It is my first real attempt at book length fiction. Up until now, the majority of what I have done has been non-fiction. I signed up for the project almost a month ago, and have been chomping at the bit to get started. As the time got closer, I prepared to write. I brewed a pot of coffee to keep me awake. I smoked several cigarettes to avoid the need to get up mid-writing for my nicotine fix. I spent the final minutes before trying to calm my nerves with a couple beers and a rerun of “The Family Guy”.

Finally, the moment arrived. And I froze. No sooner had I sat down with a fresh cup of coffee and a week’s worth of research and character sketches and other material when the internal editor kicked in.

He was screaming at me: “What are you doing? You can’t write anything like this. Who do you think you are?” I struggled with him for a moment, and then started. He was relentless. “You spelled that wrong. That line won’t fit. That sounds stupid. How do you plan on finishing when all you are writing is shit?”

My goal for the day was 1,700 words. More if I could muster. Less if that is what the story called for. I just finished the first 1,374 words. The only way I did it was by convincing myself , and the internal editor, that I didn’t have to write a perfect story at this point. All I had to do was write. December is for editing.

 For now, I simply need to get the words out on (virtual) paper. I can flesh the rest out and change the parts that don’t work later. It’s my story. I can do whatever I want with it, but I have to get it out first.

You can read the first part here: Project NaNoWriMo

I plan on using that page to post the entire story, for better or worse. Now that I think of it, it’s kind of cool. My own online serial.

To the rest of the thousands of brave folx out there who are facing the same as I am, I wish you nothing but the best. Here’s to getting to December, when we can unleash the internal editor.

In honor of this hallowed occassion, I thought I would take a walk on the macabre side of the blogosphere today.

MAY THEY REST IN PEACE 

Blogs are abandoned quite often. Most of the time, their owners simply get too busy with other things in life, or find out they really don’t have anything important to say, and their postings become less and less frequent. Others give up after a few posts simply because noone is reading their blog.

In some cases, however, the blog owner has died. Seeing as how it is so hard to keep track of the blogs that have abruptly become inactive, their blogs are often left to float through the seeming endlessness of cyberspace. In a few cases, family members or close friends take over the blog to let people know. These blogs are generally turned into a memorial of sorts, which allow the blogger’s spirit to live on, hopefully for the rest of eternity.

This is particularly true in the case of free blogging platforms, such as Blogger.com and LiveJournal.com. In fact, LiveJournal.com has taken to providing a forum where living bloggers can post notes about the passing of a blogging friend. It’s called LJ Remembers… It’s kind of creepy, reading the posts of people that have crossed over to the other side, but nonetheless fascinating.

CONTACT THE DEAD

In addition to reading the words of the deceased, is it possible to use technology to contact the dead and experience the afterlife through them? Apparently, quite a few people believe it is.

James Van Praagh, Executive Producer of the CBS show, ‘Ghost Whisperer’ has held a “cyber seance” every halloween for several years now. Likewise, in 1998, magic retailer MagicTricks.com held what was touted as the first ever cyber seance. It was an attempt to use the collective psychic powers of mediums around the globe to contact the spirit of Harry Houdini who, coincidentally, died on October 31, 1926.

Perhaps a “Ouija Mousepad” would help.

SEEKING OUT THE TRUTH

For skeptical bloggers, there is no shortage of blogs and sites covering the interesting topic of ghost hunting. From orbs to ecto-plasm, white noise to physical encounters, the blogosphere offers up a wide range of issues dealing with the paranormal.

Ever want to tour a haunted prison? Eastern State Penitentiary in Pennsylvania offers regular tours of the creepy prison grounds, and on select nights during halloween, you can visit Terror Behind the Walls, a haunted house built in the prison. For a paranormal encounter on the Internet, all one has to do is a quick Google search for ‘paranormal’.

If you scare easily, I suggest you keep the lights on. There’s no telling what you might come across on the Internet and the blogosphere today. In any event, I hope you enjoyed this look into the after life on the Internet.

No catch. No requirements. Of course, a link on your blog or website to The Writing Geek (http://www.davidwareonline.com) would be appreciated, but not mandatory. You can download your free copy of the ebook at the link below.

