And for some reason, I keep getting these reading app ads on my Facebook with snippets from the werewolf romance genre. I think it is because I watched through one of the ads for the Reel Short episodes for “Fated to my Forbidden Alpha,” and now that’s all that seems to pop up.

There is an upside and a downside to this. The upside is that I’ve run across some really good writing. The downside is that I’ve run across some horrible writing. Misspellings, poorly phrased sentences, and some of it looks like it was written by a child. No description. No imagery. Lots of missing words.

What I want to know is do they sell any of that trash?

The post What I’ve been reading lately appeared first on Martha L. Thurston.

As for my writing routines, I decided to focus on those blogs that generate the most traffic and ad revenue. Once I grow those up to where I want them, I should be able to start to hire a team to assist. At this point, I’m not even close. Think of my traffic currently in the lower double digits. We’re talking another year or more before I reach that stage of growth. If then.

All of these changes means that I can now choose a day to focus just on writing, a day to focus on scheduling social media, and the rest will be for sewing or creating. I don’t have to worry about what I can and can’t do. I don’t have to worry about if I have time. I don’t have to pick and choose. It’s a lot to think about when you are trying to deal with 10 websites. It’s less when it is 8. Now, it’s better with 6.

The post New Writing Routines appeared first on Martha L. Thurston.

This week I decided it was time to change my routine. I gave every day (including weekends) a designated work assignment. I would alternate between writing and sewing. On days where it was a writing day, if writing ended or I was unable to write for eight hours, I could stop and do a sewing related activity. That seemed like a winner, right? I would still be working on a business activity either way.

The biggest problem is not the day designation. The problem is I enjoy sewing. I’ll find any excuse to go sew. At least on days where my depression doesn’t seep in and cause me to be listless while my anxiety re-examines every awkward incident and event in my life.

So today is a writing day. If I can manage to find my thumbdrive (I don’t know why it isn’t where it is supposed to be) I may actually have time to work on my novel. That’s another reason why I needed writing days. I have much to write and finish this summer. My goal is to have my book finished by the end of July. I’m certain I can do it as long as I can stay focused.

The post WIP: Changing Routines appeared first on Martha L. Thurston.

I started and launched a blog in February of this year. The content was generated using AI Writer which is a plug-in that is available in WordPress. Out of the posts on the website, I wrote only one. The rest were created using AI Writer. Most of the time, it takes a blog 6-8 months to be ranked in Google. In 4 months time, I have searches coming up in the top 10 pages of Google, and half are on page 1. That’s incredible! I have some blogs that are not even close to that with 10 times the amount of content that are more than 3 years in age. My mind is blown!

The conciseness of the writing, I believe, is key. It is formally written and lacks style. I knew that would be the case, but then I think that is a plus for the AI because it is not dealing in fluff, or side notes, or silly banter. You get the picture. It is straightforward and to the point.

The downside is that more complicated pieces or lists require you to complete. For example, I tried to create a top 5 post, and it created a post, but I have a lot to fill in the blanks for. It even created a table for me and everything. Apparently, listicles or top anything is out of its range. Mostly because the AI has no way to gather the best of anything. It can’t compare things unless it is given the parameters to follow and without a program to do so, it lacks in that department.

Overall, if you are looking to quickly generate content for a new blog and have very specific keywords or key phrases in mind, an AI bot could potentially help you fill out a new blog to get ranked quickly. However, due to the lack of programming, I wouldn’t rely solely on the AI to do all of the writing. You do want to create some authority and connection with your readers, and the AI lacks that connection.

The post The results of the AI experiment is in appeared first on Martha L. Thurston.

Lately the headlines in my newsfeed has been about AI, and how it will be able to replace humans when it comes to creating written content. Is it possible that a computer program can create written content better than a human?

When I think of writing, I think of something personal, whether that personal is pen-to-paper or fingers-to-keyboard. I’m not certain that AI could possibly generate a post or even a book with the similar emotion that writing can convey. Is it not the writer’s word choice, voice, and style that make a text worth reading as it stirs the emotions of the reader?

Today as I sat in my counseling meeting (I’m not ashamed to admit that it is truly helping me to work through the loss of my parents that I pushed down so many years, but that is another post entirely), I talked about how I had started picking up my journal and scribbling down my feelings and frustrations. I told the counselor that I started writing and learning to close it up in an effort to push aside any anxiety I had been having. My son’s wreck has been frustrating, and I felt like I had suffered loss all over again. The extra pressure of being a caregiver and helping him left me feeling burdened again when I was just in the process of finding my place and where I fit in the big puzzle of life. I was working to create an independent son, to lessen the amount that others depended on me to pull my weight and theirs, and to free myself from overthinking. The wreck did not help. I felt like I spiraled back into old habits, so I found the journaling to be cathartic as I released, reassured, and sorted my thoughts. Is a program capable of producing this kind of emotion?

