THROWING THE DICTIONARY AT YOUR READER
The last time I addressed this issue specifically was way back in 2012 in my article, Are You Writing A Story Or A Dictionary? I’ve addressed it since then, indirectly, in articles about the writing getting in the way of the story. I thought it worth addressing again, specifically, since it was brought up on one of the Facebook forums just last week.
ORIGINAL PREMISE
I’d originally participated in a discussion on the Absolute Write Water Cooler in the Horror Forum. A participant asked if he should use a certain word to describe a gory scene involving a victim being stabbed in the eye. The word he picked was a medical term that I’d never heard of. He asked the forum if he should use that word or pick something simpler. There were several responses asking what the word meant. I gave him my philosophy, which I’d mentioned here in an earlier article.
Here’s my quote from the forum: Simpler is better. It’s best to use word economy and keep it at a sixth-grade level whenever possible. Don’t try to impress your reader with big words unless you define those words. That means extra narrative that usually slows things down, unless it’s a key plot point.
Whoa… hold the fort! The board suddenly came alive. Several responded saying that the writer shouldn’t dumb down the story for the reader. Okay, I can understand that. One responder qualified that you shouldn’t throw the dictionary at the reader, but it’s okay to throw in new words and not explain them so that the reader has to go look them up. He said he appreciated it when he had to look them up, so he figures others will too.
WHAT I’VE REALIZED SINCE HASN’T CHANGED MUCH
Jumping forward to the present, the Facebook forum had about a fifty-fifty mix of responses this time. Many went for simpler is better, if at all possible, while some said it’s up to the writer to write what he feels, and it’s up to the reader to educate themselves up to the level of the writer (or thereabouts).
How have I changed in that? Let’s look at this from a logical standpoint.
How many of you would appreciate stumbling across a word where you have no idea of the meaning? Will you stop reading and go pick up a dictionary, ask someone, or go online to find out what it means? Does the term, jerk you right out of the story mean anything? It certainly does to me, and that hasn’t changed since day one.
Look at me today, with two master’s degrees under my belt. I’m not exactly a walking dictionary but I have a fairly good grasp of English, my native language. Then again, I still don’t know a good many high-falutin’ and obscure words. Some I can imply from the context of the narrative or dialogue. Some, I don’t have a clue. So, what do I do now? If the word doesn’t jerk me out of the story, I just skip it. I don’t keep a dictionary on the table next to my chair. So, it’s not only my loss, but the author’s loss as well.
When I was twelve, I didn’t have the greatest command of the English language. If I read the Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew or Edgar Rice Burroughs, did I go to a dictionary to look up the words I didn’t know? Not a chance. Did I ask someone? Maybe once or twice. I either guessed the meaning by how the paragraph was written (like I do now), or I just ignored it. I figure that’s what most readers today are going to do if I start throwing in a bunch of fancy words in my writing.
I like to use the occasional fancy word. However, it’s usually a technical term key to the story. I always explain it either through the narrative or dialogue. Besides, if I do throw in something wonky, my writer’s group will be sure to call me on it!
As a reader, even now, when I read someone like Dean Koontz (I’m a big fan when he writes third-person), who likes to throw in the occasional freaky non-technical word without explanation, I’m not about to go running to the dictionary to figure it out. If the narrative or dialogue doesn’t explain it, I just blow it off. I don’t care that much. It’s most likely a word I’ll never use in real life or in my own writing, so who cares? Using it doesn’t make me any more sophisticated or make my two Master’s Degrees any more or less valuable, so I just move on.
SUMMARY
Sure, it would be nice to expand my vocabulary, but once I do, who am I going to use it on? There was a guy I worked with at the AGE Shop in Spain back in the 80’s. He was a walking dictionary. Half the people in the shop couldn’t understand him, and I was among them. On the other hand, I’d love to learn Cockney slang, for a hoot, but who would I use that on?
As a writer, please consider your audience. This is especially critical to young adult, but it applies to even the older crowd. If you’re shooting for the highbrow intellectual bunch, maybe you can dazzle them with ten-dollar words, but if you’re appealing to a wider audience, KISS!
