It sounded like a really relevant project. Naturally, I decided to join. I wanted to be a part of something this special, and I wanted to represent my country! Good thing that I already had a poem in mind, something that I also translated already. All I had to do was record.
Fast-forward to today. Well, actually, I posted about it on my Facebook writer’s page right before midnight here. I’ll just copy-paste, I hope you won’t mind.
HERE IT IS!!! I honestly did not expect to be included. Hoped, but did not expect.
For one, they already received so many entries when I submitted ON THE LAST DAY. I really forgot about recording it! So in the wee hours of the morning, I combed my hair well and let it down, powdered my face and put on a little lipstick (that’s my idea of wearing makeup), and prayed to God I looked decent enough.
I’m not into poetry-reading (and might never do it again), but this was required. I had to write down the poem because I hadn’t memorized it perfectly. Tried so hard not to be that obvious that I was reading it. Unfortunately, I couldn’t record using the preferred sizes but was told my output was okay.
So fast-forward to today. I followed/subscribed to them because I do want to check out the other entries. Most importantly, I wanted to see in case I got included. Guess what? After a few weeks, I FORGOT to check! I also wasn’t checking my notifications in my private account. I just happened to NOW. Guess what again–somebody ACTUALLY tagged me 2 days ago!
So yeah, here is my entry. Sorry in case it seems the voice is not in sync with my lip movements. Some may remember this poem. I’d like to say “Enjoy” but I don’t Know if you will, HA HA HAAA!!! That said, I’m really just glad to represent! I dunno yet if there are more Pinoys there (I won’t be surprised). Oh, and special thanks to Sir Santiago Villafania
I found something on Facebook the other day. And it reminded me not to slack off from writing. I saw a post about the importance of punctuations but I lost it in the newsfeed. It said something like “I like to do three things. I enjoy eating my cats and…” doing something else that I don’t remember…I just laughed out really loud!!!
I’m also glad that I understood immediately. Quite frankly, I’m kind of a stickler to the Oxford comma. It’s that “comma used after the penultimate item in a list of three or more items, before ‘and’ or ‘or’ (e.g. an Italian painter, sculptor, and architect ).” The definition is from the Oxford Languages site. I also only Googled it.
When I write, I often find myself deciding if I should use it or not. I don’t often feel right not using it and that bothers me. The shorter sentences give me that dilemma. I always think twice about adding it or not. These modern times, not adding it is acceptable. Hard to accept for someone like me.
It’s a lot easier for me if they are made of phrases — putting a comma before the last phrase makes sense. You want to use the Oxford comma to better send your message across, not confuse people. It makes your sentences readable, too.
Would you or would you rather not use the Oxford comma?
I wasn’t planning on posting a #MondayMemoirs especially because it’s past Monday, but I had been re-reading and reactivating blog posts. As you can see from the image, at the Blog Archive section, I had been working on my 2004-2005 posts. Then I got it in my head to see what I posted on August 22, 2005. THIS below was the result.
Granted that the date was the 21st, but in the post, it said “I am now the Editorial Assistant/Writer for a magazine! I start tomorrow!” That means that today, 12 years ago, I officially became a professional writer! Isn’t that a very good reason to reminisce, celebrate and be thankful for???
Being a writer may not be a lucrative job, but I feel so lucky that I get to do what I love 🙂
Well, despite me saying last week that I wasn’t planning on joining Quora, I went ahead and actually started answering and answering questions! And I decided to join because I realized what it could do for my blogging, for #AskWednesday, for instance. It’s easier to interview this way. You will usually get immediate feedback.
So I posted my first and so-far-only question:
“As writers, have you ever had ideas only to find out later that others beat you to them? What were they?”
I kind of knew there would be yes answers, but I thought it would be interesting to find out writers’ personal experiences. Well, so far, I’ve only had several replies (I’m popular like that), from four published authors, but they are good answers.
First, we have Jesse Frankel a.k.a. J.S. Frankel, a Young Adult Fantasy writer. His works include Twisted, Star Maps, Picture (Im)perfect, The Catnip series, and The Nightmare Crew trilogy.
