A lot can happen in twenty four hours! Something has happened…I am sure I will write about it in the future, but for now I am going to distract myself from my excitement, by answering some questions about blogging and writing prompts that were asked by Doctor Tanya, the creator of Salted Caramel, in her series #BLOGGING INSIGHTS. Here is Tanya’s original post featuring this week’s questions:
https://saltedcaramel670.wordpress.com/2020/02/24/blogging-insights-19-writing-prompts/
Here is the song that I am singing today…why not press play and read the answers I have supplied to Tanya’s interesting questions?
Questions
Do you like to respond to writing prompts?
Yes, yes I definitely do enjoy responding to writing prompts. I am extremely grateful for the bloggers who put a lot of work into preparing and hosting prompts. I shall explain exactly why.
When we first create a blog and start publishing posts on WordPress, it feels like walking onto the stage at an arena with tens of thousands of empty seats. We put a huge amount of effort into mastering how to create a post and we press PUBLISH…and we wait….and we wait. For many of us, it can feel as if we are performing on stage and nobody, just nobody has bothered to turn up to watch our work!
Frankly, it can be demoralising! If we do receive one or two views/likes or a even a comment, it means so much! How do we connect with other bloggers? How do we find the motivation to continue writing new posts when hardly anyone came along to look at our first handful of posts?
Prompts completely change the blogging scene. Instead of walking onto a stage at a huge empty arena where nobody seems to know we are waiting for them…instead, we step into a much more comfortably sized theatre. This time, it is more like we are joining a conversation. We find other bloggers have flocked to a particular theme…a word, a question, a picture, a challenge…and as we enjoy what others have produced on that theme and interact with them, they also take the time to look at what we have come up with and tell us what they thought.
In essence, it is much more enjoyable and rewarding. If it were not for the many prompts hosted by other bloggers, there is no way I would have produced so many posts, no way I would have developed my own style and dived into fiction, and no way I would have written a three part novel series and seen them published on Amazon.
Without all the wonderful prompts on WordPress, I doubt I would have come into contact with so many fabulous bloggers or had nearly as much fun.
I truly think that if someone starts blogging thinking they are going onto a stage and that thousands of strangers are going to be hanging off their every word…they will be severely disappointed. But bloggers who join the party, getting involved in popular prompts and engaging with other bloggers…well, those bloggers are going to have a lot more fun and will probably stick at blogging because they will enjoy it more.
Do you feel that they add value to your blog?
“Value”?….Hmm…I am not so sure how I would define the value of blogs or prompts. My own experience is that prompts encouraged me to write. Writing regularly was the only way to develop my own style, my own voice.
The posts on my blog are a mix of my own initiative, the subjects on my mind and dear to my heart and the posts which are in response to prompts hosted by other bloggers. I think they supply a lot of variety and flavour to my blog – if I do say so myself!
I remember first discovering the prompts and challenges from Rory, the creator of A Guy Called Bloke, which to be honest I was not always sure how to interpret at first. But at the end of the day, Rory was not looking for a bunch of identical responses from the bloggers who participated. He wanted us to enjoy his prompts and to be ourselves. He would ask something like twenty questions, some of which I found odd. But I am so glad I responded to them. It was really helpful in helping me think about who I am and what I had to say to the world.
So, that is one way that prompts have added a sort of value to my blog – they have shown insight into me. Without the posts that are in response to the question prompts from other bloggers, it may have been harder for other bloggers to get an idea of who I am, what I believe in, hope for, how I think and feel, how I express myself.
My blog is an anonymous blog, but under my pen name I feel comfortable with revealing a lot about what goes on in my mind and my heart!. That is so important, for it is from the heart that I write.
What are your favourite kind of writing prompts?
I find picture prompts especially inspiring. I absolutely love the prompts hosted by Teresa Grabs. Teresa’s daily prompts have often supplied us with a picture and a genre and invited us to think up a fictional story or poem. Almost all of her prompts gave me ideas. I was keeping up with them, until work started to sap all my energies. I must admit, I am struggling now! Because I am short on time and very tired!
I love SHARE-YOUR-WORLD, the weekly series of questions, hosted by Melanie, the creator of sparksfromacombustiblemind, as do many other bloggers. Its great fun to answer Melanie’s questions and to read the answers from all the other bloggers who take part. We are all so different…and I love that!
I also love SONG-LYRIC-SUNDAY, now hosted by Jim, the creator of A Unique Title For Me. It is one of the days I look forward to most on WordPress. A musical menagerie with many bloggers contributing a variety of genres and musicians. It is great great fun.
I love these prompts because they have inspired me, entertained me, and introduced me to many brilliant bloggers.
I know there are lots of other bloggers who host prompts. I participate when I can and when I am inspired. I just wish I had the time to write more. This year my working hours are becoming inordinate – 60 hours a week on average. I am relying on scheduling and the stack of posts I had in my drafts folder. But I am managing to keep up with my favourite weekly prompts and jumping at the chance to respond to something really thought provoking or evocative.
Which ones are you less likely to do?
I tend to opt for the prompts that leap out at me and immediately trigger ideas. Pictures, questions, even adages do that for me more than a single word. I do find picture prompts are especially likely to fill me with ideas for creative writing.
When I first began producing posts in response to prompts, it was for the Word Of The Day hosted by…what were they called? THE DAILY POST! The one word prompts were very helpful. However, as time has passed, I find my time is just so much more stretched! So I am unlikely to respond to a one word prompt nowadays.
If I had more time, maybe I could respond to more prompts, but I am doing the best I can at the moment. I am amazed I have been able to keep up my regularity and see two of my novels plus another shorter book published on Amazon.
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This was my response to Dr Tanya’s questions in this weeks #BLOGGING INSIGHTS:
I have been a London for ten years. There are always places to discover, but I do feel as if I know my way around pretty well now. My turf is Hampstead, Highgate and Muswell Hill (and surrounding areas). I have family in Crouch End and Battersea. I have friends all over London, and I also work on projects all over the city. So I regularly criss cross London. So London is the subject of today’s song.
Caramel 