Blogging | oliviaobryon

Jul 10 2012

Life, Writing

Happy One Year Blog Birthday!

Okay, so technically, I started my blog on 7/22/11, which means today is not my actual blog birthday. Still, I am one of those people that likes to give presents early and draws birthdays out into weeks, maybe even whole months, so why not celebrate a little ahead of schedule? Besides, I’ll be traveling 7/22, and I want this to give this post some thought.

So, let’s take a little trip back in time. One year ago, this month, I decided to start a blog. Inspired by Gretchen Rubin’s the Happiness Project, I was determined to create a regular space for something in my life that I love, writing. I was also coming off my first juice fast, so the world looked especially magical through my newly cleansed, hippie eyes. Thus, I named my blog, “Today is the best day of my life,” my little pinch-me-it’s-real reminder for my first summer break in years.

However, as with many good things, I eventually came to hate that name. Funny how sometimes we even manage to annoy ourselves with our own optimism. Still, the name stuck, because I did not know what else to call it and part of me wanted to hang on to that reminder to live in the moment. Then, two months ago, my cousin suggested I move my blog to WordPress, clean it up, prepare to put myself out there as an author. My chance for a new name, my own.

I took his advice, and here I am. I have to say, there is a night and day difference between Blogger and WordPress. Exponentially more readers, yes, but also the unexpected enjoyment of deeper connections with others. Writers, teachers, travelers. Turns out that deciding to start a blog was less about putting myself out there on my own and more about finding a community, a place to belong, words and all.

Here’s to many more years of blogging and writing happiness!

Live Life, Be Brave is still the guiding principal for my blog, 150 posts and one year later!

Tagged Blogger, Blogging, Community, Happiness, WordPress

Jul 09 2012

14 Comments

Family, Life, Writing

Overexposure.

“Studies have shown that, indeed, introverts are more likely than extroverts to express intimate facts about themselves online that their family and friends would be surprised to read, to say that they can express the ‘real me’ online, and to spend more time in certain types of online discussions… The same person that would never raise his hand in a lecture hall of two hundred people might blog to two thousand, or two million, without thinking twice.”

– Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking

This statement is generally true for me, (although I might raise my hand in a giant lecture hall if my participation grade depended on it…). I express myself better with written words and find that I share more willingly behind the protection of a computer screen. However, every once in awhile, I blog and walk away unsettled with some piece of myself that I too openly shared. Yesterday, was one of those days.

I wrote about the pressures on women to have it all, flourishing careers and children. Inspired by the brave author of that Atlantic article, Anne-Marie Slaughter, I found myself sharing more than I normally would about my own tug-of-war between career and children. Each time I reread my words, I had a hard time pinpointing what exactly made me feel uncomfortable, but still, there was something there, some part of me overexposed and vulnerable that I just could not leave on the internet for all to read. I deleted it.

In bird by bird, Anne Lamott says, “We write to expose the unexposed. If there is one door in the castle you have been told not to go through, you must… Most human beings are dedicated to keeping that one door shut. But the writer’s job is to see what’s behind it, to see the bleak unspeakable stuff, and to turn the unspeakable into words… You can’t do this without discovering your own true voice and you can’t find your true voice and peer behind the door and report honestly and clearly to us if your parents are reading over your shoulder. They are probably the ones that told you not to open that door in the first place.”

That’s the funny thing about blogging. It can be very raw and exposed for that exact reason. All of the people in your life are sitting on your shoulder and sometimes it is difficult to find the exact words to help them understand what you’re really feeling. Even though I did not say anything over-the-top, or crazy yesterday, and no one in my life reacted negatively, I still felt vulnerable because the topic of family is sacred to me. I could not expose myself without feeling overexposed.

I like what a close family member said to me last night, sitting out under the stars, “Expose yourself in fiction.” For now, I agree, even if I deeply admire people like the author of that article, people willing to expose themselves to make some greater point.

