A Writers Toolbox

   Stephen King empathizes a writers' need for the proper Toolbox in his book "On Writing." In King's mind lies the uber Toolbox, with a compartment for every writing tool imaginable.  A glimpse into one compartment marked section 4 reads the bold face words:  "With a hammer he killed Frank will ever replace He killed Frank with a hammer."
It is strange that two sentences which have so much in common spark different mental pictures.  In the first sentence we read the prepositional phrase with a hammer and in our minds mentally pick the hammer up before we read that he killed Frank.  That sentence stimulates the mind, whereas He killed Frank with a hammer requires no mental action from the reader.  Frank is dead, it's too late for him and we know this.

Getting Readers

My area of expertise is not getting readers.  I am more interested in the writing side of the web, not the search engine optimization. I am amazed at which articles of mine are doing well.  Ive written on a variety of subjects especially for the web, and published some of my old college essays and junk.  To date my old college essay on John Updike's short story A&P receives the most hits.  Although well written, in hindsight I feel it reads too much like a book report, and offers little insight. Of course, it is the professor that gives the prompt, and I am sure that mine answered any questions posited there. 
Still their is so much hard work put into getting regular reading.  To put it short, you might have to learn some neat Acrobatics, and stand on your head until your eyes GoOgle, spinning backwards inside your head. 

Texting Trumps Ebonics

This is an exciting article, well maybe not exciting for everyone. Perhaps just me. It is my first 'news article' for a real online newspaper.
I am not sure this is news, maybe texting languages are threatening the English Language. Surely, languages evolve in worse ways than OMW.
I can think of quite a few slurs already in the English language, Id rather not have. MILF is not one of them. LOL

Texting Trumps Ebonics

Originality

As said in a recent post on literary congestion, writing may be difficult due to the incredibly large amount of written works available.  We can be clear, concise, fluid in every word which rolls off the tongue, and still not be successful due to the variety of sources on any one subject.  You can be well educated and versed in your subject and still not advance financially due to what is considered on the web as duplicate content.  If you look up health care reform on Google you will find 16,300,000 pages on the subject, each with a typical angle either for or against the bill.  "The fact is, that originality is by no means a matter, as some suppose, of impulse or intuition. In general to be found it must be elaborately sought, and although a positive merit of the highest class, demands in its attainment less of invention than negation." (Poe, The Philosophy of Composition)  For writers this means not only reading others work  but negating that work.  Taking it out of your realm of thought and not duplicating it.  If one writer has written on health care reform from a Republican point of view and another from a Democratic view, then you must write from neither point of view.  Try your own point of view, comb other works, find a unique selling point that makes your work unlike other works.  Give it a fresh perspective.  Poe admitted that their was little variety in rhythm, however infinite variety in meter and stanza.  While their can be no variety on the matter of the bill itself, it says what it says, their are differing interpretations of the bill and varying outcomes for different groups of people should the bill be enacted. 

Literary Congestion

 I've been writing keyword articles for textbroker.com.  I only resorted to writing for textbroker out of sheer exhaustion with my personal work. As I've mentioned before its good to start multiple works when your having a slow period with your writing.  Textbroker gave me the  fresh ideas and this kept me writing through the rough times when I wasn't sure what to write .  I also wanted the practice with writing web-content for my own website and they offer feedback and guidelines where that is concerned.
At any rate,  sometimes while writing these articles, I feel as though it is impossible to put a fresh perspective on the same old topics due to the literary congestion of the world wide web. This led me to remembering the author, Italo Calvino's Six Memo's for the Next Millenium. "In the even more congested times that await us, literature must aim at the maximum concentration of poetry and thought." Calvino lectures future writers on the topics of Lightness, Quickness, Exactitude, Visibility, and Multiplicity.  Throughout his writing he suggests being concise, conveying as much information as possible in your writing in the shortest space.  He says he'd "like to edit a collection of tales consisting of only one line," and offers an example, Augusto Monterroso's, "Cuando desperto, el dinosauro todavia estaba alli." (When I woke up, the dinosaur was still there.)

Choosing a Writing Topic

Choose a topic that you know,  what you can describe in detail, what you can see in your mind. 
But, lets face it we don't always get to choose our topics, on the other hand we can always put our own twist on the subject. If you don't know your topic, investigate your topic, look at it from every angle, then put your unique spin on the subject.  The most important fact is that you must write what you know, in order to be well received.  If you find that you have a problem with writers block, go back and investigate the subject some more.  It is not knowing that block's the mind's images and word flow.

Setting the Mood for a Writing Experience

 
        I think I may have a little writers block where my haiku is concerned,  and have come to believe that writing haiku is more difficult than I at first thought.  I did real well, at first, I think it may have been that it was summer.  That is my favorite season, I love summer, and I was looking forward to a weekend vacation in the Texas Hill Country.  As well, I had spent some time on the beach, soaking in the air and enjoying the whole infinity of the sea. It had been awhile since I had been to the beach for more than a Spring Break beer, and for some reason this summer the beach was different for me.  Oh yes, now I remember, I was thinking of moving, for work reasons, to a suburb of Dallas, and leaving the beaches of Corpus Christi.  Therefore, the beaches sparked nostalgic memories of my childhood and life more this summer more than other summers.  Being close to nature and enjoying my time at the beach and later at the hill country enabled me to write some decent Haiku.  That is not going to stop me from posting to my haiku  blog, just change the theme of it some.  I guess it just proves that your environment does effect your writing, as for me I think I may plan a trip, maybe that will clear my mind a little.