Eneh Akpan Writes: WordPress

Showing posts with label WordPress. Show all posts

Thursday, February 26, 2015

How to Groom Your Voice Through Social Media

Social media has been a more-than-willing accessory to the on-going transformation across the web. And this post is more of a wake-up call to writers of all skill level who are yet to steal a taste of the limitless payoffs of this viable web tool. Believe it or not, social media can amp up your writerly voice and give it a sharp edge.

Let’s look at the high points.

1. KEEP A BLOG.

And if you don't already run a blog, create one right away. A lot of writers who are new to the internet are yet to tap into the reality that blogging is actually a form of social media. Hence, they miss out of one of the most vital aspect of maximizing their presence online. This is an invaluable tool if you must achieve any level of success in writing.

2. CONNECT.

Network, in other words. Reach out to a whole new world of possibilities-new ways of thinking by following, adding friends, adding people to your circle... whatever name your sns calls it. You may downplay the idea, if you've been around the web for a while but connecting with folks on the internet takes a little bit of courage and faith. But hopefully, it takes nothing out of you (besides timidity, of course) but if you really throw yourself into it and make it art, you'll find the rewards are way out of this world.

3. SHARE YOUR BLOG CONTENT.

Keeping a blog is one thing, sharing it with citizens of the cyberverse is another. Sending out your work through social networking is an indispensable step towards toning your writerly muscles. It also builds you up and prepares you for all those rejection slips you'll be receiving when you send out your work to publishers and agents.

4. READ INTENSELY.

Bury yourself deep in reprints (or read off your computer) and do not pause for breath. There's no telling where you might find the ideas which becomes the gift that keeps on giving. Read stuff on your social network-that's why you should follow the right people. Immerse your mind in stuff that appeals to your passion. It pays handsomely.

5. SHARE FROM YOUR NETWORK

They don't exactly call it networking for the fun of it, you know. When you share your connects' work across the web, it's your way of reaching out to them, your way of saying, "I believe in you." It may not be a big deal to you, in the beginning but if you keep at it and more people connect with you for 'sharing,' it builds you up inside. Your good deed comes back to you as a blessing.

You learn how to talk by joining conversations. A similar principle applies to writing online; you learn to write by writing-blogging, connecting, sharing, reading and so on. In other words, your writing voice attains a perfect pitch when you hang around a writerly habitat.

Keep your pens bleeding.

Akpan

Saturday, January 31, 2015

Finding The Best Ideas For Your Blog

The most appropriate ideas for your blog are probably, the ideas which unlock the flow and set your muse reeling to your side almost at the snap of a finger. That goes further to mean you have no business whatever wading in waters totally unfamiliar to your muse. In point of fact, if your plan is to be around the blogosphere for a very long time you need to stay on your grind by finding the niche that clicks—finding a unique voice, in other words.

Your biggest challenge while hunting ideas for your blog will be finding what works for you unless ‘you blog not to blog a subject but to blog’ (to coin a phrase). And as far as writing these breed of journals go, all you really need do is try your hands on a variety of topics (which includes searching deep within your heart) and if you can throw your back into it, there’s a 100% chance your niche will come within kissing distance.

If you intend to run a blog where you share a topic-specific content, be aware that sooner or later, you’re going to have to sit down (or stand or lay down, your choice) and consider the odds. Of course, as they say, ideas are literally everywhere and you can help yourself to as many as your heart desires. But before you do, here’s a set of really simple questions you will need to tackle if you must set off on the right foot;

“What would you like your blog to be known for?”

“Who is your audience—the readers you intend to connect with?”

Remember, we are discussing getting the best ideas for your blog. How can you get ideas that keep on giving? The ideas you come up with have to be in tune with your overall blog theme. It follows that, one of the things you must do is spread your theme so thin that it almost falls through (I mean that in a positive sense). Let’s say, for example, you blog about ‘writing.’ First of all, write down the word, ‘writing.’ Next, build a kind of wordweb around it with topics related to your subject matter. Words like ‘book reviews,’ ‘writing tips,’ ‘book excerpts,’ ‘film reviews,’ ‘writing quotes,’ ‘book updates,’ ‘author interviews,’ ‘personal essays’ (or essays in general), ‘bestseller countdowns,’ ‘author bio,’ ‘writing community information,’ ‘top 10 lists’ (these could include movies, books, television, short stories and so on), ‘book quotes,’ ‘book suggestions,’ ‘writing prompts,’ … the list goes on.

With a list like that, which by the way, you can further break down into smaller bits, you can’t run short on weird and wonderful ideas. The best ideas for your blog which also interpret as the most appropriate are the ones that feed your drive, hand you a twig to hang on to when your inner voice is drowning in a sea of life’s problems. This is the good stuff which may evolve into fresh and brilliant topics. Fetching the best materials in the long haul is setting up yourself for a unique and successful blogging.

