The Wisdom of Mary Poppins on Blogging

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Blogging isn’t as easy as most people think. If you don’t believe it, have a go and you will soon enough. One day you’ll find yourself staring at a blank screen, with an even blanker mind, while the deadline clock in your head begins to tick more loudly than the one on your desk.

When you inevitably fall into this miserable state, however, take heart. Mary Poppins may never have written a blog, but she knew some great words and how to use them. A good dose of her wisdom is like a dose of her medicine: sweet enough to make it go down easy.

Grab a spoon and sample it for yourself.

Well Begun Is Half Done

When you don’t know where to begin, just start typing. Pick one thought, on any subject, and run with it. Talking to yourself is the best way to reason out a problem, so do the same with your writing. You’ll never get any words out of your head, much less the ones you want, until you start moving your fingers.

In Every Blog That Must Be Done, There Is an Element of Fun

Even the worst job is endurable if you approach it the right way. Tidying up the nursery was a chore for Jane and Michael. For you, it might be finding ways to enumerate the merits of head gasket design (without blowing your own). Yes, your subject might be boring, but that doesn’t mean your writing has to be. Use your imagination, find the human element, and think like Uncle Albert. Everyone loves to laugh.

Don’t Complicate Things That Are Really Quite Simple

Details are like weeds: a few may be pretty, but if you don’t keep them in check they’ll take over everything. If you’re a writer who’s comfortable dwelling among the weeds, take care. Don’t get tangled up and drag the reader down with you. Keep your eye on the clock and your word count. If either of them runs too long, it’s time for a weed check!

Enough Is as Good as A Feast

As with tea and cake, know when to say “when.” If you’re the master of a subject and a perfectionist, you want to share your knowledge and cover every angle. But when you’re blogging, it’s essential to leave your reader a little room for thought. If they walk away satisfied – but not stuffed – they’ll come back later for more. And maybe next time they’ll bring along a friend.

A Good Word Can Change Your Life

If you’re tired of writing your own words, read someone else’s for a while. You may not always find the inspiration you’re looking for, but every time you open another book (or browser) you can learn something new. It beats staring at a blank screen.

And if all else fails, make up a good word of your own and say it precociously loud. It will make you feel better, and it might just change your life.

You never know. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious made it into the dictionary.

48in48 – The Crazy Geniuses of Atlanta’s Nonprofit World

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If you’re tempted to tell 48in48 volunteers that something can’t be done, don’t bother. They don’t listen very well.

For the past two years professionals in Atlanta’s digital marketing community have been issued a challenge: build 48 websites, for 48 local nonprofits, in just 48 hours.

For two years now, they’ve taken the challenge and won. Big. In 2015 they built 48 websites, designed 4 logos, and wrote 48 blogs. In 2016 they built 48 websites, designed dozens of new logos, and provided each nonprofit with customized e-mail templates and marketing strategies. All in just 48 hours.

How do they do that?

The challenge is carried out during a weekend-long event known as 48in48. For two days volunteers manned with laptops, whiteboards, and an endless supply of espresso work together to create 48 custom websites for local nonprofits. It’s a remarkable experience, heavy on creative energy and substantially devoid of sleep. The task might sound impossible, yes … but the gents behind the idea have a way of making you believe you can do almost anything.

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48in48 is the brainchild of two crazy geniuses, Jeff Hilimire and Adam Walker.

Both men became successful in Atlanta’s digital marketing industry, and both are passionate about giving back to the community. In 2015 they founded 48in48 Inc., a nonprofit organization that focuses on serving other nonprofits. The concept is simple:

“Nonprofits spend all of their time doing good, not looking good. Imagine how much good they could do if they looked good as well?  How powerful would it be to let highly skilled professionals (like designers and developers) use their skillset to help nonprofits grow?”

The idea they came up with is genius.

Jeff and Adam created something rare: a small nonprofit with an exponential reach. Most nonprofits exist to meet the needs of specific individuals. 48in48 exists to meet one need common to all nonprofits. With a good website, one nonprofit can reach hundreds of people; by creating websites for hundreds of nonprofits, 48in48 impacts thousands of lives.

It’s the way they do things that’s crazy.

Assembling teams of volunteers with the skills it takes to build good websites is challenging. Asking those teams (many of which have never met) to create 48 new websites (for nonprofits they’ve never heard of) within 48 hours borders on madness.

Crazy can be done, however, when you add passion to the mix.