Tagged Blogging

Jul 06 2012

8 Comments

Writing

How did you pick your writing tagline?

I get that for some of you writers out there, your genre is pretty darn obvious. You write romance, or scifi, or horror. But what about the rest of us, just writing books about life? What do we call it?

I’m not self-important enough to claim that I write literary fiction, maybe someday, but not there yet. Neither is my work popular enough to call it popular fiction, (heck, I’m not even published, so much for popular). And, I hate the term chick-lit, because really, why alienate half the planet with that label?

Labels, labels, labels. I like what John Updike said, “The category of ‘literary fiction’ has sprung up recently to torment people like me who just set out to write books, and if anybody wanted to read them, terrific, the more the merrier. But now, no, I’m a genre writer of a sort. I write literary fiction, which is like spy fiction or chick lit.”

So, I guess that leaves me somewhere in the range of contemporary, modern, commercial, or mainstream fiction. But, which one is it? Aren’t they all the same thing? Today I received advice from a young literary agent whose weekly blog posts I really enjoy. She suggested I create a new tagline on this page, something that better describes my writing. While I agree with her, I have trouble picking the right words. Somehow calling myself a writer of contemporary fiction does not say very much. Writer of modern adventures, perhaps? Even that may be promising a thriller instead of just a story about life. If you write in the sphere of literary or contemporary fiction, how did you decide to label yourself?

Even Powell’s blue “literature” room is a catchall for the books that do not fall under the traditional genre umbrellas. But, how does calling something literature describe it?

Tagged Blogging, Contemporary Fiction, Genre, Literary Agent, Literary Fiction, Literature, Novel, query

Jun 28 2012

4 Comments

Teaching, Writing

Is it a Teacher’s Freedom of Speech to Blog?

This morning, a concerned friend emailed me an article about a teacher in Philadelphia fired for the content on her blog. While I appreciate his concern, I am not going to stop blogging about teaching. He raises an interesting point, though. Where does the line between freedom of speech and overstepping your work boundaries fall?

To me, it seems pretty obvious that you do not talk poorly about the administration at your school. That would be about as smart as calling your boss an a-hole on the internet. Likewise, I would never write about hating a student or their family, even though I might write vaguely about my frustrations as a teacher with said student or family. For me, the trouble arises when you start to draw the line in the sand. If one comment is not protected under free speech, then is the next teacher going to be fired for expressing frustration instead of hatred?

I think it is absolutely essential that I have the right to tactfully share the good and bad parts of my job. Unfortunately, in today’s political climate, teachers get bashed in the news left and right for being lazy complainers, (what, we only work nine months out of the year, right?). I consider it my little contribution to the teaching world to speak up and share what my job is actually like in hopes that maybe a couple people begin to see teaching differently. After all, education will not change unless people know what it is like for teachers in American classrooms.

To be honest, I had no realistic vision of teaching until I started doing it, so I do not expect others to understand unless they listen to our experiences. Not only do teachers work far more than their contractual obligation to be on campus from 7:30AM-3:30PM, but they also put up with a lot of pressure to successfully teach every kid. Now, if you’re a teacher, I hope that is your goal, regardless of the pressure, but it still does not take away from the reality that there are factors outside of a teacher’s control that make this battle extremely difficult, even if the good teacher continues to fight it everyday.

I’m sure if you read my blog, you already pick up on those nuances of teaching, but that is one of the main reasons I risk catching flack; I want to give an honest insight into the realities of my profession. However, that’s not the only reason I write about teaching. My other, equally-important reason for speaking up is because it helps me survive an extremely stressful job. By sharing, I make connections with other teachers that help me feel far less alone and inspire me to keep teaching, to push myself to be a better teacher, and to try new techniques to help my students.

Now, when it comes to the teacher fired in Philadelphia, do I think it is fair? Maybe, I don’t know all of the details. But, whether I agree with her choices or not, it does make me worry that her situation has opened the door for more teachers to get in trouble for their blogs. Will it make me stop blogging? Absolutely not. Instead it leaves me fiercely committed to my first amendment right to share my experiences as a teacher. Probably not what my friend was going for by sending me that email, but still grateful to him nonetheless.

