Half-year report (stats as of 6/30/14):
# 77 books read (he's on a record pace, woo-hoo!)
Best book I read this year:
(I know, I'm supposed to say, "The Bible." Duh...yes, I do include the Bible every yr that I read it cover-to-cover = most years = 9 times in the last 11 years...which is the extent of my spreadsheet. Wish I'd started keeping track of all my reading sooner!)
--Best Literary Fiction: .........Jodi Picoult's 19 MINUTES.
--Best Thriller: ......................S. King's DR. SLEEP (Sequel to THE SHINING.)
--Best Non-fiction: .................E. B. White's 1977 ESSAYS. These are like music!
I'd love to hear about your favs for the yr...or, the decade...or...life?
(for my life, surely Tolkien's LOTR and CSLewis' Narnia and his Space Trilogy. I have reread them all so many times...in fact, I feel the urge coming on yet again to immerse myself in Middle Earth!)
13 Writing Tools To Instantly Enhance The Quality of Your Blog
John O'Nolan
on the
in Writing
There's one thing that separates great blog posts from the rest: Giving the reader what they truly, deeply want.
If you find yourself writing post after post but being less than
overwhelmed by the response, it might be time to sharpen up those
blogging techniques and try something new.
No other format of writing is so diverse in its distribution, and no
other format has such massive reach with such a low barrier to entry. But that doesn't mean it's easy.
The internet is as busy and crowded as its ever been. There have
never been more bloggers clamouring for attention than you will find
today. Quality and credibility, now, are the driving differentiators.
So that's what these 12 tools are about. Helping you understand what
factors make the difference between the viral blog and the single-celled
internet Amoeba.
Tell your story
Your story is the thing that makes people care about what you're
saying. Or not. It's the bit that makes it possible for your reader to
relate to you. To become a part of it, rather than just a party to it.
It is, in many ways, the magic that holds all written content together.
Blogging about business, Alex Turnbull found that almost 300% more people read to the end of a post on the GrooveHQ blog when he included conscious narrative elements in the introduction.
Thanks to science, our brains are hard-wired to relate to stories
more than any other type of content. We don't just read and understand a
story, we place ourselves into it and go along for the ride.
This is not the logical part of the brain, it's the emotional part.
When it comes to decision-making, it's the emotions that win almost
every time.
Be direct
The easiest type of writing, and the easiest type of speaking, is
rambling. Run-on sentences and meandering paragraphs are sure to
accomplish one thing very successfully: boring your reader.
Every year the average human attention span shortens. Online, this
paradigm is magnified intensely. This year, the average attention span
of a web user is down to just 8 seconds; roughly equivalent to a goldfish.
You have but a short window in which to capture the attention of your
reader and communicate something important to them. Now, more than
ever, is the time to be blunt about it.
Get to the point
They say the most important part of video editing is the first 10-seconds. The same is true for blogging, translated roughly to the first 3 sentences.
Before you can even start being direct, you have to get your
reader past the first paragraph. Why should they bother to read any
further if you can't capture their attention in the first place?
Try opening with your conclusion. Share the point of your post right
up front, then the tell the story of how you got there. Surprise,
intrigue and controversy are all things which keep people reading.
Show, don't tell
Use words to drive home the point you want to make. Back up those words with images which prove what you're saying is true.
It can be hard to find an image for every context, but when it's
possible it has a significant effect. Humans (especially lazy humans,
like us web users) are very visual creatures.
A study by Buffer found that Tweets with images received 150% more retweets than their counterparts without.
Jeff Bullas points out
that (on average) articles with images get 94% more total views, press
releases with images get 45% more views, and on Facebook stories with
images are shared 37% more often.
Set the scene
Close your eyes for a moment and imagine this:
You're sat, quietly, watching your monitor in stunned disbelief. You
didn't expect it. You didn't realise that this was going to happen to
you today. Your hand shakes as you reach for the mouse and hit "Reply".
Your server hiccups indignantly under the load of a million visitors.
You only write two words: "Thanks, @aplusk." Wouldn't that be nice?
Help your reader explore their imagination. Place them into the
picture which you're painting and make them the main character. Be
selfless to allow your reader to be selfish.
Arrange your words
One of the most common errors which newbie bloggers make is to ignore
(or rather, not pay extra special attention to) formatting. Arguably,
formatting has the largest influence of all on how much (and what parts)
of your post are read.
If the user who spends 8 seconds on a page is our most common visitor, the second most common is the skim-reader.
You can complain about how unfair it is that nobody can be bothered
to read properly any more, or you can see it as an opportunity and a
challenge. Can you communicate the most important parts of your post to
someone on a subway, looking at a tiny screen, in the space of just 1-2
minutes?