“10 Easy Steps to a Google Friendly Page” is actually a compilation of 16 videos that cover the stuff you need to know to get your blog or website indexed and ranked by Google. Here are a few of the topics covered:

• The difference between on page and off page search engine optimization, and how to benefit from both
• Create pages that are ready for Google’s (and other search engine’s) “spiders”
• How to boost search engine relevancy
• How to structure the most important section of your website
• Effective use of “hidden tags”
• How to structure page text so that it is EXACTLY what search engines are looking for
• How to avoid “over-optimizing” your site and making it appear like SPAM
• How to optimize graphics for the search engines
• How to optimize links on your website
• Much, much more…

Like I said, it’s my way of saying thanks. I hope you enjoy it and more importantly, that it helps you achieve a high search engine ranking. Again, if you put a link on your website or blog to The Writing Geek, I would be grateful.

Here’s the download link:

10 Easy Steps to a Google Friendly Page (.exe file - PC compatible only)

Enjoy!

We all have a couple of skeletons in our closets. Jake Matthews has more than a few, and a couple of ghosts, too. As an alcoholic writer, Jake is forced to confront these ghosts when an editor sends him on an assignment with a team of paranormal investigators on a ghost hunt. Skeptical at first, Jake soon finds more than he bargained for with this assignment!

OK, so it needs some work. Nonetheless, it’s a start, and a start that I desperately need. NaNoWriMo is just 5 days away. Expect to see scene one on November 1st. This will set the stage for the rest of the story, and is sure to be a bit gut wrenching.

Until next time…

At first, I was going to focus my energy on writing one book length story, but have recently decided to make it a compilation of three short works. Tentative titles of each story are:

He Said, She Said
The Evolution of Jake
Rebel Bullets Sing

Although each will be quite different in content, I want to have one theme that connects the three. I still haven’t decided what that will be.

Plot is going to be an interesting endeavor. I have a few rough plot sketches, but nothing that I know will carry me through 50,000+ words. Instead, I think the three will be much more character driven. Put simply, the characters will decide the plot.

The goal for each short? At least 20,000 words.

Wish me luck…

The Writing Geek: What satisfaction do you get from blogging?

Skelliewag: I get different kinds. Helping people out is nice. Getting positive feedback is good. Networking with other bloggers is enjoyable. The indirect income sources have been particularly good. I also like the simple things, particularly watching my feed count increase. Subscribers are like gold to me.

TWG: What do you do to stimulate creativity in your writing?

SW: I do a lot of brainstorming in my notebook. I also get inspiration simply from being active online. I subscribe to a lot of varied feeds and try to keep tabs on creative individuals, whether they’re working in art or blogging or design. I find nothing sparks my own creativity more than basking in the creativity of others.

TWG: You write on a number of topics, and write quite a bit. How do you schedule your time?

SW: It’s been hard for me to develop a consistent schedule, as my non-blogging commitments are rarely static. A general rule is that I use my free time for blog-stuff unless something better comes along. My definition of ’something better’ is pretty broad, so I manage to maintain a pretty active and varied life. I’ve made the decision that there are certain things in life that should always come before blogging, and it’s been great for maintaining balance.

TWG: What is the biggest mistake you have made while blogging?

SW: I’ve been lucky enough to have had a pretty smooth ride with Skelliewag.org, but I’ve been creating web content, blogs and websites for over seven years now, and I’ve made plenty of mistakes during that time. I’d go so far as to say that period was characterized by mistakes and failures, but I don’t think there’s any other way to learn.

The biggest mistakes I’ve made are mistakes I see a lot of people make. I want to reach out to them and go: “Bad idea! I’ve been there. It won’t work.” They’re things like: building blogs around linking out to content elsewhere, without adding value of your own. Or failing to seek out an audience in the early stages, and instead sort of hoping people will turn up. The third would be writing about what you think be popular, rather than what you love. It never works.

TWG: Whats one piece of advice should every blogger abide by?

SW: That’s a tough one. It sounds horribly trite, but I can’t over-emphasize the importance of focusing on a topic, or several, you’re truly passionate about. Passion is the only thing that will keep you going when your blog’s growth slows down, or when you get criticized, or when you don’t make the money you’d hoped, or when you blunder into one of the many other obstacles every blogger is bound to face.

If you find yourself consistently starting and later abandoning or neglecting multiple blogs, that’s a sign you’re not focusing on what you’re really passionate about.

TWG: If you could turn back time, what would you do differently/the same with your blog?

SW: There was a period, between 200 and 300 subscribers, where I plateaued somewhat. Growth slowed to 50% of previous (and current) levels. I think that was partially because I’d never expected things to happen as quickly as they did. When things did happen, I was caught unawares. I realized that I couldn’t focus on content creation alone, and that my approach would need to be broader. Since then it’s been much easier to stay inspired. I only wish I’d started the blog with its current focus, rather than making a gradual transition 300 subscribers into the piece.

