Read the Manual ~ Maressa Mortimer

“You’ll love it, it’s great.” Ever heard those words before? It’s usually fatal, as it tends to come from a friend trying to persuade you. Of course, you’ll give in anyway, even if it’s something rather more complex than they tell you. Like TikTok.

I know it’s the second TikTok blog this month, and I can confirm with Ruth Leigh that yes, there are all kinds of famous people on TikTok lining up to be your special friends. I have George Bush following me. And I’ve only been on TikTok for two days.

I decided to give in and join TikTok. After I listened to a podcast, watched several youtube videos of how to upload videos and explored TikTok slowly, reading the manual as I went along. I didn’t.

Are you the type to read the instructions, check the manual before opening the box, or are you more into trying things out, and seeing the manual as a last resort? I used to amaze my PA by setting off from home to visit somebody, without having the address, just a vague idea of where it was. It was fine, we got there. I spotted my friend’s car on the drive, so I knew exactly which house she lived in unless she had a deal with the neighbours.

It’s probably what made me accidentally publish a book. Perhaps, if I had checked the facts and information beforehand, I would have realised there was no pre-order option for paperback. Maybe.

Maybe it's great to be organised?

Anyway, I joined TikTok, tried making a few clips, had lots of fun with different filters, I still have no idea how to make my books be back to normal English instead of mirror-imaged and I found out this morning that to have my website link in my bio, I need 1,000 friends. I have 25 already, so we should be there in a few months.

I’m enjoying the short clips done by other authors. Who knew there would be so many of us? I thought it was a thing just for teens, but maybe it’s helping us all to stay young. I can see the different options, filters and effects you can add. Then there is music or you can do your own music. You can do silent pictures, using text and music. Or you can film yourself talking about your favourite book.

I will listen to the TikTok podcast Wendy H Jones did, even though I can’t find an edit-after-the-deed-is-done button. As I posted the last clip, I suddenly wondered if I should have looked at some more instruction videos, rather than Google for answers halfway through recording my favourite coffee mug. It reminded me of other times when I had set out without looking at the instructions, and I wondered if I was the only one.

Or maybe I have just saved myself a lot of time by jumping straight in?

Maressa Mortimer is Dutch but lives in the beautiful Cotswolds, England with her husband and four (adopted) children. Maressa is a homeschool mum as well as a pastor’s wife, so her writing has to be done in the evening when peace and quiet descend on the house once more. She loves writing Christian fiction, as it’s a great way to explore faith in daily life. Because of her interest in writing, Maressa is part of Creativity Matters: Find Your Passion For Writing, an anthology encouraging people to write.

Her debut novel, Sapphire Beach, was published in December 2019, and her first self published novel, Walled City, came out in December 2020, followed by Viking Ferry, a novella. Beyond the Hills is the second book in the Elabi Chronicles, and was released on June 18^th 2021. All of Maressa’s books are available from her website, www.vicarioushome.com, Amazon or local bookshops.