Break up your big blocks of text into manageable chunks. Use headings as a roadmap of where you're going. Try highlighting the most important passages which you would like people to notice.
It really works.
Reference the things
Just because it's written on the internet doesn't necessarily mean it's true. Why should I believe you?
Support your stories and opinions with facts. Call it "data driven" -
call it "backed by science" - call it whatever you want. Reliable
information is often hard to come by. Demonstrating that you are a
credible authority on your subject of choice is a sure-fire way to
dramatically up the quality of your posts.
Less hearsay. More juicy footnotes.
Social proof
Who else has talked about this subject? Surround yourself with people
who are smart and if you're lucky you might be considered smart by
association. Citing experts in the field which you're writing about
indicates that you know who is worth citing.
All of this takes practice, of course, but the KISSmetrics blog has some great advice about how to ask influencers for killer quotes as just one example of how you can bolster your writing with credibility.
Because:
1) you gain exposure to a new audience, and 2) your content becomes
more reputable because you’re associating yourself with an influencer in
your industry.
Compare & contrast
Occasionally the best way to communicate something new is to point
out the similarities and differences between it and something old. Take a
concept which is easy to relate to and subvert it.
You see this in startups all the time when they write elevator pitches to communicate what they do in the fastest way possible:
"It's basically Twitter, for photographs"
"Basecamp, for musicians"
"Paypal, but not shit"
Building on a reference point which is already known and understood can often cause an "aha" moment of understanding.
Summarise
Many of your readers are going to skim read, and some aren't going to
read at all. Most people who do read anything, however, will read the
first and the last paragraphs of your post.
Try to summarise all of your most important points in the
introduction and the conclusion. Even if it's an abridged version, you
should be able to cover all your bases.
Keep it succinct.
Call to action
Your call to action is the thing that you want people to do after having read your post. What is that?
Do you want them to read another post? Buy a product? Leave a review? Click on a link? Think about something important? Your call to action should be crystal clear, and easy to find
(regardless of what it is). Your post is effectively one big build up
to the call to action. The thing that the reader should do next.
It often helps if there's a brightly coloured button.
Practice
As Brian Clark rightly points out, there are only 10 effective steps to becoming a better writer:
Write.
Write more.
Write even more.
Write even more than that.
Write when you don’t want to.
Write when you do.
Write when you have something to say.
Write when you don’t.
Write every day.
Keep writing.
What to do next
Probably not everything at the same time! It might be easier to focus
on perfecting the use of these techniques one by one until you start to
feel comfortable jumping between them. Give yourself time to get
acquainted.
Have a look at some of the blogs which you read every day. Can you spot any of these tools in action?
Go back over one of your posts and see if you can revise any sections to be more clear and concise.
Decide what you would like your readers to understand or accomplish as a result of reading your writing. Does the rest of your post reinforce that mission?
"Man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart."
1 Samuel 16: 7.
- + - + - + - - + - + - + - + - + - + - + -
The average person living in our western hemisphere sees things. The job of the poet, the mystic, the artist, or the philosopher is to see ideas behind the things.
I'll confess, I often find, even as I'm reading (or writing) poetry--I'm often distractable and focused on speed and finishing, rather than dwelling deep in the moment--the idea is eluding me with shameful ease. Then again, I just read an 81 page book of poetry, of which I understood less than five pages. Is it because I never slowed down? Actually, I read several poems two or three times, and it still read like stream-of-consciousness gibberish. (*see below for excerpt.)
Whattaya think? Does that notion of looking for idea apply only to good literature? I think so...perhaps one could draw a line between popular fiction and "literary" fiction based on this distinction...or...not? Your thoughts?
This brief blog is brought to you by the underwriters of "Sidd Owen N. Lissen," and teachers and parents everywhere.
............ .......... ..........
Be still...and know...
Wisdom of King David
Psalm 46: 10
=-=-=-
* THE RED EASEL
Say doc, those swags are of the wrong period
though in harmony with the whole. You shouldn't take it too hard.
Everybody likes it when the casual drift
becomes more insistent, setting in order the house,
while writing finis to its three-decker novel. Only when the plaint
of hens pierces dusk like a screen door
does the omnipresent turn top-heavy. Oh, really?
I thought they had names for guys like you
and places to take them to. That's true, but
let's not be hasty, shall we, and pronounce your example
a fraud before all the returns are in? These are,
it turns out, passionate and involving, as well as here to stay.
[Now, WHAT does this poem have to say about:
--easels? let alone, red easels or harmony with the whole?
--docs?
--swags?
--hens?
