We made it to week three! In terms of junior high, this is an epic relationship. A really cool one too—we grew from 8 the first week to 16 the second! I don’t expect to keep growing like that (it would be harder to have community if we became enormous), but I DO love seeing that this is sort of fitting a need for people. I like to think that there are a lot of bloggers out there like you and me who want our blogs to tell our stories, not just be a bunch of words slapped up on a screen. Many of us are hesitant to call ourselves writers. (I often am. It sounds so…final. And sure.) But we are blogging, we are writing, and we are writers. So let’s build a little community and work on our craft, shall we?

Speaking of…this is the week 3 prompt: 

COMMUNITY.

 

I like to have very broad prompts so that you can write a blog post that fits whether you are a food blogger, a professional blogger dealing with business, a lifestyle blogger, or a blogger about faith. Maybe it’s the community around the table as you eat a meal, or Community the sitcom (which I love). Write about whatever community fits into your blog and interests YOU. Normally I will be talking about writing in this post. In the first edition it was all about how storytelling can fit into a blog post, while the second edition focused in on details. But forgive me—this week has been weird and wild and our internet is going in and out, so I’m posting now while it’s IN.

Guidelines and So Forth

What is Not So (Small) Stories about?
I believe that there are no small stories. We might read about someone counting cobwebs if there were significance and the writing was done well. This linky is all about working on the craft of writing, in particular blog writing. My hope is that you will write for your blog more consciously, keeping in line with your subject and your personal brand (if you consider yourself as having or being a brand), but being more intentional about the way you organize your thoughts and put them on the page. Er—screen.

Who can join?
You. Your Mom. Your hairdresser. This is open to anyone with a blog. Of any kind. Yes, ANY kind. You don’t need to be a writer or even feel like you are a person who writes well about your subject. Want to get better at whatever you write about? Come and grow.

What should we write about?
Each week I’ll give a prompt that is super general. I may stop with the prompts after a while, but sometimes that helps people get started. I’m not going to be super police-y with this, but I do think it helps if people stick with the general flow of things. Use the prompt as just that: a prompt to get you thinking and writing. Stick with what is your normal subject so this doesn’t feel like some weird awkward thing hanging off your blog.

What are the requirements for the post?
-Do use the prompt, even if loosely (that’s why it’s general).
-Do try to keep your post no longer than 1000 words. That’s actually a LOT. Somewhere between 500-750 is probably the sweet spot.
-Do include the button (code is in my sidebar) and mention the linky at the bottom (or top, if you like) of your post.
-Don’t be spammy and link to a sponsored post or something filled to the brim with ads and such.
-Don’t post something with extreme language or extreme graphic sex or violence. I have an eclectic readership and all, but few people want to read those things. I’m sure you can find a linky for that, if it’s your thing.
-Photos are always great, but not required. If you aren’t a big photog, you can snatch up creative commons photos or slap a quote from the post up on a background on picmonkey.
-Most bloggers are writing non-fiction, ie about their own lives, but I’d love fiction bloggers to join in. It might be good to distinguish this, though, so if you’re writing fiction, put a little note at the top or bottom about that. Unless you want a lot of comments telling you how sorry you are that your dad died, when it was just a story.

Any guidelines for the community?
-Call me crazy, but visit EVERY post. I know. I know. Here’s the thing: it’s not community otherwise. It’s just not. Take your lunch break and enjoy a good read. Do it before bed. If you have time to write, make the time to read. If we get super huge, I’ll revisit this. For now, visit EVERY post.
-Be positive. Comments are appreciated always, but not if they are snotty or judgey. That’s also NOT community.
-If you like something, consider commenting and maybe even sharing.
-Consider joining the Facebook community, where if you’d like to connect more and even get more detailed with critiques, you can.