Mr. Frankel went on to enumerate his novels and describe what they are about, to emphasize his point (click on the image to read them). I am admittedly an adult who enjoys YA literature, so I think these are quite interesting, based on the backgrounds he gave.
Lastly, he said, “Now, are any of those ideas new or revolutionary? Nope, it’s the way you write about the characters and the situations that makes them special.”
To this, I agree. No one has complete intellectual rights over an idea unless it is very unique, which is, as implied, very rare. And until you’ve had it recorded in audio or print or some other way, you’ll have nothing to prove it’s yours.
Next is a short but sweet answer from Crissy Moss, author of Witch’s Sacrifice, Small Bites, and many novels and short stories.
I realized that’s true. I mean I’ve known it before, but this really emphasizes it. I told her, “Yes, you’re right! Even before Shakespeare ever thought of R&J, folk lores were already rich in many love stories resembling R&J’s. So in that respect, even William’s story isn’t so unique…”
Elaine Calloway follows. She is the best-selling author of the Southern Ghosts series. I’m posting her whole reply.
Good insight about being aware that you’re idea is not unique. And I think that’s the challenge, to still make it your own by adding in your own unique treatment and twists. She also mentioned about writing prompts, which a lot of blogger-writers are all too familiar with. Her example sure is interesting. And I love what she said at the end!
Note to Self: Read on those 7 plots…
Now, I saved this for last. I really love her specific answer! Classic!
Deborah Ross a.k.a Deborah Wheeler wrote the sci-fi novels Jadium and Northlight, various short stories, the Sword & Sorceress and Darkover anthologies, The Seven-Petaled Shield, and many others. I’m posting the complete answer as well.My reply: “Your account about someone having a very similar story is quite interesting. I mean, who would think anyone else would have a similar idea about a mother-daughter-octopi relationship??? I can imagine that you probably felt like a pale of icy-cold water hit you when you heard the editor. I do hope he didn’t think you stole somebody else’s idea…”
I certainly would hate it if anyone accuses me of stealing ideas! I do love the last bit that she said. I guess that’s really the mature way to handle it.
As promised, I am listing my Not-Really-Bucket List. Will add more pics and links soon. Remember, crossed out and in red means done. Here we go…
MY HAPPY LIST
1. Smile at people all day and see what happens.
I was 13. Heard a smile could make others smile, too, so I experimented with trying to spread joy. It was going well until a lady looked at me like I was crazy…
2. Do something really amazing and meaningful.
3. Ride the roller-coaster.
4. Try a scary sport or adventure.
5. Learn to swim.
6. Learn a third language fluently.
I’m partial to Spanish, which won’t be so hard to learn given our country’s history, plus I can find people to converse with. Just partial, not sure. We’ll see…
7. Learn Baybayin.
This is just to show my handwriting. Baybayin/alibata should be written vertically actually
Baybayinis the ancient script of our ancestors. Why it’s more commonly called as alibata is a bit of an issue, but that’s become the better-known, more commonly used term. We forgot about it while under the rule of Spain. We just began re-learning it in the recent decades, but people have just really started appreciating it this past decade (sadly, mainly because they think its characters look cool when used in visual arts).
I don’t claim to be an expert in it as I’m not that quick yet in reading words in baybayin/alibata. I do claim to be a baybayin/alibataadvocate, though. I think we should start really including it in the curriculum instead of simply teaching it under the Filipino subject in passing. Anyway, I tend to follow the Spanish-influenced baybayin/alibata because the use of the cross makes reading words easier, for me, at least.
Learned the martial art Muay Thai. Forgive the sort of leggings here. MT shorts are too short for better movement and I couldn’t find my cycling shorts that time
9. Learn to paint on canvass.
10. Travel around the Philippines.
11. Visit Disneyland with my family
Japan, Hong Kong or the US, whichever opportunity presents itself.
