Room Expansion…the future of Writing Room 101

Posted on January 30, 2015 by mbarkersimpson Posted in News and DevelopmentsTagged #AtoZChallenge, #WR101, blogging, contributors, development, News, resources, writing

As some of you may already know I established Writing Room 101 just after National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) in November 2013. It has changed direction a number of times since then, and I have enjoyed the evolution. Currently the predominant theme of WR101 is a showcase for indie authors; whether it be spotlights, guest posts, interviews or reviews.

Thank you so much to all who have shared the journey with me so far, I really appreciate your support.

Mel

50 thoughts on “Room Expansion…the future of Writing Room 101”

January 30, 2015 at 4:56 pm Reply
mbarkersimpson says:

Reblogged this on Melissa Barker-Simpson and commented:
I’m planning a few changes over at Writing Room 101. I’m also in the process of finding a new theme, and would welcome any feedback on the changes I’ve made so far.
Thanks
Mel
January 30, 2015 at 5:01 pm Reply
angel7090695001 says:

I find it hard to navigate the site with your new theme but I’m not used to the more unusual ones.
1. January 30, 2015 at 5:04 pm Reply
  mbarkersimpson says:
  
  Thanks for that, I wondered if it might be a little ‘unfriendly’ to users. I’ll make a note of it, because the last thing I want to do is put people off stopping by 🙂
  1. January 30, 2015 at 5:06 pm
    angel7090695001 says:
    
    I found it quite hard to find one I liked but Kathryn suggested a few and I fell in love with Origin.
  2. January 30, 2015 at 5:10 pm
    mbarkersimpson says:
    
    I will take a look – I’ve been through so many I don’t remember the names!
  3. January 30, 2015 at 5:13 pm
    angel7090695001 says:
    
    It depends whether you want something more bloggy (hey I coined a new word) or static-y. DKC’s theme suits itself because it focuses more on blog posts but it wouldn’t (I think) work on mine.
  4. January 30, 2015 at 5:18 pm
    mbarkersimpson says:
    
    I’ll have a little play around! I’d forgotten about the DKC layout. Thanks for reminding me! 🙂
  5. January 30, 2015 at 5:21 pm
    angel7090695001 says:
    
    No problem 🙂 P.S Seen the epic finale of OUAT yet? I’d better start writing. Play MechQuest/DragonFable is too addicting.
  6. January 30, 2015 at 5:25 pm
    mbarkersimpson says:
    
    I haven’t, though I have caught up quite a bit. It’s been a crazy few weeks! Also, I find quite a few things addictive online – I don’t watch as much TV as I used to 🙂
  7. January 30, 2015 at 5:30 pm
    angel7090695001 says:
    
    Outlaw Queen is so sad in the finale. Have you seen the cool page on the storybook yet?
  8. January 30, 2015 at 5:32 pm
    mbarkersimpson says:
    
    Not yet – told you I was behind!
  9. January 30, 2015 at 5:35 pm
    angel7090695001 says:
    
    Spoilers (as River Song says, Doctor Who fan.) I wished the battle with Zelena with Regina using light magic was epicer. Is epicer even a word? DragonFable has sucked me in. My pet dragon is just so cute and fierce.
  10. January 30, 2015 at 5:39 pm
    mbarkersimpson says:
    
    lol – I will have to check out DragonFable. I love dragons 🙂
  11. January 30, 2015 at 9:01 pm
    angel7090695001 says:
    
    How did it go? Not for you?
  12. January 30, 2015 at 10:05 pm
    mbarkersimpson says:
    
    It took too long for anything to happen! I didn’t have a great deal of time though, so I’ll try again – I didn’t see any dragons! 🙂
  13. January 30, 2015 at 10:07 pm
    angel7090695001 says:
    
    Yeah, the cutscenes are annoying. The dragon bit takes a bit of time. You have to complete quite a few quests before you get your pet dragon. I can send you a screenshot of mine if you want.
  14. January 30, 2015 at 10:09 pm
    mbarkersimpson says:
    
    Cool 🙂
  15. January 30, 2015 at 10:13 pm
    angel7090695001 says:
    
    Send it to your email as an attachment.
  16. January 30, 2015 at 10:18 pm
    mbarkersimpson says:
    
    Thanks. I’ll let you know when I get it 🙂
  17. January 30, 2015 at 10:19 pm
    angel7090695001 says:
    
    Oh, was still in my outbox for some reason. You should have it now.
  18. January 30, 2015 at 10:38 pm
    mbarkersimpson says:
    
    Awww – so cute!
  19. January 30, 2015 at 10:43 pm
    angel7090695001 says:
    
    That’s what they look like if you’re a free player. You can customise them with colour/name if you upgrade which is $19.95.
  20. January 30, 2015 at 10:45 pm
    mbarkersimpson says:
    
    I rarely spend money on games – it’s a slippery slope! 🙂
  21. January 30, 2015 at 10:47 pm
    angel7090695001 says:
    
    True. I personally prefer Adventure Quest and MechQuest because you don’t have that much incentive to pay. You can play well enough without it.
  22. January 30, 2015 at 11:13 pm
    mbarkersimpson says:
    
    That’s points to the developers then 🙂
  23. January 31, 2015 at 11:49 am
    angel7090695001 says:
    
    Yeah, I don’t really like AQ Worlds or HeroSmash since they’re MMORPGs.
  24. January 30, 2015 at 10:45 pm
    angel7090695001 says:
    
    This is what you have to do to get your dragon.
    
