authorSPHERE Is BACK ON!!!

(Update: This morning was fantastic. Hello to all the new faces that came and joined us.

We had a great creative morning, sharing novel snippets, poems, reflections and other curious topics. Thanks again to Ivars for providing a fun and interactive creative writing exercise. People’s responses were amazing.)

_-_-_-_-_-_- WE ARE STARTING TOMORROW MORNING!_-_-_-_-_-_-_

authorSPHERE is on TOMORROW MORNING @ 4 West Promenade

Manly Village Church, Manly

(We are on every 3rd Saturday morning, starting from now on!)

We run from 9:45am-12pm.

Bring your writing, poems and drafts. Bring your friends.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_SEE YOU THERE!!!_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

Next authorSPHERE Meeting!

authorSPHERE will be meeting NEXT Saturday on the 20th of November!

Held at the MVC, 4 West Promenade Manly, at the back. We arrive at 9:30am to enjoy coffees. We officially start @ 9:45am and go to about 12pm.

See you there!

Jake

Blog Til You Drop!

Some of us writers in the future might like to look at starting our own blogs. Here are some really good tips in how to effectively blog – you can earn money in running your blog productively.

Top 15 Blogging Best Practices

Posted November 1, 2010 by lauraleewalker…

Why Aren’t You Blogging?

Originally uploaded by Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

How can you become a better blogger?

1. Use a catchy title. Make the title unique, consider using questions and lists.

2. Use interesting visuals. Include an image or video in your blog. This will get people’s attention and help them better understand the content of your blog.

3. Include links. Links add depth and credibility to your articles and allow you to show a little ‘link love’.

4. Use bullets, italics, and bold font. This makes for an easier read. Using bold font allows the reader to quickly scan your post.

5. Let your personality come through. This is what makes your blog unique.

6. Make blogs short, otherwise your reader might take one look at your post and bolt. If you choose to make your blog post long, consider breaking your blog into parts or use bold font to highlight the main points of the blog.

7. Reference your articles. If you use other people’s work, include a reference or link to their article.

8. Be interesting and have fun.

9. Encourage comments. Engage your reader and develop a relationship with them. This can be as simple as ending your post with a question.

10. Be bold. This might take the form of being outrageous or controversial.

11. Post tags. This will help your readers find you.

12. Respond to comments as soon as possible. Treat your reader like a friend. If your friend calls you and leaves a message, do you wait days to respond?

13. Make your blog post easy to share. This may include adding widgets such as Tweet, Reddit, Delicious, Stumble Upon, etc.

14. Post frequently. This helps keeps your blog fresh and entices search engines to index you more often.

15. Promote your blog. This involves posting your posts to bookmarking sites, such as Stumble Upon and Delicious. Use Facebook and Twitter or other virtual communities such as LinkedIn and Craigslist (I use the ‘community’ section for this purpose).

Dear reader, what other social media best practices have worked for you?

Link: http://lauraleewalker.wordpress.com/2010/11/01/top-15-blogging-best-practices-2/

10 Writing Tips from the Masters

Here are 10 helpful tips that we shared at our last meeting:

10 Writing Tips from the Masters
September 6th, 2007 by Editor, Pick The Brain

1. Cut the boring parts
I try to leave out the parts that people skip. ~Elmore Leonard
Unless you’re writing for personal reasons alone, you need to consider the attention of your readers. There’s no point in publishing content that isn’t useful, interesting, or both.

2. Eliminate unnecessary words
Substitute “damn” every time you’re inclined to write “very;” your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be. ~Mark Twain
I used to feel that using words like “really”, “actually”, or “extremely” made writing more forceful. It doesn’t. They only get in the way. Cut them and never look back.

3. Write with passion
Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart. ~William Wordsworth
It’s not hard to realize that unless you’re excited about your writing no one else will be.

4. Paint a picture
Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass. ~Anton Chekhov Simply stating something is fine, but when you need to capture attention, using similes, metaphors, and vivid imagery to paint a picture creates a powerful emotional response.

5. Keep it simple
Vigorous writing is concise. ~William Strunk Jr.
Maybe it was all those late nights, struggling to fill out mandatory 10 page papers, but many people seem to think that worthwhile writing is long and drawn out. It’s more difficult (and effective) to express yourself in the simplest possible manner.

6. Do it for love
Write without pay until somebody offers to pay. ~Mark Twain
When you’re just starting out it’s hard to decide where to begin. So don’t. Just start writing. A blog is a good place to start. The most valuable benefit is the feedback.

7. Learn to thrive on criticism
You have to know how to accept rejection and reject acceptance. ~Ray Bradbury
Writing means putting yourself at the mercy of anonymous hecklers and shameless sycophants. Learn to make the most of the insults and distrust the praise.

8. Write all the time
Quantity produces quality. If you only write a few things, you’re doomed. ~Ray Bradbury

The way you define yourself as a writer is that you write every time you have a free minute. If you didn’t behave that way you would never do anything. ~John Irving

9. Write what you know … or what you want to know
If any man wish to write in a clear style, let him be first clear in his thoughts; and if any would write in a noble style, let him first possess a noble soul. ~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Learn as much by writing as by reading. ~Lord Acton

Successful writing is all about trust and authority. It makes sense to write about your area of expertise. If you don’t have an expertise, reading and writing is the best way to develop one and put it on display.

10. Be unique and unpredictable
I owe my success to having listened respectfully to the very best advice, and then going away and doing the exact opposite. ~G.K. Chesterton

Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative. ~Oscar Wilde

Zest. Gusto. How rarely one hears these words used. How rarely do we see people living, or for that matter, creating by them. Yet if I were asked to name the most important items in a writer’s make-up, the things that shape his material and rush him along the road to where he wants to go, I could only warn him to look to his zest, see to his gusto. ~Ray Bradbury

Following what works will only get you so far. Experiment with new styles, even if it means taking criticism. Without moving forward, you’ll be left behind.

(Thanks to Pick the Brain! Source: http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/art-of-writing/)

Ivars

about authorSPHERE

Calling all writers! Calling all poets! Calling all novelists and scriptwriters!

The authorSPHERE is on at the MVC 4 West Promenade Manly. Writers, poets and such meet up to work on their writings to present or publish their works for the community. It is a great opportunity for writers to engage with one another, working with concepts, ideas, resources, contacts and works to help put on creative and interactive events within the community. Creative workshops are held every meeting.

Starting time is at 9:30am on the third Saturday of every month. (See sidebar for details.)

Online, the authorSPHERE will provide interesting resources to further people’s skills, styles,  methods, techniques and resources as they further delve into the area of their writing style. Keep an eye out for articles to post up on authorSPHERE.

See you next meeting!