As regular readers now, I’ve disappeared a little bit in the last week to reassess what this blog is all about. I hesitated to do that because I think that a good blog is kept updated with near-daily posts. However, I also think that a good blog has a vision and a purpose …. and that it’s able to be adapted to better align itself with that purpose.
The purpose of Real Words is to share the honest insight that I have about being a freelance writer from doing the work that I do. It’s about saying, “here’s what I read, here’s what I write, here’s what I think about it”. The hope is that other freelance writers (especially, but not only, beginning freelancers) can see what it’s like to do web writing work for a living. While I think that some of my writing on the site has achieved this, I think that some of it has drifted from that purpose and I want to make sure that I bring it back.
So here are some of the changes that I’m making on the blog and some of the things that I’m keeping the same:
- Inspired! will be sticking around as a daily column which shows off all of the things that inspire me as a writer. However, it’s going to be more tightly focused to show others exactly what that inspiration means for my writing.
- Green Writing wll be sticking around as a weekly column on Tuesdays because I continue to think that it’s important to work to be greener in the business of web writing.
- Creative Reading (book suggestions which are designed for writers and/or artists) will crop up now and then as I get a chance to read them and react to them.
- Weekend job links will be going away. They were something I was doing primarily as a service to others in the field because I know that there aren’t a lot of job link sources out there and there definitely are few on the weekends. However, it doesn’t seem to be a part of the site that people particularly enjoy and it doesn’t add to the true purpose of the site.
- There will be more showcasing of my own work. Instead of just links to what I’ve been up to, I’ll also be adding some insight here and there as to how I approached the writing and what I got out of it.
Hopefully these changes will make the blog better. They begin soon!
If you take a look at the blog throughout this week, you’ll see that it was really quiet around here. However, that doesn’t mean that things have been quiet on this end. In fact, things have been more hectic than ever which is why I haven’t been hanging around the blog posting what’s inspired me lately. Instead, I’ve been working on a new business plan which incorporates new goals for the blog. Those goals will be announced here on Monday and the blog will move forward from there.
In the meantime, there will be no weekend job links but I’ll be back tomorrow with some links to great reading around the web.
Those people who are regular readers of the site may have noticed that I failed to post job links for today, something that I usually do each Saturday and Sunday to fill the gap in daily blog posts that is left when bigger resources (such as Freelance Writing Jobs and Problogger) go away for the weekend. There’s a good reason for that. Or maybe it’s not a good reason but there is a reason.
There weren’t a whole lot of jobs when I first trolled through the web this morning. I planned to go back but then some friends surprised me with breakfast to honor a special holiday that we’re celebrating this month. One thing lead to another and I had to get back to my other work before I knew it.
So, I was celebrating. But it’s a celebration that only comes once a year so I think that’s okay. All of the normal column posts including weekend job links, daily “inspiration” posts, green writing information on Tuesdays and the usual will be back again starting tomorrow. Real Words is done with its mini-vacation.
Things have been busy around here with new jobs cropping up, taxes coming due and a slew of commitments that had to be kept. Although I’m normally on top of things here at the blog, there are always going to be those times when it gets neglected a little bit in order to keep life at a normal pace. The blog isn’t going anywhere, though. Weekend job links and other goodies will be posted soon.
In the meantime, there are some great links to new posts about writing ober at the latest Just Write blog carnival.
It’s always good to take time throughout your life to review the past. This is particularly true for people who do creative work for a living. It helps you find the thread of your work. It helps you define themes in your art. And it just gives you perspective on where you’ve come from so that you can better see where you want to go.
This is done in many ways for writers. I keep a regular journal. It times of life that are emotionally confusing or times when I need to go back to the basics of who I am, I can mine those journals for insight. Photo scrapbooks can be mined in similar ways. In blogging, the best thing to do is to regularly look at your favorite posts and favorite themes.
So, in honor of that, I want to share my review of the best things on this Real Words blog in the month of March …
By far my favorite post (and the favorite of readers, apparently, since it’s been the most visited) was 10,000 Resources for Writers and Bloggers.
However, my favorite theme isn’t writing tips and resources but rather the posts that I have penned on green writing. I think it’s really important to work towards being eco-kind in our writing so I enjoyed providing information on 10 Eco-Harmful Habits of Writers and Adding Green Links to your Website. Green Writing is going to be a once-weekly Real Words column on Tuesdays from here on out.
