“Writers don’t need tricks or gimmicks.”

The Daily Post

If you write for an audience — be it millions of strangers or your mom — you inevitably think about how your words appear to others. Very often, this self-consciousness results in overstuffed prose and too-clever storytelling. Here to remind us of the virtue of simplicity in writing is Raymond Carver, a master of narrative and linguistic economy:

“I hate tricks. At the first sign of a trick or gimmick in a piece of fiction, a cheap trick or even an elaborate trick, I tend to look for cover. Tricks are ultimately boring, and I get bored easily, which may go along with my not having much of an attention span. But extremely clever chi-chi writing, or just plain tomfoolery writing, puts me to sleep. Writers don’t need tricks or gimmicks or even necessarily need to be the smartest fellows on the block. At the risk of appearing foolish, a writer…

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Natural Photo Frames: Using Lines and Borders Around Us

The Daily Post

The world has many natural frames, waiting for you to use.

— Laura Cook

Last week, photographer Laura Cook shared her insights on visual storytelling and creating single images that tell rich stories. In one of her tips, she suggests: frame your stories. From doors to windows, consider backdrops that add interesting visual lines, shapes, and frames within your images.

I’ve compiled some interpretations of natural frames, using some of my favorite snapshots from my travels.

Architecture

From traditional doorways to uniquely shaped openings, and massive columns to grand buildings, you’ll find frames — geometric and rounded — everywhere you go, especially as you wander the streets of cities.

Ask your subject to stand in front of a door. Or, open the door and place the person you’re photographing in the middle, or leaning against one side, or sitting on the ground.

Think about the space that’s created in between. Consider…

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Five Ways to End Your Post

The Daily Post

Many of you devote a lot of time and attention to your opening sentences — and rightfully so. Considering how important it is to hook your readers from the get-go, you want to get that part right.

In writing just as in music, though, our lingering impression of the piece we’ve just consumed depends just as much — if not more so — on the finale. Yet so often, by the time we reach the end of our post, we’re too tired, too unfocused, or too eager to hit the Publish button to care too much about how we bid farewell to our audience.

If that sounds like you, it might be time to rethink how you approach your post endings. Here are five ideas to make the tail end of your post just as engaging as its first note.

Throw a teaser

Why not use the very end of one…

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Declutter Your Prose: Three More Phrases to Avoid

The Daily Post

In the spring, we noted some examples of phrases that might be distracting or unnecessary in your prose. Since many of you found these suggestions helpful, here’s another round of phrases to avoid:

1. In today’s blog…

Interested in more blog vs. post discussions? Read Slate’s take, Meg Pickard’s note on terminology, and Kristen Havens’ semantics lesson.

A blog is your site, posts and pages and all. What you probably meant to write is: “In today’s post…” Or: “In today’s blog post…” Posts make up the content you create on a regular basis, while your blog is your complete online home, your site, on which you publish your posts.

That said, think back to other introductory phrases we’ve talked about: “In this post, I will explain…” or “Today, I will write about…”

This phrase, too, is unnecessary:

In today’s blog, I’d like to share some of the best…

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Three Ideas for Serial Posts

The Daily Post

Interested in more ideas on serializing? Check out some of Ben‘s postsfrom our archives.

Serial posts are one way to encourage your audience to return to your blog and make your site a part of their reading habit. Today, we’ll look at three ways you can serialize and have a bit of fun doing it no matter whether you’re writing or publishing photographs.

Old school cliffhanger

Back in the late 60s, every other episode of that awesome campy series, Batman, ended with the caped crusader and his sidekick Robin stuck in a trap and headed for sure demise. In the following episode, Batman would finagle a bat-tool of some sort out of his utility belt and save the dynamic duo from disaster. Batman is an example of a classic cliffhanger.

Whether you write fiction or nonfiction, consider sharing your post in multiple parts, spread over a…

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Brain Power

“Brain Power.”

In assuming that we do only use 10 percent of our brain, if I could tap into the other 90 percent, I would seek great knowledge. I’d wanna know the answers to life’s great questions. Why are we here? What is death and so on and so forth. Im curious about the meaning of life when the end result for many of us  consists of our loved ones having a pity party with a pine box and an empty vessel. Is there something greater in this life that we should be seeking other than our personal desires?  Should we have a connection with the spiritual world on this side. I’d wanna know everything that there is to know about everything. I’d wanna know the why’s and the who’s and the where’s. Is everything circumstantial or “does everything happen for a reason?” There is so much that my own understanding can not fathom about this world and this life. And I’d want all the answers had I the capability to use 100 percent of my brain power. I’d write more but this pretty much sums it all up.

