A round up of things I’ve been writing, publishing and creating in June
Writing
My focus at Confident Writing this month has been writing with purpose. Some favourite posts on that theme include:
A five part series on how to ask purposeful questions
What is it about some questions that leaves us thinking so hard about them afterwards? What makes readers respond to some questions… and ignore others completely?
Are there things you can change about the way you ask questions that will change the kind of response that you get?
12 Reasons To Enjoy Writing With Gratitude
Regular practice in writing with gratitude gets you writing about what’s good, but also what’s real. It’s a powerful form of affirmation. The more you write this kind of stuff the more it becomes what’s ‘normal’ to you; it influences your language and your beliefs. It starts to shape and create your world.
How To Plan A Month’s Worth Of Posts in 30 Minutes Flat
Getting clear on those sub-plots helped me to plan the month ahead – working out what kind of material I was going to produce and why; how much time I was willing to put into it (or not) and why; how to discount some things that looked like ‘good ideas’ because they don’t fit into the bigger picture of what I’m trying to do.
This post got lots of great feedback - and I also saw lots of examples of people putting the lessons into practice.
At the Calm Space this month we were exploring freedom, with my contribution on 5 Ways To Let Your Words Run Free.
Get intimate: No I’m not talking racy details here, I mean getting intimate with your reader, and your words. Focus on that one person you’re writing for. Smile as you think of them. Pull your chair up a little closer. Shut out the world. Write for them, and them only, that story you’re itching to tell.
At Joyful Jubilant Learning we were talking about what we’ve learned from the men folk in our lives. My piece was on walking in the footsteps of family members as a way of learning family history. It’s linked to an embryonic project of mine, to visit, photograph and write about the places my family once lived. I’ve set up a blog - Family Footsteps - to capture the findings - it seems like a good way to record and organise genealogical information too.
Last but not least, I was inspired by talk of Sardinian gelato to write a piece on why we’re using ice-cream as part of the marketing strategy for our writing workhops.
7 Delicious Reasons to Use Ice-Cream as Part of Your Marketing Strategy
Colourful: the pictures of ice-cream - on a web page or in our mind - are colourful, vivid, enticing
Universal: everyone’s eaten ice-cream (and most everyone enjoys it) so there’s a universal point of connection
Personal: sharing information about the food & drink you enjoy helps to make you seem like a human being, real, authentic, human
Getting Sociable On Flickr
I’ve been taking photos with a vengeance this month and sharing them with the members of the Photography Less Ordinary group set up by Amy Palko. Being involved in this group has prompted me to take photos every day and share the findings. I feel a lot more creative and observant (and grateful) a a consequence.
Here’s a selection of photos from the most recent rainbow challenge: to focus on one colour a day and then share the results.
Writing with freedom is going to be my focus at Confident Writing for July and August - partly because I need to take a bit of a blogging break. Compiling a round up like this makes me realise just how much energy I’m expending on this writing! It’s fun though, and I’m still enjoying the learning, the feedback and the results.
Joanna
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