12. Travel around Europe.
13. Visit New Zealand.
14. Visit The Louvre Museum.
15. Experience the West End.
16. Experience Broadway. I literally mean being in New York watching shows.
17. See ‘WICKED The Musical’ live.
18. See ‘CATS The Musical’ live.
I was lucky to have watched both CATS and WICKED (and PHANTOM OF THE OPERA) with the help of my dearest mother and of one of my friends…Thank you!!!!
19. See ‘Les Miserables’ live.
20. See ‘Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat’ (JATD) live.
21. Act in a real stage play/musical (school skits do not count).
That almost came true. I was to be 1/3 of The Narrator in JATD. There’s only 1 Narrator but the Director wanted three for various reasons I won’t enumerate…*sigh* I’m not giving up yet, though. Who knows?
22. Go to the Netherlands, watch Veerle Casteleyn perform live onstage, get her autograph, and have a twofie with her.
24. Watch a Lea Salonga stage musical, get her autograph, and have a twofie with her.
How I got the twofie deserves another post. I was not able to get Lea‘s autograph, but this is okay already, right? The main purpose was to meet and talk to her face to face 🙂 Meanwhile, I have seen her perform live onstage in some of her musicals.
Miss Lea and I. Standing beside her only emphasized my plainness, but who cared???
The very-first Lea musical that I actually saw live was MISS SAIGON, but we were seated so far away and I was not able to buy a playbill *sniff*…See this faded ticket
25. Attend a live music concert that I paid for.
This concert, I enjoyed. Isn’t it obvious who I’m a fan of???
Back in college, I was able to attend three live concerts, all for free. One was because I interviewed a band for the school paper. The other two were care of the college radio station I worked for. I wasn’t even really a fan yet of all three. I watched because I got in for free. So I decided I wanted to be able to attend a concert I was really interested in and I would pay for my ticket. I did. Watched Mariah Carey’s live Manila concert. It wasn’t so nice an experience, actually. We were standing far from the stage and I think there were rain showers as well. Somebody was taking pictures and his/her phone got snatched from his/her hand.
26. Sing solo on stage in front of everyone.
I’ve got stage fright. Easier to conquer if with others, not so alone. I wasn’t even too crazy about the idea, but one of my best friends asked me to sing a song at her wedding. I thought better that than be a bridesmaid. I would have hated all the preparations. Also, I wanted to be able to say I did that even just once in my life. Turned out I’d do it several times, but not without me trembling inside everytime. At an office Christmas party, I actually messed everything up! Yikes! Epic fail! *hides* (No pics to show…thank goodness!)
27. Win an award or medal.
They’re not like some big awards or anything, but I guess I earned them. I did not know how I could get any, but I ended up getting some anyway. *Speech alert!* “I would like to thank the school paper and the radio station for those awards….” If they’d be interested to know, yes, I still have those certificates. They’re on my blogfolio’s Certifications & Awards page, filed under “PEER AWARDS/RECOGNITION”.
I did win with my village friends (twice, I think) when we played volleyball in the local summer league when I was a teener. Then when I was already working, I also won second place (or was it third?) with the School Administration Team (playing volleyball also) when the tertiary school we worked for let us join the Intramurals.
I played for the Administration team during the Intramurals back when I worked for a tertiary school. I’m third from right here. At my left (facing camera) is/was the Girl with the Smiley Heart
28. Choreograph a dance number.
Did that thrice in college for three different groups on different occasions. Won for me a Star of D’ Night Award, too, among other things 😉
29. Learn to play a musical instrument,
I think these count even though it doesn’t take a genius to figure out how they work
The kubing (jaw harp)
The bungkaka (bamboo buzzer)
30. Be in a respectable indie film playing a bit role.
31. Start a good family business.
My current idea: A sandwich place.
