750 Words

I recently discovered an amazing website.  It's called 750words.com and the premise is that you will write...you got it...750 words each time you visit.  When I was writing my dissertation, I was part of a "support group", where we shared ideas about motivation to write.  It was all a crapshoot for me, writing at random times, usually only on the weekends due to my full time work schedule.  One of the ideas shared was "morning pages", conceived by Julia Cameron and also explained on the 750 Words website.  The idea is that you wake up and vomit all the ideas that are swirling around your head.  It doesn't have to make sense or be publication worthy.  About three pages usually clears your mind of whatever is occupying that space.  AND...three pages equals about 750 words!  Genius idea! 

I shared the website with one of my dissertation buddies, since we both enjoy writing.  She was concerned about the privacy issue.  They promise that it is private and for your eyes only.  It is password protected and you can opt to share some of your thoughts with the 750 Words community.  I haven't shared anything yet.  However, if hackers can access your private bank information online, I'm sure they would be able to access your private thoughts.  They're in for a disappointment if they access my account.  It's really not that thrilling.

The best feature about 750 Words is the text analysis it uses to keep stats on your writing.  As soon as you meet your goal for the day, which can be longer than 750 words if you're masochistic, you can access the stats.  You can see how long the piece took to write, how many minutes were spent actually writing, if you were distracted, your mood during the writing, and what your main concern was during that time.  My favorite part is the movie-like rating.  Most of mine have been G or PG so far.  I guess I need to spice things up.

If you're interested in improving or continuing your writing, I recommend checking out the website.  Challenge yourself each day, organize your thoughts, because you never know what might become of it!

My First Travel Publication

This blog is my first foray into the non academic genre of writing.  After writing a dissertation, which requires edits and revisions from committee members, it's refreshing to have an unknown audience.

I discovered Pink Pangea on Facebook.  I had made a comment on one of the many travel pages I frequent, and they responded to my comment.  I checked out their page, where they post calls for a range of travel writing features.  I messaged the women who run the page, Rachel and Jaclyn, and received an immediate response and interest in my story.

I wrote about the influence my study abroad experience had on my future travels, especially my recent solo trip.  Please click here to read the article, and I hope to present you with some more publications in the near future!

One of the article's featured photos, "Older and Wiser".  Bondi Beach, Sydney, 2013.