If I have to explain that acronym…NO, it’s not the band!
Once again, I’d like to make this as plain as possible:
Your job is to entertain your reader, not force education on them. It’s great to provoke thought, but much better through subtle philosophy and ideas woven into the narrative and plot, not complicated words that put up a barrier to the prose. Therefore…
DON’T LET THE WRITING GET IN THE WAY OF THE STORY!
Happy writing!
VISITING HISTORICAL SITES
It just dawned on me how different we perceive things through words versus what we see in person. My latest book, Spanish Gold is coming out soon. Through it, I do my best to describe various places I not only visited (well, with one big exception), but actually lived a significant time. Through my words, I hope I was able to draw a vivid picture without bogging the reader down in excruciating exposition. As many of you know, I prefer action over excessive detail. At the same time, I like to convey details others would neglect. Which brings me to today’s subject, visiting historical sites.
FAMILY VACATION
This past weekend, we had to skip our trip to Disneyland and find someplace else to go. We decided to go the other direction. Since we didn’t want to mess with bad weather or snow, we opted for south. We chose Tombstone, Arizona, the site of the OK Corral and Wyatt Earp and all that good ole’ cowboy stuff. There were a couple of other things in the area to see as well, so we went for a self-made package deal and took in as much as we could.
Here’s the deal.
What I pictured about the place was a far cry from what I actually saw.
THE REAL TOMBSTONE ISN’T LIKE THE MOVIES
Let’s forget the blatant tourist trap side of things for a moment and just look at Tombstone, the reality. While it’s a vibrant and friendly little town, it’s still a far cry from the myopic images one sees in the movies, TV, and fictional books one might read. The impressions I got were completely different. Not only that, but the local terrain wasn’t even close.
BISBEE
I’ve enjoyed quite a few Joanna Brady mysteries from J. A. Jance. When I actually went to her hometown of Bisbee, saw the Lavender Pit (which was named after a guy, not the color), visited the mining museum, and ate at a restaurant across the street from the museum, the place didn’t look anything like what I pictured in her books! To tell the truth, it reminded me more of Weston, West Virginia, the town my wife’s family is from, except for the desert vegetation on the mountains peeking above the buildings. Plus, maybe there was a dash of New Orleans Square in Disneyland from the little park next to the museum. What I pictured in her Joanna Brady novels was, well…now when I read the next one, maybe it’ll click different.
HMMM
Since I don’t read westerns, I may never have a chance for stories of Tombstone to ever click with me, unless someone writes a thriller or icky bug involving the little town. After all, the Goodenough silver mine runs underneath the town with literally hundreds of miles of tunnels (the mine tour guide told me that). That might make a good icky bug setting.
THE POINT
No matter how we describe things, or even show them on TV or in movies…by the way, the movie Tombstone with Kurt Russell was filmed elsewhere…people are going to see things differently.
You can use a thousand words or ten words. It’s not going to matter. People are going to draw their own picture anyway. Sure, you can bore them or mesmerize them with page after page of description, but they’re still going to fill in their own details.
Now, if you think I’m just giving this from my own perspective think of this:
“I thought it would be bigger.”
“I thought it would be smaller.”
“This is it?”
“I’m not impressed.”
“Wow! This is so much better than I ever thought!”
I rest my case. A word picture is just that, a word picture. They say a photo is worth a thousand words, but I can tell you it isn’t worth much more than that because photos are just as myopic as words in their own way. They can tell a lot, but unless you’re there, a photo can only show you what the lens is aimed at. Sure, it can be worth a thousand words, but there are so many words it leaves out, so many sensations and angles the camera can’t capture.
The only way to get that is to be there.
As authors, all we can do is our best to describe a setting and hope for the best from our readers. We’re never going to get it right. So, with that in mind, don’t even try to make it perfect. Don’t try to beat yourself or your reader up with details. Give them enough to get the idea. If it’s a real place, maybe they’ll visit one day and see for themselves. If not, no harm, no foul. In the meantime, we have to rely on their imaginations to go where our prodding leads them.
