Friday, September 25, 2009

10 Best Writer's Blogs - Winner copyblogger

Travel PensImage by retro traveler via Flickr

We discussed blogs, (among many other things), at our last writer's meeting.

The fourth annual best blogs for writer's was held recently, and copyblogger received the award for the best blog for writers.

You can see all 10 winners here.

10 Best Blogs for Writers.

If you want to put a link to this list on your desktop, you will have access to some great information to refer back to over and over again.

copyblogger is one of the sites I use on the blog roll on my site at:

The Web Promotion Blog

Any feedback in terms of comments would be gratefully appreciated.

I recently changed the site design to a new sportier design. I wish I could do the same with cars. One minute your driving the old model and the next, the latest and greatest.

Also, here is a happy writer's site with some light-hearted cartoons about writing that I think you will enjoy.

Inkgirl

Happy Writing !

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Thursday, September 17, 2009

How to cure writer's block

Grave of German author Thomas Mann in Kilchber...Image via Wikipedia













From a comment posted on copyblogger about writer's block.


Here’s a sure fire method to cure writer's block.

Keep a copy of any classic work of literature that is over 1000 pages in length, preferably something that you had to read in school, and really disliked, near your desk. For me it would be Thomas Mann – Magic Mountain (sorry to you T.M.)

Every time you get writer’s block, say to yourself, “if I don’t break out of writer’s block in 5 minutes, I will have to read that rather dusty, incredibly long book that I had to read in school”.

This is truly a magic motivator to cure writer’s block.

lol


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Thursday, September 10, 2009

Screenplay for a short film

TribalImage by tata_aka_T via Flickr

I'm not exactly sure what the following writing selection is. I woke from a dream with the image of this story in mind. I guess you could say it would be a screenplay for a short film. At least that's how I best envision it. I hope you enjoy it.


Screenplay for a short film. "Up to Jamal"

There is little boy (8-10 years old) together with his parents at an airport. The father is white and the mother is black, the boy is much more fair-skinned than his mom. The Father drops off his wife and son at the curb with their luggage, and goes to park the car. The mother moves with the luggage to the check-in counter. She tells her son to stay close, while Dad takes care of the car.

The little boy hears the sound of faint music and leaves the side of his mom. He follows the sound of music and it becomes stronger. It is an African rhythm, with a strong beat, and an unusual, but very beautiful sound. The boy stops and looks ahead of him. There is an African man dressed in tribal costume standing perhaps 30 or 40 feet away. The man nods his head slowly, and looks at the boy. He has a beautiful feather in his hand. It is striped with both black and white feathers. A broad smile comes to the face of the African man. He gently lifts the feather in the air, and the wind takes it up in the air. It floats up high, and across to the little boy.

The boy looks up at the feather and is blinded momentarily by a flash of light from the sun. He hears a strong, deep voice say to him. “It is up to you to solve the problems between black and white in this country”. The feather lands in the boy’s hands and as it lands, the colors of the feather seem to reverse between black and white from their original colors. The boy blinks in astonishment, and grabs the feather and holds it tightly in his hand. Suddenly he remembers what his mom told him, and thinks she might be looking for him. As he runs back to find her, he glances over his shoulder and the African man is gone.

The boy finds his mother around a corner, and she shouts as she sees him. “Jamal, where did you go, I was looking everywhere for you ? Didn’t I tell you to stay close ? I’m waiting for Dad, now don’t wander off ! And where did you get that feather ? We are running late, so your Dad is going to meet us at the gate.”

With baggage in hand, the mother and son move toward the gate and approach the security area. The mother passes the security check point without incident, but the boy sets off the alarms. Unlike the normal sounds, the buzzers do not buzz just once, but continue to buzz, abnormally, without shutting off for half a minute or so. The boy is asked by a security person, if he has anything in his pockets, and the boy says no.

The security guard, (a black man), asks the boy to put the feather in the box, and the boy hesitates, but looks at his mom, and she nods to him, so he reluctantly agrees. The security guard watching the feather pass through security sees a bright blinding light as the feather passes under the radar, but there is no sound. The security guard shakes his head and his partner asks him, Is everything OK ? The man says "yeah, I guess so".

The boy passes through security the second time without a sound. The security man stands up and moves over to the little boy. He gives the boy a big smile, and says to him, "Take care of that feather, OK" ? The boy responds, “I will.”

As the boy and his Mom move away from the security area. The security guard can’t take his eyes off the boy as he walks away. A voice in the background, (same voice that Jamal heard before), says. “Don’t leave everything up to Jamal. We are all brothers and sisters in one Family of Man under the one True God.”





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Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Web Site Promotion Blog

European Goldfinch - a common introduced species.Image via Wikipedia








Greetings to all !







I hope everything is going well at this back to school time. I'm sure Bob is extremely busy right now, as any family would be now, sending kids back to school.

If anyone has a moment to spare, I would like to introduce you to a new blog I have started. I would very much appreciate any feedback at all from any member of the group, (or anyone reading this blog).

It is located at Web Promotion Blog until I release it for public consumption. Like most blogs, it is a work in progress, that has a beginning, but no end, and I'm sure I will be devoting a significant amount of time to it.

I am migrating information I had on a different blog to this new format. (A hosted Wordpress blog, which is better for search engine promotion).

By the way, sorry for the image of the Goldfinch. It is a European goldfinch, not an American one. I couldn't easily find an American goldfinch. It looks sufficiently spirited though, to me, for a Goldfinch. Nonetheless, it seems to be a fine specimen.

If anyone feels that a WordPress blog would more suitable for our group, I would be happy to set it up. They look significantly more attractive than most. It could be an additional blog to this one, or maybe it could promote our Spirited Goldfinch publication. Please let me know if there is any interest in doing that.

Additionally, if anyone is interested to set up a blog for business or personal use, give me a call, and I can give you some good recommendations, and assist you in the process. Note: it is simpler than you might think. Almost all blog options are totally free, so there is no cost, other than the time to set it up, (and to post of course).

Blogs are great ways for writers to promote themselves, and you can find a template on Google that suits your style rather easily. There are lots of free WordPress templates available for you to Google. Is that correct grammar, "to Google" ? If it's not yet in Webster's I'm sure it will be soon.

Happy Writing !



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