All Things Writing: A Blog for Writer

Article 
by

Mary Ann Loesch

I love finding blogs that help other writers, which is why am thrilled to be a guest today at Wise Words. I'm also slightly jealous of the title of this blog site. It makes me wish I had something cool to connect my last name to like Louise Wise does. True, I do have my own blog called Loesch's Muse, but it doesn't roll off the tongue like Wise Words.

Ah, well. That's life! I'm saddled with a last name that most people pronounce lush. Hmm…now that I think about it, sometimes that is a pretty fitting title for me as well…

Anyway, as I was saying, blogs that help other writers make me do a happy dance that would embarrass Madonna. They make me feel like I'm learning some secret that no one else knows or often they get me over the hump on a problem that I've encountered in my writing. Of course, a few years ago when my writing group decided to start a blog, I thought they were crazy.

Why would I ever want to write about writing? I'm too busy…well, writing.

It took a while for me to get into the swing of blogging, and as a group, we were kind of all over the place on topics. But once we got the hang of it, we discovered that our blog could actually do some good, and that's how All Things Writing was born. Each week we strive to write about topics that interest a particular group of special people: writers. The  areas covered on the blog include agents/editors, freelance writing, character development, writing prompts, styles of publication,  genre definitions, writing conferences, author interviews, and book reviews.

Being part of All Things Writing has helped me in unexpected ways. Through it, I've learned how to review other's works. It's actually harder to do that than I first thought! I've learned about how to conduct interviews with authors and how important it is to them to be asked questions about their specific book, rather than just the basic: Where do you get your ideas from?

I've also learned how to handle those pesky spammers and negative comments:
Tip 1: Be sure to have your admin settings set so that all comments come to your email for review.
Tip 2: Try to be gracious to the Negative Nellies because everyone has an opinion and we can all learn something from each other.
Tip 3: Don't be afraid to hit the delete button if the Negative Nellies are out of line. It's like giving them an on-line bitch slap and makes you feel really good, too.

If you are a writer, then you already know how important this next thing is: shameless self-promotion. Having your own blog is a great way to talk about your latest novels and when my new young adult novel, Bayou Myth, was released, I shouted it to from the blog's rooftop. However, if it's all I talked about….well, meh. That gets boring and in our case, constant self- promotion would defeat the spirit of our blog's original intentions--helping other writers.

I would love to have you drop by All Things Writing for a visit, and if you are a writer searching for help on a specific topic, browse our extensive archives. You're bound to find something of interest! We are always looking for guest bloggers, too, and I'm hoping to con Ms. Louise Wise into sharing some of her wise words at our site.

By the way, since I can't resist shameless self-promotion, here's a bit about my latest book, Bayou Myth. It's a tale of voodoo, teenage angst, Greek myths, and the legendary, Marie Laveau.

Bayou Myth

Amazon.UK
Amazon.com

As a sixteen year old voodoo queen in the making, Joan Renault just wants to be like all the other girls in the small town of Monte Parish, Louisiana—obsessed with boys and swamped with social lives. If the other kids would quit calling her “hoodoo hag,” she might have a small shot at normality. It would also help if Joan’s weekend outings with her secret crush, Dave, weren’t always being interrupted by her dead Grandmere, the legendary Marie Laveau. After all, it’s hard to make out with your best friend when your grandmother is watching! But when you come from a long line of voodoo priestesses with dried gator heads decorating the wall of their huts, normal doesn’t come easily. 

When Joan witnesses the brutal sacrifice of a child to a tree Druid, she learns her Grandmere’s scandalous past has come back to haunt those living in the present. Hera, a vengeful voodoo priestess is determined to use the residual energy of Pandora’s Box to revive a sleeping voodoo god and declare war on the descendants of Marie Laveau, especially Joan. Suddenly, Greek myths are being re-enacted all over town, and Joan has her hands full trying to sort it all out. With the approach of Samedi’s Day—the voodoo day of resurrection—Joan must learn to accept her destiny in order to stop the approaching threat to her family and friends.

A bit about the author Mary Ann Loesch.

Mary Ann Loesch is an award winning fiction writer from Texas. Her urban fantasy, Nephilim, was published in July 2011 by Lyrical Press Inc.  And an avid blogger for All Things Writing and Loesch’s Muse .

Mary Ann has also contributed stories in the horror anthology, All Things Dark and Dastardly. Her latest book, Bayou Myth, was released in June 2012. While she loves dirty Martinis and cuddling with her dachshund, she loves fan mail even more! 

Contact her through her website .