Carynn Bohley's Blog, page 2

Writing Contest- CLOSED

It’s been quite a long time since the last writing contest I hosted, so I thought it was time that I had another one!

Let me just say that this one has much cooler prizes, and I sort of wish that I could enter. But alas, this is for all of you.

So let’s get write into it! (Ha ha… see what I did there?)

Rules

. Firstly, you must live in the U.S. This is because I don’t want to ship items out of the country. I might do a contest that’s open to everyone at some point, but not this time.

. There isn’t an age limit.

. This contest is open starting NOW. It closes on January 19th at 12:59 PM eastern time. I will be announcing the winners on January 25th, 2020 (yikes, 2020 already???).

. The theme for the writing contest is WINTER. It can have anything to do with winter, and be any genre (but keep it rated PG-13 please).

. The minimum word count is 500 words, and the maximum word count is 8,000 words.

. You must be following WritersBloK here on wordpress to enter. It’s not required, but it would be awesome if you followed WritersBloK on Twitter as well!

. Submit your entry via the Contact Page.

Now….
What you’ve all been waiting for…
The PRIZES!

The first place winner will receive the following items:

Writing mug-

Writing pens-

Inspirational bookmarks-

The second place winner will receive the following items:

Decorative writing sign-

Reading/Writing pillow-

The third place winner will receive:

Two Amazon short reads written by yours truly-

I’m very excited about this contest, and I really hope that you enter! I can’t wait to see what you all come up with.

Happy writing,
– Carynn

 

 

 

Writing Contest!!!

It’s been quite a long time since the last writing contest I hosted, so I thought it was time that I had another one!

Let me just say that this one has much cooler prizes, and I sort of wish that I could enter. But alas, this is for all of you.

So let’s get write into it! (Ha ha… see what I did there?)

Rules

. Firstly, you must live in the U.S. This is because I don’t want to ship items out of the country. I might do a contest that’s open to everyone at some point, but not this time.

. There isn’t an age limit.

. This contest is open starting NOW. It closes on January 19th at 12:59 PM eastern time. I will be announcing the winners on January 25th, 2020 (yikes, 2020 already???).

. The theme for the writing contest is WINTER. It can have anything to do with winter, and be any genre (but keep it rated PG-13 please).

. The minimum word count is 500 words, and the maximum word count is 8,000 words.

. You must be following WritersBloK here on wordpress to enter. It’s not required, but it would be awesome if you followed WritersBloK on Twitter as well!

. Submit your entry via the Contact Page.

Now….
What you’ve all been waiting for…
The PRIZES!

The first place winner will receive the following items:

Writing mug-

Writing pens-

Inspirational bookmarks-

The second place winner will receive the following items:

Decorative writing sign-

Reading/Writing pillow-

The third place winner will receive:

Two Amazon short reads written by yours truly-

I’m very excited about this contest, and I really hope that you enter! I can’t wait to see what you all come up with.

Happy writing,
– Carynn

 

 

 

College + Writing Life Update

Hello everyone!

I’ve been trying to post more often… I really have. I’ve been very busy (as is the usual excuse), so I haven’t really gotten a good opportunity. I thought I’d hop on WordPress and give you all a quick update about my current writing endeavor, and a few other things that are going on in my life.

At the moment I am in the middle of querying agents about my new YA Romance, Dear Jackson. I shared some of the book on here last fall when I started writing it (I took a loooong break from the book…), so you might remember it. I have a good feeling about this one, so I’ll certainly post if… when… a literary agent decides to represent the book.

I am nearing the end of my first semester with Herkimer County College, which (as some of you know) I’ve been taking online. I’m excited to have a month off to dedicate exclusively to my writing!

Almost exactly a year ago, I harvested my first deer. A few days ago, I shot my second deer… but we couldn’t find it. We tracked it for hours until it got dark, and again the following morning. While I’m disappointed, I understand that this happens as a hunter.

Also, some of you might remember my post about adopting a cat. Something that I forgot to tell you guys is that I brought the cat back the next week because she ended up being extremely aggressive. I ended up adopting a kitten instead, and I absolutely adore her!

This is Luna, though my dad is trying to convince me to rename her Figaro (even though it’s a boy name…).

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I hope to share some more writing related posts with inspiration and tips, so if you have a writing-related question, I would love to answer it in my next post! Hopefully after this semester I’ll be able to post more often in general.

I would love to continue this post, but I’m actually in the middle of doing research for a paper for my College Writing class. Wish me luck!

Carynn

My Second Amazon Short Read

Hey everyone!

Most of you know that I published a short story on Amazon earlier this year called ‘Precipice.’ A few months ago, I started writing a short horror story called ‘Bailey’ but never ended up finishing it. Yesterday I decided that it was time I publish another short story, so I finished writing Bailey and then edited it.

This morning, I went on Kindle Publishing Services (such an easy way to publish ebooks, by the way) and uploaded the manuscript. Now, just because of my decision to finish a story last night, I have two published works! I really need to do this more often…

Anyhow, I would love it if you checked out the story, and if you don’t decide to read it yourself perhaps you can share it with some friends or family (but I don’t suggest it for anyone under 14).