    Head to Oaklore Keep and talk to Captain Rolith to save the Priestess and her very special Black Dragon Box.
    Talk to Robina the Hood, who has a task for you to complete in order to regain the Black Dragon Box from the Sneevil she captured in her trap.
    After a VERY unexpected mishap, hunt down the Egg in the Sneevil Dumpsite, battling living garbage and voracious vultragons along the way.
    Take every egg that could possibly contain your baby dragon to Warlic, the Blue Mage.
    Locate Warlic’s spellbook and retrieve the ingredients he needs in order to cast the spell that will help you.
    After summoning a VERY cute otherworldly assistant to help you determine which egg contains your baby dragon, the only thing left to do is… HATCH IT!
  25. January 30, 2015 at 11:12 pm
    mbarkersimpson says:
    
    Wow…I’m not sure I have the stamina for all that! 🙂
  26. January 31, 2015 at 11:48 am
    angel7090695001 says:
    
    Yeah, it’s quite slow at the beginning. I play off and on and they made some huge improvements to the storyline so it’s easier to find out what to do next.
January 30, 2015 at 5:04 pm Reply
The Story Reading Ape says:

That Boardwalk theme is pretty cool Mel 😀
1. January 30, 2015 at 5:07 pm Reply
  mbarkersimpson says:
  
  Thanks, Chris. I really appreciate the feedback 🙂
  1. January 30, 2015 at 5:13 pm
    The Story Reading Ape says:
    
    I like trying out new themes for my blog (and will certainly be checking yours out), but so far have found the Fontfolio seems to work best for showcasing the articles I post, especially for folks who use their phones to view it 😀
  2. January 30, 2015 at 5:17 pm
    mbarkersimpson says:
    
    Excellent tip, I will check that out 🙂 I’m not technically adept like you, but I’m learning!
  3. January 30, 2015 at 5:19 pm
    The Story Reading Ape says:
    
    Oh I’m not adept – inept is more my style Mel lol 😀
  4. January 30, 2015 at 5:24 pm
    mbarkersimpson says:
    
    lol – let’s go with unconsciously adept 😉
  5. January 30, 2015 at 5:44 pm
    The Story Reading Ape says:
    
    LMAO 😀
January 30, 2015 at 5:05 pm Reply
callummclaughlin says:

Love the new look – Very clean and professional.

I look forward to the A-Z series and will keep an eye out for a chance to get involved at some point with a guest post or such like 🙂
1. January 30, 2015 at 5:08 pm Reply
  mbarkersimpson says:
  
  Thanks, Callum, that would be awesome 🙂 I appreciate the feedback too – the theme is great but is a little hard to navigate for people who aren’t used to WordPress.
January 30, 2015 at 5:05 pm Reply
The Story Reading Ape says:

Reblogged this on Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog….. An Author Promotions Enterprise! and commented:
Mel is on the lookout for contributors, whether that’s book reviews, articles, guest posts or fun writing challenges she’s up for it 😀
1. January 30, 2015 at 5:09 pm Reply
  mbarkersimpson says:
  
  Thanks, Chris – you’re awesome 😀
  1. January 30, 2015 at 5:13 pm
    The Story Reading Ape says:
    
    Furry blushes 😀
  2. January 30, 2015 at 5:19 pm
    mbarkersimpson says:
    
    lol 😀
January 30, 2015 at 10:03 pm Reply
philosophermouseofthehedge says:

I like the white band and quiet tag line at the top.
Makes the chorus line of posts stand out nicely
1. January 30, 2015 at 10:06 pm Reply
  mbarkersimpson says:
  
  Thank you for the feedback. I really appreciate it.
January 31, 2015 at 12:12 am Reply
Jacqui Murray says:

I love the slider sort of approach–although this is more of multiple pictures to select from. And the topics are perfect. You might want to wash out the images so the text stands out better–‘Author Interview’ ‘Featured Fiction’. Or darken the color blog behind the titles.

I forget to go here because your gravatar links to the other. Thanks for the reminder!
1. January 31, 2015 at 11:25 am Reply
  mbarkersimpson says:
  
  That’s really useful, thanks Jacqui. I will play around with those images. Have a great weekend 🙂
Pingback: Posts I loved this week | Taylor Grace
February 1, 2015 at 2:25 pm Reply
Ellen Hawley says:

I’d love to contribute an article or guest post. Email me if you’d like to kick some ideas around: ellenhawley@yahoo.com.
1. February 1, 2015 at 5:51 pm Reply
  mbarkersimpson says:
  
  That would be wonderful, thanks, Ellen. I will shoot you an email 🙂
February 1, 2015 at 2:41 pm Reply
michaelphelps1 says:

Reblogged this on Michaelphelps1's Blog and commented:
QUITE A CHALLENGE! LOOKING FORWARD TO IT.