Tag: writing

Just need to withstand the lack of reaction from others

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Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko on Pexels.com

Nothing seems to work, no matter how I try. Perhaps I just need to withstand the lack of reaction from others. I have made up a new fanfic, but no reaction to that. Not even views, or they come slowly. I spent hours writing it, and I think it’s good. Then none. But it doesn’t matter because I like what I write, which matters. I did get a compliment from someone who said I’m a talented writer. They suggested they would make a comic of it. But I can’t afford it right now. It’s a nice gesture, though. At least some are reacting. Some fan fiction succeeds better than others. I have a lot of fiction. Maybe it’s only the subject that people don’t care about, or a lack of coitus.

I’ve started a faceless account on Instagram in Finnish. It’s IN right now in Finland. You can sell digital products made by someone else and then resell them. There are MRR (Master Resell Right) and PLR (Private Label Right). You can make them your own or resell them as they are. To start somewhere, I bought a package with Instagram Stories and Reels and resold it. But when trying to sell a digital product, you need to advertise. So it’s not get-rich-quick (I don’t even want to be rich), but it is frustrating that it takes ages. I won’t earn anything. Some have waited for months and still haven’t sold anything. I was initially excited about faceless marketing, not having to show my face. Many faceless accounts sell courses about digital marketing and how to start faceless marketing, but I’ve already studied digital marketing and visuals. I’ve used a lot of money to study those things. Even if I did buy the course, there’s no guarantee I would profit from it. As a graphic designer and photographer, I want to make my own digital product. The best thing about selling digital products is that you don’t have to contract with a client and wait for clients to contact you. What if I don’t succeed, and I’m wasting my time? I need to withstand the negativity from my mind that it won’t work. I need to be more patient.

Lastly, about this blog, I don’t feel like blogging the way I used to. The last post about the Duran Duran concert was ignored, but I guess people are too busy. Or maybe reading blogs and blogging isn’t as popular as it used to be. I just need to withstand the lack of reaction from others. I’m writing for myself anyway. How else will I learn to write in English if I don’t blog? That’s why I’m here; the same goes for writing fan fiction. I need to get my thoughts written down somehow.

Learning is a marathon, not a sprint

Mia2 Comments
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Remember when you were a kid and wanted to learn quickly? You wanted things to go smoothly, and you had no patience at all. Learning is a marathon, not a sprint. Most of us want to learn and expect to be experts at once. But life doesn’t work that way. You need to take time to learn, and that’s what’s so fascinating about life. You live and learn all the time and don’t graduate from life.

I love learning new things and even things I already know. There is no harm in repeating what you learned in the past because people have different teaching styles and opinions. You might even get excited again about something you didn’t like when you were younger. In 3rd grade, we had to learn to play the fipple flute (also called recorder). I wasn’t excited to learn the instrument then. But when I got older, I took it up again. I taught myself to play music notes, and now I can play songs by heart. I even learned to play ‘Soft Kitty‘ (the song Sheldon in The Big Bang Theory sang). I just played with the flute some tunes, and then suddenly there the song was. I can play a tune by listening to the sound, and there’s a song. The instrument is easier to play than the piano. I’ve learned the easier music notes, and on the Duolingo app, you can learn music notes on the piano. I’m also learning Norwegian there. It sounds like Swedish but is spelled differently, so it isn’t so hard to learn for me.

I’ve been learning social media marketing lately, which is why I haven’t blogged as often recently. Writing in Finnish has been challenging because I’ve been writing in English so much. I get more written in English than in Finnish. I’m better at writing fiction than about real life. I’m like that little kid who wants to learn, but the results take ages. It feels like I’m wasting my time trying to write something and not getting anything in return. It makes me doubt that I will ever make it as an entrepreneur or that I can’t do anything right. Or that I’m too dull and no one cares. Learning to be patient and not giving up despite feeling disappointed. You also need some luck to make it. But the most important thing is that you learn things you want to learn and not what others want you to. Life is much more fun when you do.

How I became a storyteller

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©Mia Salminen 2015

I’ve never been a book reader, and I prefer watching things on TV. If I read something, it isn’t novels. I’ve read a lot of autobiographies, and when I was a child, I read books for kids. The kids’ books were written in Swedish, and they were easy to read, too. I’ve read books in Finnish as well. The book I read the most was a book about Heidi. It was adapted from a movie. I reread it last summer in a day or two. I own some books, but I go to the library when I want to read a book. I own the ‘Lord of the Rings’ book but have never finished it. My late dad bought it for Christmas, and he read it in one evening. It’s too long for my taste. I prefer the movies. The book that I have read by Tolkien is ‘The Hobbit’. I’ve read that a couple of times. I own one in English, but I have also read it in Finnish once. I’m not patient enough to read long books. Unless it’s a fascinating book or an autobiography.

I’ve always wanted to write and was pretty good at it in school. I didn’t want to write a book, as someone thought I would when I said I wanted to write. I wanted writing to be part of something else. The same goes for photography and graphic design. I don’t want to do only one thing. There are different ways to be a raconteur than someone writing books. I became a storyteller after I found my fascination with fan fiction. I didn’t find stories I wanted to read, so I started to write my own. That’s where I shine the most. But writing fiction is only a hobby and doesn’t pay the bills. It’s also a learning curve for learning English, and I don’t need to read books to keep my imagination running. Some might say that reading books teaches you to use words, but you can also learn words by watching movies or TV shows. I want to write with words that anyone can understand. You don’t need fancy words to write a good story. Writing fiction is easier for me than writing about facts.

For example, I struggle with what to write on social media right now. It’s supposed to be in Finnish, but it doesn’t come naturally to me. I’m so used to writing in English, so writing it in my language isn’t easy. The other thing is that Swedish is my mother tongue, so I find it hard to find words to describe something in Finnish. Knowing three languages can sometimes confuse your vocabulary. When I write fiction in English, the inspiration comes quicker, and I could write for hours. But I get stuck when writing about facts about myself and what I want to achieve. The challenging part is writing about it in Finnish. I’m just not a storyteller when it comes to real life. Things would be easier if I could tell a story the way I write fiction. I guess it’s about getting used to things instead of giving up because something is too difficult. You live, learn, and become a better raconteur when you write as often as possible. That’s the way you learn other things in life. That’s how I learned to write in English in the first place. Practice makes you better at what you do.