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Posts Tagged ‘writing’
What to do when you are at a loss for words
Today was the first day I realized that my obsession with paper is over.
Now think about that.
How can you claim to be an artist or have an arts career if you don’t use paper?
I was raised in a papered world where writing meant one thing: putting a pencil or a pen to paper. Reading was an activity that involved books, newspapers, magazine that were printed on paper. Writing and illustrating my picture book, “Rabbit Mooncakes” was a daily dance with paper, ink and gouache. My ancestors invented paper way back across the ocean in China – what is going on?
Loss sharpens priorities
Huuricane Sandy wiped out twelve cartons of my books which we had to unearth from a waterlogged basement in Rockaway, Queens. The only thing heavier than those endless ruined stacks of books was my heart. The superstorm also swept away many of my photos and sketchbooks. Once we were able to focus on saving what photos we could, I promised myself they would be scanned, restored as best as possible and sent upwards into the cloud.
Perhaps it is that fear of losing perishable things that has inspired my determination to master the art of creating text and image digitally.
Easier said than done.
How many of you love freshly sharpened pencils and brand new notebooks in September? And what about that box of Crayola crayons that greeted you on the first day of school? Oh, and the pictures we would carry home for the refrigerator gallery…
But where are you going to put all of that at the end of the year? What are you going to keep? I know. You do the same thing I do – you just keep stashing the paper away in a box, why? Just because. Because you don’t want to throw your past away or admit that you really don’t want to keep the stuff in the first place.
New baby photos
When we realized all of our photo albums were gone, my wise third child said, “Don’t feel bad, mom. We needed new baby photos anyway. I looked terrible in the old ones.”
Well, that inspired me to start looking good for my new baby photos. I am watching what I eat, running everyday and making new memories that we snap with our phone cameras, write on our computers and me, I am loving my simple sketch program on my iPad. People cannot help but smile and peek over my shoulder to watch me doodle and draw. Sometimes we get into friendly conversations and I actually email them the sketch.
I suppose I could have had a similar experience with an actual sketchpad and pencil but to be quite honest about it, I don’t miss it. I really like working on my iPad.
A Twelve Step Guide
Maybe you need a little help?
Here’s what worked for me in kicking the paper habit.
1. Give yourself a gift. I got myself a drawing program for my iPad and phone called SketchBook Pro which I used to create the image for this post. It has a text function that I like. I also have Art Set – they have cool paper choices and their paint really looks like paint.
2. Treat yourself to a nice stylus. Most come with a spongy tip that, to me, feel a little weird when you drag it across the screen. I admit, I haven’t found my dream stylus but I am doing OK with one that actually has a brush tip that you can adjust. It makes me feel a little better when I am using paint.
3. Keep your iPad and stylus handy. You will be surprised how quickly you will begin to grab them to write or sketch something.
4. Save your best sketch of the day as your desktop image. It is a great visual reminder of what you drew or wrote yesterday and that you should be doing more of it today.
5. Send emails to your friends with a sketch.
6. Post a sketch to Facebook.
7. Tweet a sketch.
8. If you have a blog, create a post with one of your sketches.
9. If you don’t have a blog, offer to guest post for a blog you like with one of your sketches.
10. Do a self portrait and assign it to your contact so it pops up when someone calls you.
11. Add the self portrait to your email signature.
12. If your mother wants a copy, you can always print one for her.
So, yes. I confess. I am putting away paper and pen and I am fine without them.
Fine, and you?
photo by Wayne Large
So you’ve written your monthly post, clicked the Publish button, yawned, muttered, “Thank God that’s out of the way.” and now you’re thinking about lunch.
Chances are, the lack of comments and interest to your post are not disturbing you as you scan the take out menus.
If you are a creative person working in a creative organization such as Queens Council on the Arts, high-quality content on our blog is our most potent form of marketing.
You may be writing about how to get a grant to attract more artists to the Queens Arts Fund. You may be putting out a call for artists for an upcoming show. You may be promoting a workshop series for emerging writers.
Did you know that at the same time, your post can serve as an incredibly persuasive point for people to do something further? Blog posts can do double duty as landing pages for Google Ads. They can be places where people can sign up for a newsletter, RSVP for a workshop, donate, answer a survey, join a discussion….
And become active and engaged members of our community.
Valuable!
When you publish content, you want your reader to do something.
You want the work you put into your content to get your reader to take a specific action.
There’s a “secret” to making this work better … a secret that great copywriters have been using for more than a century.
Let’s talk about highly effective and compelling content
To create great content — the kind that gets shared, that attracts more readers, and gets people to take action — you need to do three things.
1. You need to write something incredibly useful.
2. You need to write something that’s easy to understand and easy to digest.
3. You need to make specific calls to actions for your readers.
Now, a couple of copywriting hints:
1. How are your headlines?
Are you uncovering the pain points of your potential customers?
Challenges of Working in the Arts vs. Tired of Being a Starving Artist?
2. Are you zoning in on the benefits of what you have to offer or are you still blithering on about features?
QCA Offers Professional Development Workshops vs. Eight Surefire Ways to Sell Your Artwork
3. Do you use the language of your audience?
No jargon. Say things in a simple, clear and direct voice.
Instead of “building capacity”, say “grow a business”.
4. Make your call to actions easy to follow.
Sign up here for immediate access to the coolest events in Queens.
In a nutshell, here’s the “secret” for content that works for readers and furthers audience building goals:
Create great, useful content that is enjoyable to consume, and that lets the reader know exactly what to do next.
Here’s a quick punch list for QCA power posts:
- Write a dynamic headline
- Always include an image or photo
- Write about things that are useful to the reader
- Include a link or two back to an older post on the QCA website or to featured artist or student
- End with a clear call to action
Got your own power blogging secrets? Link them up for us in the comments!
