How to Improve Your Writing With Prompts

• What Prompts Are

Prompts are either pictures, sentences, videos or words used for the specific purpose to spark creative output.

• How Prompts Improve Your Writing

It's the same old principle that practice makes perfect. Using prompts regularly gives you inspiration and challenges you to write on many different topics and in different ways, therefore widely expanding your skill-set over time.

• How to Use Writing Prompts

Browse and choose a few that you like (fiction and non-fiction) , and a few that you know will really challenge you. Keeping a running list of prompts is a good idea in order to make writing a habit. Choose at least 2-3 per week and write upon what they give you.

Make sure you write at least 350 - 500 words each time. If you are planning to write a novel you should increase upon the word count expected, since a novel is much longer than short stories, articles or posts.

• The Best Prompts to Use

Writer's Digest; Creative Writing Prompts
       +
Writers Digest; Promptly for more C.W.Ps

Writing Prompts Tumblr; Huge Collection of prompts added by teachers and many different authors.

Write to Done; Scene Stealers - Short & Sweet Prompts that you answer with >350 words.

Pinterest; Find a variety of boards with prompts, including my writing content creation board.

Easy Street Prompts;Visual, video and text prompts.

The Periodic Table of Storytelling; Interactive graphic which helps build your stories, adding in different elements.

Weekly Wishes #1

• Finalize my blog plan; plan out posts, and branding. With re-launching and re-branding my blog I decided to change up a lot of things. So far posts are planned until August and 

• Batch write & schedule posts: Now that I've planned what I want to write, I actually need to finish writing it. In order to make sure that my blog runs smoothly when little Peanut gets here in September I'm pre-writing a lot of content straight through August so I can continue to write another month- 2 months content during August and schedule for when I'm in hospital and the first few weeks after the birth.

• Work with my sponsors & on developing my new sponsorship program: I have arranged a few upcoming sponsors and want to work thoroughly with them to test out my new sponsorship program. If you're interested you can get a free month right here.

Weekend Reads; Volume 2

+CONFESSIONS

+ I confess that I've been pulling all nighters to pull my blog together, and just had SO much content to write and plan sleep was simply impossible.

//I confess I'm completely in awe every time I feel my little babe move around/kick. I mean I know there's a person in there but somehow it still isn't completely tangible to me

+ I confess If it was acceptable to eat pizza every night for the rest of my life I'm pretty sure I'd do it.

//I confess I've once again been sucked into the Harry Potter books. I'm on Goblet of Fire and I'm hooked again, even although I already know what happens.

//READS

+ Alisha posted on Why You Should Expand Your Brand ; definitely something I'll be doing- Alisha Nicole

// Allie also shared how to Make Your Own Font from Your Handwriting  on  Call Me Sassafrass.It's so unbelievably easy I'm gonna have to try it!

+ Don't you know the The Importance of Learning to Say No?  

// God? - East & Blog shared this thought provoking and amazing post on how she views religion and her beliefs, or lack thereof in a God.

+JAM

Because I will be listening to this down low on my headphones , swaying and writing all weekend

The Best Free Blogging Resources; Productivity & Organization

SCHEDULING:

Google Calendar:

If you have a gmail account, you already have Google calendar. It's a free calendar app which is very user friendly and easy to organize. Has the option to color code, add Google Hangouts to Calendar Events (good for Meetings)and allows you to keep separate calendars as well which sync up to your iPhone/Android.

You can also plan out your day in time increments and have many different views such as month,week, 4 days and agenda ( which allows you to see events and tasks which are upcoming ). 

Super CC 

Is an app which allows you to email events into your Google calendar, icloud etc without having to take the time out to actually use the individual apps.

So when you receive an email about a blog conference, or online event you can simply forward that email to @super.cc and it's automatically added to your calendar.

Buffer App:
Whilst some prefer Hootsuite for managing their social media outlets, I find Buffer to be the most user friendly app.

Buffer allows you to connect sites like Twitter & Facebook and schedule updates to happen while you're offline. Great app for promoting posts while you're at work/asleep and generating valuable blog traffic. It also lets you see your click-through rates from all posts too- so you can see which tweets really worked.

NOTE TAKING & POST PLANNING

Workflowy

Is a simplified note taking site. Workflowy encourages you to put it all on one page, whilst it allows you to create multiple lists, subsets & bullets of each list. Comes with 250 free items monthly with the ability to upgrade to more by inviting more people & a  paid version.

Evernote:

Evernote is such a great resource for blogging because of how versatile it is. There is multi-platform integration which allows you to have anything you save on your desktop, the web & mobile devices.
You can make many different notes,notebooks and stacks allowing for endless organization. There is also the Web Clipper extension which allows you to grab parts of articles you may want to later read or refer to in a post effortlessly.

7 Tips You Need to Know To Learn Another Language Fast

// make it fun

Using interactive apps with pretty little graphics and fun games makes it a bit easier to learn without it really feeling like learning. This allows you to do quizzes and the repetition is good for the memorization aspect of learning. Duolingo is good for this.