TWG: How do you stay motivated for blogging?

SW: It’s like the opposite of a vicious cycle. Not sure what you might call it: a lovely cycle? I pour effort into the blog. The blog grows. I get motivated to pour in more effort. The blog grows. Getting positive feedback really buoys me. I also have an unnatural obsession with my subscriber count, as alluded to earlier. I suppose you could say that I’m lucky enough to love every aspect of blogging: from design, to writing posts, to networking, to promotion, and everything in between. With that in mind, motivation has (so far) been plentiful.

TWG: You have been elected president of the blogosphere. What is your first move?

SW: I’d launch a war on the Axis of Evil: splogs and scrapers.

TWG: Thanks for your time!

THE IDEA

Ideas for blog posts come from everywhere. Personal journal blogs usually center around the life of the blogger. Milestones, hardships, relationships, and emotions are just a few of the ’seeds’ that lead to an idea. A more professionally focused blogger will generally find ideas based on his or her business or industry. In this case, news often plays a big role in defining the idea, as does generalized advice.

The only limit to finding ideas for any blog is the creativity of the blogger, and their ability to approach various ideas from different angles. For example, a personal blog might focus on an illness or other hardship in the blogger’s life. In this case, the successful blogger will discuss the unique methods he or she has used to deal with the hardship.

Professional bloggers need only open the morning newspaper or conduct a simple Google search to access a whole world of ideas. What is the latest ‘Big Thing’ in your niche? Has someone famous in your subject area recently done something to warrant the attention of the media? Write about it!

RESEARCHING THE IDEA

Obviously, it helps if the blogger has some experience in their niche. This is especially true for professional bloggers. Regardless, it is important that ALL angles of any topic are considered. When researching an idea, take special care to seek out valuable information. Readers are more likely to take a blogger’s advice if it can be supported with quotes by industry leaders, statistics or a combination of both.

In most cases, researching a particular topic will give the blogger multiple ideas to write about. While conducting research for this post, for example, I came across several ideas for future posts on my own blog, including a closer look at the various styles of the more successful bloggers. If nothing else, it will at least narrow a subject down and make it more manageable for the writer.

Be careful not to spend too much time researching an idea. All too often, research is used as an excuse not to actually post. Most bloggers make a feeble attempt to blame their lack of posting on “writer’s block”. In reality, writer’s block can be dealt with quite easily by sitting down and writing.

EFFECTIVE BLOG LAYOUT

Once you have decided on a topic and thoroughly researched it, it’s time for the fun part - actually putting it together. Your goal here should be organizing the information in a simple, readable manner. When a blog post is easier for the reader to digest, it leads to a much better experience for them overall. There are several concepts to consider when putting your post together:

* K.I.S.S. (Keep It Short & Sweet) - Even if your post involves a highly complicated subject, such as the economic influences of a third world country, it is important to focus your information as much as possible. Most readers will not stick around for more than 1200 words. Depending on the subject matter, this number may even go as low as 400 - 500 words.

* Readability - Long paragraphs or otherwise disjointed structure tend to wear the reader out. If you want them to read the entire post, it must be extremely readable. To do this, break the post down into sections, and make good use of bulleted lists. Take a moment to go back through this post and take note of the use of headlines. In addition, remember that your paragraphs should consist of no more than 4 - 5 sentences.

* Proper use of English & grammar - I hate to be the grammar nazi here, but a good grasp of the English language, including good grammar and strong sentence structure, goes a long way towards creating a successful post. This may be a little less true for personal journal styles of blogs, but overall the better the grammar, the easier the post will be to read.

If you are using your blog to market your skills, improper use of english and grammar is a sure fire way to ruin your chances of obtaining new business. Proper use of the english language portrays professionalism, something your potential customers expect in the companies they do business with.

* Relevancy - If you write on a subject that no one cares about, chances are that no one is going to read your blog. If you are blogging for cash, providing relevant and valuable information is absolutely essential. Otherwise, you are setting yourself up for failure and disappointment.

Before posting to your blog, look over the post and ask yourself if it is really something your readers will be able to enjoy and use. Is it going to provide them with information they may not have otherwise had? If not, reconsider posting it. At least try looking at it from different angles, and adjusting it to fit into your reader’s lives.

