Real Words

I mentioned yesterday that one of my Real Words posts was featured at a recent blog carnival. That got me thinking about why I like blog carnivals and I realized that it’s because they’re really inspiring.

For those who don’t know, blog carnivals are round-ups of different posts submitted from various blogs. They are usually themed around a certain topic. For example, you might have a “blog carnival on writing” that includes posts about fiction writing, freelance writing and writing tips.

There are a few reasons why blog carnivals can be a source of inspiration. Here are some of those reasons:

• Links to inspiring materials. A blog carnival provides links to a bunch of different posts on a topic that you enjoy. You might not have discovered these posts on your own and what you find there might inspire you.
• A bunch of talent in one place. Seeing all of those posts combined together in one place can make you feel great about your topic and inspired to write something else about it.
• Parameters for the post. Sometimes there will be a blog carnival that interests me but I don’t have an appropriate post to submit. That inspires me to write one that fits the parameters of the carnival.
• Frequency of submissions. If you participate in a regular blog carnival then you may opt to submit a new post each week. This means that you are forced to write at least one great post on that topic per week. Demand for your writing can be inspiring in and of itself.

Blog carnivals are inspiring - and they’re also just a lot of fun. They support your work and the work of others and lead you to lots of great resources.

Question of the Day: Do you participate in blog carnivals; why or why not?

[Tags] blog, carnival, writing, freelance, inspiration, submission [/Tags]