I Graduated and Got a Job as a Journalist! // Coffee Talk

Hello! It’s me, Madeline. Remember me? Yeah. I went a bit M.I.A. but I am back and figured I’d do a little post to let you guys know what I’m up to, why I’ve been absent, and what you can expect from me in the future (hint: EXCITING THINGS!!!)

Since I don’t do monthly wrap-ups anymore (I kind of miss them? but I also feel like I just babbled on about myself for waaaay too long), I realized I haven’t actually talked talked to you guys!

I spend a lot of time over on Instagram talking about myself, but not here.

Personally, I love getting to know the blogger behind the blog. So, let me spill my own personal tea. I’ve also got a few housekeeping things to say, so let’s jump to it, yeah?

I GRADUATED & GOT A JOB AS A JOURNALIST!

Yes, my friends. That’s right. I’m actually using my journalism degree.

And this is mostly why I’ve been a bit M.I.A.

I’m working for a local TV news station as a contracted freelance web producer! Basically, it’s my job to put as many stories as I can on the website.

Right now I’m working full time as I train, but in the next month or so, I’ll switch to part time. So the next few weeks I’m kind of busy and I’m not entirely sure what will happen on the blogging front.

But I did want to write this post to let y’all know what’s happening. And also make the little announcement.

I’M MOVING TO A SELF-HOSTED WEBSITE (but nothing should change for you guys at all! except for my layout and maaaaybeee my blog name)

In theory, you should all move with me. Apparently, Jetpack will migrate my followers from this WordPress.com blog to my self-hosted website. All my posts and pictures and beautiful comments you beautiful people leave me are already moved to my own domain. And, this blog will redirect you to the new one.

Aaaand one final change! I’m thinking about changing the name from Caffeine & Writing Dreams to Happy When Writing. Thoughts??

TL;DR VERSION: madelinebartson.wordpress.com will become madelinebartson.com and it shouldn’t really affect you guys at all … assuming I know what I’m doing. I think I do?? Idk stay tuned lol.

I’M GOING TO BE RECYCLING OLD POSTS FOR YOU GUYS

That’s the plan. A lot of my older posts have graphics that don’t match my aesthetic, graphics that aren’t up to date with my color scheme.

Not to mention my style has changed quite a bit since I’ve started blogging. And, I’m learning more and more about writing and blogging and creating content that actually helps you guys!

O.G. followers, you might be seeing some old content again. New followers, it’ll just be like new posts!

I’m not sure if I’ll actually do this, but I think it’ll help me keep pushing out “new” content on a weekly basis, and it’s an easy way to keep my evergreen content p to date.

I’M REWRITING MY TAROT READER WIP!

Okay, this one isn’t quite as interesting … but I feel like I haven’t talked about my WIP in a while.

After some comments from a beta reader, I realized I needed either a major revision or a rewrite.

After reading John Truby’s Story Anatomy and doing all the (LIVESAVING!!) exercises at the end of each chapter, I restructured my WIP. I got to the heart of the story. And after that, I decided to go for a rewrite. I felt like the current draft didn’t resemble the real heart, and I knew revision wouldn’t dive deep enough to change that.

Which blog name do you like better? Caffeine & Writing Dreams or Happy When Writing? Will a name change confuse you guys? Also, what have you all been up to?? How is May going?

5 Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me About Blogging (It’s My 1 Year Blogiversary!!)

Today is a day in history, my friends. Today is my blog’s birthday! Okay, that’s actually kind of lame ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ but I’m always looking for an excuse to write “*throws confetti*” so … *throws confetti*

I’m honestly so grateful for this little corner of my internet where I can spill everything I know about writing to all my storytelling souls on the interwebs. I love talking about writing, and I’m so grateful that my blog attracts the kind of people that also love talking about writing.

In case you haven’t been around for the full year, let me fill ya in: I found my own creative process and learned to write by reading about other writers’ creative processes and how they write. That’s why I share mine!

Creating something from nothing is a little tricky.

Okay, more than a little tricky.

But there’s no road map or formula for creating. Writing a novel is all about finding your process, giving yourself room to create, and staying disciplined. Blogging is the same thing!