While there are other factors that eventually lead to a successful post, the items listed above are the more important factors to consider when tuning up your blog. Use them as a basic guideline, and you will quickly find that your blog is presenting a clearer picture of your subject matter and ultimately, YOU! Happy blogging!

The theme: In honor of Halloween… “An Encounter with the Paranormal”

The requirements: Your content must be original, and tell the story of a time that you came into contact with what you believed to be a ghost, spook or other paranormal entity. Pretend you are telling it around a campfire, and make it as real for all of us as you can.

The deadline: Friday, October 26, 2007

The reward: When all entries have been submitted, I will do a link roundup and post it here, calling for votes from the readers. The blogger who gets the most votes will receive a FREE one year registration for a new domain name, and one year of FREE feature rich web hosting. I will also help the winner set up a pre-made blog under their new domain name. If the winner already has a domain name, I will provide them with a year of FREE hosting.

The fine print: I will register the winner’s domain name through GoDaddy.com ($8.99 value), and setup the hosting account through my own servers. Once the domain is active, I will then turn the domain registration over to the winner, along with the hosting information. This will require the winner to have their own account with GoDaddy.com. If the winner wants a blog setup as well, I will install a Wordpress blog in their hosting, and provide a few pre-made templates for them to choose from. Please note - your domain name is subject to availability, and I have no control over that. If it is not available, we can seek out alternatives. I do not offer technical support with the blog. It is up to you to learn how to get the most out of your new Wordpress blog. Information needed to access the blog will be provided to you via email. The winner may not elect to receive cash instead of the stated prize. All copyright for each entry will remain with the author.

So, what are you waiting for? Get writing!

In most cases, it takes quite some time to get indexed. If you do nothing other than post to your blog, you may see it show up a month to three months down the road. In the meantime, you are at the whim of the Internet traffic gods, and most likely no one will be reading your blog.

Here is how I got my blog indexed by Google in just 2 days:

1. QUALITY, QUALITY, QUALITY

When I moved my blog from the Blogger platform to my own domain, I took the best posts I had at my old Blogspot address and posted them individually on the new site. This provided some instant content, and quality content at that. Of course, in addition to quality content, I have always tried to design my posts in such a way as to include plenty of keywords, while keeping the posts useful to readers. The better quality content you have, the better your chances of ranking high in search results.

2. THE KING OF PING

Once I had all of my old content transferred, I went right over to Technorati.com and used their “Ping Us” service to notify them that updates had been made. In addition to Technorati, I also went to Ping-O-Matic and used their service to ping a bunch of other blog directories. Pinging these services lets them know that you have new content on your blog. They will then send out a robot or ’spider’ to crawl your site and pick up that new content. When the spider begins to see a pattern in your keywords, the service will begin serving your site, among others, in various search results.

3. IT PAYS TO BE SOCIAL

Social networking sites are becoming extremely popular, and there’s a reason. Websites such as Digg.com are extremely valuable to the blogger, and allow others to see your posts or articles on a faster basis than they would through a search service such as Google.

There are actually two ways to use social networking sites. First, you can add individual articles to them. In the case of Digg.com, you “digg” your articles. Then, if other members of the site like what they read, they can “digg” the article as well, boosting its popularity. While some more popular articles get hundreds of “diggs”, some only get a few. The most I have received for any one article is 3 “diggs”, but it still works, and it lets me know folks are reading my stuff.

Second, when you join such a site, you have the opportunity to create a profile. Your network profile allows you to add links, and shows your previous “diggs”. Like the popular networking site MySpace.com, other members can then contact you through your profile, see what you have been up to in the blogosphere and even add you to their own network of friends. As you can see, using a social networking site can go a long way in promoting your work.

In case you were wondering, you can see my Digg.com profile at:

http://www.digg.com/users/wvfreelancer

4. LIST YOUR BLOG

Once I had pinged and dugg, I started adding my blog to a few blog directories. In just two days, I have watched quite a bit of traffic come from these services. Not only that, but I know my link is now on their site. In most cases, these sites have a higher popularity with Google or are already being crawled by the Googlebot, so your link will be found in a fairly short amount of time. The directories I use include:

BlogCatalog.com
BlogRankings.com
BlogListing.net

5. SHOW SOME LOVE…

Now that everything is up and running, I have time to seek out other similar blogs. I was able to find quite a few that cover the freelancing world and blogging, among others, that truly interested me. When I came across a post that I really liked, I left a comment for the blogger letting them know I liked it. In doing so, I was also able to leave behind a link to my own blog. In some cases, this is very helpful as, once again, these other sites already have popularity with Google. If you want to get the Googlebot to crawl your site, this is a sure way of doing so.