I suppose that the AI programs could produce stale, formal writing. I suppose that it could translate thoughts into an essay or article. However, I think that we would be able to identify the AI content from that of a living, breathing human. While it may be the next big push, I will remain skeptical.

The post Is AI the next big author? appeared first on Martha L. Thurston.

I’ve been extremely frustrated lately with the fact that when I sit down with every intention to write in the evenings, I can never find that spark of inspiration. What’s the deal? All day at work, I mull over ideas in my head and I’m certain that as soon as I’m home I will put pen to paper or fingers to the keyboard, but what follows is anything but productivity.

This has been a weekly occurrence, and I’m frustrated about the writer’s block that seems to happen at the end of my normal teaching work day. [If you are unfamiliar with what I do for my 9-5, you can visit my blog: Teaching ELA in the Middle. I sometimes chronicle my life as a middle school teacher there.] Why must I have writer’s block at the end of the day?

Then, something miraculous happened. I realized that my most productive writing times are in the morning after I first wake up and late at night (closer to midnight). What? How can this be?

My ideal writing time is not lining up with my daily Monday through Thursday schedule. Now I am at a loss for how to work this new information to my benefit. Do I get up extremely early during the week, or do I stay up extremely late and risk not being at my best for teaching?

I don’t mind this kind of schedule on a Friday night or Saturday, but I have no choice while school is currently in session to comply with my creative needs.

Ugh! I feel like my students right now: Ms. Thurrrrrstonnnnnn, this is tooooooo harrrrrrrd! And yes, it sounds just as whiney as it is written and with eyes rolling, pencils slapping desks, and frustrated children sliding down in seats.

How do you overcome writer’s block when you have to write?

I’m certain that in some alternate perfect paradise where I no longer teach, but I have freedom to write whenever the mood strikes, or I can write for as long or as late as needed, I wouldn’t have such severe writer’s block. Right now? It is horrible! Even with the multitude of beautiful journals, notebooks, smooth writing utensils, and gorgeous planners, I can’t manage to focus. Even my idea document is not benefitting me lately.

I need something to change.

The post The Frustration is Real appeared first on Martha L. Thurston.

Sorry for the MIA. So much has happened since my last blog post. I lost my domain name. Apparently some foreign retail store now has it. They are benefitting from the traffic that I had worked many years to create. I’m mad about that, but I refuse to pay them for the return of my name. I’m still the original Martha L. Thurston.

I was homeless for a course of time, and currently still displaced, although we are in a temporary home.

My son was also in a motorcycle wreck. That in itself was devastating when I think back to how I was told about it. It was as though he was dead. I’m not going to go back through that. If you’d like to read about it, it’s on my food blog at Sweet, Sassy, and Southern.

Overall, I really wanted to get my writing blog back up into action. Afterall, I have so much happening right now. My writing has been much slower, and not as pumped out as it has been, but that is okay. I am working on trying to get consistent with my posting, but sometimes life seems to happen (i.e. the wreck and subsequent weeks).

I have started working on one of my websites where I talk about building your own business. You can find that at Simple Handmade Business. I have included how to start your own blogging business. I will be expanding on that in the coming months. Right now, I’ve been trying to get everything updated and running smoothly. I’m still juggling many websites, although not like I was in the beginning. In the beginning, I was also running a sewing business. That has been put aside, and I’m not promoting like I would if I were in my own home where I could have ALL of my sewing things here, tons of fabric included. The website count of those up and running are eight (8). I still have 4 more that need to be, but I am leaving that for another day.

Until then, look for my weekly Saturday posts.

The post Did you miss me? appeared first on Martha L. Thurston.

This week I allowed something to sidetrack my progress. Everything was going well. I made two sales, and I sent those out early, but when I decided to create some new items, it completely stalled my progress.

I had several new items that needed to be embroidered, and I woke up Tuesday thinking about my favorite No-Show Stabilizer. Considering my recent orders used up much of the cut away stabilizer I had, I knew I needed to order some stabilizer, so I went on to Amazon to place an order. It was then that I realized I had just ordered a roll in February of this year, and I had only used it once. So where is this roll of new stabilizer?

This is the perplexing mystery. I have spent the last 4 days searching the house for this stabilizer. I have not found it. I can’t remember where I put it, because to be honest, it entered into the house the same time I had my stroke. Many things are fuzzy about February. I even went through photos that were taken during that time period to try and jog my memory, but I still can’t remember anything. Even the pictures mean nothing. This one thing has derailed everything, and I am stuck, unable to move. I could still do what I need to do, but I can’t push myself to do it. I don’t know why.

