Writing Unleashed with Laura M. Harkins

Happy Wednesday! We're half way closer to Friday. I'm a week and half closer to YA Fest in Easton! And I'm putting the finishing touches on a Readers Write piece (Trying Too Hard) for The Sun magazine due at the end of the month. At this point, I haven't mastered the art of balancing two jobs with writing, but I'm getting closer. So, today I want to leave you with  Snippets from HoME titled "Trapped". I've been gathering observations and clips of conversations that stuck with me that I've tinkered with, and I am now sharing with you. Enjoy! Trapped Bumping against the window, the fly takes one more look at the world in hopes of escape before it’s crushed under the force of yesterday’s news.    What's on your busy schedule this week?  

It's 12 o'clock on a Thursday. The end of the week is almost here. I'm exhausted. All I want to do is crawl up on my couch and watch movies while the sun hides behind grey clouds blanketing the world with a moroseness, but I can't. I signed up for a writing contest with my first submission due on Saturday. I've been brainstorming all week, but have yet to get all those great ideas on paper in the form of a story. I work tonight. A double shift tomorrow. All day Saturday. There's not much time left.  Top it all off with craptastic Internet service courtesy of Comcast. Which is why I'm taking advantage of FREE WI-FI at the B&N with its rich people watching environment and swaying to Fiona Apple. The cafe is comfortably filled with people. How desperate I am to take a peek inside their heads to see what's really going while they munch on their "create your own combos", letting the caffeine course through their veins. What are they avoiding? 

This week's post is coming to you a few days late. Two weeks ago I didn't have a job. Today, I have two jobs. Unfortunately my blog got pushed to the side while I got life straightened out. So, without further ado... It's one thing to place yourself in front of the computer and commit your thoughts and words on your blog. It's a whole other story in terms of getting your post in the hands of readers. This past year I spent time with Pennwriters, Inc. marketing their online courses, writing SEO-friendly website copy for Yellowbook, and marketing my personal blog and my writers' group blog ( check us out ).  I've found many different social media programs and outlets that helped reached a large group of people. I use the following: Ping-In Pingomatic Google+ Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Writer'sCoffeehouseOnline Yahoo! Group Reading and commenting on other blogs Now, the readership for my personal blog is over 100, but my writers' blog needs

Some days a nice walk just isn't enough for me to work out my current WIP's plot problems or figure out where my characters need to go next or what to add to give the story more depth. On those days (which happens to be most days) I look to other writers.  Whether it's The Sun magazine, a novel, or a comic book, I find reading someone else's words and studying their craft inspires me to write. I keep a little note pad near me to take notes or copy snippets so I won't forget.  We should learn from one another, especially those of us who've reached the publication level. These authors found what works and I plan to get me a relatively cheap, but valuable education. Recently, my boyfriend asked me to read one of his Batman comics. This way he can share what he likes to read with me, and gives us something to discuss when we've run out of things to talk about. Batman: Court of Owls has been an exciting read and it has really helped my writin