I rather pride myself on my reading and interpretive abilities--this poet, John Ashbury, is a complete and utter puzzlement to me!--DLS]
After taking my hypnosis seminar, back in the late 80's, I put that tool to work...and occasionally turned that focused relaxation back on myself. However, I suppose there is enough misinformation bruited about that I should lapse into educator mode for a paragraph or two.
Hypnosis: A Primer.
What hypnosis is not:
--mind control or weakening of the will
--making someone act like a chicken--well, unless they're on stage and that's what they want to do
--sleep
--magic.
What hypnosis is:
--a powerful tool that, like any other mere tool, helps you to do a job that needs to be done
--a deep relaxation into that pleasant state we would usually call a daydream. In this daydreamy state, the mind is much more open to suggestion...and THAT is what hypnosis is all about--my planting reasonable suggestions--emphasis on both the acceptableness of the ideas, and on the fact that I never give commands, only offer suggestions.
--again, it's a tool. Hypnosis serves to distract that criticizing/nagging little voice that makes you doubt yourself, question your capacities, or raise objections when what you really need is motivation.
Is hypnosis a tool for everybody and a solution for everything? Well, would your kitchen be complete with the one and only implement being a meat cleaver? Would your toolbox be adequate if your only tools were a pair of vice grips and a 1/2" crescent wrench?
Okay, that's a long intro to...
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Lapsing into a daydreaming state, the rain has lulled my consciousness into a quiet unreality, or hyper-reality. It's as if my mind has wandered off across the bay, over the waves and between the raindrops, floating like a ghost in a cartoon. Yet, I am not unconscious or unaware. I can steer myself toward a pirate-story, or I can wander along the far shore playing junior naturalist poking in tidal pools and amongst the shrubs, or treading on the forest duff seeking buried treasure.
Okay, so, I'm daydreaming. Am I asleep? Clearly not. Might I appear asleep if I'm between thoughts and not typing as I am right now with my eyes closed? (Yes, I touch-type...thanks Mom! Yes, I did come back and edit my mistakes--you're welcome, Miss Burkill and Mr. Pavini!)
My point is--daydreams can be harnessed, but the driver of the daydreams needs a very light touch on the reins and should let the beast pretty much follow its own nose--wonderful new adventures may unfold, new horizons open, and you might take a turn off the main road you'd have never taken and now are delighted that you did. Follow that creative muse...I suspect that many creative sorts get themselves into this hypnotic trance and truly free up their knows-no-bounds imagination!
”To safeguard these things will not affect the course of battles, but it will affect the relations of invading armies with those peoples and their governments...to safeguard these things will show respect for the beliefs and customs of all men and wil bear witness that these things belong not only to a particular people but also to the heritage of mankind...These monuments are not merely pretty things, not merely valued signs of man's creative power. They are the expressions of faith, and they stand for man's struggle to relate himself to his past and to his God.”
THE MONUMENTS MEN, by Rob't Edsel.
--------- ---------- --------
I love this quote...a reminder that creativity is a gift from the Creator himself. This gift is resident in all of us. Some have cultivated it with astonishing fruitfulness. Some have had the gift stomped on, deprecated, and debunked in the home, the school, and at work. Some are unaware or unbelieving that they are bearers of the creative spark--let me urge YOU in particular--any little urge that you have to make something, do something unique, to say or write or behave in a way that diverges from the habitual, the usual--yes, THAT is the glint of creativity.
Fan the flame--in yourself and in others. Encourage kids and adults alike as they use hands and mouth and mind to create something new, different, and exciting. (Okay, it may be exciting only the that person--encourage 'em anyhow--it could be you who will want a little cheer-leading in some off-beat pursuit of your own, tomorrow!)
Questions?
"But I've never been creative, David."
--Bah, I don't believe it. You have surely doodled on the edge of a paper, or hummed a little tune unknown to any other human, or made a repair in a manner that nobody has ever done before, or you've added spices or ingredients to a meal that no other person had ever suggested to you...do you get my drift?
"But, it takes time, David. I'm so busy already..."
--Meh. We're all as busy as we choose. How many hours of TV have you watched today? This week? How many hours of playing games on the computer, or Facebook, or...I'll bet you know where your time slips thru your fingers. Make a deal to grasp a 15-30 minute chunk of time where you can spend some quiet, meditative moments, then compose/craft/make/modify/create/write/rhyme/paint/hammer/saw/knit/sew/glue, just go and do!
"But, I'm really uncreative, and all those verbs above just make me tired, David."
--Oy, so, maybe you are depressed? One of the best therapies for feeling tired and blue is to go and do--acting like you're not tired and blue often evolves into feeling energized and upbeat. Whattaya gotta lose?