Here is the cover and description:

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Bailey died. Now the mangled cat is on her last life, and she’s determined to avenge herself. To send her killer to his own grave.

Let me know if you get a chance to read it, and make sure to leave a 5 star review

Want a Shoutout on YouTube?

Hey everyone! As most of you know, my brother and I have a YouTube channel called ‘Sibling-Hood.’ We’ve been quite busy lately, and haven’t posted a video in almost a month.

Now that we have a bit of free time, we want to make a new video…. but we need some suggestions.

Comment your video suggestion for a shoutout on our channel! Make sure you’re subscribed to Sibling-Hood so you can see the video when we post it, hopefully this week. We look forward to seeing your ideas!

~ Carynn

 

NaNoWriMo 2019 Book Sneak Peek!

Hello everyone! I probably should have done this post on the 1st, but I’ve been experiencing really bad writers block lately and I didn’t really have anything to share.

If you don’t know what NaNoWriMo is, you can go check out the details on their website.

If you do, read ahead!

As some of you know, I’ve been working on a fantasy novel for the past few months called ‘The Girl who was the Sun.’ I finished part one of the book, and for some reason I couldn’t get myself to keep writing. By November 2nd, I knew that if I wanted to do Nano this year I had to work on a different book.

So… here it is!

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That’s the temporary cover, at least.

Girl Talk is a YA Romance. I won’t go into the details right now because I have something I have to do (#busy).

I’m still having some pretty bad writers block, but I’ve been able to write a little bit today. I thought that I might be able to motivate myself by giving you all a sneak peek of Girl Talk! 

Enjoy, and make sure to let me know what you think (and if you want to hear more)!

 

 

I adopted a cat!

Hello everyone! As you can see by the title of this post, I adopted a cat! I’ve been planning on getting one for a while now, because I wanted a larger animal of my own that I can take with me when I go away to a four year college once I get my associates degree.

Plus, I love cats. I’m going to end up being the stereotypical cat lady who writes books and drinks tea with fifty cats sitting around her chair, and I don’t even care.

Anyway, this is Georgia Sybil, AKA Georgie.

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Georgie has a Twitter account! If you want to see some adorable cat-related posts and support my kitty, you can go follow her by clicking HERE.

Meow!

I mean, see you next time!

~ Carynn

Creative Writing for Children

Hello everyone! I’m teaching a course for young writers on Eliademy.com (a site to make money on if you have some free time and talent, by the way!), and I’m trying to spread the word. If you or anyone you know is between the ages of 8-13 and is interested in writing a book (the age is negotiable), please share this course with them or their parents!

It is a seven week course, as I decided to extend it so that there is only one assignment per week. It’s fairly inexpensive, at only $25 per child. It covers the basics of writing a book, including the brainstorming stage, how to create good characters, dialogue and editing, with me guiding the writers from start to finish.

If you want to help me spread the word (God bless you!), here’s the link to the course page: Creative Writing For Children. 

It will be running from November 4th to December 9th, with a very light weekly workload designed specifically for people with busy schedules. I hope to see some of you (or your family/friends) there!

~ Carynn

 

 

How to Organize Your Life: Tips From an Online College Student

As most of you know, I recently started taking online college classes with Herkimer County College. I’ve gotten a lot better at staying organized over the past month, and never miss a deadline. I decided to share some advice with those of you who need help managing your time, and making sure that you get your projects and/or assignments done when they’re due.

Remember, these tips are for anyone and everyone, not just college students. If you have any projects that you need to finish, or even want to finish, you can use this advice to improve your organizational skills.

I will begin by giving you a quick tour of my bedroom. When you step inside, there are a few key objects that you should notice. Ahead of you, past my bookshelf that is overflowing with things I’ll probably never even read, is my bed. It has a smoothed out grey comforter with an assortment of pillows placed neatly at the head of my bed.

Why am I directing your attention here? Easy. I have found that making my bed every morning right when I get up, even when I’m exhausted and don’t want to, helps motivate me to complete other tasks throughout the day.

I’m not the only one who feels this way. Retired U.S. Navy Admiral Seal William H. McCraven, who wrote the book ‘Make Your Bed: Little Things Can Change Your Life…and Maybe the World,’ said this: “If you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride, and it will encourage you to do another task, and another, and another. And by the end of the day that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed.”

In conclusion, even a small thing like making your bed every morning can be beneficial to your daily routine.

Now, take a look at the little table beside my bed. Upon it sits my nightly reading book, ‘The Red Queen’ by Philippa Gregory, the remote to my ‘moon lamp’, and an alarm clock.

Being an online college student with the ability to create my own schedule, I don’t have to wake up at a specific time every morning. Honestly, I could sleep in until ten if I wanted to.

But that doesn’t set me up for a very productive day, does it?

I like to set my alarm to 6:15 every morning, make my bed, and then work on my current novel until 7:30 AM. I’ve found that getting up early every day actually makes me feel less tired. Not only this, but it gives me extra time to work on the hobby I’m most passionate about: Writing!

After this, I shower. I recommend showering every morning at a specific time, like I do after I finish typing. By the time I come downstairs and grab some breakfast, the day has only just really begun.

Now, let’s return to my room. You must now turn your attention around the corner to the small space where I’ve set up my desk. On the left corner of the desk’s surface I have binders for each of my six classes: Sociology, First Year Student Seminar, Contemporary Math, College Writing, Graphics & Design, and Wellness. In each binder I have my course schedule on the left side, any reading material or notes on the right side, and lined paper beneath them.

I also have a little organizer against the wall with separate compartments for pencils, pens, highlighters, scissors, erasers and thumbtacks. Just above this is the next item I will be referencing, and possibly the most important.

This is my corkboard/calender. It’s a big whiteboard with a calender layout and a strip of corkboard along the right side. On the corkboard, I’ve pinned up notes for myself. These include unit conversions, MLA formatting notes, and other things I can look back on if I need to remember something while doing work.

I also pin up little pieces of paper with the title of each class. These are checklists of all of my assignments that I change out every month.

The deadlines are on the calender itself. I write down the dates when assignments open for each class, and also when they’re due. For the former, I draw a black circle beside the assignment that means ‘do.’ If it has a red circle, it means ‘due.’ If I’ve finished an assignment, I put a pink checkmark over it and check it off of the checklist.

Every morning, I cross out the previous day so I never confuse myself about what the date is, and therefore how soon my assignments are due.

The way that I decide which assignment to work on isn’t always depending on how soon it’s due. It also depends on how much time I’ll need to dedicate to said assignment, how loud my house is (my siblings are all still homeschooled, remember), and how confident I am about the material. If I feel like I need to study more, I might put an upcoming assignment off until I properly understand the material.

That being said, I never wait until the last minute to get something done. I am not one to procrastinate (well… in this area of my life. Writing is a different story…), so I like getting things done ASAP.

For days that I don’t really have any upcoming assignments and it’s mostly reading, I use my daily checklist. It hangs on the left corner of the whiteboard- which is magnetic, by the way.

This is what the daily checklist says, though it is an older version of my schedule:

6:15 AM: Wake up and type.
8:00 AM: Breakfast
8:30 AM: Shower & dressed, brush teeth & hair (basically hygiene)
9:30 AM: College discussions (this can take varying amounts of time, so there’s no end time. It can sometimes take an hour or two, depending on what class discussions are open)
Sociology
11:00 AM- 11:30: Yoga (I used to do yoga in the mornings, but decided to change it to the middle of the day)
11:30 AM- 12:30 PM: First year student seminar
12:30 PM: Lunch (I let myself take a break from working at lunch, and usually watch YouTube videos or check PotterZone. Side note: If you play PotterZone, add me! My username is @CarynnBohley. Ravenclaw forever!)
12:45 PM-1:45 PM: Graphics & Design
1:45 PM- 2:30 PM: Math
2:30 PM- 3:30 PM: College Writing
3:30 PM- 4:30 PM: Wellness

Like I said, this is an older version of my schedule and I’ve made a few changes since then. Also, most of my classes don’t take that long, because I’m ahead in most of them and sometimes I don’t have work that I actually can do.

Another thing I have on my calender is a list of chores I’ve given myself to make sure I get smaller things done. For example, I tidy up my room every Friday, clean my guinea pigs’ cage every Monday, and clip my guinea pigs’ nails once a month and bathe them.

There’s one more thing that helps me to stay organized and motivated. I keep a grade chart hanging up on the magnetic calender as well, with a space beside every class name. This is where I stick cutout circles with grades on them, which I must change whenever my grades change.

Currently, this is my grade chart (I’m still waiting on some things to be graded, so they’ll probably be changed soon):

Sociology: A+
Math: A
1st Year Student Seminar: A+
Wellness: A-
College Writing: A+
Graphics & Design: A

This is currently extremely motivating to me, because as you can see I have all A’s! This keeps my parents happy, and obviously it keeps me happy- and very motivated.

There are a lot of other tips I could probably give you, but I think that this is a good start. For those of you who don’t like having ‘written plans’ and ‘schedules,’ I recommend that you give it a try. I don’t mean for a day, or even a week. Make a plan to set a schedule for yourself and try it for a month. I know that it sounds like a big undertaking, but it has truly improved my lifestyle SO MUCH.

Let me know if any of these methods work well for you, and if you have advice to share about having an organized life, then please do! I’d love to hear from you.

~ Carynn

 

 

 

 

Need help deciding what to write!

Okay guys, I need a quick opinion.

I’m in the middle of a YA fantasy that I adore, but right now I have crazy inspiration for another book. I want to work on the new idea, but I’m afraid that it’ll keep me from writing book #1. I’m not really in the mood to write book #1, but I do really want to write right now.

What are your thoughts?

Thanks everyone!