Happy writing!
EVERYBODY DIES
This will be the fourth time I’ve covered endings in one form or the other.
Subjects have ranged from Endings in 2018, to Crappy Endings and Crappy Endings Revisited appeared in 2012 and 2017 respectively and for good reason. The ending can have a huge impact on my enjoyment of the story, and it’s the same for a lot of other people.
The reason I bring it up this time is the book I recently finished. It was icky bug. Sure, they can be practically synonymous with crappy endings where everybody dies. Just to make sure (and one reason I don’t read e-books), I always peek at the last few pages to see if the main character (MC) survives. While this is usually a good way to tell, sometimes those last few pages, especially with a quick scan and by not actually READING it, can fool you.
The day I originally wrote this, I’d almost reached the end of the book. The way the author set things up, the gang, including the MC, HAVE to die. I was already pissed. There was about a ten percent chance they might’ve survived, but the way the story went, if they did, it wouldn’t be good. As it turns out, they didn’t. I was pissed, and my review showed it with one star.
That leads me to the main gist of today’s discussion, which I breached again the last time I wrote about it.
Motivation.
WHY DO YOU READ?
This is the real reason that determines what type of endings one is able to tolerate. Since this discussion primarily focuses on fiction, why do you read?
We’re not talking about non-fiction because it has a pre-determined, and inarguable conclusion. You can’t change history or real subject matter unless it’s opinion or a philosophical discussion.
However, with fiction, it’s entirely up to the author to decide how the book ends. In that regard, you, as the reader decide why you’re reading.
PURE ENTERTAINMENT
When you read for pure entertainment, it’s all a matter of taste. The ending may or may not matter, depending on your personality. It can be a happy or a bummer ending, depending on how you swing.
JUST SOMETHING TO DO
Same as pure entertainment. It can go either way.
NO PARTICULAR GOAL IN MIND
Same as the other two.
OPEN TO ANYTHING
I could’ve lumped the previous three and this category together, but broke them down for illustrative purposes. Like the other categories, open to anything means the reader doesn’t mind happy or bummer endings. They don’t feel ripped off when the hero dies.
ESCAPE FROM REALITY
Here’s where things get a bit more complicated. I’m in this category. My whole purpose of reading fiction is to escape the real world. Unlike any of the other categories, which of course, include bits of the rest in there, as well, my MAIN goal of reading is to escape reality. I don’t want anything to do with the real world, and especially now in 2020 with our COVID mess. I want a happy ending. If the ending’s a bummer where the hero (or everyone) dies, I automatically hate the book. If I want reality, I’ll watch the news, get a college textbook, or a non-fiction book. When I read fiction, I read explicitly for a happy ending! That’s the whole point.
I don’t want to learn any life lessons, I don’t want to get emotionally jerked around. I don’t want to get philosophized up the yin yang about this and that. If some or all of those things are thrown into the mix, fine, as long as the story ends on a high note. That high note had better not be bittersweet, where the hero dies, or where there’s any kind of bummer. I don’t want to hear “well, it’s like real life.”
Real life is 2020. Real life right now is stuff like COVID!
I know very well what real life is like. I’ve certainly lived long enough to experience all that, and still see enough of it all around me every day. The last thing I want to do is read about it in a damn book! I’m trying to escape all of that!
A large number of people escaping from reality feel the same way.
ENFORCE NEGATIVE VIEW OF THE WORLD
This is where the negative or bummer endings really come into play. The Debbie Downer group love bummer endings. They love the big twist at the end where not only the hero dies, but everything turns to crap. They love to be shocked.
When the author turns the whole story on its head, the negative people love it. It enforces their negative view of the world. That’s why certain authors, infamous for doing this, sell a lot of books. While they have plenty of haters, they also have substantial followings.
There’s the group of people that are bored with happy. They specifically want reality in their fiction because they’re sick of happy and “unrealistic” endings. That’s not real life. They cannot stand the fantasy of happy, or simply like to switch it out once in a while.
