Liz Strauss at Successful Blogger.com always comes up with intriguing projects. She makes us dig down deep into the cortex or is it vortex (I don’t know for sure), of our creative minds.
Blogging is transforming everyday
To make it simple I usually tell family and friends that blogging is like writing a newspaper column. You get to write about a wide variety of topics and you get your own byline. The part that is hard for them to understand is the WHY I do it.
I tell them when writing for a newspaper one does not get feedback or meet new people or exchange creative ideas, or help one another. I think the day will come when all we have to say is “I am a blogger” and people will nod their heads and say “Wowwww, cool”
There are oh so many ways to define blogging. Check out the list below
Bloggers, Brains and Metaphors at BrainBasedBusiness - Using your Brain to succeed in Business ·
Blogging is like a box of chocolates… at Small Business Marketing Ideas - Marketing Idea Blog
Blogging Metaphors, or, What I am doing here at A Politically Incorrect Entrepreneur
Blogging Metaphor: Why blogging is like a Mommy at Moments of Clarity
My Blogging Metaphor at Carpe Factum
What’s Your Blogging Metaphor? Teaching by Bits (and Bytes) at ModernMagellans - Maps to Improve Your Business, Leadership, and Life
A Blog is Your Bullhorn to the World at Blawg IT
An Image Is Worth A Thousand Words! Huh? at Smart Wealthy Rich
Blogging Metaphor - The “Party Line” at Insight Advertising-Marketing Communications
Singing the “blogging song” around the campfire at Live the GREAT life you desire
Blogging is Like Baseball at Rush Nigut: Rush on Business
Raise your sails and blog on! at dsm BUZZ
One BIG small town at Runners Lounge
Metaphorically speaking, this is what I do at Passing It On
Write it down,
Carma
Monday, June 4, 2007
Eight Minutes!
Today at exactly 2:30 p.m. PST, with clammy hands and fingers, I pushed the send button and my email query sailed into cyber space. Exactly at 2:38 p.m. I had a response. Is that a world record? Nevertheless, there is a positive side to this because the editor said I should feel free to submit more queries in the future... You betcha.
What is the shortest amount of time between submitting an article and receiving a response for you?
Jenna Glatzer of AbsoluteWrite.com addresses the benefits of E-Queries in her book “Make a Real Living as a Freelance Writer”. She says you don’t have to spend money on postage, ink, paper and envelopes. Response time is faster.” (I say it is!)
Of course there is always a down side to everything. You have less time to engage your reader with an e-query. “A busy editor checks her email with one hand on the mouse, ready to hit ‘delete’” Jenna says. “You have to use every word to convince her to read on.”
When sending an email query you can be a little more creative with the subject line so you can grab the attention of the editor. In these days with the bombardment of spam, it is probably better to identify yourself as a writer immediately, rather than risk looking like an ad. For instance you can write “Query: How I broke the Glass Ceiling”, in the subject line or any catchy title that may generate a response.
Let’s hope you write a fantastic lead because in an editorial meeting, editors usually only have about ten seconds to pitch their (your) ideas. Keep this question in mind: “What can you write that will be easy to summarize in just a few seconds?”
Which ever method of delivery you choose, snail or email, to send off your query just make sure it is what the editor asks for. Keep sending them because persistence pays off. So get ready to send out a killer query.
Write it down,
Carma
What is the shortest amount of time between submitting an article and receiving a response for you?
Jenna Glatzer of AbsoluteWrite.com addresses the benefits of E-Queries in her book “Make a Real Living as a Freelance Writer”. She says you don’t have to spend money on postage, ink, paper and envelopes. Response time is faster.” (I say it is!)
Of course there is always a down side to everything. You have less time to engage your reader with an e-query. “A busy editor checks her email with one hand on the mouse, ready to hit ‘delete’” Jenna says. “You have to use every word to convince her to read on.”
When sending an email query you can be a little more creative with the subject line so you can grab the attention of the editor. In these days with the bombardment of spam, it is probably better to identify yourself as a writer immediately, rather than risk looking like an ad. For instance you can write “Query: How I broke the Glass Ceiling”, in the subject line or any catchy title that may generate a response.
