Blogging from A to Z April Challenge--Prepped and Ready to Go

There's Still Time--Come and Join Me!

Have you heard of the "Blogging from A to Z April Challenge"? Until about a week ago, I hadn't. Marie Ann St. Jean's blog, Write, Wrong or Indifferent, turned me on to it. Of course, you may also be tripping over this pic on every blog you cruise (seems like I am):

A to Z Blogging Challenge badge.

Starting April 1, 2010, intrepid bloggers of all genres are to write a blog post a day, taking Sundays off. Each day's topic will start with that day's letter. For example: April 1 starts it off with the letter 'A' and my topic will be 'Accountability'. The letter 'I' falls on April 11, so 'Interviewing' or 'Independence' would work as topics for me. The challenge ends on April 30, with 'Z'.

This is the first blogging challenge I've signed up for, so I was pretty excited. Started making my topic list that day. I even have the first post scheduled. Yep, like a puppy with a new toy, I had to shake the idea to death, gnaw on it and give it all my enthusiastic love.

Tamara Writes was the 536th blog to join and the total number has swelled to 645 and counting. Everyone is welcome, so come join the motivational insanity..err..fun! Visit Arlee Bird's follow-worthy Tossing It Out to sign up.

Flash Fiction to the Rescue!

Something unbelievably cool happened five days ago. My creative writing was chosen for the March 2011 issue of  Leodegraunce, an online flash fiction magazine.

Leodegraunce was founded and is edited by freelance writer and erotica author Jolie du Pre.

Something even more fabulous happened the month before that--I submitted the story. Say what? If you're a freelance writer, like me, who is always busy plugging away at non-fiction, then take a minute to feel me on this one. Finding the time to unleash the creative writing beast can be an epic battle. And you resent--yeah, just a little--the work that pays the bills.

I've been in a rut, so down in the writing dumps that not even my passion for news writing could light a fire under my...fingers. My creative mind was staging a coup.

Leodegraunce interview with Tamara McRill.

So it was flash fiction to the rescue! I saw Leodegraunce's call for March submissions and that the flash fiction piece had to be less than 200 words. Topic: Isolation. I took a deep breath, let my mind spill onto a blank Word document. Edited--quickly, before deadlines distracted--and submitted. Done.

And the pressure in my head subsided. I enjoy my daily grind again.

So don't feel smothered. Feel free to be a flasher.

Psst...Oh, and also feel free to read my Leodegraunce interview and then click on over to the 'Submission Guidelines.' Looks tempting, huh?

Update 3/19/2011: Leodegraunce does not archive the flash fiction selected to be published to the site. There will be an anthology printed for this year. :) Even if you didn't catch my story "The Machine" you can still view my author interview linked above.

Yahoo! Local Beta Announced in Limited Cities

Yahoo! Local a new opportunity for freelance writers.

Writers, are you ready to go hyper-local?

Yahoo! Local (beta) was officially announced Wednesday, on the Y! Yodel Anecdotal blog. The launch covers more than 30 locations, with more said to be added soon. All of which will need writers to provide local content.

This new site launch is a freelance writing opportunity waiting to be seized. It is also a chance for writers to carve out a niche in their own backyards. So how do we, as writers, put ourselves in a better position to take advantage of this new market?

Do your research/study the market. Peruse current content on Y! Local and take notes on

Are Yahoo! & AOL Tapping into Local Content Goldmines?

Small Town Saturday Night, by Malcolm MacGregor.

...and are some towns just too small to matter?

Local content. This buzz phrase has been building to a roar for the past year, or more. Savvy writers, such as Pam Gaulin, have been preaching it to fellow online writers for longer. 

Search engines turned content providers AOL and Yahoo! are banking on converting loyal readers into profits, with Yahoo! Local (beta) and Patch. But will these new hyper-local sites, both in infancy stages, be focusing on areas where reporting is needed most--small town America? Would it be worth it?

Both sites do cover cities with populations under 20,000. For example, both are testing the waters in Birmingham, Michigan, population 19,291. But what about towns with under 5,000 people? That will be the interesting part of the hyper-local experiments--if coverage is given to these rural areas.

Hot 100 for November aka an Excuse to Post

 

My page views for November 2010 on the Yahoo! Contributor  Network (Y!CN), formerly Associated Content, merited a nifty 'Hot 100' badge. This is only the second time I've won this badge--the first being in September 2010--which is given to the top 100 contributors with the most traffic.

It's cool. It means my Y!CN bonus is larger than normal, but it is not the reason I'm posting. The badge is an excuse to post. Not that I've had a lack of topics to discuss. I seem to have contracted blog paralysis--where the ideas flow, but the fingers refuse to type.

This is me getting over it. Now if I could only kick this cold...

Lazarus Update: Form App Resurrects Lost Writing

Firefox App Article Saver for Glitchy Submission Templates

In July, I wrote about a form data saving application for Firefox called Lazarus. It looked like the ultimate solution to bringing back writing snatched away by submission template snafus. I promised an update, so here's the lowdown: It works!

I first had the chance to use the app a couple months ago. Logged out in the middle of submitting a finished article, I got the dreaded session log out message. Holding my breath and muttering, "Please, please, please work," I logged back in. Eyes closed, fingers crossed, I hit the 'Back' button twice and arrived at the blank template. Right clicking on an empty field, Lazarus was

Freelancers Can Celebrate National Boss Day Too

Psst..Hey Boss, Thank Yourself Today!

National Boss Day may have been recognized yesterday, but as a freelancer you make your work week. October 16 is the actual designated date for Bosses Day, so give yourself a pat on the back.

Yes, you! As a freelance writer you are the boss. In the spirit oh the "holiday" be sure to reflect on everything you have done in that capacity to make your life as a writer easier.