There’s a big audience that loves to grovel in their misery.
So, if you want to grovel in your misery, suck it up and see life for what it really is, then I guess “everybody dies” is for you.
SUMMARY
It all boils down to why you’re picking up the book in the first place. That turns around to you, as a writer, and what your goal is, and what type of audience you’re trying to attract.
Sure, everybody dies in real life. However, what IS the purpose of writing fiction anyway? It’s a chance to escape all of that for a little while. At least to me. Do I mean, nobody dies? Of course not. All I mean is that someone needs to survive. Someone you can invest in and root for needs to survive so there’s a positive payoff, a reason to close the book with a big smile on your face, not a scowl or a tear.
If you want to write the big twist and a bummer ending, a shocking ending, you’re going to draw a certain crowd. However, if you write a positive ending rather than shock value, you’re going to draw a much larger audience.
You can mix it up, but once you shock an audience, it may be hard to earn their trust back. Some won’t care, but for those that prefer a happy ending, you may lose readers. It’s hard to tell. Either way, you’re always going to have an audience.
It’s up to you.
Think of yourself as a reader and then as a writer. Sure, you have to follow your muse, but you also have to think of your potential audience and your reputation. Once you go down a certain path, it may be difficult to recover the trust.
Happy writing, and I don’t say that lightly!
BOOK MARKETING SITES
A potential way to market your book, once it’s published, is through so-called book marketing sites. There are a bunch of them.
I’ve done it before with mixed results.
Before you take the plunge, there are some things you need to consider.
WHY DO IT?
You’re either a self-published author or with a small press. Numbers aren’t exactly setting the world on fire. Another issue that isn’t hepling is a lack of reviews. More on that later.
While you’ve maybe done a lot, or maybe little with your own marketing on social media or word of mouth, things just aren’t happening.
So, you want to add a bit of boost to your sales.
Hence, one solution is book marketing sites.
WHAT DO BOOK MARKETING SITES DO?
When I say book marketing sites, I’m specifically talking about sites that readers subscribe to. These sites feature e-books, usually Kindle, or maybe even Nook books that readers can buy with one click. These sites encourage the author to offer (but usually don’t force) their books at steep discounts.
The whole idea is to expose the book to a wide audience. The larger the web site, the larger the audience. However, the larger the audience, usually, the larger the fee.
QUALIFICATIONS
This can be the sticking point for a lot of self-publishing and independent authors.
It can be a damned if you do, damned if you don’t type scenario.
Many of the sites require a minimal number of reviews to qualify. In other words, if your book is right off the press, forget it. If your book doesn’t have enough reviews to qualify forget it.
Another qualification is quality. This one I agree with. If it’s self-published, a crappy cover, poor editing, poor quality with see it turned down. These sites don’t want to sully their reputation with crappy books. Then again, some of them will probably sell anything for the fee. I’m just saying.
THOUGHTS TO CONSIDER – MY EXPERIENCES SO FAR
This goes back to why do it?
You want to generate sales, right?
You want to get more reviews, okay?
Let’s take the first one.
Depending on the site and their fee, there are certain things to consider. First off, don’t believe the hype on their web page! The first thing you will see is all these success stories, whether true or not.
Do the math. I took the plunge and things didn’t quite add up. For instance, I spent $25 on one site. Fine and dandy. I dropped the price of my book down to $.99 to sell more books. I think I sold 8 books. After the publisher’s take, I made a couple of dollars (small press). I generated zero reviews.
I did it once again, same price, sold I think ten books for a little more money. Almost enough for a Starbucks. I still generated zero reviews.
Not exactly like the booming sales expectations of the endorsements touted on the web page!
On the other hand, I also maybe got a few fans for the next book. I did sell a few, however I still got no reviews on that one either.
What did it do to my Amazon sales ranking?
It skyrocketed for a couple of days, then slowly plunged once again.
It wasn’t enough to take me into an elite category, but at least the number changed for a while.
In the end, was it worth it?
