cropped-logo.jpgAs 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 responses to “Room Expansion…the future of Writing Room 101”

  1. mbarkersimpson Avatar

    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

  2. angel7090695001 Avatar
    angel7090695001

    I find it hard to navigate the site with your new theme but I’m not used to the more unusual ones.

    1. mbarkersimpson Avatar

      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. angel7090695001 Avatar
        angel7090695001

        I found it quite hard to find one I liked but Kathryn suggested a few and I fell in love with Origin.

      2. mbarkersimpson Avatar

        I will take a look – I’ve been through so many I don’t remember the names!

      3. angel7090695001 Avatar
        angel7090695001

        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. mbarkersimpson Avatar

        I’ll have a little play around! I’d forgotten about the DKC layout. Thanks for reminding me! 🙂

      5. angel7090695001 Avatar
        angel7090695001

        No problem 🙂 P.S Seen the epic finale of OUAT yet? I’d better start writing. Play MechQuest/DragonFable is too addicting.

      6. mbarkersimpson Avatar

        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. angel7090695001 Avatar
        angel7090695001

        Outlaw Queen is so sad in the finale. Have you seen the cool page on the storybook yet?

      8. mbarkersimpson Avatar

        Not yet – told you I was behind!

      9. angel7090695001 Avatar
        angel7090695001

        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. mbarkersimpson Avatar

        lol – I will have to check out DragonFable. I love dragons 🙂

      11. angel7090695001 Avatar
        angel7090695001

        How did it go? Not for you?

      12. mbarkersimpson Avatar

        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. angel7090695001 Avatar
        angel7090695001

        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. angel7090695001 Avatar
        angel7090695001

        Send it to your email as an attachment.

      15. mbarkersimpson Avatar

        Thanks. I’ll let you know when I get it 🙂

      16. angel7090695001 Avatar
        angel7090695001

        Oh, was still in my outbox for some reason. You should have it now.

      17. mbarkersimpson Avatar

        Awww – so cute!

      18. angel7090695001 Avatar
        angel7090695001

        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.

      19. mbarkersimpson Avatar

        I rarely spend money on games – it’s a slippery slope! 🙂

      20. angel7090695001 Avatar
        angel7090695001

        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.

      21. mbarkersimpson Avatar

        That’s points to the developers then 🙂

      22. angel7090695001 Avatar
        angel7090695001

        Yeah, I don’t really like AQ Worlds or HeroSmash since they’re MMORPGs.

      23. angel7090695001 Avatar
        angel7090695001

        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!

      24. mbarkersimpson Avatar

        Wow…I’m not sure I have the stamina for all that! 🙂

      25. angel7090695001 Avatar
        angel7090695001

        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.

  3. The Story Reading Ape Avatar

    That Boardwalk theme is pretty cool Mel 😀

    1. mbarkersimpson Avatar

      Thanks, Chris. I really appreciate the feedback 🙂

      1. The Story Reading Ape Avatar

        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. mbarkersimpson Avatar

        Excellent tip, I will check that out 🙂 I’m not technically adept like you, but I’m learning!

      3. The Story Reading Ape Avatar

        Oh I’m not adept – inept is more my style Mel lol 😀

      4. mbarkersimpson Avatar

        lol – let’s go with unconsciously adept 😉

  4. callummclaughlin Avatar

    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. mbarkersimpson Avatar

      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.

  5. The Story Reading Ape Avatar

    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. mbarkersimpson Avatar

      Thanks, Chris – you’re awesome 😀

  6. philosophermouseofthehedge Avatar

    I like the white band and quiet tag line at the top.
    Makes the chorus line of posts stand out nicely

    1. mbarkersimpson Avatar

      Thank you for the feedback. I really appreciate it.

  7. Jacqui Murray Avatar

    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. mbarkersimpson Avatar

      That’s really useful, thanks Jacqui. I will play around with those images. Have a great weekend 🙂

  8. Posts I loved this week | Taylor Grace Avatar

    […] Barker-Simpson is looking for contributors to the Writing Room 101. Check out the post and see if you’re […]

  9. Ellen Hawley Avatar

    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. mbarkersimpson Avatar

      That would be wonderful, thanks, Ellen. I will shoot you an email 🙂

  10. michaelphelps1 Avatar

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

I’d love to hear from you.

I’m Melissa

Welcome to my website and blog! I’m happy you’re here. Stay a while and look around. You will find information on my books, latest posts and information about the worlds I create.