For the same reason I share what I learn along my writing journey, I want to share what I’ve learned along my blogging journey so far.

Grab some cake or coffee (or coffee cake ooooh) and let’s talk about 5 things I wish someone had told me about starting a blog.

(also, come throw some confetti with me *throws even more confetti*)

01. JUST START ALREADY

I published my first blog post a year ago, but I wanted to start a blog looooong before then. And I just … didn’t.

It was my 2017 summer goal to launch a blog. I didn’t start this sucker until May 2018.

I definitely wish I would have started earlier. A lot of my fears held me back.

I figured if I prepared enough, there would be no failing.

If I learned everything ahead of time, there would be no learning curve.

If I wrote enough blog posts ahead of time, I’d never be behind on posts.

All this waiting was a big mistake … which is kind of ironic because by waiting I thought I was avoiding mistakes, not making them.

I thought I was doing myself a favor by learning all about blogging and waiting until I really felt “ready” to start a blog.  I wish I would have jumped right in instead of spending so much time thinking I needed to launch a blog that would become an instant success.

02. WRITE FOR YOURSELF FIRST

A easier said than done — especially because blogging advice for new bloggers is “find your audience and then write for them.” Cut to the chase and say what readers want to hear.

Nope. Back it up.

I think before you can write anything helpful or enjoyable for anyone, you have to write something that’s helpful (like researching plotting so you can write a post about it!) and enjoyable for yourself. You have to be getting something out of the process first.

If you like what you’re writing about, blogging will be a) easier, b) more fun, and c) worth your time.

I tried to write for a younger version of myself. It wasn’t a terrible plan, but it was uninteresting for older me.

Now, I write posts that I want to read. It makes everything a lot more fun! (And if you’re not having fun, well, why are you blogging?)

03. MAKE AN AESTHETIC BOARD TO INSPIRE YOU

There’s an overwhelming amount of info on the internet about “branding.”

You have to pick colors that represent the essence of you (I am a rainbow, how am I supposed to just pick 3 colors??).

You have to use fonts that go well together but also stand out.

You have to use images that invoke a sense of your brand.

Like, what do you mean “brand” ?? I’m a person. 

Okay, branding is actually important, but tbt to #2. Use what looks good to you. Your natural brand and aesthetic will come from that.

Y’all know I love aesthetic boards for my novel. I wish someone would have told me to start an aesthetic board for myself and my blog. 

I think having a sort of aesthetic board capturing the type of vibe I wanted my blog to invoke would have been soooo helpful.

I probably wouldn’t have spent so much time trying to use gifs when they don’t invoke the “vibe” I’m going for. (I can’t even describe my vibe with words. That’s why aesthetic boards are useful!)

Believe it or not, having an aesthetic board to follow also gives you a lot of creative room. You can make choices easier because you’re not constantly saying “wait, does this match my vibe?” because you already know what your vibe isn’t. 

04. CANVA AND UNSPLASH ARE YOUR FRIENDS

I’m not gonna lie. Graphic design is hard. That’s why there are professionals (aka not me). But graphics are going to make your blog look so much more professional — and you don’t have to be a pro graphic designer.

Pretty graphics make for a pretty blog, but there’s this thing called copyright that makes using any images besides your own kind of hard …

Unsplash is great because you don’t have to worry about copyrights or any of that good stuff. Done and Done.

Once you have all your pretty images, it’s time to actually turn them into something.

Canva is easy because there are a lot of different templates. If you’re just starting out, I’d recommend playing around with making something like Pinterest graphics for mock blog posts.

After you know what looks good, you can start using fonts, colors, and graphics that are tailored to your blog’s “brand.”

05. IT’S GOING TO TAKE YOU A WHILE TO FIND YOUR VOICE … AND THAT’S OKAY!

When I first started blogging, I was disappointed with how my posts didn’t “look like me.” There were some gifs here, some floral separators, and some inconsistent formatting.

I was also disappointed that my voice didn’t arrive fully fledged and ready to roll the minute I sat down to blog.