To me it was. Sure, math-wise, I lost money, but sales wise, I may have converted a few more people. Time will tell.
As of yesterday, as you read this, I’ll have tried another site with a different book. I won’t know any significant results for a while, but we’ll see if it results in anything different.
As of today, the day before I post this (Monday), my book sold at the normal list (Kindle) price. I maybe sold a couple as my sales ranking leaped up into the thousands. Sure, it never set the world on fire and of course, I didn’t make my money back. Then again, just maybe I made a few more fans, especially considering this particular book is the first in the series and is going to be just prior to the launch of the second one. Finally, I gained a review! Yes, lo and behold, out of all of that, regardless of the math, I gained one new review. A five star one at that. The problem is that while the number is there, the review isn’t. That’s an issue for another article.
SUMMARY
Book marketing sites, at least the ones I’ve run across so far, deal exclusively in e-books. They all have a high readership, which exposes you to a large number of people who may or may not have an interest in your book. The sites all push for pricing your book from cheap to free, but you can still charge what you want, sometimes at a slightly higher fee.
The math almost always doesn’t add up, but once in a while, some lucky bastard strikes gold, at least according to their own marketing data. I cannot seem to find any reliable reviews on the marketing sites themselves.
The qualifications vary from site to site. The fees vary from free to almost a thousand dollars. You heard me right…a thousand dollars.
Keep in mind that regardless whether you are on a budget or not, marketing is going to cost something. If you want to sell your book, you have to do it somehow. This is one avenue, especially now with COVID going on and no personal book signings on the table.
So, folks, another option on the table.
Happy writing!
CHARACTERIZATION
I’ve been reading a lot of icky bug (horror) lately. Unfortunately for me, a lot of it tends to be literary writing, which I cannot stand.
What do I mean by literary writing?
Endless characterization and description. In a way, I’m including description in this piece on characterization.
BEGINNINGS – TASTE
While I’m a huge fan of icky bug, I’m no fan of literary writing. I once read a very thick novel by a well-known but shall remain nameless icky bug author and I was so mesmerized by the lack of action, I could barely get through that draggy tome.
This was the great so and so?
You’ve got to be kidding!
Then after suffering through all that, several reviewers had the audacity to complain that they never got to know the main characters!
You’ve got to be kidding!
There was almost no action at all because this top-of-the-line author rambled on-and-on-and-on about the characters, endlessly going through trivial feelings and hopes and dreams and bla bla bla. I wanted to give up reading after suffering through that.
So, in a nutshell, and I don’t apologize for the cliché, I hated the book.
GETTING TO KNOW THE CHARACTERS
For those of you that have been reading my blog a long time, you have read my infamous quote from old cowboy actor Jack Elam. He once said that he was sick of all these movies that went into the heads of the bad guys and their feelings. “Maybe they just wanted the money.”
That’s kind of how I feel about things. I don’t like to waste a lot of time characterizing. I don’t like to spend a lot of real estate building up an entire world for a character while letting the action, the entire plot, come to a screeching halt. To me, I want the story to progress.
Why take five chapters to say something you can say in a paragraph?
Come on now!
I’d much rather leak out bits and pieces for the reader to put together as the action progresses rather than bring everything to a screeching halt while the reader has to slog through another flashback, or a sideline while I explain why the character does or doesn’t like something.
Geez, give me a break.
EXAMPLES
I’ve just read two examples of icky bug recently while I was on vacation. Both should’ve been quick reads. However, they were excruciating.
Why?
Characterization.
The plots were fairly simple.
The characters were not.
Each chapter would start with something happening. However, right as the action started, the author brought it to a screeching halt as the characterization started. Then for ten or more pages, he or she would then go off into la la land, describing the characters history, feelings, hopes, dreams or whatever, then at the end of the chapter, finally get back into the action.
Then in the next chapter, start doing the next thing.
Sometimes, the author wouldn’t even do that, but go right into the characterization before starting the action.
I was practically yelling “come on!” so often, my wife was wondering what was going on.
The reviews were mixed on both of these books. Some loved it, while others slammed the authors for never getting to the point.
