Dude, you think you know some people. And by "some people" I mean uh, some people. That wasn't like, fancy code or anything. *grins*
So last week was sort of epic. First there's the whole Do the Write Thing for Nashville. Have you been over there? What Amanda Morgan, Myra McEntire and Victoria Schwab have done is beyond awesome. Be-yawesome? Whatever.
I've learned that when you want amazing things to happen, sometimes all you have to do is ask.
Then there was the Spreading the Awesome event. Believe it or not, I asked several (and by several I mean SEVERAL) people if that whole thing was made of lamesauce before I emailed almost my whole address book.
And you know what? It wasn't so lamesauce. I got over 20,000 hits on my blog last week. Most of those in only three days.
So I've learned that when you surround yourself with people smarter than you (meaning YOU GUYS), fabu things can happen.
I got some amazing stuff from my equally amazing DH over the weekend. And now I feel ready to write again. So what if I lost 37,000 words and most of March and April? I have the tools I need to get back into this thing. Because I have a digital voice recorder and speech to text software.
But on that note, I've learned that my voice sounds really high on a digital voice recorder. Dude, do I really sound like that? But being able to talk to myself about my book is one big pot of boo-yah!
What about you? What have you learned about be-yawesome lately?
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61 comments:
Wow that is all such great news, congrats Elana!
I have the same problem with my voice. People say it is wonderful and deep and resonant in real life but then I hear myself recorded and I'm like: do I really sound like such a nasally whiny little beach?
It's like looking at a picture of yourself. I never look like what I think I look like.
You lost 37,000 words? I think anyone would need some time after that before being able to write again!
Thanks for all your great ideas!
Wow. That's fantastic what they did for Nashville. And what you did, too. 20,000 blog hits? That's freaking awesome!
I love how people come together like that. Thanks for sharing this.
Great news all around! Except for losing 37,000 words! Holy crappuccino! Way to bounce back from that one! I'm afraid I'd still be on the floor weeping.
Be-yawesome for me this week was a spectacular hike I went on and I don't remember the last hour of it because I was writing my new ending of my ms in my head. I got home covered with sweat and mud and sat down and wrote for hours.
Ahhh I want speech to text software! That's awesome! It is great thing when people completely exceed our expectations.
Wow- all of that sounds really awesome and kudos to the power brains behind it all.
Voice to text software? I gotta get me some 'a that! I'm glad you're ready to write again! have fun!
20,000 hits = awesome.
Loosing 37,000 = arghhh.
Glad you have the focus to write againthough. I think I'd loose the will a bit after that. :)
All a day (or week) in the life of an awesome writer chick. Great job!
One thing I learned right now is that I don't decipher slang well. LOL!
Not sure I have an awesome yet...
I've been doing some awesome blogfests initiated by other people. It's been amazing reading others entries and getting comments on my own. Especially one that was never going to see the light of day, but now, thanks to some kind comments, I'm re-thinking what I want to do with the scene.
Sorry to hear about your 37k lost. Yikes. That must totally suck.
I don't think I could use the voice to text thingy. I don't think I could word things the way I want them to be written. Plus, I'd have to be totally alone to do that. (especially for an intimate scene! lol.)
I've been doing some awesome blogfests initiated by other people. It's been amazing reading others entries and getting comments on my own. Especially one that was never going to see the light of day, but now, thanks to some kind comments, I'm re-thinking what I want to do with the scene.
Sorry to hear about your 37k lost. Yikes. That must totally suck.
I don't think I could use the voice to text thingy. I don't think I could word things the way I want them to be written. Plus, I'd have to be totally alone to do that. (especially for an intimate scene! lol.)
Yeah, your blogging stats astound me.
Wow.
What have I learned about myself? That no, really. I just don't like McDonalds anymore. Yuck.
Oh, will you post on how you like the speech to text software after you try it out? I've thought about getting it but don't know anyone who has it. Lucky you! :)
I'm jealous - I really want voice recognition software because I write everything by hand, but my hubbie says they all suck. What brand do you use and is it working well for you?
We've learned that in order to be awesome we just need to stay close to YOU. Watch and learn, people. Watch and learn.
Bummer on the lost wordage. That bites. But at least you're not letting it get to you too much.
