Working with the University of Guelph.
Our archive showcases over 200 Ontario diarists from 1800 to 1960. Discover and Meet the Diarists are good places to get acquainted with these people from the past. Learn how to unlock the riches within their daily entries and escape into the past. You can read and Search through typed nineteenth-century diaries. Help us Transcribe other handwritten ones online to make these valuable sources accessible to all.
There is, still, something I like about writing by hand that I miss when I'm typing on a keyboard. There is a smoothness to the pen and paper and I like having good penmanship. There is no penmanship at all with a keyboard.
Today I found a note from Perfect Pen, a site selling pens and etc. They say 95% of people write their name first, when they get a new pen. I don't know if its true. How would you find out about that. Chances are someone selling pens and seeing people test them before buying, would know. So it could be true. What did you last write, by hand? I wrote a grocery list. But I also sent out handwritten Christmas cards this year.
I write down ideas for stories or non-fiction ideas for posts to my sites. Sometimes they never become posts. Lots of ideas are written and just don't develop further, or get mislaid somewhere, one way or another. But, I still like writing ideas more than typing them. My brain works differently while writing. A bit slower and not as directly focused on the idea while I have the distraction of the pen, paper and penmanship. More than likely that changes how the ideas develop. Typing is so instant.
National Ballpoint Pen Day is June 10th. It's the day the patent for the ballpoint pen was filed.
Have you ever gotten into calligraphy, with fountain pens? I did a little of that. In high school I had a fountain pen. It was fun to write with but not as clean as a ballpoint pen. Of course, there have been pencils since the age of the dinosaurs (not literally). Pencils are just not the same, though artists still draw with an assortment of them.
Today, even though it isn't Ballpoint Pen Day, take a look at all the pens you have collected, scattered, around your home. Get some scrap paper out of the recycling and test all your pens. Not many have the option to be refillable and reused now. Or, people almost never seem to do that. Too many freebie pens given away to take the time to recycle them. Unless you have a favourite pen. I did have a favourite ballpoint pen but it was kind of exotic and I couldn't find ink to refill it. If you can find a use for the pens that no longer work, got dried out, or broken, that's great. Most likely the best you can do is get rid of them and have that much less clutter around.
Happy pen testing. Will you scribble something or ring true to the theory that the first thing you write with a new (sort of new) pen is your name?
Jade Walker posted a quote on Facebook:
"It's not the news that keeps upsetting you. It's what's happening that keeps upsetting you." - Dan Slott
I disagree. Its the way the news is being reported, with lies and propaganda (misinformation, or whatever that trendy word is these days), that's upsetting me. How the news is reported does matter. People are influenced by body language, tones in speech, and the words chosen. The news should be reported without bias, plainly, a little on the flat side. News is serious, not a game, an upsell, or a campaign. Editorials were used to give an opinion about the news.
When did all the news reports become so biased. Like marketing campaigns instead of news reports.
Keeping a site up and running isn't light work. Writing, scheduling, promoting, proofreading, maintaining, updating, replying, publishing... all of that takes time and energy. Bloggers get burnt out trying to keep up with it.
What can you do to avoid burning out while still being productive with fresh inspiration to go on creating more?
If all else fails, reconsider your topic. Maybe you just don't have a blog niche which really suits you? Make a list of the things you really do love to read about, find out about and above all - what do you like to DO? Chances are something you are actively participating in will be a much better topic than something you watch from the sidelines.
Write Something Different: Interview Troubleshooting - problems with solutions Profile someone or something Quiz or polls Personal stories Quotes Conversations Explain decisions Answer questions Thank someone Round ups Goals Update old posts Q & A Follow up Checklists Trends Controversial Live blogging - report on an event Life streaming - report on yourself Video posts Promotional - talk about your ebook, etc Contests Ask questions of your readers FAQ (Frequently asked questions) Top ten list Podcast Review Editorial Rant Critique Special reports Post in a series, linked together Cheat sheet Infographic Hand drawn post Web comic Art journal Jokes Webinar Repost a discussion held on Twitter Debate Curated links Collaboration (trade posts with another blogger). Historical Future predictions Shopping ideas How-to Seasonal On this day... Whatever happened to... Tutorial Images with minimal text Advice column Hypothetical (What if...) Satire Inspirational/ motivational News Definitions of words/ jargon Directory of links Join in on a meme, blog fair or other project
Stop writing everything like a standard blog post. Look at other formats. If you run WordPress make note of the formats available in the toolbar menu to the right.
Get out of your same old post rut and try something new.
Work on scheduling too. Put together a few posts ahead of time and schedule them to be posted in the days ahead. This way you can actually take a few days off from your daily blogging grind. Do something else. (Besides blog stuff - there is a whole world out there, offline).
Do you always write in the same place, at the same time, with the same tools? Why not make a change, something simple which will give you a fresh perspective, fresh scenery and people to watch.
I especially like writing in a coffee shop. I find a window seat and let myself procrastinate for awhile with a good latte. Once I stop trying to write it becomes easier to think of things to write about.
Another great discovery is the local transit system. For the cost of a few dollars I can spend an hour on the bus (it doesn't really matter where I'm going) and let my mind drift. I keep pens and paper in my purse or backpack and make notes with ideas as I get them.
Write outdoors too. Put yourself under the open sky with all sorts of room to breathe, relax and wander. Just being outside never fails to lighten my mood.
Unclutter your mind. It's funny how much easier it is for new thoughts to seep in once you have given them some space. Sleep (That thing you close your eyes for). People who keep blogs work for themselves, set their own hours and can have the most demanding boss. Themselves.
How many times have you stayed up late to proofread a post? How many times have you worked through lunch to put in time posting on Twitter? How many times have you not taken a day off in an entire week? What job has such poor hours, unless it is also someone self-employed?
Go to bed. Take a weekend off. Take a vacation and really stop blogging. Don't check email. Don't write a few lines to Facebook or Twitter. Don't do anything... except maybe jot down a note or two when you get a great idea you can work on tomorrow when you're done with your day off blogging.
Remember When all this Seemed Fun? I began blogging because I loved it.
In time that gets forgotten buried and lost. There are so many demands we put on ourselves. So many things others tell us we should do if we care about marketing, traffic, SEO, readers, comments, guest posts, advertising, monetizing and the list goes on. It's all pressure. A lot of it is just plain peer pressure.
Consider this... why do you read a blog (other than your own?) In some cases you may be looking for news and information and nothing more. But, even then, why do you choose one blog over another?
Something sparks your interest, beyond the text content. Most likely the blogs which get and keep interest from their readers are the blogs which have some spark of life, a sense of fun or at least of not being anti-fun, all work and a real chore.
Put fun back into your own blog and your work there.
Do you still love your blog topic? If not, what can you change about it to make it interesting and fun for you again?
Is there a new niche you would love to know more about yourself, something relevant to your topic? Something you just haven't taken the time to find out about or dive into?
A stale blog can't be fun to write. Bring something fresh to your blog and to your time and energy spent on it. Don't be afraid to boldly renovate and go forth in a new direction. Better to make progress in a new way than to burn yourself out and have nothing at all left to say and no real desire to say anything.