A few words of caution: If you are going to do this, make sure that the blog you are commenting is relevant to yours. Also, do not submit a comment just because it will give you a link. Make a contribution to the discussion. Let the author know what you thought of his or her article, or add something that may have been missed. If you simply comment the heck out of blogs to gain more links, you are SPAMMING. This is not only a huge pain in the butt for bloggers, it is extremely unethical. Don’t do it.

While there are many more directories, listing services, social networking sites and other methods of getting listed, this is a quick summary showing you how I got indexed by Google in just two days. Of course, just because I am listed does not mean I will rank high in the search results, though I am already beginning to see visits that resulted from a Google search. It is now up to me to make sure my blog remains relevant and useful to my readers.

Do you have any additional thoughts on getting indexed by Google or any other search service? Let me know!

 Sound familiar? This is probably the most common complaint I hear from other writers. And you know what? It’s BULL. Ideas are everywhere. Here are just a few tips that will help you find them.

1. TURN ON THE “WRITER’S RADAR”

The best way to find writing ideas is to keep your eyes, ears and mind open. While our daily lives may not be very exciting, there are many ideas that present themselves throughout the day, if we are just prepared to receive them. This takes practice. In the beginning, you will need to focus on finding the ideas. When something happens, ask yourself, can I write about this? With time & practice, you will soon find the ideas popping out at you, before you even have the chance to ask that.

2. PERSONAL EXPERIENCE = GOLDMINE

We have all heard the saying, “write what you know”. This is probably the best piece of advice a writer can take. This tip works for non-fiction and fiction writers alike. For example, are you a carpenter? Incorporate this into one of your fictional characters. On the other hand, you could also write a non-fiction article covering an issue of importance to other carpenters. Stephen King has used this both ways, with the main character in “Misery” as well as in his book, “Stephen King on Writing”.

3. WRITE WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW

This one can really get your creative juices going. Of course, this method usually requires that you conduct some research to get enough information. During the research, you will find there are many different sub-topics and various angles for any subject. I have found that doing this even leaves me feeling a little more creatively satisfied when I am done writing. It helps exercise those writing muscles a little more, because it will take a little more effort on your part.

4. DIG UP YOUR PAST

Have you written good stuff in the past? Dig it out of storage, read it over a few times and see where it can be improved upon. Or, look for the other angles that can be covered that you didn’t write about in the first article. I used this method once to sell two different articles on the very same subject. The first article was based on an industry-wide profile. The second article took a more personal approach, profiling the people I had interviewed for the first article.

5. STEAL IT AND MAKE IT YOUR OWN

It is true that everything has been done at least once. Does that mean that you can’t do it again? Absolutely not! Of course, I am not suggesting plagiarism here…far from it. Instead, own the subject. Look for the angles the first author didn’t cover. Do you have a different opinion than the original author? People read opinionated material. Can you add a unique solution that hasn’t been offered? Get to it!

6. GET CONNECTED

Each person you know has something to offer you as a writer: a whole new world of ideas. Taking an interest in your co-workers, friends, relatives and even perfect strangers will present you with idea after idea. The article I sold two different versions of? The original article was the result of my own networking in my professional life. The bottom line? People generally love to talk about themselves. Take advantage of that.

7. GET ONLINE

A simple search of Google.com can also present many ideas for writers. Use it both in your research for other ideas, as well as to search out other writing prompts. Love it or hate it, Google really does know all, and is a resource every writer should have in his or her toolbox. Try searching for “writing prompts”. You’ll see.

8. KEEP THE MOMENTUM

Recently, after several weeks of writing like mad (20+ articles, each ranging from 400 - 1200 words), life intervened. As a result, I didn’t write for nearly a week. The interesting part is that, while I was writing on a very regular basis, I had no problem developing new ideas. Coming back to the keyboard, however, proved a little difficult. Nonetheless, here I am. Life happens for all of us. The longer you let it keep you from writing, the more difficult it will be to come back. Keep the momentum in your writing going and you’ll see the ideas are easier to come by.

These are just a few tips for finding ideas to write about. I could probably drone on and on, but I am going to stop here and let you take over. Do you have any methods of finding writing ideas that you would like to share? Take the time to blog about it or let me know about it, so I can share it here in a later post. Until then…