Category Archives: Tipsy Lit

The Value of Expat & Travel Writing

Deanna Herrmann:

And Writing Around the World is up in full swing! Monday featured Charlotte, from Sherbet and Sparkles, with The Value of Travel & Expat Writing.

Originally posted on TIPSY LIT:

valueoftravelwriting
From the age of 14 I wanted to live in Japan. It was all I could think about, and I’d spend hours every day dreaming about the day I could move there. Coming from a family who do at least 3 long haul trips a year, I have never been nervous about going to foreign countries, nor have I ever been scared of things like flying. It’s just second nature to me. So when I finally got to live in Japan I didn’t think anything of it.

Then I started writing my blog.

I was 20 and a university student in Japan. I’d write about how to live in Japan – about going to the supermarket, buying a cell phone, getting a hair cut and at the same time I’d give details about how much Japanese would be required to complete each task and give some key vocabulary.

I started to…

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Writing Around The World

Deanna Herrmann:

The Tipsy Lit feature this month is all about expats and travel writers! Make sure to check out new posts daily, Monday-Friday, and see which of your favorite expats wrote something fabulous!

Originally posted on TIPSY LIT:

writingaroundtheworld

You may remember me mentioning the fact that I rekindled my love for writing when I started my first blog, From Casinos To Castles. This blog was created as a way to document my journey of taking a huge leap of faith in becoming an expatriate. It started off fueled by the inspiration found in our courage and has become a place where I share things about every day expat life. The travel writing community is unlike any other I have ever found online, but they are similar in that they all share a glimpse of what it’s like to be a part of another culture, another world.

I’ve now had an expat blog for over a year as well as a separate writing blog. It occurred to me how different the communities are and how little may be known about the expat bloggers/travel writers. Granted, we all stumble…

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Be Brave Enough To Follow A Dream

From the time I was a young girl, I always loved to read. As I grew up, a love for writing naturally followed. English was my favorite subject and despite my inner rebel causing me to skip a notorious amount of classes, I rarely missed English.

I adored the beauty to be found in metaphors and symbolism, the flow at which some of the best authors convey their message. When I found that my emotions were more than I could handle, I would turn to those metaphors and spill them out on paper, usually in the form of poetry.

My English teachers easily became aware of my love affair with the written word, encouraging me to write. One of my poems won a school literary award while the other was published in the real world before I graduated high school. I remember these teachers, the guardians of my future, persuading me to consider a degree in literature allowing me to dream of a future writing career. Yet, my inner critic slammed down the heaviest of hammers on the idea.

What kind of future do you have as a writer? You don’t want to teach or become a journalist….you won’t make any money. You’re not good enough.

doubt, dreams , quote

Source:Pinterest

And there lies the misguided direction of a teenager. My focus was hell-bent on success and happiness being driven by financial gain while my insecurities weakened my spirit.

I was wrong. 

Please don’t misunderstand, I am happy that I pursued a career in social work. Helping others soothes my soul and its rewards far outweigh its annoyances, but writing lights my fire.

Today, this post is my 100th post on From Casinos To Castles. I know I have been distant from this space. I accept that is has morphed into something unplanned. But this little space in my small corner of the blogosphere, will always be so special to me. Here is the place where I unknowingly rekindled my sweet love affair with writing. Here is where I found a supportive community encouraging me along the way, much like those teachers who once believed in me. Here is where I found a network of writers and other lovers of words that lead me to more new places.

Among these writers is Emily, from The Waiting, (you may remember me mentioning her here). I followed her blog for sometime as I always enjoy the clever and humorous way she writes, especially about her daughter Cee. One day, Emily shared a post about her new venture as Managing Editor for the reading and writing community, Tipsy Lit. She spoke about this fun, new community and mentioned that they accept submissions to be published on their site in addition to their book club and other features.

I was intrigued.

I messaged her, but was discouraged for two reasons: 1. I never considered myself a writer 2. I had never written fiction. Our email discussions grew which soon lead to my guest post on Tipsy Lit about being an expat blogger. I stalked Tipsy Lit’s author interviews, v-logs and other helpful posts doing my best to absorb as much as possible; to make me a stronger and hopefully better, writer. I was also introduced to so many more wonderful people, wonderful bloggers, wonderful writers along the way.

I was ecstatic when one day, Emily mentioned that they would like to have me join “The Crew” and become a regular contributing writer. I, of course, accepted and my first published piece goes live today.

So, you see, this 100th post of mine is special. You are special. So, you’ll forgive me if you have heard some of these things before? I felt overwhelmed by the need to share with you where I am today, my dreams and maybe even introduce you to a whole new world.

Until then, let’s all dare to dream. I’ll start.

Hi, I’m Deanna and I’m a writer. 

Source: Pinterest

So You Want To Be An Expat Blogger

It would look like this in real life.

So, who here likes books and booze? Well, I do and now that I have your attention, I highly suggest you check out Tipsy Lit. I first heard of this site through Emily, one of my favorite parenting bloggers as it’s a place where she not only writes, but is also the managing editor. Tipsy Lit, started by Ericka Clay, has a great community of writers with a lot of interaction through their book club as well as weekly writing prompt contests. They have several contributing writers that do book reviews, discuss writing tips and techniques and they talk about wine. A lot. They even have a bartender as one of their writers! Who could not love this place?

 

 

expat bloggerIt’s no secret that I have been trying to focus more on my writing and I was ecstatic when Emily suggested that I share a post about expat/travel writing. In no way am I claiming to be any type of expert on this subject, but I have learned a few things along the way and thought I’d share what I know. So friends, that’s where you can find me today. I hope you’ll go over and check out my post, say hello and even share some of your tips about being an expat blogger!

What are some tips about expat/travel writing you have learned along the way? What do you think is important to have in a good travel piece or expat lifestyle piece? 

***Comments have been turned off here to encourage you to go and share your wonderful knowledge on my Tipsy Lit post. Thanks!*****