Tagged Blogging, Constitution, Education, First Amendment, Freedom of Speech, Politics

Jun 24 2012

16 Comments

Life, Writing

Because I’m a sucker for promoting other blogs…

Alright, I’ll be honest. This whole blogging award chain deal gets a little under my skin. First, I find it exclusionary. I follow a lot of great blogs, so it’s hard to narrow it down to 15 to share. Second, it feels an awful lot like bragging to say look at me, some other blog thought I was great.

However, I really like the blog that nominated me, and I think it’s always nice to share good blogs, so I’m doing it even though I’m internally conflicted, (kind of the story of my life, right?!). So, I’ll just start by saying thanks Aneesa & Faraaz, it’s nice to be noticed and supported in this gigantic world of words! I hope that my little rant in the opening didn’t take away from my genuine humility in being noticed, it is a very nice gesture, thank you.

Now for those pesky rules, what am I supposed to do next?

Oh yes, that’s right, mention 7 random things about myself:

1. Wow, this is harder than I thought. Let’s see, my dog is named Simon because my husband did not want me to name our kid Simon, but now he loves our dog so much that he says we should name our kid Simon, but I refuse to name our kid after our dog, funny how those things work, right?

2. If we get another dog, we plan to name him/her Garfunkel as in Simon & Garfunkel because it makes us laugh. I feel like Garfunkle is going to have to be a big dog.

3. My senior project in high school was learning to race and work on muscle cars. My dad bought me a ’92 5.0 Mustang GT. Gosh did I love pulling up next to fast cars at stoplights in that bad boy. Engines revving, men/boys ready to race until they saw little old me behind the wheel. Hilarious. I outtalked a lot of boys about cars at school. One chick even wanted to kick my ass because I told her my car could beat her boyfriends tuner. Memories.

4. I was fully enrolled and ready to attend law school out of college but backed out when it was time to sign the financial aid agreement. Working for a lobbying firm pouring through briefs left me unwilling to sign away six figures of my future earnings to student loans. Ended up a good decision, I think.

5. I once auditioned for a travel show and got called down to LA to sit in front of a panel of producers. They did not like me. They kept asking me about my boyfriend and how he felt about my desire to be on the show. I think they wanted us to break up. The worst part of the audition was when I teared up telling them about my favorite travel moment because it was so moving for me, I felt like a raving lunatic. Then I started to tell my worst travel moment and realized it was not PC so edited midway through and blew it. Sigh. I guess it is better that I finished my last quarter of college instead.

6. One of my secret life aspirations was to be an actress. I’m not sure why that embarrasses me now, but it does. I even got cast in this super low-budget local indie film that wanted my character to be in a rape scene at the end of the movie. I insisted it would have to be implied because I was not being raped on film, ever, low-budget or not. Thankfully the whole thing fell apart before anything ever came of it.

7. I’m a Leo, but not sure I believe in any of that. Just felt like a fitting number 7, like hey, what’s your sign?

Now for the fun part that I actually signed up for, promoting great blogs. Truth be told, if I included all the blogs I really loved, this list would be a lot longer, so bear with me if your amazing blog is not on the list, (who am I kidding, you’re probably only reading this if your blog is on the list!). In no particular order:

1. http://educatednotdomesticated.blogspot.com (This Sac teacher has awesome taste and great tips for the classroom!)

2. http://betweenfearandlove.com/ (I really enjoy this mom/writer’s inspirational posts)

3. http://covetotop.wordpress.com/ (This Spanish blogger uses their blog to practice English and takes amazing photographs of Spain that make me long to travel!)

4. http://runningmylifemyworld.wordpress.com/ (Awesome teacher/runner with a positive outlook on life, exercise, & the classroom!)