I learned that you Elana come up with some pretty awesome ideas! No pressure or anything, lol!
Digital voice recorder! Cool! Is it hard to use? I mean I have issues with a cell phone,lol. Most curious about your new gadgets :) Have fun using them!
I agree with LiLa ;--) I want one of those doo hickey things too! Glad you're getting your mojo back!
I do not like hearing my voice because I sound like a little girl.
So sorry about the 37k words. I've had a couple of computer crashes, so I try to back up regularly, but it's not always timed right. Now I've gotten to e-mailing myself drafts. I'm one paranoid chick.
20k hits because of raising money gives me faith. Writers are a caring bunch. One of my favorite parts of attending conferences is everyone is so supportive.
And now I'm ignoring the butterflies I'm getting for tomorrow's conference. A query critique and a ten-page critique from agents. WhatwasIthinking?
Congrats! Soon you may reach almost legend status. Remember, no big heads, okay? :)
Have a great weekend,
Karen
Losing 37,000 words would practically destroy me. But you have such a great attitude!
That software sounds fun. You'll have to let us know how it works for you.
What kind of speech-to-text software are you using? I am thinking it might be a wise investment for myself, and trying to find out what works best!
Eh, I don't have anything cool to add. Just wanted to say, "Hi! You're awesome!"
That's all :)
love ya!
fab advise from you! sometimes you just need to ask for help... had a horrid conference call yesterday with a PR rep who's lost her flare (all I have to do is tell her I need her help)... duh! okay, your a genius! great reminder! Thanks! (and today is the meeting about the meeting, which of course will be followed with another meeting about the meeting...oh, I am so cutting this short with asking for help)!
and your voice... those recorders always mess it up, you don't really sound like that! :)
Well I just learned that you get a scary amount of hits on your blog - way more than my blog!
I guess I should clarify. I didn't LOSE the words. I still have them all. The file is safe. They're just unusable. Like, they suck. The story isn't right. The POV. All of it.
So I scrapped the project, and I'm starting over. But I still have those words.
And you know, this might actually be harder...to have the words and know that you just stink that bad...
Okay, enough of that. Back to the beyawesome!
Congrats on the hits! Wow!! I am sorry about the word loss--NOt fun! Just flew in from an awesome conference last night and still excited about the people I met and the possibilities!
Congrats on the 20,000--you do a great job here. I am glad you did not shut-down blogger's server with all of the recent traffic.
My voice sounds nasally in a recording--yuck.
This week I did learn how many folks use Google Alerts to track information on names in the news. I did an opinion post on a case in the news and had 6 times the amount of traffic on the blog the next day.
I've learned what I've always suspected. A few bad apples with loud voices really do spoil the pot...because the world is basically made up of wonderful people. :)
Blogging Buddies around the Globe Quest
20,000 hits! Wow!! That is definitely be-yawesome. Dang, girl. And the DTWTFN has been amazing. Good luck with your new gadgets. :-)
Elana, you're an inspiration! Much luck with you're new techie software. I had voice software once. Never quite got the hang of it. Go for it sista!
I've learned that it's really time for summer break - like, NOW! The students (and teachers) are beginning to act like caged beasts - scary!! :-)
Shannon, I don't know you, but I totally feel your pain.
I couldn't use the voice software. My voice doesn't sound high, it sounds lower, almost man-ish to my own ears. I hate it.
My be-yawesome I found out this week is that I like to talk about myself in the third person. I had to write a bio and suddenly I was referring to myself as Margie this and Margie that. It's kind of fun. You should try it. :-)
Margie likes the number of hits you had on your blog. Congrats!
That's great that you got so many hits and the writing community stepped up to donate for this. I learned I have thicker skin. When I went to the SCBWI conference two weeks ago and had my agent critique, I realized that she wasn't going to be the agent for this book and it didn't bother me that much. That was a big improvement for me. I'll be e-mailing you a revised query hopefully soon.
Ooh, I'll be interested to find out how the digital voice recorder and speech to text work out for you. I find that, somehow, I can't write if I'm speaking. Grr. I'm all - wait! Wait! I have to write it *down*!! What I've learned? That bloggers really ARE awesome :D I reached 100 followers yesterday and I feel all SQUEE inside :D
20,000 hits HOLY CRAP!! That's frickin amazing man!
