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Thursday 26 January 2012

Blog-o-sitting

Read an interesting blog article by copywriting titan Bob Bly, in which the intrepid wordsmith discussed one of the dilemmas of blogging.

Mr Bly was worried about the time he'd been away from his blog and how, by not posting for several months, fewer people were now commenting on his blog posts. He was asking if you should blog frequently, even if you have nothing to say, just to keep people coming back to the blog. Hmmm...

Content is...

King. We all know that on Planet Wordsmith. To keep people returning to a blog you need to create content that people enjoy. (It optimises your site as well because people link their sites to it or share it with their friends, and if you're skilful enough they'll do both).

Lousy content drives people away, whereas good content attracts loyal followers who frequently return for more. One of my favourite bloggers hasn't posted for six months, but I still go back to it, hoping a new post will crop up. One day she'll grant me my wish, though!

What are you going to do about it?

My advice is don't worry. Think of the cinema and literature trilogies we follow. J.K. Rowling may have taken a while between Harry Potter novels, but people still clamoured to read them. Lord of the Rings fans hadn't found something else by the time parts two and three came out on the big screen.

Don't forget how disappointed we feel when a novel feels rushed or robs us of a good ending. There's nothing worse than a spy novel, detective novel or thriller which wraps up with a cavalry-coming-over-the hill-style finale. Aaaargh!

That said, don't neglect your blog for too long. Keep your eyes and ears open for blog-worthy material. Everyday thoughts, statements, things we read and events can all trigger good content. Just a question of being observant and being creative.

Oh and don't forget to throw some keywords into your posts. They'll help you take care of the blog by attracting new followers in searches while you're away.

We can do that. We're bloggers and that's what we're here for!

Thursday 19 January 2012

Reaching for the stars

When was the last time you felt inspired? What was it that inspired you?

Maybe it was a film, a song, a person, a quote by someone famous, or something someone in your everyday life said, that suddenly energised you to take arms against a sea of troubles. It could even be something that happened to you recently.

Whilst Paulo Coelho's novels and wisdom offer comfort, my own inspiration comes from an unlikely source: Stephen King. I always thought it came from books by self-help specialists, not from horror fiction writers!

I've read four of his books now and watched several film and TV adaptations of them and his short stories: the depth of his imagination amazes me every time. Stand By Me, The Running Man, Misery, It, ' Salem's Lot, The Shining, The Shawshank Redemption and Pet Sematary - yep, you can thank Stephen King for them all!   

The way he creates such realistic characters and situations is impressive. We all know an Eddie Kasprak or a Dolores Clairborne somewhere! And the way he injects horror into everyday things is another fine talent. That burial scene in Salem's Lot and Paul Sheldon nosing round Annie's house in Misery put me truly on edge!

Every time I read a Stephen King novel I want to write something terrific afterwards, whether it's a blog entry for you or advertising copy for my work (well, I want to do it all the time, but you get the picture!).

So tell me: who or what makes you want to go out and give the world everything you've got?

Monday 2 January 2012

Bring. It. On.

For me 2011 was a real rollercoaster and ended on a high! Had so much fun! Concerts, winter fairground rides, the acquisition of a Scalextric, reunions with old friends and good times spent with new ones. What more can I ask for?

Did you learn anything from 2011? I did. I learned that positive thinking and being yourself go a long way. There's a wonderful quote from Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist that tells us when we really want something, all of the universe conspires to help us achieve it. It's true. Several things I really wanted came to me in the end. You just have to be patient.

My message for 2012? Enjoy! Fight for your dreams. Do whatever makes you happy! As George Bernard Shaw once commented: We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.

So bring on 2012. It's playtime!