Sunday Showcase: 5 Twitter Tips I Learned From a 17-Year-Old Entrepreneur

When I started using Twitter, I had no idea what I was getting into.  I basically understood it as a social media platform that might help me establish a presence on the Internet.  Little did I know, Twitter has its own culture and it’s own rules, and if I wanted to land followers and find other aspiring writers or authors, I would have to learn something from experts.  A simple Google search helped me get started, laying down the basics.

Over the past month or so that I’ve used Twitter, there’s one particular expert I’ve come to admire, and it’s definitely not for his age. 

From the Disgruntled Editor: 3 Grammatical Errors in Your Blogs You Should Be Avoiding

Get out your red pens, people, because here comes a very disgruntled teacher!

I admit, writing can be tough work.  You do your research, brainstorm, and maybe even make an outline before typing up your blog, essay, book, or whatever.  The thing is even after all that planning, your first type up is going to have errors.  And guess who notices them?  Me!  Me and all the other keeners surfing the Internet who pay attention to detail.  There’s nothing worse than reading a blog with fabulous content and running into all sorts of mistakes.

No matter how good the content, unless you fix up the mechanics, I’m going to be less inclined to read the rest of your post.  I might even close out of it.  Why?  Because proper writing mechanics creates authenticity.

Sunday Showcase: 3 Blogs to Help Your Blogging!

This week has been very busy.  Alright, Saturday was busy, so I didn’t get around to planning anything for this week’s edition of Sunday Showcase.  But hey, now I have a brand new MacBook Pro to help me with my blogging!  My other laptop was just too slow, and trying to find pictures took FOREVER.  

We don’t want to take forever.  We want the ability to do the right thing the first time when it comes to blogging.  That’s why I wanted to feature blogs that provide tips and tricks for the newbie blogger.  I picked three again this time, and if you read my first Sunday Showcase, you’ll recognize one of them.

How Can We Stop Comparing Ourselves to Others?

The other day, I read an article by Claire Musters called "Don't Compare."  She said that comparing herself to others was something she did "throughout" her life.  So have I, and so have millions of others.  This got me thinking:  what self help is out there to solve this problem?  A simple Google search revealed a whole lot.  The expression "beating a dead horse" doesn't even compare to how many times people have talked about this subject.  There are so many articles written by people who have all experienced the same thing and how they overcame it.  You could spend your entire life reading them.

So why do I bring it up?  It's because despite all the help that's out there, people still struggle with comparing themselves to others.  Some people don't notice it.  For others, it's a glaring issue.  Maybe we're trying too hard.  Perhaps we need to look at it from a different angle.

Sunday Showcase - 3 Blogs to Help Launch Your Freelance Writing Career

Lately, I've been contemplating the possibility of freelance writing.  The more I keep up this blog, the more I realize I like writing and could do this as a career.  It's funny how it's taken me twenty-something years to figure that out (since I was born, mind you).  Because of my insatiable thirst to find techniques for becoming a freelance writer, I searched the web for blogs that would aid my decision-making.  It turns out there are too many freelancers to list, and it's a whole new world I'd never even heard of.  And the answer to how to become a freelance writer?  There is no right way.  Yeah, I'm going to have to chart my own course.

That was until writers started finding me on Twitter.  Whether it be about social media or writing, people are more than willing to offer their advice, and it was partially through these people that I stumbled across these three blog posts this week that can help launch me into a writing career.

6 Tips for Overcoming Shyness

Curtesy of Rainy Day Fun 

Believe it or not, I grew up being a shy, reserved person.  Any shy individual will understand how hard it is to express themselves to people, to speak in public, and to do anything unfamiliar.  Think back to your high school days.  Remember that girl who sat in the back of the class and never spoke?  You probably already forgot about her or didn't know she even existed.  Well, I was that girl.  Some of you reading this can probably relate.

Let me tell you a little secret.  Shyness can hinder your performance in life.  It can be so restricting that you can remain trapped in your own little cage for the rest of your life.  It doesn't have to be that way.  You can break out of your box.  It's not easy, but it certainly isn't impossible, either.  Here are a few ways you can break out of your shy shell.

Sunday Showcase: 4 People Who You Should Be Following!

I read a lot of articles, and occasionally I'll come across a few people or their blogs that really catch my attention.  So I came up with this new weekly blog idea that I like to call 'Sunday Showcase.'  Well, 'Sunday' ended up being relative this week.  It was supposed to be Saturday and now it's late Sunday night, but this post probably won't be finished until Monday.  I have my new second-hand Nintendo 3DS to thank for that.  Darn procrastination!

I see a lot of bloggers do this sort of thing, so I want to have one constant, weekly blog showcasing people I admire or blog posts that are well-written.  So without further ado, here is the first edition of Sugoi Sunday Monday Showcase!  This week's edition features people.

5 Tips for Effectively Paying Off Student Loans

When I graduated from university, I joined the growing mass of adults in debt who have to pay back their student loans.  But unlike many, I was determined to get out of debt as soon as I could.  An overseas teaching job helped with that, and I was fortunate enough to pay back more than $20K in two years.  Now that was an incredible feat, and when I told another ALT (assistant language teacher) about it, she expressed her jealousy in the most direct manner she could.  She said, "I hate you for that."  How frustrating.  I was rewarded for my hard work with a blunt, ignorant statement.  She had the same job as me and was making the same amount of money, so she had every opportunity to do what I did.

What that person was missing was self-discipline. 

There is No Future Tense!

This blog entry is brought to you by 'pluperfect'.  'Pluperfect':  the blooper of past perfect storytelling.  (Seriously, I hate that word.  It sounds like a blooper in the English lexicon that should be excluded from the dictionary.)

I follow a writing blog that discusses several factors in creative writing.  Among these topics is tense and how it is used in narrative.  Overall, the blog was a great read, but there was one thing that sent shivers of discontent down my spine, and it was in this one sentence:  "There are three basic tenses in English:  future, present and past."  Several grammarians, as well as linguists, would argue that there is something wrong with this proposition.  I used to think it was true.  However, I soon discovered its flawed logic thanks to my English grammar professor at university: