T.C. Clark's Blog, page 2

The Gentle Dragon

The Gentle Dragon is here.....Hiya bookworms and welcome to my little corner of the webiverse. I've just published my first novella for The Keepers Series. In this little adventure we meet Opal Amant and Alex McReive, I hope you enjoy it :)Synopsis: Opal Amant is the very definition of a bookworm...give her a book, a cup of coffee, and a dusty room and she is in heaven. She's serves her coven by offering her protection via her mad spellcasting skills, and wisdom in all things related to witchcraft... all she asks for in return is a little peace and quiet.So when her sister sends her on a journey to collect some information she is annoyed...but when that trip is interrupted by a possessive dragon and what looks to be an assassination attempt she is well and truly pissed. Suddenly she is falling in love and her orderly world is shattered and replaced by something magical and she finds herself putting down her books and taking up arms to protect a man who has somehow found a way into her heart.

My 2018 Goals

Hi, and welcome to my little corner of the web. My name is TC Clark and I’m a freelance writer. I typically write for two genres non-fiction and romance. This year I’m going to transition into a full-time writing career. I’m not just saying that as a dream or a wish, I’m setting a plan into motion in order to make this happen for me.I want to use this platform as a way of documenting my transition. I will be the first to admit that I’m nervous, I’m definitely a 9 to 5 girl, and I’ve always had a full-time job and a stable career. I’m a very vanilla soul when it comes to this part of my life, I find comfort in routine. This attitude makes this lifestyle change daunting, to say the least.I’ve always loved writing and reading, as a young child I preferred libraries to parties and fictional characters to friends. Now writing this out, it doesn’t seem like such a healthy outlook, but this is the time for honesty. I’m honestly not happy with my current career and the 18-year-old version of me would definitely be disappointed with my current life.When I went back and reviewed my journals I realized I’m way off the mark from where I had envisioned myself to be at this age. I live one town over from my hometown, I’m not married to a soccer player ( I don’t know how that made it in there), I haven’t traveled the world and I’m not a full-time writer. I plan on spending 2018 rectifying this, although I must admit soccer players are a rarity in middle Georgia, so that goal just may have to stay a fantasy for now.I’ve set up some writing goals for this year. I would like to publish at least 10 public pen name written works. I also need to earn at least 3000 a month in order to transition into a full time writer career seamlessly.I believe determining the amount of money that I need to survive on a month is a crucial step to this transition process. I don’t want to be a writer for the rest of the year. I want to be one for the rest of my life.I’ve also started listening to writing podcasts as well (such as http://www.thecreativepenn.com/podcasts/), trying to create the right mindset for myself. I set up a schedule where I work on my personal projects for two hours before I go to work and I work on my school work for two hours after I get off. I’m not saying I’m exhausted, I’m just saying I may overdose on coffee or chocolate #dealerschoice. Follow me along as I discover if this career is something I can make work on a full-time basis.

How to build your daily writing habit

Good or bad any habit takes time to grow. If you want to be a full-time writer you have to develop some type of writing routine. Right now I still work my full-time job and that requires a lot of energy and time. But, I understand that if I want to transition into a full-time writing career then I have to make time to put the words on paper. There are three factors that I believe you should address in order to increase your daily word count.First pick a time of a day that is productive to you. Surprisingly I write better in the evening despite everyone saying I should do it in the morning. I use to try to force myself to get up super early to write before work and every morning without fail I would struggle through that hour and a half. That time would leave me feeling like a failure because I just couldn’t seem to meet my daily word count goal. After months of failed attempts I decided to try writing sprints. Three times in the evening I would write for 35 minutes intervals. I saw my word count dramatically increase and also my attitude for writing in general became more positive. That simple change helped me gain traction and improve my writing overall.Second find a writing space that helps you to get mentally ready for your type of writing. I have an area in my room in a small corner where I get most of my writing done for the day. I also got some cheap noise canceling headphones that help to keep me on track when I’m trying to get into the zone.The third and final factor is to eliminate negative influences from your life. That can range from drinking too heavily, judgmental or negative people or other mood altering behaviors. I’ve cut my inner circle of friends down to two and if anyone is negative or inspires negative emotions in me I remove them from my life or significantly limit the amount of time I spend with them. I also used to love having a glass of wine with my dinner but it often relaxed me too much and affected my focus so I cut that out as well. In order to make a significant change in your life sometimes sacrifice is necessary.Obviously I don’t know you or how your life works so these tips are just general guidelines. Maybe your only time to write is in the morning so you will have to develop a routine based on that time of day or maybe you have kids and that limits the creative workspace you can create for yourself. The honest truth is that if you want to be a writer of any sort you have to make the necessary adjustments to make that happen. Take stock of your life and create guidelines for yourself. Switch things up until you find out what works for you. I like writing daily but I have friends who write strictly on the weekend and that works best for them. But building a habit is an important step for any writer to develop.My main advice to you is to keep trying, keep creating and always keep writing.

The Four Account Budgeting Method

A budget is a financial plan that documents your income and expenditures. Now I know what you are thinking… okay, who cares about that? Well, you care about that. If we are truly honest with ourselves we can admit that money is an important topic. It allows us to live out our dreams such as owning a home or traveling the world or condemns us to a hellish nightmare filled with an account over drafting and foreclosure. Either way, money makes the world go round. If you are reading this article you have already figured that out and you are looking for a plan to make your money work for you.For the last year, my budget has consisted of an excel document and four accounts; and this method has allowed for me to pay down debt, save some MONEY, and most importantly pay all of my bills on time.I break up my income into 4 separate bank accounts: Personal Spending Checking, Primary Savings, Supplemental Savings and Bills Checking.Personal Spending Checking consists of groceries, gas, takeout, gifts, medications, and any other miscellaneous spending I may have. I also let money rollover from month to month; this gives me a sense of control and allows for me to still make special purchases even though I’m on a strict budget.Bill’s Checking consists of rent, electricity, insurances, telephone, debts and internet. This account houses the money for any of bills for the household or day to day living fixed and variable expenses.Primary Savings is an account where I save a specific amount from month to month and I consider this money untouchable. This money is set in stone and is my way of saving for the future while also maintaining my budget.Supplemental Savings is an account that is used only for emergencies or to supplement for a bill that was higher than I originally planned for. For example, my electricity is typically 125.00, but during the winter months it can increase to 200.00, I would use this savings to supplement that bill and this element keeps me on track and in the green with my budget.Taking control of your finances is an excellent way to start off the New Year. It will help to eliminate money as a stressor and I believe we all could do with a little less stress in our lives. The main benefit of this budget is that it allows you to divide up your money into different categories and this step creates a better understanding of where your money is going and how you manage it better. I challenge you to try it out, what have you got to lose?

Welcome to TC: The Invisible Writer

Welcome to the TC: TheInvisibleWriter.com, I'm happy you have decided to join me. I'm a writer who is trying to transition into a digital nomad lifestyle. I'm documenting my experiences and life along the way and giving out tips as I go. I hope that as I seek happiness that I will be able to show others the way. Right now I'm spending most of my time building a digital media specialist portfolio. I mostly participate in the written potion of the digital media spectrum and as I create more content and learn more about remote jobs, I will share them with you all. I'm a believer in spreading the wealth or in my life, the work :)