32. Build a reading and hobby room.
33. Buy a vehicle for the family.
34. Live in a beautiful house where it’s peaceful with our family.
35. Enjoy our future grandkids.
36. Get a master’s degree.
37. Become a teacher.
These are just some of the tests I gave the little boy
I somehow have some illusions of becoming a teacher. My kids are here, though, so I think I can cross this out. I’m a proud teacher, too — our incoming first-grader (as of this writing) actually passed his exam with flying colors! Someday, I might teach students in a real school environment, maybe about writing…
38. Become a radio DJ.
I always wanted to be one. Then when I was 13, one of my friends became one of what were called as Junior DJs and I would tune in to the city’s local station so I could listen to her and several other kids. Not without envy even though I knew that envy wasn’t good. The opportunity to become an actual DJ knocked when I was in college so I did not let it pass. I was even surprised I had the guts to try. It paid off, fortunately.
These were taken just a few years ago, just to show my radio colleagues I kept souvenirs all these years
39. Become a writer.
I wasn’t planning on making this my career because of the starving artist “syndrome”, but I am here because I think I sought this fate anyway. Fate is still part-effort.
43. Tell someone my innermost secret and hope not to be or feel judged.
44. Give birth to a live, healthy baby…
God has yet to grant this wish. We are not giving up yet so we hope he lets us have the baby the next time. We’ll try to be ready.
45. See both/all our kids graduate from college.
46. Build a home for the aged whose own families have abandoned them.
47. Buy a land and build a large animal shelter, for abused, neglected, and abandoned animals.
48. Grant scholarships anonymously (when I’m already rich, of course!).
Why anonymously? First, I won’t do it for recognition. Second, I won’t want other people to know I have money because people can use and abuse you when you have money. Three, I won’t want anyone approaching me for his/her kid’s scholarship. Let’s face it, a lot of kids don’t like to study. I wouldn’t want to feel sorry and obligated to send to school someone who doesn’t really want to be in it. Also, some parents will only use the kids to get the money and spend it on other things, not for the kids’ schooling. Someone else who’ll be working for me will handle applications. I’ll have a say on it, of course, but I won’t want people to know.
49. Build my Dream Museum.
50. Attain peace of mind.
51. Die happy.
52. Do my best jump for a jump shot.
This is My Happy List Item #52. What about it? CLICK HERE.
With the permission of all the peeps here, I shared this to JUMP FOR JOY! Photo Project‘s Eyoälha Baker and she posted it on her project’s Facebook page
53. Finally watch Patti Austin in concert, live.
UPDATE (Dec. 3, 2018): I was trying to check if there’ll be any show I’d like to see next year. I was going to save up. Then I saw THIS. AAARRGGHH!!! I’m so mad that I didn’t know. I’m even madder that the date is so near and I can’t go! No extra money for it *sniff* What are the chances that a Good Samaritan will be able to see this immediately and send me a ticket in time for the concert??!!!
I said I’d “try” vlogging because I am not sure if it’s something I can keep doing for years. But, at least, I’ll be able to say I didn’t waste my opportunity. And at least, I’m learning new stuff “tinkering” with YouTube. Meanwhile, I aim to buy better-quality equipment in the future. Right now, I make do with what I have.
55. Watch ‘Lion King The Musical’ live.
56. Meet my fave content creatorAndrea Soin person and take a twofie.
Not only did I meet her and took a twofie, but I watched her live during a taping/recording of an episode of a game show! She actually reserved a seat for me! It’s a long story really, which I will share soon (as of this writing, they have not shown the episode). I am happy that she now know I exists.
(PHOTO TO FOLLOW)
Okay, that’s My Happy List. I’ll add more to it if I think of more. Care to share your own happy list, though? Feel free to do so and put the link in the comments! 🙂
I have been meaning to write an article about something but have not been able to. Coincidentally, I chanced upon this guest blog post over at The Jumbled Writer. It’s a very good writeup on author responsibilities from novelistAya Walksfar.
I have decided to reblog it (with permission). Actually, I am unable to click “Reblog” so I just provided the link. Just click on the title or the image and…ENJOY!!!!