Connect The Dots

“Connect the Dots.”

“Look it was just a spontaneous idea,” she said. I hope eBooks apply because its 9:45 at night and I’m in bed and the closest book to me is on my Amazon Kindle Account. At this point I’m thinking I wish I had picked a better book, but the damage is done. So with without further ado….

“Look it was just a spontaneous idea,” she said. I was interviewing Emerald Stone on her blog that seemingly took the world by storm. “I had gone through a bad breakup and needed something to take my mind off of it. It’s all there in the blog. I had considered blogging for a while but nothing quite gave me that push. But oh what a broken heart can do.” she stated as she chuckled. “We’ll, it’s four years later, and you have a successful blog, a husband and children now. So, I guess you could say that breakup paid off ” I said to her. “Yes, I suppose you could. “she said. We chatted for a bit more. I got great notes and a few posh pictures of her in her modest living room, We were on the second floor of her apartment building. The room smelled of freshly cut gardenias. I know this because they were all that I could smell as they were sitting on the table between us as we conversed. This article was gonna be a masterpiece and just what I needed to kick start my own career as a journalist. EVERYBODY read this woman’s stuff, regular Joe’s and celebrities alike. As she walked me to the door she glanced at me and said……

For Posterity

“For Posterity.”

I started blogging a few days ago, maybe a week at the most. And my purpose was to find myself through something that I really enjoy. In addition I took a few days off work to completely immerse myself into my craft and clear my head. Only thing is I’m more lost than when I started. I am almost exactly at point A. I have been doing my usual which consists of prayer, meditation and blogging when I don’t have writers block.

Daily Prompt: What change big or small would you like your blog to make in the world?

“Be the Change.”

I really want my blog to be uplifting. I want to be a positive source for others despite hardships and difficulties.  I want to inspire and aspire. News these days can be so depressing I rarely even listen to it or watch it. After someone has a bad day or week I want them to turn to my blog for something informative or entertaining or funny or really witty. I want to promote self expression and positivity even when times are at their most callous. simply put and stated several times in my blog. I like to write. So I write. I want my blog to be about doing what you love to do no matter what others tell you. I believe that only you can make yourself happy. No other person on this planet is capable. If you cant make yourself happy how dare you put that weight on another individual. Love yourself in everyway. and lean towards whatever your faith may be. Personally, mine is Christianity and I lean on it when I need strength I’m getting pretty good at leaning on it when I’m not at my weakest. Which is quite nice. I talk to God while I am at work, and while I am in the car, just whenever and it helps. Writing also gives me strength and makes me feel incredible so I’m writing and I’m gonna keep on writing. It’s just a part of who I was created to be and I know it. I embrace it. And I have never felt more alive. I believe that these words will help someone somewhere and I hope to make a positive difference, big or small in someone else’s life.

Daily Prompt: New Skin

“New Skin.”

My initial plan was to blog everyday this year, but I have fallen off a bit as you can see. No worries, however we’ll just power through. This Writing prompt is entitled New Skin and asks a really interesting question. The question, being “If you could spend the next year as someone radically different from the current “you” — a member of a different species, someone from a different gender or generation, etc. — who would you choose to be?” This is a brilliant question. Am I stalling with word, you may ask. And plainly put “Yes I am”. Let’s begin.

If I could be anybody by choice this year. I definitely wouldn’t pick me. At first glance, I thought the Doctor’s companion. I mean who want to be saved by a Madman with a box? Free to travel anywhere in time and space with a two hearted alien who spends his lives helping others. Most specifically, I would be River Song, beginning to end. River is amazing. She is the only companion who in some ways knows more than the Doctor. Her storyline alone sets her apart and she marries The Doctor. What more could you ask for in life? River is lively. She is fun and mysterious and possibly my favorite companion to date. Which  explains why I would wanna be he. There is so much depth to her and let us not forget about her “Spoilers”.

What’s so intriguing about her is that she keeps meeting the Doctor in the wrong order. For example her last time seeing him was his first time seeing her. Its really hard to explain to anyone who isn’t a whovian. But it is perplexing and amazing and just phenomenally written. She is everything I would wanna be if I could pick the me that I wanna be.