Let’s hope you write a fantastic lead because in an editorial meeting, editors usually only have about ten seconds to pitch their (your) ideas. Keep this question in mind: “What can you write that will be easy to summarize in just a few seconds?”
Which ever method of delivery you choose, snail or email, to send off your query just make sure it is what the editor asks for. Keep sending them because persistence pays off. So get ready to send out a killer query.
Write it down,
Carma
Sunday, June 3, 2007
The Human Condition
'Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again.
Fail again. Fail better.'
~Samuel Beckett
~Samuel Beckett
Hope Clark at Funds for Writers, prompted me to comment on Samuel Beckett this evening with the above quote.
Is this a pessimistic statement from Beckett or can we catch sight of the positive in it? Some readers might say Beckett meant that nothing in life matters because we are all destined to fail. Or does it mean that when we do fail we should learn from it and move forward?
I am not familiar with Beckett’s work so I did a little research. I found that Samuel Beckett was a talented writer, poet and screenplay writer and very unhappy. I also realized that he cared deeply about The Human Condition,
The Human Condition is a philosophical problem. Only human beings ask themselves questions relating to the purpose of life beyond the base need for survival, or the nature of existence. Why was I born? Why am I here? Where will I go when I die?
There are some things that cannot be understood. Maybe we should just learn to "Be" and learn to "Accept" and learn to (at the risk of being too simplistic) "Bloom Where You are Planted"
There are 4 things in life you cannot recover:
1. The Stone, after the throw
2. The word, after it’s said
3. The occasion, after the loss
4. The time, after it’s gone
Write it down,
Carma
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Get A Human
Have you forgotten what it is like to talk to a human over the phone? I called my city offices the other day and my call was answered with a recording.
This peeved me a bit so I left an unkind message. I wasn’t rude; I just told them that as a public agency they were doing a disservice to the community by not having a live person answer the phone. I did not leave my name or number.
Ten minutes later, the city office called me. Apparently, caller ID is working fine.
If you relate to the frustration and difficulty of trying to talk to a live person when you call a company, go to getahuman and try their cheat sheet. They provide you with information that will help you navigate the automated menu. It’s a neat website and you get to rate the company you call.
Write it down,
Carma
This peeved me a bit so I left an unkind message. I wasn’t rude; I just told them that as a public agency they were doing a disservice to the community by not having a live person answer the phone. I did not leave my name or number.
Ten minutes later, the city office called me. Apparently, caller ID is working fine.
If you relate to the frustration and difficulty of trying to talk to a live person when you call a company, go to getahuman and try their cheat sheet. They provide you with information that will help you navigate the automated menu. It’s a neat website and you get to rate the company you call.
Write it down,
Carma
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Is Your Passion Enough?
As I was driving to an appointment today I added a new CD, (which had been sitting on my dresser for about 2 years), into my car’s multi disc player. The CD was given to me by the artist when I visited my daughter in Washington. She and her husband were giving a Welcome Home Party for her son who had just returned from Afghanistan.
Although his voice was not remarkable I remember that he played the guitar pretty well. He mixed Spanish and English into the verses of his songs very effectively. He played his guitar through out the party whether we were listening to him or not. We called him The Guitar Guy.
I punched button number 6.
Whoa! I Instantly realized this guy did not have the capability to carry a tune. I acknowledged to myself that anybody can produce a CD or a video for that matter. No one asks if you have talent. Just show the green. Is it possible that it is easier to produce a CD than publish a book?
However, through the agonizing torture of listening to just a few words of each song, I did sense his passion. That is when the question came to me.
Is passion enough?
We are passionate about our work as writers, but does that mean it will be sellable? Will people want to read what we write? With this thought in mind I began to analyze my own desires and penchant for writing. Is my passion enough? I don’t think it is by itself. I will write something inspired by anger or some other strong emotion, then hours later it will not translate into the same message it did when originally put on paper. Passion and emotions can be flighty. Skill and passion need to emerge. Our passion needs structure.
The Guitar Guy believed in himself enough to pay for the recording of his CD. His songs were not original, although he did occasionally burst out into English with a “Let’s all sing together now” as his rendition of La Bamba was brought to a new level. Also, this was the first time I had ever heard “Wooly Bully” sang in Spanish.