I know this is just a temporary sidetrack. I know that I will soon merge back into the activities I was focused on, but right now, I am burdened with this loss of consciousness that surrounds that time period of my life. It’s like a huge blinking sign pointing out the fact that it was serious while I had been trying to downplay everything.

How do I solve this problem? First, I plan to organize things better. Second, I plan to focus my priorities on something else. Last, I plan to follow through. It’s temporary. The main goal is not. It’s the same with writing. When you think you have written yourself, or your character, into a corner, leave it. Skip ahead to something else and go back. I have left my character in a corner for some time now. I’ve gone back and fleshed out their story more to see how they would fully handle this. I needed more for their character. When I find what motivates him, I’ll know how he will solve the problem. Until then, he is in that corner. The same with me. That stabilizer is tucked into a corner somewhere. I’ll find it. Until then, I’ll keep organizing until I find where I thought was the best place for it.

The post Sidetracked appeared first on Martha L. Thurston.

After much introspection, I decided it was time to make some changes to my business model. This pertained mostly to the ecommerce businesses that I created over the past 3 years.

June was such a busy month for me. I planned to make the grand announcement on July 27th (which coincidentally is my oldest son’s 30th birthday). My goal is to have everything in place for the change in structure. I have already changed over to an LLC. I just need now for the business to grow, and while I realize that some things will take time, I don’t have years and years to wait. I’m ready now.

I’ve envisioned it.

I’m prepared for it.

It’s time to dive in.

Just one problem: it isn’t quite sustainable at this point. The economy has taken this nasty downturn, and I don’t see it changing in the next 2 years. Inflation is running rampant due to the excess money the government dumped into a troubled economy that was struggling due to the pandemic. Companies whose manufacturing had slowed down due to lack of workers (Covid hit some companies harder than others), suddenly had to produce more product which drove up the prices. Now fuel prices are about to drive up the costs of other commodities (like grain and meat).

In the past, spending has often fluctuated depending on the economy, and when we grow closer to a presidential election year, things will generally go on an uptick. However, this is the first time that I have lived through a pandemic, so I’m not sure what to expect. My goal is to just push through with my plans and expect that it may take some time before things pick up to a point that I want it to pick up. Until then, I’m just going to keep going forward.

During the pandemic, it was all about pivoting your business to keep it going and growing. Now, it’s about change. Pivoting can only help so much. To pivot, you may offer another product. For example, those who created clothing items suddenly started selling masks during the pandemic. My change is much different. I’m moving from retail to wholesale. I’ve seen many businesses start to do both. I’ve been researching and seeking out manufacturing. Anything to create a product and process that is exclusively my own while keeping everything made in the USA.

Now to turn that change into an actual vision.

The post Changes appeared first on Martha L. Thurston.

During the course of this long weekend, I actually made several huge steps towards progress. On top of launching 2 more websites, I started designing and prepping another. I should have it up and running in a few weeks.

I decided, why slow down now? I think I’ll be able to find the extra time to do some writing this week, especially since it will be a short week with less to do. My biggest issue this week will definitely be school issues, but once I’m home, I can work on my businesses and blogs.

I’m still in the process of taking down inventory for my children’s clothing business. After printing off my inventory audit, I realized I had over 600 entries I needed to enter in my spreadsheets. At least once I finish, I won’t have to do this again next year. It’ll just be a matter of inputting new items made. Not starting from scratch.

I’m also planning to start tracking my time spent working my business over the summer. I want to know exactly how much time I’m truly spending on my business. Even time spent writing. (Of course, I say that while typing this at 6:30 pm)

Lately, I haven’t been in the mood to work any of my businesses, although I have a huge list of things to be done. I think it’s because I don’t see much in the way of forward progress or any hint of success (though it is there, just not in the way that one would think). I’ve discovered that blogging can be tough. You have to push through, and I have to keep reminding myself that what I post will take 4-6 months (maybe 8) before I see the benefit. When I compare each month, I see growth, but only in small increments of possibly $2, but traffic increments are growing by over 100 visits each month. Progress. Slow progress.

I believe this is one of the reasons why I decided to charge full speed ahead. I’m bored with what I’m working on, and I need a distraction. My distraction is to work on other projects while still working on the current one. I’m at the point of 1-2 new items per week in my current fully developed sites, and I’m pushing out writing for the new sites.

Not everyone can juggle this many. I will have 10 before the end of June. I have no problem working on two while also coming up with ideas for the others. I find my best solutions that way.

What about you? What are you planning to do this summer?

The post Full Speed Ahead appeared first on Martha L. Thurston.