Communications – Holistic Wellness Writers

March 2, 2021March 12, 2021

You’d Think I was M.I.A.

I’m Still Standing. . .

From here, looking at this blog, you’d think I died or went missing. But no.

I’m happy to report, I am still around, alive, and doing fine. I can also report I HAVE been writing, just, apparently not here.

I’ve been trying to figure out how to bring it over here.

Another Venue

I was encouraged some time ago to start posting on Medium.com.
Like so many things in life, I put it off. . . and off. But last year, I found my RoundTuit and started publishing on Medium. I’m still trying to navigate the “correct” way to share those posts here. I don’t want to get tossed into Medium Jail for doing it wrong!

For the moment, I’ll share the LINK to My Medium Page, and you can read me over there. Paula’s Medium.com Blog Page

But I’ll give you a heads-up. . . If you’re not a “member,” you can only read 5-posts per month (I believe). Becoming a member is only $5/month or $50/year (bargain). Think of it as a great magazine subscription. A couple of the benefits of membership: You have access to reading unlimited articles–thousand and thousands of them on countless topics. And you can start writing and publishing on Medium.

I published an article per week, for a few months. My pride in merely getting it done grew. I’d planned to gradually ramp-up the publishing frequency to twice per week as my energy levels improved. Then it could grow to three times per week. But Continue reading “You’d Think I was M.I.A.”

July 30, 2018March 13, 2021

3 Writing Tips to Improve How You’re Perceived

Neglecting This Pre-Flight Check Might Prevent Your Writing from Landing Properly

Doug Lenberg inflates his balloon (after a thorough pre-flight check). Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, 2013. ~Photo by Paula High-Young.

**Your Pre-flight Check is Always Important**

In flying, the pre-flight check is mandatory. I suppose this piloting concept naturally crept into my writing as well.

Before I hit the send or publish button, I always put my writing and correspondence through what I call my Writing Pre-flight Check.

1979, Norm’s Pre-flight. Photo by Gil Davis, 1979.

Whether you’re composing emails to clients, blog posts, articles, or you’re mailing cards and letters to family or friends, there are a few quick things you should always do to optimize how your communications sound. Ideally, you want to come across as intelligent, credible, and thoughtful — maybe even humorous.

It’s too easy to inadvertently trip up. So here are three quick Writing Pre-flight Check tips to help you come across the way you intended.

1.) ALWAYS, always proof-read your content before sending or publishing. Check your spelling and tone — how you are coming across. Proof-read everything. You don’t get another chance to make the right impression.

2.) Reading it out loud to yourself before sending or publishing can be a great help. As I read, sometimes I find something I’m unsure of. I find using editing software apps, such as “Grammarly,” can be particularly helpful in smoothing out such issues. There is a free version available, and it can make you look good and maybe even save your reputation.

3.) And if it’s something super important, step away from it for a little while after you’ve finished writing it–but before sending. Take a break, do something else. Then come back to it a little later (an hour, a few hours, or a day) and do the proof-reading and reading aloud (perhaps a second pass). Sometimes things feel and sound different to us after we give it a little space and time to “steep.”

These are my absolute musts no matter what I’m writing. Okay, maybe I do dash-off text messages a bit too quickly for this. And that damned autocorrect will get me so many times. At least those sometimes give us something to chuckle about.

Give these a try and tell me what you think.

Thanks for visiting. Hope to see you here again soon.
Be Well,
~Paula

Paula High-Young is a freelance holistic health and personal development copywriter in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. She’s also fluent in holistic wellness coaching, herbal medicinals, Reiki, and essential oils. You can find her website at HolisticWellnessWriters.com and connect with her on LinkedIn, at Holistic Wellness Writers on Facebook, and sometimes on Twitter. You can also find her on Flickr.

February 26, 2018March 1, 2018

A Possible Perspective on Priorities

The Order of Things. . .

I write every day–something, each day. Recently, I was composing a resource document in Google Docs–for my wellness offerings–rather than my usual habit of writing in MS Word for Mac. I’m playing more with Google Docs and Sheets to learn more about them.

Anyway–While writing, I saw a button in the bottom right-hand corner of the document screen, “Explore.” “Ooo, I’m an explorer at heart, Ok.” I clicked on the Explore button.

It brought up a sidebar with images–which I could use in the document if I wanted (& I did choose one, as seen here). Above the three offered photos, it contained headings of “Topics.” It had pulled three topics from an overall look at the contents of my document. It listed, in this order:
Quality time
Spirit
Wellness.

I found this interesting, as my mention of “quality time” came much later in the piece than Source or Spirit–AND “Source” and “Spirit” are more prevalent on the page.

What If. . .

It got me wondering–Is this a reflection of our society and its priorities? Is it a reflection of “time” in any form, coming before or outranking “Spirit,” even when I had put it first? Continue reading “A Possible Perspective on Priorities”