Nothing but quality products, 24/7 customer support, a lovely website, excellent service overall. Discriminating customers demand for the best, and that’s what your business is all about. So now you wonder, after doing everything right, how come business is not picking up? Frustrating, I know.
Basically, what you need is to reach out to more people than the usual. Make your online presence solid and felt. That said, have you checked your site lately? Start checking!
“A lovely website” needs to show brains and brawn, too, otherwise, you lose prospective customers. Perhaps, it’s time to hire a web content writer to help you.
Basic Auditing How-to
I got this image from the well-known Search Engine Watch that incidentally has written a more extensive article on this topic as well
Site checking or auditing is essential. For a website to be an effective tool in your business, keeping it should involve critical analyses, content strategy and the right people to make it work. If you already have a writer in your stable, then good. Make sure she knows or learns how to audit sites as well.
Writers mainly take care of the articles, but the misconception is that’s the only skill expected of them. A skilled one helps take care of things beyond the articles. In the web business, content means a lot of things aside from textual information.
For a start, in auditing, you need to know how your site is faring in the online world. What is its domain authority and page authority? How many backlinks and by whom? On what pages do search engines list it when a search is done, if it gets listed at all? And so on.
Next, find out its existing page status problems and technical issues. Those maybe getting in the way of good user experience, therefore, visitors leave.
Then there’s the matter of whether keywords, optimizations, web designs and layout work or not. An SEO content writer with ample knowledge of web development and design would be a prize to find.
All of the factors mentioned, your auditor needs in order to identify and analyze problem areas and consequently fix them.
To be able to do this, she has to have enough know-how, especially in using helpful software and platforms like Google Analytics, OpenSiteExplorer, SEMrush, WhiteSpark, and ScreamingFrog. She has to be able to interpret what the results mean.
But the more critical part is the analyzing, the precursor to crafting solutions.
Questions to Consider for Review
Of course, you or your current employees can do this, provided you have the time and necessary skills. You can start reviewing the contents, design and layout of your site based on some of the questions I have gathered.
Contents
Are the business names and logo/brand visible and clear? Where are they?
Is there a header image?
Where are the Name-Address-Phone (NAP) details in the site? Do they include emails and toll-free numbers?
Is there a Google map at the Contact Us page? How about at the footer?
Is there a working contact form in all the pages?
Is there a navigation menu at the top? Does the top menu have dropdowns? Is there a navigation menu at the bottom?
Are there pages specifically for Home, About Us / Firm Overview, Blog (if any), News, Resources, and FAQs at the navigation menu?
Are there pages for the Terms and Conditions and the Privacy Policy? Are there links leading to them?
Are there sidebars? Does your site need them?
Are the images and videos posted in the site relevant and clear?
Are there visible social media logos around the site?
Do all the links redirect properly and to the right pages?
How many fonts are used in the site?
Are accreditation and/or rank seals added?
Are there copyright details at the bottom? If yes, are they present in all the pages?
Design Principles
Is there precedence (guiding-the-eye)?
– position (where something in particular is placed), color, contrast, size (does it affect perceived order of relevance), design elements (largely based on what is added to the site and how it affects visitor’s actions)
How effective is the spacing?
– line spacing (affects readability), padding (putting space between text and other elements), white space (for balance, proportion, and contrast)
How clear, easy and user-friendly is the navigation feature?
Are there breadcrumbs in all the pages, sub-headings and a sitemap?
How are the texts (typography) looking and working?
– font choices (do they look good and appropriate for the site, how many used), font sizes (affects readability), spacing, line length (affects readability), color (must make sure the texts can actually be read by anyone), paragraphing (left-alignment is always suggested to avoid gaps)
Are things aligned in an orderly and polished manner?
How is the design clarity? Are the pixels creating problems?
Is the site aesthetically pleasing as well as useful?
How relevant, clear, appropriate and useful are the pages and contents to the site?
Are there unnecessary elements (music, flash, autoplay, etc.) that can be done without?
Are the title pages/headings easily understood and logical?
How informative is the FAQ page?
Are testimonials included in the site? How many? Do they appear real or fake?