I won’t specifically mention them because I don’t want to slam other writers and authors specifically. Let’s just say that they were not the huge writer mentioned in that other section above and leave it at that.
BACK TO TASTE
There is a big literary crowd out there.
There are some that are midway, so they could enjoy both.
However, there is a huge crowd of readers that like to get to the point.
For me, I get to know the characters just fine with a few sentences and a random paragraph mixed in with the action. I don’t need page upon page, chapter upon chapter to get information I don’t want while the plot stews on the back burner.
I’m not alone.
SUMMARY
I’m a strong advocate for tight and right. Characterization does not have to be half the book. It can be done in small doses, so the author doesn’t lose sight of why they’re writing the book in the first place. Story and plot. If the story is about the character, fine. Don’t make it out to be a thriller or a mystery or something with action. Make it a character study and make it plain to the reader. If it’s a thriller, MAKE it a thriller that moves (or whatever category it is).
Characterization should be an enhancement to the story, not a hindrance.
Happy writing!
ADVERBS
Last week I was going to address this subject, but something else came up. Now it’s time.
MOST COMMON CUTS
Keep in mind that I’ve been writing for decades now. That doesn’t mean I write perfect. Far from it. However, I do have a bit of proficiency after all these years. In fact, my at least initial proficiency is one reason I took up this passion to begin with.
That being said, I still have to edit my work, whether it’s these weekly blogs, my book manuscripts, or even my impromptu Facebook posts.
Very little gets by me without some kind of editing.
Outside of typos, what are the most common cuts I make?
Adverbs.
WHAT’S AN ADVERB?
Rather than specifically define an adverb, per se, let me give you a red flag.
“ly”
Yup, that’s it.
Any word that ends in an “ly” is probably an adverb. There are a few exceptions. In fact, I just used an adverb right there! In this case, I feel it’s justified.
Speaking of justified, how about the word just?
While just is an adjective, it’s well overused and can be cut most of the time.
However, back on track. When you see an “ad” as in “add” “verb”, it’s an enhanced verb. One way of looking at it. It’s an emphasized verb that quite often doesn’t add anything to the sentence.
EXAMPLES
There’s nothing like good examples.
It was a really big mountain.
Really is unnecessary. While the mountain was obviously huge, really emphasizes it and initially sounds reasonable enough. However, in writing narrative, it only adds fluff.
It was a big mountain.
Simple.
Or even better.
The massive peak stood before him.
More active.
The street was completely devoid of movement.
Nope.
The street was devoid of movement.
Better.
Nothing moved on the street.
I could go on and on.
DO A WORD SEARCH
In your manuscript, do a word search for just (see I used just for effect) “ly” and see what comes up. You may be shocked.
This isn’t an effort to sanitize your manuscript of every adverb, especially in dialogue. People don’t speak like narrative. That’s a whole different set of rules.
On the other hand, be careful using adverbs in dialogue as well. Consider speech patterns and realistic ways people talk.
SUMMARY
Sometimes you’ve probably been told to do word searches for was, has been, to be etc. This time it’s “ly” words.
Next time, it may be another word.
I’ll surprise you!
Maybe…
Happy writing!
WHEN YOU HAVE A BLOG AND NOTHING TO WRITE ABOUT
Over the past few months, I’ve run across situations where not only have friends been needing advice about starting author platforms and blogs, but there have been forum questions about deadlines and things to do with creativity.
Say you DO have a recurring blog, whether daily, weekly, monthly or even annual, what happens when you reach the point when you have nothing to talk about? I very much wanted to add the adverb absolutely, but knew I’d cut it on second blush. THAT was going to be my original article for this week, by the way. However, when inspiration hits, you have to go with it.
MY SITUATION
You would think that after three-hundred plus articles since 2012, I’d have, by now, run out of things to talk about since my platform is writing. Then again, just take a gander at the page count of the Chicago Manual of Style. It doesn’t include half the stuff I talk about (like this article) and I haven’t even included a quarter of the stuff the manual talks about.
