Let Me Tell you about the Birds and the Bees

And blogging to please the reader as you strive to keep it simple. (I’ve got spring and the things that springtime brings on my mind. Oh, you mean you could tell?!!!)

Hello there. I’m Antoinette and I’ll be your guide for topics related to the birds and the bees and other “creating” references. I’m a woman in business, if you know what I mean, in medieval Paris. I know all there is to know about birds, bees and simplicity.

Take my gown…..oh my, not literally…that comes later at the burlesque dance….for now we are referring to the simple pattern, the way it flows elegantly without a lot of excess material or trimmings to get in the way. (wink.) In black and white it not only matches my hair but is chic and business stylish enough for me to wear for many different occasions.

Now I can’t say that I’m willing to give up my complex hairstyle to become completely simple. After all, a lady has to have some frills, would you agree?

Pardon me ladies and gentlemen. The Midnight Writer is telling me that I stepped a bit far from the topic of this conversation. I apologize for that. It’s the hazard of living for your work, you see. Back to the topic.

Now we were discussing blogging. The objective of this conversation is to discuss more ways to keep it simple and thereby reducing your effort in writing a creative blog, that won’t “tie you down” (pardon the pun, darlings….I can’t seem to help myself…I’ve got my mind on that next appointment.).

Don’t let your blog or your internet business keep you so bogged down that you don’t have a personal life any more.

Can you relate to this?

Let’s take a look at this tendency and see if we can find a solution to please the both of us, shall we?

The birds and the bees contain the secrets to simplicity when it comes to blogging. We are going to explore the chemistry in nature of the birds and the bees to compare how they give us the magic formula after which to pattern our life. This same pattern can be used for successful blogging.

Do you have your tablet ready? You’ll want to take notes. Oh, and bring a note from your parents if you are under 18. This is adult subject matter.

First, we’ll examine the birds and how they co-exist in nature with one another in a simple form of harmony.

Oh, dear me! Pardon me for displaying the wrong bird! This one is a magpie and they are not known for co-existing or for being harmonious. They’re a bit on the rascally side as you’ll find them sneaking into the Twitter birds nest to steal tiny bits of it at a time. Watch out for the Magpie.

In ancient Paris, we made a custard pie and used magpies for the filling. It wasn’t that they tasted so good or anything. The rascals would fly into the pie shells and hide under the crust to eat the pie filling. Often, they would go unnoticed and be baked right into the pie. It was a common dilemma in those times.

You’ve been forewarned. A Magpie does not a Twitter make, though it tries to imitate the twitter bird and tweets almost like one.

The Midnight Writer is flagging me with her waving arms again. She says this post is way too long to be classified as simple, so we need to close this session for now. Don’t worry, I’ll be back next week with the next lesson on The Birds and the Bees of Blogging Ease.

Till then my darling readers, I’ll be dancing at the theatre up town. Come visit me there, will you?

Antoinette

P.S. I’ll be an occasional guest on The Midnight Writer’s blogs so I look forward to making you my friend. Midnight says we have to talk about censoring some of my language. Oh dear!

Don’t Lose Sight of the Forest for the Trees

That is an old adage that you have probably heard at least once in your lifetime.  I am borrowing it here to make a point about blogging.  Do you know what it means?

 

                              Photo Credit:  Photo Gent

 

If you stood within the deep forest you might miss the other views that make a forest so enchanting. The same principle applies to blogging. Trees being in the forest are fine. But if there are too many, you will miss the waterfall, the colorful rocks, the wild flowers because the trees will cover the view.

 

In a blog, the principle of seeing too many trees to really see the forest applies whenever a good blog is lost in its own clutter. My motto will save your blog. Keep it Simple.

 

Again, let’s use the photo above. I wanted to show a forest and what the typical landscape might look like. I could have chosen a photo of dense trees where even the sky is obscured. That would have been easy since this photo was taken in the Redwoods. Finding a scene like this in the Redwoods on the west coast, is not a simple task because this area is a lush rainforest with foliage that grows in two or three canopies. This scene of the red earth, the wild flowers and the waterfall is a rare scene that requires having your eyes open in order to see it.

 

Keep your blog clutter free as possible. I have to remind myself of this important precept from time to time. I get excited like you probably do when all those neat little gadgets and nifty widgets and cool blog awards come out so I paste them into the sidebars of my blogs. I mean, who can resist?