March 15: In the Year of the Dragon at the Old Stone House
On Thursday, March 15, 2012 at 8 PM, Brooklyn Reading Works at The Old Stone House presents: IN THE YEAR OF THE DRAGON: A Celebration of Asian and Asian-American Writers.
Curated by author Sophia Romero (The Shiska from Manila), IN THE YEAR OF THE DRAGON includes a Brooklyn Poet Laureate, a playwright, and three novelists and a childrens’ book author/illustrator, all of whom will read excerpts from their latest work. A Q&A will follow the reading.
You won’t want to miss Brooklyn Poet Laureate Tina Chang, Novelists Susan Choi, children’s book author Hoong Yee Lee Krakauer and Sabina Meyer and playwright Linda Faigao-Hall.
A $5 donation includes light refreshments and wine.
The Old Stone House
336 3rd Street Brooklyn, NY 11215
(718) 768-3195
Between Fifth and Fourth Avenues.
Due to construction in the park, enter from the Fourth Avenue side of the house.
my Boo Crew
I had to pinch myself.
I guess not many people think being in enclosed spaces with thirteen year olds is something to go out of your way for but for me, this was the chance of a lifetime to write and be read by the most valuable focus group ever – the kids who haunt the Ghostmistress. A Boo Crew that keeps growing.
Each week, I posted a part of a ghost story I am writing. They read it, critiqued it, wrote their own stuff and posted it on the site. I learned what made them tick, they learned how to be good reviewers in an online community. We wrote stories, poems and screenplays. I brought cookies. Ghost cookies made by my friend and Seth’s carpool buddy, Joanne.
Ghostmistress cookies
Here’s what the Boo Crew looked for:
Dialogue that drives action
Descriptive writing that created a character or a place
Characters that revealed their thoughts
Cliffhangers that provoked curiousity
Characters with complex personalities and unexpected actions
Fast paced stories
Challenges they could relate to such as bullying, being the youngest child, liking someone
I looked forward to seeing the comments the day after I posted each scene. No matter what I thought of what I wrote, I was always surprised and often startled by their opinions. Always, always grateful for the chance to have my stuff read by my target audience.
As I work on finishing Ghostmistress this summer, I will imagine a group of blue clad young critics ready to devour the 1000 words I write with a critical appetite. They have already sharpened my sense of what rings true and what makes a good story they would read. They have pre reviewed and pre critiqued my young adult story and I am so grateful to them for helping me write a better story.
This makes sense to me.
Need to know what your readers, your audience, your market likes? Give them a way to tell you. Let them in on your creative process – a little unnerving, yes, but vulnerability is really appealing. I created the Ghostmistress site which they took creative ownership of and where they could discuss my story.
How are you connecting with your readers?
Get more Wow!
If you want style notes and more for people who change the world, please check out:
Getting to Wow! to feel good, do good and look good
Nonprofit Knitwear for all things knit and nonprofit
Style Notes from me, your artspy
Hoong Yee
– Subscribe and get a little Wow! every day
– Forward the link to someone you think would be interested
– Link to a post on Twitter (follow me @hylkrakauer)
– Put a link to the blog in your Facebook status update
Thanks so much! I really appreciate your help.
Word of mouth is the best way to share, don’t you agree?
photo by kocojim
“Let’s invite the carpool ladies over for a soiree and talk about romance.”
Seth thought this was a fabulous idea and so did the carpool. On Saturday evening, we held our first Romance Soiree.
Curious why?
I am flirting with the idea of writing a romance novel. It occurred to me that truth is always always always stranger and more startling than fiction so why not bring together people who are immersed in all kinds of daily truths, feed them, give them pink champagne and then sit back and take notes?
And that is exactly what I did.
To start the conversation, I came up with some questions. They are actually ice breaker dinner questions that a friend of mine came up with. Here’s what happened with the first question:
What do you look for most in a mate –
“Personality. My mother always told me to look for someone who could be a friend you could laugh with.”
“My father said its just as easy to marry rich as it is to marry poor. So why bother marrying twice? Get it right the first time.”
“I also think that looks matter less as you get older. Maybe that’s why I always look at a man’s teeth first.”
“You do? I look at their shoes. If they look scuffed up and shabby that sends a message to me that they probably will not follow through on a commitment.”
“Wealth is not that important. I make my own money so I’m not looking for someone to support me. That would be like looking for a bra.”
“Speaking of bras, there was a woman I knew who wore a double D and she told me she had a thing for a guy in her office so one day, she took off her bra, lifted up the cover of the copier machine and photocopied her chest. After she did that, she thought it probably was not a good idea so she threw the picture in the garbage can.
What was she thinking? Of course someone found it. Everyone could tell it was her. And once that happened, a few other things happened as well. Such as her divorce, the wife of the guy in her office becoming suspicious and jealous of her and eventually the affair becoming exposed. Just like her double D’s.”
“Wow, if I was a double D, I wouldn’t leave the house!” Seth chimed in as he poured another round of champagne. ”Hey, you girls lead exciting lives.”
I am not sure what all of this adds up to, or what my story will become. All I can tell you is that the research is a lot of fun.
Hey, if you have story about an office affair, or a love story with a twist, tell me in the comments!
Get more Wow!
If you want style notes and more for people who change the world, please check out:
Getting to Wow! to feel good, do good and look good
Nonprofit Knitwear for all things knit and nonprofit
Style Notes from me, your artspy
Hoong Yee
– Subscribe and get a little Wow! every day
– Forward the link to someone you think would be interested
– Link to a post on Twitter (follow me @hylkrakauer)
– Put a link to the blog in your Facebook status update
Thanks so much! I really appreciate your help.
Word of mouth is the best way to share, don’t you agree?
I write for love and money. It is my everyday passion. What's yours? 