Is the Call to Action clear?
– contact forms, online customer service representative, registration feature, email address for questions and feedback, indirect action items like “learn more”
Is the site selling something? Does it have an SSL certificate?
How mobile-ready is the site?
I have given you initial ideas on how to audit your site. These are culled from research (like a Psdtuts+ article I found very useful) and my own auditing experiences. There are more to find and learn but the further research, I will leave to you. Meanwhile, your auditor must be able to work with your web developers and designers to incorporate changes.
In auditing, it’s not simply knowing what to look for. It takes a lot of common sense, an analytic mind, patience and practical approach—all of which, the writer hopefully has. If your current writer is not cut out for this, find another who is. Hire a web content writer who can.
NOTE: I’ve been saying this for a year or so already. This was originally a guest blog that got published along with my byline. Unfortunately, the site soon became inaccessible for quite a while. It went back then I found that somebody else took my place as author. I tried every way to reach them and actually sent a message telling them to fix it, to no avail. I just checked last Friday and found the site missing again. So here it is, I thought I’d share here. It’s just fair considering that it was supposed to be a reciprocal thing. No one paid anybody and if the other party is unable to hold its part of the bargain, we have the right to take back what is ours.
After almost two days of going offline, I was surprised to find that I got 43 hourly views yesterday. I don’t know what really spiked the stats up, but who’s complaining? Definitely not me. That may not be big enough a number for power bloggers, but that’s quite big already for this simple blogger. I do know that in the coming days, the views will go up for sure and I hope viewers will not just view but stay as followers.
April is just around the corner, which goes to say that it’s time, once again, for the A to Z Challenge! Based on experience, joining has a lot of advantage, particularly, one can gain more followers just by participating. Again, I have signed up for the challenge and considering that I will be staying home the entire month of April, I really just might finish all letters on time. That’s enough motivation for me. Added bonus is I will get to practice my writing more, which is very important for writers like myself.
On a really more personal note, I see this as therapeutic for me as I go through this current phase in my life. I believe in healing oneself by learning to move on. It is not to forget, rather to cope.
That said, it is time to reveal my theme for this year — MYSELF. I don’t want to go far, or pretend to be an expert on specific topics, or be OC again and spend too much time doing research on whatever ideas I can think of. I’d like to share “ME”. For me as a writer, it’s important to share myself to my audience. They’re not going to be profound stuff (though I can’t promise none will be), but just tidbits of what makes me, Me. People in mylife, favorite things, stories, poetry, experiences maybe…I say maybe because I’m still in the process of writing down my ideas per letter. Maybe you’ll like my posts, maybe you’ll say, “Nah.” Hopefully, you’ll want to go back and stay as my new online buddies.
Awards time!!! This has been a long-time coming, but here it is. With apologies to those who abhor awards, but as I said in the past, I appreciate awards. Thank you again so much to Jafar for giving me the One Lovely Blog Award. I got another award, but his came first so I will address it first.
For the One Lovely Blog Award, these are the rules:
1.Thank and link back to the person who nominated you for the award. – I just did above.
2. List the Rules and Display the One Lovely Blog Award logo to your post and/or blog. – Here they are.
3. Share 7 facts/things about yourself. – Find them below.
4. Nominate around 10 other bloggers and let them know about the award. This is a way to introduce others to bloggers that you love. – I will skip this one and explain later.
5. Follow the blogger who nominated you. – I already started, pre-award.
Okay, for the 7 Facts About Me, I decided to focus on my name(s), which explains the title of this post. I just thought, “What else can I share that I haven’t yet?” Then I realized that I have always wanted to write about the evolution of my name(s)…Well, sort of evolution. I know you’ll probably go, “Whut?” but here it is and I hope you’ll like what I’m sharing just the same. 😉
1. Jay-Gee is how you pronounce J.Gi. I’m sure a lot of people have been wondering how to say it. That said, just call me Gi, short for Gigi, my real nickname. No, it’s never Jen or Jenny, though people automatically assume it just because my name’s Jennifer. I answer best to Gi.