I don’t think I have anything to worry about in that regard.
On the other hand, that doesn’t mean I always have a stack of articles lined up, ready to publish. Quite often, I write these on the fly, Sunday morning, when the inspiration hits. Sometimes they come out of thin air, on-the-spot. Sometimes, I’ve been brewing them in my head from something that inspired me during the week. Sometimes it’s something that inspired me for a while, and I just got around to bringing it up. Like now.
DEADLINES
For some, deadlines are a motivator. For me, they’re an inspiration killer.
To me, Sunday morning isn’t a motivator, it’s just my time to write. If I know I’m not going to be around my computer Sunday morning due to other circumstances, I may write ahead. There have been occasions when I haven’t been able to, and my blog articles have been late. I’ve always had something to write about.
WHAT ABOUT YOU?
This is the meat of the matter.
What about you?
This is YOUR issue.
You’ve decided on a subject for your blog. Say (from a recent friend), history of a certain time period.
You’ve been doing this for a while. You think you’ve exhausted that time period. Maybe you’ve been doing it so long you could write an entire thick textbook on the subject.
What to do now?
Or…
What if you’re just starting out, maybe even picked a subject, but don’t know which way to go?
First, if you’ve done it all, then maybe you should concentrate on articles on HOW to do the research itself, rather than the results. Instead of giving stories of what you found, relay to your audience HOW you found it.
On the other hand, if what you do is explain HOW you do your research, instead give results.
If you already do both, then it’s time to vary the subject matter a little and veer off the time period.
Now, say you’ve been doing this a long time, like me, for almost a decade. What about recycling some old stuff with a fresh update? What are the chances many of your new fans have actually taken the time to go back and read all of your past articles? I’d say for the most part, slim to none!
Recycling old articles with an update is a great way to give yourself not only breathing room, but a chance to resurrect subjects that may be currently relevant. I do it, especially given current events on the forums I frequent. I’ve found that I’ve covered so much, it keeps coming up again and again for fresh newbies.
IT ALL DEPENDS
The best blogs are about something informative because the subject matter is not only researchable, but it comes from knowledge or expertise you have. If you don’t have that expertise and learn as you go, it has to be a continual learning experience and you really have to be on your toes.
If it’s a creative blog, such as a serial story, it’s all up to you to create the next installment. Your readers depend on you to come up with the next brilliant chapter. If you already have the story planned out, whether plotted, or just A and B, as long as you don’t lose your motivation, you should always have something to write about until you finish the story. This is only dangerous when you get that dreaded writer’s block, or life gets in the way. That’s the other thing that happens to everyone else and causes nothing to write about.
ANTICIPATION
Life can throw surprises at all of us. If you have a regular blog and your readers expect an article at a certain time, it behooves you to keep that self-imposed deadline. That means that to the best of your ability, when you know something is coming up, you should build up a stock of articles to cover that period of absence, or period of your normal writing time.
I’ve always hated the word deadline, and I don’t consider my weekly blog and Facebook posts as deadlines, per se. They’re regular posting periods for me, but I could just as easily post whenever I want to. Out of habit and to keep my followers on a regular schedule, I post the same times each week. You can call that self-imposed deadlines all you want. Since I enjoy what I do, I prefer to call them regular habits rather than deadlines.
So, in my regular habits, I sometimes anticipate when I won’t be available to write. If so, it throws my usual inspiration off. If I had something to write about already in mind, I go ahead and write it all then. If not, I may have a bit of this articles title, in “nothing to write about” for a few split seconds.
Then things will hit me.
I can recycle a myriad of old articles.
I can visit the forums and see what’s up that may inspire me.
I can just ponder a bit until something hits.
In a word, something always pops up.
I get creative.
For you, if you have to anticipate, vary your normal habits until you come up with something maybe off the usual path to write about. It may be short or long compared to your usual blog. It may break your own rules a bit. However, it may inspire you in a way you never knew existed within your brain before.
You may surprise yourself.
Happy writing!
The Worlds Of Fred Rayworth 