My voice is still late to the party. I mean, not really because I’ve been blogging for a year, but you know. It’s a process. 

That’s something I think a lot of people conveniently forget to mention:

You’re going to find your voice by writing, not by looking for it.

If you’ve never blogged before, it’s gonna be a bit uncomfy. But that’s okay. The only way to discover the fact that you like ALL CAPS for important headers and lowercase for sort-of-important headers and coffee cups for separators is to keep creating blog content. 

Your voice is already inside of you. You just need to write enough to bring it out.

Do you have any blogging tips to share? How long have you been blogging for? What’s your favorite part?

Dear “Aspiring” Authors // How to Stop Aspiring & Start Being

DEAR “ASPIRING” AUTHORS,

Let’s get the obvious out of the way. “Aspiring” is in quotations because if you are writing, you are a writer.

You have to earn the right to be called an author, but you know how you do that? Not by being published, but by writing. 

If you’re writing, you’re a writer. An author.

You’re doing it, not “aspiring” to do it.

Maybe you’re actually not writing, though. Maybe writing is getting pushed lower and lower on your list of priorities. That’s okay. But it has to change.

I’m not saying you have to write every day. No, that’s actually how burnout works.

Writing doesn’t have to be the number one priority in your life. But writing does have to be a priority. 

Books get written when their author shows up and write.

Even if you’re only giving your writing 10 minutes of your day, consistently give your writing 10 minutes of your day.

I know. It’s a lot harder than it sounds.

Writing is frustrating because you put so much work — YEARS of work — into getting your book out into the world. Years of work before your hard work “pays off.”

Even before a debut, there are probably several other unpublished books that won’t see the light of day.

All of those books took a lot of work, no doubt.

It’s hard not to feel defeated when the story you have in your head doesn’t translate onto paper in quite the right way.

That’s okay. Because writing is FUN, right? Writing is our passion. We breathe stories and bleed words.

I know that’s easy to forget. Writing is hard, don’t get me wrong. But that doesn’t mean we have to dread it.

I’m going to take a stab and say that a lot of writers have a shaky relationship with their writing. And I think I know why: there’s not really any external validation until you get published.

So what do you do? Suck it up and chug along until you snag an agent, sign a publishing deal, hit a bestseller list?

Nope. Nope. Nope.

This is where the disconnect is.

You do NOT need to aspire for external validation.

Let me say that again: the only thing that makes you a writer, an author, is WRITING.

If you’re unhappy when writing, if you’re dreading your writing sessions, if you’re waiting for this freaking first draft to be over so you can start the second then edit the third then query the fourth, stop.

Writing is all about the journey. It’s about taking an idea and turning it into a book.

If you’re not enjoying the journey, if you’re not enjoying the process of writing your story then why write?

I can’t stress this enough.

Writing is hard, but I think we talk a little too much crap on our passion.

We whine and complain and do what we do because “I have all these words in my head and I just have to write them out but I hate every minute of this.”

Writing isn’t all butterflies, unicorns, and rainbows, but if you’re writing, you’re doing something you’re passionate about.

That’s pretty amazing.

I’m not saying if you dread and endlessly procrastinate your writing sessions, you should quit.

I’m saying that you should find a way to change that dynamic.

Find a way to let writing fill you up instead of drain you.

I wish I could tell you exactly how to do that, but changing your relationship with writing is a journey in itself.

Start with gratitude. Be thankful for your passion. Be thankful for your creativity. Be thankful for the time you have to work on your book.

If none of that works, then maybe it’s time to write a different story.

Write the book you want to read. That’s how you make sure that everyday you’re sitting down to a blank page of an awesome story that has yet to be written. And guess who get’s to write it? Yeah, you.

I once saw a tweet that we should all feel like Leslie Knope when we’re writing. How would she treat her story? Treat your writing like its a waffle or Pawnee.

Stop aspiring to be anything other than what you are right now.

Start loving your writing.

Once writing makes your soul happy, you won’t need publication or awards to update your status from “aspiring” author to author. Writer.

Stop aspiring and start writing.

How’s your relationship with writing? What are y’all working on this May? How can you give your stories a little more love?