Write it down,
Carma
Although his voice was not remarkable I remember that he played the guitar pretty well. He mixed Spanish and English into the verses of his songs very effectively. He played his guitar through out the party whether we were listening to him or not. We called him The Guitar Guy.
I punched button number 6.
Whoa! I Instantly realized this guy did not have the capability to carry a tune. I acknowledged to myself that anybody can produce a CD or a video for that matter. No one asks if you have talent. Just show the green. Is it possible that it is easier to produce a CD than publish a book?
However, through the agonizing torture of listening to just a few words of each song, I did sense his passion. That is when the question came to me.
Is passion enough?
We are passionate about our work as writers, but does that mean it will be sellable? Will people want to read what we write? With this thought in mind I began to analyze my own desires and penchant for writing. Is my passion enough? I don’t think it is by itself. I will write something inspired by anger or some other strong emotion, then hours later it will not translate into the same message it did when originally put on paper. Passion and emotions can be flighty. Skill and passion need to emerge. Our passion needs structure.
The Guitar Guy believed in himself enough to pay for the recording of his CD. His songs were not original, although he did occasionally burst out into English with a “Let’s all sing together now” as his rendition of La Bamba was brought to a new level. Also, this was the first time I had ever heard “Wooly Bully” sang in Spanish.
Write it down,
Carma
Monday, May 21, 2007
When Your In-laws Have the Keys to Your House
I was discussing schedules with a friend and she began to tell me what was going on the day of her daughter’s high school graduation party. In the course of the conversation, she mentioned that while she would be at her daughter’s graduation her in-laws would already be camped out in her house. I asked her what she meant.
Do you mean they have keys to your house? I asked.
Yes, for twenty-five years.
I don’t know about you but this is carrying family loyalty a little too far.
Two of my daughters have a key to my house to use in case of an emergency. For instance, if I was in a coma and they could not get permission to go into my house, then and only then would it be acceptable. My friend’s husband takes the saying “Mi Casa, Su Casa” very literally.
However, we all have in-laws with odd quirks. Maybe your family is a little mixed up but whose isn’t? The sooner we realize who our in-laws are, the sooner we can accept them and realize that they probably do not have a conspiracy against you.
Get to know your in-laws early on. If you can’t get direct answers from your spouse try searching the stars here.
Most in-laws want to get along as much as you do because they want their favorite child to be happy. In-laws are not your parents. They don’t abide by the same set of rules your parents do, so compromises may be in order for a while.
Write it down,
Carma
Two of my daughters have a key to my house to use in case of an emergency. For instance, if I was in a coma and they could not get permission to go into my house, then and only then would it be acceptable. My friend’s husband takes the saying “Mi Casa, Su Casa” very literally.
However, we all have in-laws with odd quirks. Maybe your family is a little mixed up but whose isn’t? The sooner we realize who our in-laws are, the sooner we can accept them and realize that they probably do not have a conspiracy against you.
Get to know your in-laws early on. If you can’t get direct answers from your spouse try searching the stars here.
Most in-laws want to get along as much as you do because they want their favorite child to be happy. In-laws are not your parents. They don’t abide by the same set of rules your parents do, so compromises may be in order for a while.
Write it down,
Carma
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Oh What A Night!
Friday, May 18, 2007 I sat down in row E at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco, CA. Lights went down, curtain went up and exploding on the stage was the sound of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. I was so close to the stage that I could see the performers spit when they belted out their songs and dialogue. Fortunately they were spitting stage center.
But never mind that. For two and a half hours I was 18 again forgetting what year this is. Also I forgot that Jarrod Spector wasn’t Frankie Valli. If you haven’t seen Jersey Boys, you need to see it. Seeing it once is not enough. I think it has been extended out here on the West coast till September. Oh What A Night,(late December, 1963).
But never mind that. For two and a half hours I was 18 again forgetting what year this is. Also I forgot that Jarrod Spector wasn’t Frankie Valli. If you haven’t seen Jersey Boys, you need to see it. Seeing it once is not enough. I think it has been extended out here on the West coast till September. Oh What A Night,(late December, 1963).
Write it down,
Carma
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