2. “Gi” went through changes. Looking at old pictures, my mother wrote at the back and spelled my name as J-I-J-I (I think that’s cute), but later on, she changed her mind and began spelling it as G-I-G-I, which is the accepted norm, anyway. In high school, my sister did a cut-out of my nickname and stuck it on my door — it said Ghie-Ghie. I followed and spelled it as G-H-I-E even till I began working. That is why a lot of peeps still refer to me as Ghie. I really dropped that one long ago.
For some reason, Filipinos grew really fond of adding an unnecessary “H” to their nicks or their babies’ names, like Lhyn, Bhen, Johnathan, etc. My sister’s name looks cool, though, but I would have hated it if I were named Jhennifer, or Jenhiefer, or Jennifher. With apologies to anyone named as such, but...
This is the galunggong
3. My entire gradeschool life, I was called Jennifer F. mainly because I always had a namesake in class. Except in fourth grade, but someone was nicknamed Gigi, too. I didn’t tell my classmates about my actual nick for fear of being teased as galunggong, a kind or sardine that was then–and sometimes is still–normally referred to as G.G. So I stuck to Jennifer all the way through high school. There was a Jenny in my batch, and a Je and a Ge, which were short for Jean and Geraldine respectively, so I decided to stick to Jennifer.
My blocmates in college called me Jennifer but Gi became my “in” name when my sister introduced me to her co-members in a school organization as Gi. I ended up living with the family of a member, renting bedspace, and the people I met there called me Gi. A batchmate used to call me Jen but when she also rented bedspace in the same house, she began calling me Gi. She was already part of the school paper, which I also joined and she introduced me as Gi. Then we and several co-writers became members of a film organization so, well, you can guess what they call me by now 😉
4. Why J.Gi? When I decided for a writer’s name, I think that was probably around the time I started working for a magazine, I wanted it to be Gi Federizo, kind of like Og Mandino or something. But at the same time, I still did not want to disrespect my parents so, as a “compromise,” I retained the initial. I did want it to be somewhat unique so J.Gi was born.
At the time I thought of this, I met a couple and the guy’s nick was J.vee. I thought hard to give up J.Gi so as not to look like a copycat, then I realized, who cared? Besides, it’s not like I was sure to become famous anyway, so why be bothered? It was not like he had copyright over it.
5. My new last name is Enriquez. As a writer, I retain my maiden name. No laws against that.
6. I have been these people:
Li’l Dove Feather — derived from two names. My favorite Cats The Musical character is Jemima, which means “little dove”; the actress who played her on video was Veerle Casteleyn and “veerle” in Flemish means “feather.” Incidentally, that sounds like my last name anyway.
Maya Sands — a combo of my favorite name, Maya, which I decided to use for my story’s main character, and Sands, short for Sandra or Sandra Dee, my airname back when I was a student radio DJ. I also answer to Sands like it’s second skin.
Charlize Gracie Dylan — also a combo of sorts. Not a fan of Charlize Theron but I liked the name at the time. I like the name Gracie, sounds really sweet. Then I like the name Dylan for a girl, also my fave character from the Charlie’s Angels movie (so sue me). Writers whom I met from Yahoo! groups and with whom I am connected still through Facebook still call me Gracie.
7. I do have a fourth alias, one that I cannot divulge. Let us just say that she was both a part of a social experiment I did on my own, and a kind of means to release depression at the time. She was more like a fictitious character rather than just an alias because I gave her stories, I gave her history, I gave her life. She had a life of her own. Of all the characters I have ever created, she was the best, and the world will never know.
So that’s it about my seven facts! He he!
As to why I am not nominating any blog, it’s not because I don’t want to or there are none that deserve it. It’s mainly because I have decided to create something a little bit different, something that won’t require anyone to pass the award on to be able to accept his/hers. I mean no disrespect to the original creators of existing awards, BTW. I personally like your awards. But I will leave it to others to decide what to do with theirs.
