Why I Deleted Half My Twitter Lists

Three years ago Twitter was my favorite site for connecting with people. I read a lot of blogs and retweeted any I found helpful. It was fun to pop on, see if anyone was drinking loads of coffee (like I do on a regular basis), say "hi" to friends and hopefully learn some new writing tricks through the links others shared.

I followed new people every day and they followed me too. It became harder to keep track of all these new people, so I made lists. But the lists grew large--too large. I created more lists.

Then I found myself reading fewer blogs at the same time many of my favorite bloggers stopped posting. It seemed like my Twitter feed no longer had fun snippets regarding silly cats, a lack of exercise and excess coffee consumption. It was link after link after link.

I never stopped checking in on Twitter, but I wasn't engaged.

I'm still not engaged.

Yesterday I went on Tweetdeck and wondered about some of the people I "conversed" with years ago. Was I missing something by not making more of an effort? 

This led me to reviewing my lists. Wow. Some of them were full of people I've never exchanged a tweet with. Others had duplicates. And some I wondered why I created in the first place. I had so many lists, I couldn't add them all as columns in Tweetdeck, which meant I never checked them.

Over the course of two hours, I consolidated my lists. I deleted over half of them. When I finished, I made sure Tweetdeck had a column for all of my current lists. Now I can actually see every list's feed when I log on. Isn't that the point of making them? *yes*

I don't know if I'll become more engaged on Twitter or not, but I took a step in the right direction. That's the thing about social media--sometimes we outgrow what worked for us in the past. It doesn't mean we have to quit, but we should tweak it to make it useful to us now.

Have you ever become overwhelmed by a social media site you used to enjoy? What did you do?

Have a fabulous weekend!!

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How I Make My Writing Life Easier

A few years ago, I was starting a new novel and I wasted time trying to remember my process. I also stressed about if I was forgetting anything. That's when it hit me. Why not write myself a template--a checklist--of steps to do each time I start a new book?

YES! 

Since I'm a plotter, I used OneNote. I created a Notebook with several tabs. The first tab was named, Plotting. I added several pages for character guides, GMC chart, Romance Journey, and Plot Points. Additionally, I typed up a numbered list of what order to fill the pages out. 

In addition to Plotting, I created tabs for Business, Research, Scene List, and Revising. 

This template made my writing life a whole lot easier!

Why? Having written instructions, an ordered way to tackle the project, and one place to keep all of my data frees my mind to focus on the book. I don't worry I'm forgetting anything. And I have every piece of information at my fingertips that I will need later. 

I called this OneNote Notebook my Book Plotting Template. I use it whenever I write a new book. So easy! 

Now that I'm facing new responsibilities with an actual editor (!!!), I created another section in the Business tab. It includes title lists, deadlines, and how-to-fill-out-the-Art-Sheet. I'm feeling much less stressed now that I've typed up instructions to myself. 

What is your best tip for making your writing life easier?

Have a terrific day!

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