People who are successful often give back to their communities, but there’s something special in the way Jeff, Adam, and their crew approach their work. You can’t go through a 48in48 event without seeing that these guys put their hearts behind what they do. They believe in dreaming big, and they have a passion for helping nonprofits bring dreams to life.

Want to give it a go?

If you missed the 2016 Atlanta event, you’ve got another chance to get in on the action this year. 48in48 is headed to New York this weekend, November 4-6, for the 48in48 NYC Hackathon at LMHQ in Manhattan. The fun starts Friday night at 7 p.m. and runs non-stop through Sunday. Everyone is welcome, regardless of skill set. They need all kinds of volunteers – from designers and developers to greeters and foodies and jacks-of-all-trades. Get the details and sign up now at https://newyork.48in48.org/.

If you can’t make it this year, though, don’t worry. Those crazy geniuses aren’t done dreaming yet. If the rumors are true, before long they’ll be holding events in 48 cities around the world every year (and maybe all at the same time).

Just remember, joining this crowd comes with risk. Once you’re in the door you’ll lose your ability to hear certain words … like, “it can’t be done.”

The Art of Analogy

shoewordle1If you don’t have a picture that paints a thousand words, use an analogy to paint a word picture instead.

Here’s one from my collection.

Words are like shoes.

There are thousands of varieties out there, some more appealing than others. They serve all sorts of purposes.  Many are beautiful, others are ugly, and a few can be quite colorful. Whether new-fangled or old-fashioned, we get tired of the ones that are overused. Sometimes we have to hunt for them; we’re thrilled when we find the ones we’re looking for and frustrated when we can’t find any at all. Good ones make us happy. Uncomfortable ones bring us to tears. Picking the right ones for the occasion can be difficult. But when we choose them wisely, we can make the perfect statement.

Welcome to The Writing Wood!

Wander around in here long enough, and there’s no telling what you might find.

 

What Was I Thinking?

This venture began with a simple idea: to create a space where writers can come to talk about words and the thousands of ways we use them.  I’ve been a lover of words since I first learned to read, and a lover of writing for just about as long.  Words are the tools of a writer’s trade; the thesaurus is full of ones just waiting to be discovered.  And what writer doesn’t enjoy a good repartee about the use of language and grammar every now and then?

Turning an idea into reality is not always easy, though.  Sometimes we have to change our ideas to deal with the reality life creates for us.

The reality I wanted was to create a blog – to start conversations with writers and interact with word nerds such as myself.  The reality life created for me was the need to find a job.  So, being a realistic dreamer, I decided to turn my idea into a job-hunting tool: what was meant to begin as a wordsmith’s hobby would become a copywriter’s means to an end.

Where We Are Now

At present, The Writing Wood is a multi-purpose site.  On the realistic side it is an online portfolio, a place where potential employers can experience my writing style and judge the quality of my skills.  On the dreamer side it is an online journal and personal blog. I may have to be practical about my reason for writing, but there’s no reason I can’t have fun choosing what I write about!

What You Can Expect

When it comes to content, I’ll be blazing a trail rather than taking the beaten path.  (In other words, I’m making up the rules as I go.)

I can tell you that the topics and post formats will vary, because I intend to build a repertoire of work.  You can expect to see words like repertoire, because I like to use quirky words.  I’m going to explore a little, traipsing between the dictionary and the thesaurus, because I want to try putting words together in different ways.  But beyond that I can’t tell you more, because this is an adventure and I’m not quite sure what else to expect myself. Of one thing I am certain – the tagline is true.  You never know what you’ll find in here.

What I Hope

I hope you’ll take some time to meander through The Writing Wood and comment on a post or two along the way. Critique is welcome, constructive or otherwise, because I want to learn from you. For a wordsmith who has always worked in the shadows, the idea of writing under a byline is a new experience. Writing copy to market a company’s products is one thing; writing copy to market yourself is an entirely different ball of wax. You can’t melt wax without a little heat, though, and I’m working to create a candle.  I want to show you something you’ve not seen before.  It’s time to let my light shine.

And yes, I hope this adventure leads me to the job that’s just waiting for me to find it.  I want to put my talent to work for an employer who needs what I can give and trusts me to put it to work for them!

What Happens Now?

It’s time for this adventure to begin!  I’m excited about starting this journey with you, even if there’s no telling where it will end … or what we might find along the way.

 

Content was added to this post on Oct 17 and revised on Oct 20, 2016.