5. http://shethoughtoutsidethebox.com/ (Beautiful photographs of Berlin that leave you feeling like you escaped to a much cooler world and curled up inside all of its amazing places)

6. http://neuroticnancy.wordpress.com/ (Teacher, friend, liver of life speaking honest truths about the world and daily experiences)

7. http://kingmidgetramblings.wordpress.com/ (Sac writer musing on all aspects of life and writing)

8. http://lesleycarter.wordpress.com/ (Good escapist fun with a travel-loving, adventure-seeking couple)

9. http://welcometograce.wordpress.com/ (A teacher/writer that is a speaker of intensely relatable truths!)

10. http://hopeengaged.blogspot.com (One of the truest Christians I have ever encountered. She walks in other people’s shoes to help them and lives life with an admirable kindness and optimism. And, she loves to travel, which doesn’t hurt either!)

11. http://newtotheorleans.wordpress.com/ (Okay, this blog just straight up makes me laugh out loud– this teacher captures the truths of her students and life with incredible wit!)

12. http://drawntostyle.blogspot.com/ (Fashion designer and artist extraordinaire that encapsulates life in little uplifting snippets.)

13. http://allaccesspassblog.wordpress.com/ (Intervention specialist and new blogger with highly relatable teaching stories that leave me feeling motivated to try new things in my classroom, as well as much less alone in my experiences as a teacher.)

14. http://19eighty8.wordpress.com/ (I admire the honesty and vulnerability of this Sac blogger, she’s not afraid to put herself out there, which I think is pretty awesome).

15. http://cristianmihai.net/ (Good old fashion writer’s blog with good insights and advice to keep you writing.)

Wow. I started out thinking, no biggie, I’ll just grab 15 blogs and realized that it was quite the process to wade through my reader and select 15 to include. In retrospect, not sure I would do it again, so let those be my words of caution. Hopefully if you’ve stuck with me to the end you’ve found a couple new ones to check out!

Tagged Blogging, Versatile Blogger Award

Jun 24 2012

2 Comments

Family, Life, Writing

Blog Birth Announcement!

Turns out the aftermath of staying the weekend with me is that you start a blog of your own. Announcing the birth of a new blog belonging to my very own kid sister. I have to say, she’s pretty darn poignant for her years:

http://felizlife.wordpress.com/

Weekend w/ me = Concert in the park, time with the world’s best dog, coffee, basketball, running, and, oh yeah, a new blog!

Tagged Blogging, Sister, Summer

Jun 18 2012

6 Comments

Writing

Blogging and the Writing Process: My Evolving Mass of Words

Blogging makes the writing process different. It is faster, without the ongoing revisions and drafts that other writing generally entails. For me, this is sometimes challenging. I find myself wanting to obsessively reread everything I post, hung up on word choice, grammatical errors, and length, realizing ten minutes after I walk away from the computer that I left some gaping hole for all to see.

While this can feel very vulnerable, blogging can also be the rare opportunity to just get your words out, perfect or not. For me, it is also an exercise in moving away from perfectionism, something necessary to improving my voice as a writer. And, it provides the opportunity for instant collaboration that does not always occur in the regular drafting process.

As such, I’ve decided to be brave about blogging my pitch for my query as it improves, (or worsens, depending on the day). I am working on it bit by bit as I digest feedback and finish polishing my manuscript. The feedback is amazingly helpful, gradually resulting in a transformation that I am excited about, (even if somedays I totally mess it up as part of the process).

So, if you’re interested to watch this evolution, I will keep editing here:

https://oliviaobryon.com/2012/06/16/drafts-and-drafts-and-drafts/

I am not so self-absorbed as to imagine that people care to watch it change, but somehow its existence as an evolving mass of words in a public space is liberating for me.