Although it wasn’t my favorite post, the most commented-on post in March was my piece posing the idea that Typos Don’t Really Matter. I imagine that’s a controversial thing for a writer to say! And I stress that I always proofread my work since I know it matters to most people but that my point was I don’t mind typos at all as a reader of other people’s work.
Question of the Day: What was your favorite Real Words post from March?
[Tags] writing, round-up, links, freelance, typos, resources, posts [/Tags]
Check out this week’s Just Write blog carnival. I know about it, of course, because one of my posts is featured there. However, I recommend it for the other great links that you’ll find there about writing. From dealing with artist rejection to coping with writer’s block to poetry about poems, there are some great little gems to be found there.
I’m also on the lookout for new blog carnivals for writers. I always enjoy reading about writing and think these are a great way to find writing articles I wouldn’t find anywhere else. So, if you know of any good ones, drop me a line!
I love blog comments. I love dropping by the blogs of other writers whose work I enjoy and letting them know what I think about the things that they have written. I love it when people take the time to let me know what they think of my own blog posts here on Real Words (and on the other blogs I write for, too, of course). And I really love getting the chance to respond to blog comments that people have left for me because that’s where a real dialogue gets going.
It is through these back-and-forth comment conversations that pieces of work can grow and change. Ideas that were simple posts can turn into full-fledged articles. Some may even turn into books one day. It is this kind of interaction that web writing - and Web 2.0 as a whole - is all about.
As a quick note to my readers, I do try to respond to all comments on this blog as often as possible. The comments are left on this blog by editing the comment on my end. I’ll add an “@ author - NOTE HERE - Kathryn” line to show who it was meant for, what I want to say and that I was the one that added it. If you want to be notified that I’ve left this note on your comments, simply drop me and email to let me know and I’ll make sure to update you when my responses have been added.
Thanks for dropping by; I love the fact that you’re here!
Question of the Day: What are the best approaches you’ve seen to the process of writing and responding to comments on blogs?
[Tags] comments, blog, writing, readers, web 2.0, communication, interaction [/Tags]
As I mentioned here recently, I get inspiredy by participating in blog carnivals around the web. I find them to be a terrific way to spread the word about my own work. More importantly, I really like reading what other articles have been submitted to the same carnivals.
You might be interested in checking out the two current carnivals where my work is features alongside that of some other really talented writers:
- JustWrite Blog Carnival @ Incurable Disease of Writing
- The Business of Freelance Writing Carnival @ ThursdayBram.com
There are various types of posts about all aspects of writing to be found there. Happy reading!
Question of the Day: What do you see as the pros and cons of blog carnivals?
[Tags] blog carnival, writing, freelance [/Tags]
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]
I have often said to people that my favorite feeling in the world is inspiration. It’s better than falling in love (although much akin to it). It’s better than being content. It’s better than being proud. And of course, it can include all of these other emotions and sensations at different times. Inspiration is a feeling that starts new again and again.
Because I feel this way, it is no surprise that I’ve considered inspiration to always be the underlying theme of this blog. It’s about turning my ideas on inspiration into tangible advice for other writers. It’s about hoping to inspire other writers with the stories of my own successes at freelance work. And it’s about providing links to things that have inspired me in order to spark that excitment about inspiration in others.
Although that has always been what I’ve done here on Real Words, it’s going to turn into something of a more conscious effort. I believe that it’s important to regularly share with others what inspires us individually. So, you’re going to start seeing a daily column here on Real Words called Inspired. Each post will reveal something that has inspired me … a book, a piece of art, a blog post, a theory, an idea, an image, an author, a piece of food … and it will tell you something about why it has inspired me and what, if anything, I plan to do with that inspiration.
There are several things that I hope to get out of doing this column and there are several things that I hope my readers get from it. I hope to challenge myself to open my eyes in a different way in order to be able to always see what new things are inspiring me. I hope to open the eyes of others to these sources of inspiration so that they may look at each of them a little bit more closely. I hope to provide artists of all kinds with more attention to their work by pointing people in the direction of it. Most importantly, I hope that this column encourages others to pay attention to the sources of inspiration in their own lives
Being inspired is the best feeling of all! The new column starts tomorrow and I look forward to your feedback.
Question of the Day: What is your biggest ongoing source of inspiration?
[Tags] inspiration, creativity, writing, resources, links [/Tags]