Call it ‘online journaling,’ ‘weblogging,’ or simply ‘blogging.’ Gone are the days it was called ‘writing in my diary,’ which we kept under lock and key, stacked away where no other person could find it. Nowadays, we write in our own journals for others to find and (gasp!) read.
Blame it on technology. Due to social media, weblogs emerged out of people’s need to be heard and seen, and to return to others the favor. It’s neo-exhibitionism and -voyeurism in a more positive context.
Everyone can now have his own blog. A web content writer like you, however, is not everyone.
Creating Your Brand
Brand awareness is the key to landing projects. You don’t just write and hope what you’ve written is good enough. “Good enough” is not good at all if it fails to capture and keep your intended clients’ attention.
Let them know that if an article is by you, it’s all about originality, credibility and quality—YOUR brand. That will definitely keep them interested in getting you especially when they outsource article writing.
Always keep that in mind when you are blogging. By now, you’ve heard of the famous line “Content is king.” Concentrate on that, make it your blogging mantra.
Meanwhile, a part of building your brand is to make sure you are doing things properly when you blog. This is important as many employers do tend to check how applicants “behave” when they don’t think the employers are looking.
They want to make sure it is really you who have written the samples sent them, if you can be trusted with company information, if you can do more than write content,…The reasons are for them to know and for you to find out, hopefully, not the hard way.
Becoming a good writer isn’t just through writing well. Half of it is practical know-how, common sense and discipline.
Blogging Ethics 101
As a blogger, there are several things you must remember and that are listed below. These are quite important, considering that as a web content writer, writing is your life and, most probably, your bread and butter. You’ll want to look as professional as possible.
1. Post more articles rather than photos and videos of yourself so that clients can have a look-see on your potential as a writer, not as a photographer, filmmaker or party animal. Not to go off-tangent here, be careful with what audio-visuals you choose to share either. Wholesome is the word.
Remember, this is the word to follow when posting stuff in your social media accounts as well. If you’re going to be unwholesome, make sure you keep your account private. Stay hidden from prying eyes.
2. Blogs are often where some share private thoughts and vent their spleen on various angsts. Well, it’s your blog so you can do that, but if you want to be taken seriously, don’t. Treat your blog as your own business, ergo, professionalism and discretion are in order.
Write less about your emotional baggages. In fact, reserve that for a more personal, more private blog.
3. Be trustworthy. Prospective clients, for instance, won’t be impressed by you dishing out dirt and trade secrets of past employers.
4. Never plagiarize. In a comment somewhere, somebody shared “…what you can do is pick up the content from that website and modify its language so that the language that appears on your blog does not match with it. So you get your content as well as escape from plagiarism.” Uh, not really.
Clueless or just plain evil, I don’t know. Changing clothes, however, does not change who you are. So plagiarism is still plagiarism, no matter how you dress it up. Any self-respecting writer will never do this and try to fool himself. If you’re worth your salt, you”ll be a decently working professional. It gives that pop-culture born phrase “Honest to blog!” a whole new meaning.
5. Don’t be a snob. Reply to comments to your posts. If others find time to read what you’ve written and comment, say even a simple “thank you.” That’s being respectful, showing appreciation and a sign of professionalism.
Don’t be afraid to read and comment on others’ posts either, although always make sure you comment wisely. That can widen your network and build up your reputation as a credible writer.
Very easy tips, really, but highly important. So keep to the right and you’ll never go wrong. You can only get better.
Before anyone reacts violently and say we should blog what we want to blog about, let me say that first, I agree with you (as long as it’s not any kind of discrimination), and second, the target audience for this (though not strictly just for them) are web content writers. This is actually a sort of reblog of Blogging the Ethical Way.
As a guest blogging venture, the deal was the article provider would get exposure but the publisher got exclusive rights to the unique article. However, the publisher’s site has been missing for many months, so to speak, and now it’s Domain For Sale! That’s hardly fair, is it? So until they come back, this stays here.
The End Justifies the Journey 