This week I've learned that my crazy has a new angle. I've always known I'm insane, but never realized how hard I can be on myself when it comes to finishing a huge MS. Maybe that's 'cause it's the first time I've done it!!
Thanks for sharing, Elana! :D
That's cool that the voice recorder is working well for you. When I hear a recording of myself, I always think it's my cousin, not me. Guess we have similar voices. Anyway, I'm so glad you feel ready to write again!
Awesome post (as always--I feel like a broken record on your blog). And dude--I just learned that I'm jealous of your stat counter results. :)
And I think a high pitched voice is better than a nasal one. I always feel like I sound congested when I hear my real voice. Le sigh. :)
Elana, you are some kinda genius. If the ideas are yours and you bounce them off your friends and they see the genius in it and say DO IT, well... the idea was YOURS, my friend.
Now, if only I could somehow figure out a way to get some of that for myself...
Oh yeah, read your blog. Doi.
Elana...you should be relieved. You didn't lose the words, you found the wrong ones. So now you know which 37,000 don't work and you can focus on the ones that do:)
Who does like to hear their voice recorded? To think of my voice recorded makes me cringe.
Glad to hear you're back on track with your writing.
Hey, hey...how did I not discover your blog until now? Just wanted to say that I love it and I look forward to following it!
It's cool how sometimes life and people can surprise you. :)
How is voice-to-text, btw? It seems so cool and would be useful when my thoughts are uber jumbled. Is it as awesome as it seems???
It's weird how different you sound recorded, but apparently only to ourselves because that's how everyone hears us normally. I'm always like DO I REALLY SOUND LIKE THAT??? D:
Sorry about the word loss. It's happened to me before, and it is kind of defeating at first. Glad your back on your game.
Yeah, my voice sounds high-pitched too. Fun.
Great post, Elana! So inspirational. ;)
I'm consistently impressed with you, Elana. You're a rock star. :)
Seriously, I agree that when you surround yourself with people smarter than you, awesome things happen. But also, I think that when you make an effort to pay it forward to someone who needs your help, or even someone who doesn't, that pays off too.
And whenever you decide to do something wicked fun like the spread the awesome thing we did last week, I'm totally in. I love fun!
I've been having the kids at school write and perform radio plays on digital recorders. Then we play them in class. It's fabulous and NO ONE likes their real voice - me included!
There's been a lot of awesome going around!
Oh no! You lost 37,000 words??? Yeesh! How are you still so upbeat and positive? I'm definitely learning a great deal from you!
I know what you mean about the voice recorder- I think I sound like a little kid!
Congrats on all your awesomeness, Elana!!! And thanks for sharing your awesomeness with all of us!
I've learned that Carbonite.com is awesome!!! Great post, as always.
Hey E, I'm sorry to hear you lost 37,000 words. Poo-stinky.
I tried some voice to text software and it was glitchy at best. I lost my patience with it pretty fast. I hope you have better luck than I did.
Have an awesome weekend!
Love,
Lola
you should learn that we love you and you rock...
Elana, I've left a shout out to you on my blog! Thanks for all your great information. Your post on puke is my favorite EVER!
Elana,
Wow 20,000 hits that is awesome!
What have I learned, you ask...My blog friends are there for me, even if it is in my personal life. :)
Yet another fabulous post! Congrats on all the hits.
And I hate the way my voice sounds but I try not to think about it since I have to use it all day long at school!
What are you talking about? Your voice is high!
Your posts always make me laugh. Thanks!!!
37,000 words!!!!!! AHHHHH!!!! I'm freaking out for you. So sorry but I'm totally impressed how you are handling it. Hugs. And lattes. And chocolate.
Wow that is all such great news
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LOL, I hate listening to myself. I don't think I could do that.
I, on a confident whim, asked one of my fave authors for an interview...and he said yes! I was/am shocked and floored. It was be-yawesome!!
I was just reading a book where Grace Kelly had to change her nasal whiny voice to a deeper, gentler one for her "work".
You are an online genius, Elana!
I never imagined you with a high voice. You should record a sample and post it. I personally sound like a boy when recorded.
As for being awesome, I've learned there's nothing like talking about the writing world with other writers!
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