 

Then there are all the fancy widgets and gadgets to promote your social sites. You know which ones I’m talking about, don’t you? And of course, how could you resist the bookmarking buttons and site meters and gizmos that tell you who visited your site last and where they came from ? Not me, that’s for sure. I am guilty of using them all!

 

Bloggers are gadget lovers because they fit so neatly into your sidebars and add appeal to your site. Where a site is lacking in layout or photography, it can make up for lack of appeal by adding neat gizmos and gadgets.

 

One of my favorites is the Twitter bird.

But I’ll give you my version of the “simple bird”.

 

 

What are some of your favorite widgets and buttons?

 

Stay tuned for part two of this series “Don’t Lose Sight of the Forest for the Trees.” We have a lot to discuss about how to optimize your blog without clutter and how to maximize your blog space. This series could be done in ten parts or in twenty. Who knows? We’ll see where it leads. Besides, we have lots of great forest photos to share with you!

 

The Midnight Writer and Photo Gent

Mountain Spirit Productions

Utilize the Simple Writing Techniques to Master Perfection

What exactly do I mean by this statement, “master perfection”?

Let’s take it in two parts by first defining each individual word.

Master means to be the best at something.

Perfection is a state of being that cannot be improved upon.

So in essence, to master perfection means to be the best at your writing niche so that no improvements are possible.

Sometimes simple is better than complicated and this applies to many facets of life or process or material. In this case, we’re referring to writing in simplistic style. This form is a specific technique that is often overlooked. College graduates tend to bring the university mind to the blog page and fill it with prose suited only for those with a doctorate.

This does not compliment the writer.  Unless you intend to speak to college graduates or scholars who possess a doctorate, then you are limiting your audience. This will not benefit you or the readers.

You say you need an example?

Okay, I’'ll show you what I mean.

Let’s say you want to tell your readers about a dress you wore to a special occasion. The dress was a gown, it was purple, floor length and made of silk. The price range was suited to the middle class bracket at two hundred dollars.

Simple description:

I bought a special dress at Macy’s for the occasion. It’s a beautiful floor length purple silk gown that only cost me two hundred dollars.

Now that is simple enough and easy to understand.

Scholarly description:

Academia requires all graduates to attend the laureate ceremonies dressed in university attire classed for the sophisticated aristocrat. Delving beyond my meager means, I secured the most exquisite gown from the couriers favorite clothier located on Fifth Avenue’s elite shop. The sheer fabric defies description as it must have been spun by the endangered jade silkworms of ancient China rendering the material very expensive. Shoes most certainly would not be required yet my tendency towards perfection required me to choose a matching pair. The color matched royalty with a style rivaling the English noble courts.

~ So, did the second description lose you on the main point?

~Do you understand what I am describing when I talk about simple versus complex?

Writers use different styles, varied techniques and different voices in their writing. In order to become a professional writer who is proficient in the art, you need to understand these basic forms so that you can master their simplicity.

We will explore writing techniques, writing styles, simple and complex forms as well as writing voice, tone and audience. All the while, we will strive to “Keep it Simple”.

The Midnight Writer

Is Simple a Contradiction of Terms for a Freelance Writer?

Photo Credit: The Midnight Writer

That is a good question. Think about it for a minute.

Keep It Simple.

Freelance Writing involves many facets of being an entrepreneur who runs your own business. Now how can that be considered simple? Consider for a few moments the many aspects of a freelance writing business.

Administrative Duties.
Business Management.
Financial Management.
Advertising and Sales.
Communications.
Payroll and Taxes.
Social Networking.
Performing Assigned Writing Tasks.

Those are just some of the categories that came to mind when I mentioned the aspects of freelance writing. Each one of these categories can be broken down into multiple parts of a greater whole that is the essence of owning a freelance writing business.

This will be the subject matter of this blog as we explore together the ways to "Keep it Simple".

The Number One Ingredient for Blogging is Passion

You have to love it to do it well. Blogging takes many things from determination, discipline, talent, inspiration to name a few. Most of all it requires passion. This is the ingredient that grows the blog creatively from day to day. If you do not have passion, the blog will become a burden and it will fade to the bottom of those to do lists.