+ learn grammar

While apps like duolingo are fun, I think it's important to learn the basics of grammar elsewhere, like queonda.com, which has more detailed notes that allow you to more understand what it is you're practicing on duolingo.

//use study cards

When you learn new phrases and words it can be helpful to write them on study cards. That way you can flick through them when you have 5 minutes and also get others to test you or test yourself. There are also  study cards apps for if you don't want to lug physical cards around in your bag. Study cards help you to practice everyday & learn your grammar. Repetition is how we learn!

 + write in the language

 Many people can fluently read or listen to a language but have extreme difficulty writing in the language because they don't practice writing it. This is where I fell down in my high school examinations, but now I've found a free website called Lang-8 where I can submit a journal entry in the language that I'm learning and have native speakers of that language correct my entries. This helps you as sometimes how you learn the basic grammar rules is changed when you conversationally speak the language so you get an idea of how things are said in your given country.

If you try writing at least a few sentences about your day each day for seven days and submit it to the site, then you'll receive corrections and expand your understanding of the language is spoken in tiny but useful increments without taking too much time from your day.

// Practice everyday 

Doing a little bit of the language everyday ( utilizing any of the methods above or others ) really help you to learn. In school we didn't get language classes every day and I remember sometimes being so lost after a few days break looking at things that I had written down in class. If you commute by train, carpool etc - do at least 30 mins or an hour every day while you're travelling & then you'll learn rapidly while just passing the time.

+ Use subtitles on programs you normally watch

This is one of the easiest ways to expand your vocabulary without proverbially bursting your brain. While I watch my series' on Netflix I select the option to have my subtitles in Spanish. I've learned SO many words without really noticing by just having the subtitles on. Whilst I don't remember every word/phrase it has helped me learn many words that I wouldn't have otherwise come across.

// listen to music in the language you want to learn

 This is one that will take a while to get used to. At first it seems reallly fast and loud and can be hard to grasp but after a few times of listening to the song you start to recognize phrases and words. Since I want to learn Spanish one of my favorite artists to listen to is Shakira and she even has English versions of some of her Spanish songs, so if I know what the song is saying in English I have a fair idea of the words general meaning in Spanish and it kind of filters into your brain after a while without conscious effort.

7 Reasons You Failed This Semester

Here are some of the top reasons that you might be failing in school and how to fix them!

• You Didn't Organize:

Organization is key to success. It's incredibly important to:

1. keep all school materials together.
2. pack your bag the night before.
3. write down all tasks you need to do.

Order helps you to be able to focus on what you need to do and it makes it WAY easier when it's test time.

• You Didn't Get Enough Sleep:

Sleeping is essential when studying, to allow your brain time to process the information you've gone over. If you only sleep 4-5 hours at night, your brain isn't working towards its full potential. Shut down all your electronics even an hour earlier at night and go to sleep and you'll see a marked difference in your ability to focus in school the next day.

• You Didn't Get the Right Nutrients

As hard as you may study, if your body is unhealthy; your brain function will be affected. It's tempting when studying to just grab junk food and go back to studying, but your brain/body don't function at their best when you're eating non-nutritious meals. Next time you're studying grab an some fruit and a glass of water, instead of a chocolate bar and soda and you'll notice that you don't experience a 'crash' like you do when you eat candy.

• You Didn't Plan Your Studies

A thing that really helps is if you keep track of due dates and test dates on calendars and in planners. When you can see just how much time you have and what tasks you have to do, it makes it much easier to plan what you have to do and when.

It also may be helpful to make a spreadsheet on your computer to make a 'study schedule' or drawing it out; if you're the type of person who needs to have more detail in order to stay on track

• You Didn't Utilize Your Time

It's not about the time you spend studying, but rather the amount of content you can remember when you're done.

So instead of reading the ENTIRE BOOK over and over, read it chapter by chapter and make condensed notes of the important points. When it comes time for the exam, it'll be much easier to revise and you won't have to pore over your boring book. Also

- make study cards

- get someone to test you

• You Didn't Pay Attention to How Your Teacher Teaches

A lot of times the way a test is structured is based on your teacher's specific teaching styles. As they vary and the test is usually set independently by them, you should make sure you understand what they mean.

It is also important that if you DON'T understand that you ask them for help.

• You Weren't Motivated Enough

It's easy to lose motivation when studying, because it can feel like you're not getting anywhere. The key is to set achievable short term goals, instead of having unrealistic goals that'll demotivate you. 

You should always keep in mind your long term goal- e.g. being a lawyer,doctor,teacher etc.

If you don't know what you want to do, just focus on working hard to finish school, and then take it from there.

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How to Kick College's Butt.

1.   Use a planner: I can't even begin to tell you how it helps to have somewhere to write down everything that you have to do. It's good to help you remember far off due dates and remember all tasks given to you in the day.