Tagged Blogging, Novel, Pitch, query, Writing

Jun 15 2012

4 Comments

Life, Writing

adventures in blogging

Welcoming another Blogger convert to WordPress! Hope you enjoy your new blog home Regina! 😀

runningmylifemyworld

Today I had the lovely pleasure

of sipping some coffee and discussing the how-to’s

of blogging with a few friends

at this rockin coffee shop,

Weatherstone, Old Soul.

I am here to announce that I am abandoning

my Blogspot blog and am now

moving my sweet little blog to WordPress!

The adventure continues!

View original post

Tagged Blogging, Friends, Old Soul at Weatherstone, Sac Girls' Blogging Club

Jun 15 2012

14 Comments

Life, Writing

Hurray for the Sac Girls’ Blogging Club!

Today was the inaugural meeting of the Sac Girls’ Blogging Club. My apologies to any other club with the same name, we did not steal it from you and chances are we’d love to join forces with you if you really exist.

When people in my real life discovered that I had a blog, I started to get a lot of questions about how things work. I also discovered the blogs of some other pretty cool people that I already knew beyond the computer screen. Brainstorming with a friend about blogs, the idea dawned on us– we need to start a nerdy girls’ blogging club!

So, today, three of us met at Old Soul in Sac and talked WordPress vs. Blogger, WordPress navigation, site monetization, and guest blogging. One of us is now even a WordPress convert, but we’ll wait until her style changes are ready to unveil her new WordPress home. We also chatted about teaching, reading, summer plans, exactly the social vision that I imagined for such a club.

Now, we have the goal to make our little club a weekly occurrence. Even if it only ends up happening a couple times a month, I’m excited. It’s nice to connect in real life with the faces behind the stories we read online. If you’re a chick in the Sacramento area and feel like joining us, let us know! Sorry men, it’s not that we don’t like you, it’s just that we feel safer connecting with women in person, (and, besides, you’re probably not interested in all of our chatter anyway!).

Happy blogging!

Girl Bloggers Unite! 😀

Tagged Blogger, Blogging, Friends, Old Soul at Weatherstone, Sac Girls' Blogging Club, Sacramento, Summer, WordPress

Jun 08 2012

1 Comment

Writing

Five Writing Commandments of Summer

The moment I’ve been waiting for is here. It’s day one of summer vacation and time to write. The next two weeks are devoted to the last fixes to my manuscript before I submit.

Surprisingly, I feel anxious. I’ve been delaying opening back up my book until I’ve had real time to focus. Now that the time is here I feel internal pressure to get it right. I also do not want to waste a single precious moment of summer.

In honor of my excitement for seven weeks to write (among other things), I’ve come up with my five writing commandments of summer:

1. Thou shall be prolific. Blog, jot, write, brainstorm, and/or create every single day. However, thou shalt not let social media or blogging stand in the way of the real writing work to be done, (this includes obsessive rereading of blog entries for errors, stats monitoring etc.). All obsessive social media behavior must cease because it’s a waste of valuable time!

2. Thou shalt not forsake human interaction to write/blog/etc: Thou shall listen to your husband, or whomever, talk instead of letting your fingers continue to type. Thou shall also seek out social engagements instead of embracing seven weeks of exclusive writing hermitude.

3. Thou shall start a nerdy Sac girls blogging club with friends to maximize blog efforts, (you know who you are!).

4. Thou shall complete manuscript and submit queries to 31 agents, (hells to the yes!)

5. Thou shall revel in every single wonderful moment of freedom.

Ready, set, go!

Today’s Project: Delve into formatting my manuscript!

Tagged Blogging, Novel, Sacramento, Summer, Writing

oliviaobryon

Writer. Teacher. Occasional Traveler.

Tag Archives: Blogging

Happy One Year Blog Birthday!

Overexposure.

How did you pick your writing tagline?

Is it a Teacher’s Freedom of Speech to Blog?

Because I’m a sucker for promoting other blogs…

Blog Birth Announcement!

Blogging and the Writing Process: My Evolving Mass of Words

adventures in blogging

Hurray for the Sac Girls’ Blogging Club!

Five Writing Commandments of Summer