheduled four-hour breaks with my boyfriend each afternoon. Mostly we hung out at home and watched DVDs or we went out to eat meals, as I certainly wasn't cooking that weekend.

After the break, I was able to get back to writing three more chapters. Unfortunately there was no way I could take two - four-hour breaks each day, so I only had about fifteen minutes before I had to write three more for the evening. 

I wrote each chapter, then read through it and edited once. That's all the editing my book got, was the one editing run-through. 

Over all I'm happy with how I outlined it. I changed the main climax around a bit. I simplified it. After all, if I win the contest, I'll have the chance to do ten more drafts if I choose.

I have a few issues with my book. One is while I did elaborate descriptions of two of my main characters, none of the other characters had any background explained. They need to be rounded out more. My second love interest is two-dimensional and since he becomes a major player, that's not good. After three-quarters of the way through my book I changed the evil character. I decided that I despised one of the male love-interests and the one who was supposed to be evil was just doing his job, and far more likeable. 

The cat character in my book needed a bigger role to play, than just being a distraction for my main female character. There's a few cute scenes. Perhaps the cat gives mental breaks to my reader, as bad things are happening.

I'd like to go back and lengthen the action scenes, particularly the climax. I felt that I really rushed it. This chapter needed more than 2500 words to complete.

The week following the challenge I was back at my real workplace and I was exhausted. After staying up late for four days in a row, getting up early in the morning and sitting at a computer for twenty hour days, I didn't want to be at work at all. Every muscle in my body ached and I had a headache. Fortunately I had a good sleep last weekend, so I am fully recovered now.

At the end of the three-day challenge I decided I didn't ever want to do it again! I think writing one chapter a week is a far manageable chunk of my time, but it was an incredible experience and I wrote an awesome book that should be published in one form or another some time in 2013.

An Interview with Mel Dawn... by Mel Dawn

What kind of writing do you do?

I currently have a variety of writing projects on the go. I write for my own blog, which keeps the writing side of my brain functioning, plus I have a few pro-blogging pieces on the go, plus the occasional fictional piece. I probably write about one fictional piece for every fifty non-fictional pieces however. 

What's in your writing portfolio?

I first was published in the fan fiction magazines for DWIN (Doctor Who Information Network) and James Bow's Mythmakers which is still being sporadically published by the Doctor Who TV show writers now. I've had articles in Business Examiner Newspaper, The British Link, Associated Content, Yahoo Canada, Canada Credit Cards.com, Yahoo Voices, and various blogs around the USA. I'm still finding some of my articles online. Sometimes when you get an order and you get paid, they don't tell you where the article is going, especially after the 200th one. It's funny though, there are a few out there with my name, actually someone else's on them, but I didn't write those. I'm hoping that writer won't write anything too embarrassing!

Do you suggest writers have a formal education in journalism?

I believe it would definitely help in terms of grammar and punctuation. Plus, I know many pro-writers have been successful. It's all their lives have been about, unlike the rest of us who have to fit writing into our daily lives. I'm lucky I have two writing certificates, though the programs I took aren't really recognized in the writing world.

Can you tell me about your future writing projects?

No, I can't sorry, I keep them secret, even from myself. Actually, I'm working on a few fictional steampunk pieces that I'm submiting to professional publications. I've also decided to do a 3-day book writing challenge.

You've mentioned pro-writing or professional publications. What does that mean? 

It means that some form of payment has been exchanged for my writing talents. In other words, I have not written for free. I will also do trades for product, in fact I prefer them, as income tax just gobbles up any writing income.

Do you write full-time, if not, do you desire to?

I'm having a hard time wrapping my brain around that. Perhaps if I didn't have to work at an outside job, I would have copious amounts of time at home to spend writing eight hours a day. I really don't know, it hasn't happened yet.

Is there anything else you'd like your fans to know?

Yes, if you'd like me to write a piece for your company, please comment below with your information and I'll contact you in less then a day. 

Queen Victoria's Wisdom on Writing

Queen Victoria wrote a minimum 6000 words in her journal each day. She received her first journal in 1882, when she was a young girl of thirteen years old. It is unclear where her journals were stored as she finished each one, but a staff member of the royal household deemed them valuable enough to store away in the archive of her life.

This year HM Queen Elizabeth the II is presenting Queen Victoria's entire journal collection online at the Queen Victoria's Journals website. 

Women have extremely busy lives with work and famiy but Queen Victoria fitted a week into one day. She had the time to pen 6000 words each day, so I do believe that I can find the time to do the same, minus a zero or two!

As my vacation looms, I have promised myself to work on my steampunk writing projects at least 5 days in a row. It's been discussed whether I'll go into hiding, perhaps at a seedy hotel, or will I inhabit the local coffee shop and pretend to be JK Rowling? 

Ironically I was heading home one day when I nearly had to smack myself on top of the head! It's so true that we don't pay attention to our surroundings after the first few months. Stay tuned for my further writing adventures. I do know that the Queen did not stress about where to write, she just set pen to paper and wrote it.

If anyone here should finish reading Queen Vic's journals in their lifetime or write 6000 words a day, do come round for tea.

Being a Science Fiction Writer Means Writing, Not Waiting

Many readers don't realize that I have written over 150 published and paid non-fiction articles. A good 3/4 of those were about annihilating your credit card, before it annihilated your life. The remainder were a miscellany of topics surrounding jewels, green living, and the 2010 Olympics. 

Since Yahoo bought up Associated Content, I haven't had the chance to write paid non-fiction, but have instead decided to focus my efforts on fiction.

When I was about 15 I wrote this rivetting story about the end of the universe. I wish I hadn't trashed it but it was the first science fiction story I ever wrote.

I started up again around the early 1990s with Dr. Who fan fiction. Many of my stories appeared in James Bow's Mythmakers and DWIN's (Doctor Who Information Network) magazine. 

I've decided to dust off one of my creations and have posted it to Yahoo Voices, the new incarnation of Associated Content. Please click here to read Short Circuit.

Being a writer is more than merely dreaming, being a writer is actually doing. 

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