Friday, October 20, 2017

Why I Write: October 20 Annual Writing Hashtag Event

The National Day on Writing inspires a time during end-October for writers and associates to celebrate and organize events. Centered around a concept of the National Council of Teachers of English, the day honors the constant relevance the written word. (Since 1911, the NCTE has organized for the betterment of language art studies through various means). 

Developed by educators, the National Day on Writing appeals to teachers especially, who use the opportunity to enhance our perceptions of writing as a critical component of comprehension, learning, communication and overall understanding. For writers from any scene, October 20 each year is the date around which we can plan an event or outing according to this general theme.

We consider it highly appropriate that this writing event is coordinated with the cooling autumn weather, which happens to render steaming cups of coffee, tea and cocoa all the more relevant to our efforts. We're greater plussed if sweaters are needed.

Because the annual writing event happens to fall on a Friday this year, there's little excuse to avoid an appropriate event or activity this weekend. What will you do?

We should all get a start by answering the associated hashtag #WhyIWrite, via Twitter and other social networks.

Thursday, October 19, 2017

Random Reblog & Writing Prompt via Thursday Thoughts at Twitter

Expand on your level of social sharing (and reward) with the Random Reblog writing prompt. This is a fun exercise that can boost creativity and online interaction. We may call for a #RandomReblog anytime, but will start with the #ThursdayThoughts stream at Twitter. Here's how it works: 
  1. Go to Twitter
  2. Type #ThursdayThoughts in search field at Twitter
  3. Casually find a Tweet that resonates with you
  4. Retweet it!
  5. RE-BLOG IT! (embed code via tweet menu into your blog post)
  6. Add your comment of relevance 
  7. Tweet your REBLOG post!
Our random RT this week is embedded below. This is where the reblog happens!  
This Tweet was completely random, found while scrolling the home stream of a sales account. It struck the cord of coincidence in me as I remembered having connected with a distant family member earlier that day.  

That takes care of the RandomReblog portion of the exercise! 

Maybe your point of relevance for the randomly-chosen writing prompt would be contained in your introduction prior to the embedded tweet, or maybe it would work best in a paragraph that follows it (as we've shown above).

You should format your work as you wish, but do attempt to embed the original tweet. Make this a priority over the simpler quote function. By embedding the original tweet, you give readers an easy introduction to the originating source of your written work. This should also be seen as doing a favor to the account from which you've been inspired. Because we're establishing a lead, keep it positive for the source: even if it's not a wholly positive sensory or writing experience on your part.
*Note: Any RandomReblog exercise shall be "random" in that our source pick should be seen as, "I don't know this person (company, group, individual, etc.) but this Tweet is relevant to me today".

The exercise should also be random in that we aren't advertising, we don't currently follow the source of our re-blog material, and we're not previously connected in any way.

Finally, Expand on Your RandomReblog Vision


Although we've done a neat little written exercise already, there could be more story to tell. Take full advantage of the writing prompt feature of this exercise in social sharing by expanding your reblog post into a full-length script of several paragraphs, or by linking a wholly new post to it. That is:
  • elaborate on the relevance to you of the Original Tweet within the same re-blog post you've created, or 
  • write a separate full-length elaboration to post at a later date

That's it! A fun little remote-friendly activity that can be undertaken on a regular basis and encourages Internet socialization while also serving as a brainstorming tool. Turn a tweet-check into a more positive habit on one hand, and get a writing prompt opportunity on the other. However we use it, this exercise can serve us in a number of ways.

Apply this "Random Reblog" concept to any social platform that you use. Be sure to include hashtag: #RandomReblog

Don't forget to comment us with a link to your work! If comments aren't open, contact us.