Keep your pens bleeding.

Akpan

Sunday, November 30, 2014

Is Your Blog Dressed For the Occasion?

If your blog could talk, what would it have to say for itself? How would your blog express itself in its author bio, if granted the qualities of consciousness, for a few minutes?

The blogger has got to regard his blog the way a reader approaches a book. Sometimes, (and much of the time you’ll find this is true) the book in question might lead off the trail to explore strange routes by the standards of a real book. But I guess that's alright if it keeps the blogger’s nose to the grind; keeps him doing what he set out to do in the first place that is, keeps him blogging.

The issue is not how much you ramble in your posts, but there’s got to be a way, a term, if you please, that breaks up the rich brew into distinctive parts. And the good thing about this is it doesn’t have to be summed up in one word. A phrase might do it, maybe a sentence or better yet, a paragraph.

Theme is the apparel your blog wears. You see a guy kitted up in a soccer jersey, feet spotting spiked footgear standing in the middle of a pitch and your mind yells ‘game on!’ You see a form in swim trunks bouncing on a board and you know what’s about to go down even without spotting the pool. That same form in a different garb say, a three piece suit, for instance, bending over on that same board and you scream suicide! Having a theme ensures your viewers are aware what your blog is about.

Back in ’09, my writing instructor had said, “start a blog. Write whatever comes to mind—concentrate especially, on your personal experiences.” You could say my blog theme at the time was as long as it was broad because my instructor had thrown the door too wide open. But I had something going for me and it was the fact I had been keeping a journal ever before I knew there was a thing called a blog. And much of the stuff in my personal journal was ‘personal.’ I had written up some poetry, stuff on writing, and short personal essays. In a sense, I had a foretaste of blogging before I went online. It somehow drew a fine line between ‘whatever comes to mind’ and ramble on.

You’ve got to create a ledge to cushion the effect when you hit bottom; when the ideas quit flowing and it seems you’re only passing time on the www. Having a theme gives you focus—a sense of place when your mind is fogged up about what you were really after scribbling all those words in the first place. Another subject worth considering when making a choice of theme is your readers.

Who’s your target audience?—what sort of folks do you want swarming over your blog? And I don’t mean in terms of locality unless of course, your posts are localized. (This is the internet after all.) What’s their story? What’s the reaction you intend to get? How important is it to you to get your message across to them?

Theme is probably, the most significant topic to consider when setting up a blog besides the fact that you got what it takes to keep the pump gushing. If you’re new to blogging or maybe you’ve been around a while but your blog didn’t pan out, maybe, it’s not your theme; maybe, it’s the way you present your theme. That’s definitely, a topic for another post but meanwhile, is your blog dressed for the occasion?

Keep your pens bleeding.

Akpan

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

7 Good Reasons Why You Oughta Blog That Idea!

Sometimes, ideas pop up into our minds and we don’t know what to do with 'em.
Had any peculiar thought lately and wondering if that idea is really worth blogging? Here, I present you with, not one or two, but seven terrific tips to lead you by the hand into the land of creative blogging.

1. The Internet Would Be a Seedy Place –

Why would you leave a piece of info for only one website when you got a relevant message to share in a unique voice? The www is filled with info and resources because people like you and me never give up on giving what we got to give.

2. Increase Your Knowledge Base through Research –

This one speaks for itself, really. The more you blog, the more you read across the web to get better ideas about what you do. The more you feed yourself through online/offline research, the more you will blog. It’s really as simple as that.

3. Show ‘Em What You Got –

There won’t be any online research, there might be, on the other hand, but they would barely be fulfilling. If people didn’t blog their ideas, google search staffers would be out looking for jobs. Blogging your creative thoughts is another way of sharing your knowledge and getting ‘em across to surfers that need it.

4. Inspire Somebody to Write –

On a personal level, I’ve read blog stories that got me so fired up I had to create something. There’s no telling who might get ideas for an article just by reading your stuff.

5. Build-Up Your Writing Muscles –

Keeping at your blog expands your creative glands. You’re practically working out therefore, enlarging and stretching your creative muscles.

6. Keep Your Muse Busy –

This point is not the same as the above. While point 5 is about exercising, point 6 is like trying to spark up a relationship, sort of. In relationships, a lot of sharing and communicating is involved. When you hang around your muse a couple of times you tend to sense the inward tugging of inspiration faster and with keener intimacy. I do, too. Look at the results!

7. Somebody Out There Needs You! –

Or your ideas. Whichever comes first. This should be at the top of your mind every time you try to back out of an idea. Write or blog until there’s nothing left to give!

Keep your pen bleeding!

Akpan