2.   Keep a calendar in your phone and on your wall: Especially if you're a visual person like me, a calendar is a great idea. I have an erasable calendar board that's on the back of my door, and I also have one in my planner and on my phone. If you constantly see future appointments, test dates etc then it avoids unfortunate mishaps where you forget about tests/assignments.

3.   Read ahead: Usually in college you get your syllabus at the beginning of the term. When you get it you should hold on to it and look ahead at what you're going to be doing. If you read over the topic the day or week before your tutor goes over it you'll be able to grasp it a lot faster in class and be able to ask questions during class time.

4.   Start assignments when you get them:  If you have a lot of different classes, chances are you'll get at least one assignment or test from each... if you have eight classes very soon you could end up with 6 assignments and 2 tests all due around the same time and that pile up is enough to give you nightmares. At least start &amp; plan out what you have to do and when you can fit in an hour or half hour of work on it as soon as possible after receiving it.

5.   Take breaks: If you don't take breaks in between studying ( every hour take 10 minutes, after 3 hours take a longer break ) then your brain can't process information at it's full capacity. If you start all work early then you can afford to take breaks.

Don't be like these Chinese students who tie their hair to the ceiling in order to stay awake and study all night!

6.   Take outline notes while you read: Reading from a textbook or lecture notes can be really boring so to hold your attention and to maximize how much information you remember when you read ahead take notes of the important points,definitions, dates or information as you read them

7.   Don't be afraid to go to your teachers: Tutors can seem scary but often when you go to them they're really helpful. Usually they have office hours but  you can ask questions in &amp; after class.

8.   Keep your school things well organized: The binder method is really great for keeping all your things together, and it's the one I use personally. It's a good idea to keep all the school documents you get together in one place so you have all your material when you have to revise for exams.

9.   Make a friend in every class so you don't miss notes: Teachers often don't help you when you were absent from class and make no effort to get the notes, so if for some reason you need to miss a class it's good to get the notes that you missed from a class mate.

10.  Review all your material that you learned at the end of each week: Exams come around way before you know it so it's a good idea that you at least take a half hour to review the material you covered that week while you have the time, and you'll remember way more when exams roll around.

The Life Binder

I consider myself to be pretty organized, so I thought I’d let you all in on a method I’ve tried and tested.
The life binder is exactly as it sounds. A binder with your life in it. Mine has 5 sections. I also use a planner for the day to day planning, but this allows me to have a place at home for my stuff to be, and for it to be easily moved (rather than a complex filing system).
                        

Pros:

• It’s affordable
• It’s extremely customizable
• You can add/remove things as you get an understanding of what you need.
• You don’t need to take the whole thing with you.

Cons:

• Is a bit bulky to carry around.
• It doesn’t have a fastening clasp (if you’re looking for that kind of thing).

The binder I used was a 1.5” binder 3 ring binder, with clear plastic front/back cover. You can use any kind of binder/folder but I like these because they’re not too big and you can customize the front. I merely inserted a few pictures.
What you’d see when you opened it up;

My favorite quote.                                 My New Years Resolutions ( Not Kept)

Also, you’d see my monthly calendars.

I handmade mine, but you can find free printables here,here or here.
These are great for keeping track of what you have to do and planning ahead. Color coding is useful for these calendars too– mine was Red=Exam, Blue= Blogging Business/ Work

Okay, so lets get started with the categories I included.


To Do;
Inside this I just use regular college rule binder/filler paper. It’s cheap and easy and if I want to be able to just take my to do list with me I can simply take it out and pop it in my school bag.  If you’re looking for a printable template check here

Blogging;
Here I keep a list of all the posts I have completed and uploaded. I also keep a list of the posts I’m planning to do/ blog challenge prompts in case I get writers block.

I also used to plan my posts by writing them out here when I first started blogging, but now I use Windows Live Writer. It is amazing, it makes adding photos and formatting SO much easier. Check it out  here. It cut the time it takes me to blog by at least 30 minutes/per post.

School Info:
I keep all my important documents in here. I have 1 folder with my exam certificates and school reports, and in the other folder I keep my citizenship and birth certificates and all the documents you need to take to apply for colleges& school. I didn’t include pictures of this just for security reasons as they have my full name and ID numbers on them.

Banking:

In this one, I have an envelope in which I keep any balance inquiry slips or deposit slips for my bank account. Behind that I then have the statements that they send – hole punched and in chronological order.
This is more suitable for those of you who don't have multiple incomes or bank accounts to keep track of. If you have more paperwork you may want to look into a separate binder for bills/bank statements.

Workout:
Here is where I keep any work-outs and nutritional info that I may want to refer to. I simply cut/tear them out of fitness magazines and put them in clear folders. This is also where I keep my monthly calendar that I print from blogilates.

They’re divided into categories – abs, yoga, diet and total body.

How do you organize?