Tamara McRill

Waiting for Santa. Our pets and the holidays -- is there a better recipe for a cute story?   As a pet blogger, of course I can't think of one! I'm working on a post on that topic right now for CANIDAE's Responsible Pet Ownership blog. While I adore writing about my dogs, this time around I would love to include you and your pet's special winter holiday memories! So, do you have a hilarious,

Seriously, who doesn't want more money for their writing? I sure do. And I've made more since reading "Managing a Freelance Writing Business: A Writer's Guide to Building a Strong Business," by Angie Mohr, CA, CMA. I still refer to the tips in this book today. That's why I'm so excited to let you know this ebook is free on Amazon today and tomorrow. I bought the book and found it to be

Using the Bottlenose app feels just like this. Come up for air and enjoy social networking again! Looking for real-time results on what your network is talking about, but don't want to spend an hour surfing the feed? Same here. So I checked out Bottlenose, a social media app that reads your Facebook and Twitter feed and lets you know what topics are popular. How does it do that? With

That is an obvious statement, perhaps, but think about it. How true could the reporting of xenophobe be if they are writing from a skewed lens of unfounded fear or suspicion of the strange or foreign, especially in regards to people? Even the form of uncritical stereotyping renders their writing dishonest. Maybe not intentionally so, but still inaccurate. Not being a psychology expert, I'm

Pinterest is a magical tool for visually inspiring writers.  I know I said that before in January, but thought it was worth stressing again. The photo pinning social network can be used to create topic boards on all the topics you like to write about, but it's more than that. If you just use the site to pin things you like--and create niche topic boards for these pictures--it hones in on

Maybe I should make a clip book like this. Throwback Thursday Do you have a massive stack of old clips sitting lonely in a box? I'm slightly embarrassed to admit I do. The frail newspaper could-set-your-house-on-fire kind. Okay, even the xeroxed almost as flammable paper kind, from junior high. The problem is figuring out whether they've outgrown their usefulness, professionally and

Writing can be serious business. So today I want to lighten the mood by sharing a few of my favorite writing jokes and gag gifts. Sadistic Mouse Want to keep a writer productive? Gift them this chocolate bar ice cream sandwich mouse, from Amazon. Tell them they can have the real thing when they make deadline. We really will work for food--if it's yummy enough! Exception to the Rule A

Interview, originally uploaded by smiling_da_vinci.  It would be nice to have instant access to the most famous or obviously newsworthy people on any given subject we're writing. While it doesn't often work that way, freelance journalists can still dig up some interesting people to interview on any given subject. All you need is an angle. Writing about a movie? Interview real life people

Wave buh-bye to terrible clients.  Seriously. Just do it. Live longer. Yeah, it sounds crazy to fire a paying client. Maybe also a little tempting? Don't get too eager--I'm talking about that client that gives you nightmares, fills your days with dread and prompts spontaneous bouts of sobbing at the thought of writing for them. You know which one I'm talking about. They are literally

It's hard to tell if my friends are really beginning to use Google+ or if my circles are just growing. Either way, it's been months since my news feed could span days in a few seconds. Which meant I could check in a few times a week and be all caught up. It has expanded to a social network that I need to be tuning into daily, but at first it was hard to break my less frequent habits. For me,

The perfect writing spot: Decatur Street, New Orleans. Lately my mind has been wistfully conjuring images myself typing away as indifferent strangers pass by with unknown purpose, shrouded in the mystique of a locale that thrives on its crush of humanity. Now that would be a proper writing vacation. Not a research-driven mission or peaceful author retreat to gather my thoughts and let

An A to Z Throwback Thursday For my 'E' post last year, I wrote about "Enthusiastically Embracing New Writing Endeavors" and I guess it's time to fess up to my success...and failure. Of the two new projects I mentioned in the post, Pundit This is off the ground and running. My dream of turning it into a website and featuring the political voices of average Americans has come true. We are on

Okay, maybe the year just applies to me, but my canine companions definitely get credit for keeping this writer healthy. Which is important, because if I'm not feeling well--I'm not thinking well. And unclear thinking leads to sloppy writing. My canine caregivers. No, I don't have a trio of Doggie Bowser, MDs on my hands. Just normal, lovably active dogs. As a primarily online freelance

