Trying to Maintain My Motivation

I am currently working on this strip club scene in my novel.  One of my main characters is at a strip club trying to see someone, but the person doesn't seem to be there at the moment.  This is the final scene planned for Chapter 15, and I have a deadline to finish it by Saturday!  Although I am struggling, I will finish it, even if I have to glue myself to the computer to do so!

But, off of that, for now.  This post is to say hello and let you know how the novel is coming along.  And you know, maybe steal some of your energy and convert it into motivation.  *smile* 

As I said earlier, I am currently in the 15th chapter of my novel, with plans of completing 5-10 more chapters before it is ready for editing.  Some days I am in-love with the creative process and my characters just scream their actions to me.  Other days, I am looking in dark alleys for them and they are nowhere to be found.  Thus the life of an artist, and what us artists of the pen like to call "writer's block."  It has been my nemesis for the last 6 years! 

Sheer determination and support from family and friends is what is going to make this novel happen.  I do not care, I've put too much into it to give up now!  Telling myself that got me from a sentence to over 90 typed pages of fiction.  And when that is formatted for print, it is almost double that!  That gets me excited!  And I am going to make this happen, because I was born for this!  It is my gift.

I want you to also remember that when it comes time to motivate yourself in the completion of your own goals.  The Greats (and I mean those who weren't one hit wonders) didn't get that way over night.  There were long hours and moments of self-doubt that almost derailed them.  BUT they persevered, and so shall we!

LET'S DO IT!!!!  Let's pound the pavement and make it happen for ourselves.  I challenge you, and myself, to finish our goals no matter what!  And when that block tries to get in our way, I challenge us to apply pressure and make diamonds!

Thanks! I needed that pep-talk.  Now back to the strip club. ^_^

~MindSpeaka

P.S. Leave a comment about what you are working on.  I'd love to cheer you on!


Photo Credit:  Career Intelligence

4 Actions to Finding Your Niche

Have you ever heard of "niche" or "finding your niche" before?  To be honest, I had heard of it but never considered it as apart of my day to day.  That said, it seems I have always been operating with my "niche" in mind.  When I started my novel *cough*6*cough* years ago, I had a particular goal in mind to fulfill what I considered a need - more fiction literature about lesbian African-Americans.

Fiction literature for lesbian African-Americans is my niche, the particular audience I am writing to. 

I ended up revisiting this term because it kept coming up in my research to not only finish this novel, but make it successful.  Truth is, though, no matter whether you are pushing a novel, art work, music, service or product, understanding and finding your niche could be the difference between making or wasting time and money.

If you are like me, you rather not waste your time and DEFINITELY not your money.  So, let me explain "4 Actions to Finding Your Niche":

1.  FIGURE OUT YOUR PASSION.  Think about what you love/like to do, are good at, and can possibly get paid for.  What is it that you do that keeps you motivated?  Take a moment to think about your values, vision and goals.  This is the foundation for figuring out your niche and what you are willing to stick with, despite setbacks.  By playing on your strengths, it makes it easier to put yourself in a position to become a sought after resource in your genre.

2.  FIND YOUR FOCUS.  Now that you have a list of what you like and your goals, it is time to translate it into your focus area.  What problem or "need" can your strengths be used to resolve?  Can they satisfy a basic need, solve a problem, or make others feel good about themselves?  It is important to find your focus, because you cannot be everything to everybody, nor can you produce solutions to everything. While drawing down your focus, also think about "why" you are pushing your product or service.  This will be handy when you are ready to market and promote.

3.  RESEARCH THE MARKET.  Once you have narrowed down what you have to offer, it is time to research.  If you read my blog on branding, you may recall I said researching helps you reach your audience.  This is true, but when it comes to your niche, researching is paramount to knowing if your focus even has a market.  Do a Google search to check the competition, if there is any competition.  Be a bit wary if there are no competitor ads popping up, or if there is a saturation of ads.  These could be bad signs.  Research will give you an idea of the market size and competition.