Writers get rejections. It's inevitable and what you do after receiving these disheartening emails often decides whether you can make a living as a writer or not. What do working writers do? They cowboy/girl up and get creative. Because we have bills to pay. You probably do too, so take a look at the rejection and decide if the piece is salvageable. Give it an honest once over and decide if it

Are you moving towards or away from your goals? When it comes to a writer's bucket list, it matters not whether you take cautious steps or brash leaps towards your goals. The importance lies in the actual movement and the direction it takes.  That story or novel you want to write before you die isn't going to automagically appear.  Especially if you are spending all of your time

Have you hooked up your MySpace account to your Klout profile? No, I'm not joking...but Klout is. In exchange for pulling our influence-seeking legs, Klout is offering a glitter-rific animated makeover for your score. To get your--admittedly female-centric--MySpace inspired score: 1. Mouse over your name. 2. Click 'Settings.' 3. Click 'Connected Networks.' 4. Scroll  down until you see the '

April Blog-A-Thon It's almost A to Z Challenge time! Throughout the month of April over 1,000 blogs will be participating in the challenge, which was started by Arlee Bird in 2010. We will start on April 1, 2012, with the letter 'A' and continue blogging through the alphabet. Not only will I be participating in the challenge here on Tamara Writes, but I will also be tackling political trivia

Pin It Remember that blog post you wrote six months ago that was so popular or the one from when your blog was just a baby that failed to gain traction? Of course you do. Unfortunately, your readers might not or missed it completely. That's OK. Older content doesn't have to instantly die as soon as you hit 'publish' on another piece. You can promote content year-round, even if you're a busy

Fail whale moments for freelancers. Freelancing Fail Whale What writer doesn't look back on their first few days of tweets and cringe? I sure do. Here's a chance to look back and laugh at the mistakes we made before getting the hang of the Twitterverse. For new tweeps, take this as an opportunity to shorten your learning curve. *Infographic after the article. 5. Irrelevance & Obscurity

Up for a Shorty Award? Don't let those Hanging Chads get you down--there's a workaround! Vote for Pundit This... for a Shorty Award. Is anyone else up for a Shorty Award? My website, PunditThis.com is, in the 'government' category.  The voting period ends at midnight on Feb. 17, so this is the final push to let people know how they can vote--it's quick and easy. I also wanted to take a

Throwback Thursday This post was going to go one of two ways: 1) Reminiscing on the first writing award I can remember receiving or 2) The same thing, plus a tangent on how much of a return on our investment we expect from our writing. Well, 1 + 2 = I can't find my D.A.R.E. Bear. Not that I expect to find the actual teddy bear 20 years after winning it--I really don't know if I have it and

I posted a short list of my 2012 writing goals as a separate page on this blog earlier today. Instead of worrying about what I have or have not completed in January, I'll start checking things off starting the first of next month. Look for a progress report at the end of every month and some helpful tips in between. Shaping up to be an amazing year! Remember: Experience, Love and Achieve are the

The spirit of my goals are my 2012 writing goals. I'm going to fly in the face of conventional wisdom for a moment and state that nebulous aspirations are just as--if not more--important to writing goals than yearly navigational checklists. (Gasp!) That's right.  Because I believe that you need to know what state of being you want to be in, or view your work from, before you know in

Ha! Finally got the pic and formatting to stick. Anyways, pretty sweet set-up, huh? From somewhere in Mississippi...  Welcome to my newest office, the 59 City of New Orleans train. I love the technology that finds me barrelling towards the Big Easy and not missing an iota of work. If anything I've logged some overtime on writing projects. Client work for the week is done and I've written

Huge boxing gloves + deadline = true story Throwback Thursday I know, I know. You're thinking writing for a college newspaper is an obvious way to prepare for a freelance writing career. Of course it is--but not in the ways you think. The skills you gain go beyond learning how to write a lede, interview sources or design a page. What is really going on is on-the-fly training that will help