4.  TARGET YOUR CUSTOMER.  Again, you cannot please or produce with everyone in mind.  The saying goes, "If you try selling to just anyone or everyone, you end up selling to no one."  This is why when discovering your niche, you want to have an idea of who your customer is.  It is not enough to know the demographics.  Think outside the box.  Does the person who buys your CD like speak easy settings with live bands?  Is the person techy or into organic products?  Employ psychographics and bring your customer to life.  Know their behaviors.  Building your marketing plan will be a whole lot easier when you get to that point by thinking about this upfront.

If you figure it all out in the beginning, it makes it easier for you to be different and better than those who are already in your market.  AND BONUS! You ensure that you waste as little time and money as possible. 

That's it!  Now that I have shared all I have learned with you, please take a moment to leave a comment.  Would love to hear from you.

~ MindSpeaka


Photo Credit:  Surviving After College

Branding Yourself - Okay, I'm writing, but "Who am I Projecting?" - 5 Ways to Get it Together

This journey to finally finish this novel has opened my eyes to sooooooo much information!  The web is way more comprehensive than it was when I first started my interface with it.  You can find EVERYTHING on it - good and bad.

Including what the world wide web has to offer up about you.

I Googled myself today, Ameehsal MindSpeaka, and thankfully there wasn't too much bad showing up.  A lot of it was my social media and books (YUP! I have two books already published.), but nothing I need to take drastic action against.

Even so, got me thinking about what everyone is thinking I am and how I am perceived.  People, I am thinking about my Personal Brand - what am I projecting and how do I improve it.  I Googled that, too, and because I'm not stingy, I am going to share my research with my own understanding. 

Behold, Branding "U":

5.  DEFINE & BECOME.  Before you can even project yourself, you need to know who that self is.  What is unmistakably core to who you are?  Would others say the same?  Identifying your strengths, passion and uniqueness will give the foundation to your brand.

4.  POSITION.  Your foundation is just the beginning.  To truly benefit from it, you have to figure out your niche and checkout the competition.  Where is the hole?  Find it and exploit it for the opportunities to set yourself apart. 

3.  TAKE ACTION.  Having all this knowledge of self and who your audience is, is NOTHING without follow-through, so take action.  Develop your plan of attack and execute it.  It's go-time, so stay ambitious, no matter the risk.  Impossible does not exist - if you don't want it to. 

2.  PRESENCE.  In taking action, be so impatient that you refuse to wait for someone else to notice you.  Can you say who you are in 1-2 sentences?  If you said "yes", go communicate that to the world!  The web has made it too easy for you not to make your stamp.  Optimize the positive, bury the negative and above all else be CLEAR and VISIBLE about what your brand is.  Never sugar coat your excellence.

1.  NETWORK.  When it is all said and done, even the best branding cannot stand up alone.  Remain engaged with the community and your audience.  Build relationships and nurture them.  Never stop getting advice, educating yourself, researching and developing your brand to stay ahead of the game and reach your target audience.  Welcome feedback and adjust accordingly.  And always, ALWAYS help others.  Be a blessing when you are being blessed.

And that's it!  If you've made it this far, I invite you to leave a comment below.  I would love to hear from you!

Okay, I have a novel to finish.  Stay Blessed!

~MindSpeaka


Photo credit:  Tony Enterprises

I'm writing a book

Once upon a time, I was real good at writing about myself and what I had going on.  Somewhere between colorful words on LiveJournal and MySpace, to status updates on Facebook, it got lost. 

The hope is to use this blog to encourage myself to get that back.

So, I am writing a book.  Actually, I have been working on this novel since 2009 when I was in Iraq.  Believe it or not, you have a lot of time to work on self since distractions are minimal.  You can't just go out or watch TV, so I writing was definitely my escape from the warnings of incoming martyrs.

Before "my" great American novel was completed, I came back to the States and since have never been short of excuses to why am too busy to finish it. 

I would like to finish it.

Since 2009 I have written 14 chapters, with my goal being at least 20 chapters.  I have a layout of what will happen, but had forgotten what had already happened.  Finally taking time to reread my own words, I realize that in this amateur state, it isn't too bad.  I also think others will feel the same, if I just finish it!

So, that is the goal, and this is the pick-up of the journey.  I am researching and trying to use the excuses for why I NEED to finish.  This year will be 6 years ... better late than never. ;)

Get Motivated, Folks! And Stay Focused.

~MindSpeaka


Photo credit:  Just For Kids ATA Martial Arts