Monthly Archives: April 2015

Haiku to you Thursday: “Deferred”

Deferred dream awaits /

forgotten lover lurking /

lips pursed for your touch.

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Writing tip Wednesday: “Ten tips for SEO”

Ten tips on good SEO writing

Source: http://www.geeksnack.com/2015/04/22/ten-tips-good-seo-writing/

Good SEO writing is much about writing skills and writing techniques. As a blogger, you need to know how to structure your text in subheadings and paragraphs. If your text is appealing and clear, you will attract the interest of your readers. They will gladly like, tweet, share and comment your content if they like it.

1. Think before writing – Good SEO writing tips

n order for your article to be highly ranked in Google search, you need to have writing skills. This means you need to think before you write. To think about what your readers will say after they read your article, what actions and reactions your article can cause. You should write down these answers before starting writing.

2. Arrange your ideas – Good SEO writing tips

You need to arrange your ideas in a logical manner, in every post you write. Some sorts of short introduction, a body where you will write the main ideas and a conclusion text, this structure is a very good and stable one, that normally attracts most readers. After that, you could start the real writing process.

3. Structure your paragraphs – Good SEO writing tips

You should be able to start new paragraphs according to some rules, not just because you consider it looks nicer for your text. Every paragraph should contain one main idea or subject. Paragraphs are important, so do not abuse their usage but also do not forget about them. Paragraphs are the most basic design for the text and readers can enjoy them or not.

4. Use subheadings – Good SEO writing tips

Your article should be organized in subheadings. They will lead your reader in a very quick and efficient way. Readers will be able to scan your text and to find more easily the necessary information for them.

5. Use signal words – Good SEO writing tips

Using signal words is also indicated, because they make readers to focus over the most important things. Words like also, first of all, nevertheless, indeed etc. are good choices in this respect.

Other tips include:

6. Proofread and test your article – Good SEO writing tips

7. Write longer posts – Good SEO writing tips

8. Update content – Good SEO writing tips

9. Inlink – Good SEO writing tips

10. Content is key – Good SEO writing tips

Read the rest: http://www.geeksnack.com/2015/04/22/ten-tips-good-seo-writing/

If you don’t know, SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization.

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cARtOONSDAY: “cHARACTER iSSUES”

And to listen to his critics, even his characters weren't that interesting.

And to listen to his critics, even his characters weren’t that interesting.

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Monday morning writing joke: “Boo to you, too”

There once was a writer of fright /

who could make her readers stay up all night./

With a stroke and boo, /

boy, she could do it to you, too. /

Oh, for such chills and delights!

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Random Acts of Poetry: “A little rendezvous”

I fly through the air with the greatest of ease.
If my engine cuts out, I have no trapeze.
Since I have no trapeze, there is no net.
If my engine cuts out, I may not live to regret.
Keep an eye on the sky, watch for me to come by
If my engine cuts out, wave and give me a sigh.
That mountain ahead may be my new home.
Across its ragged face, my body may roam.
If the pilot is sane, I may stay in the air.
If my pilot is nuts, then what do I care?
Birds sucked in the engine? I’ll have a bad day
But then, come to think of it, so will they.
I fly through the air with greatest of ease.
When this damn thing comes down, avoid the trees.
May the landing be soft, the pilot’s touch light
For I’m holding your arm and I’m holding on tight.
A bump as we land could cause an incident:
You could lose your arm and my bowels would be spent.
I fly through the air with the greatest of ease
If the engine cuts out, some regrets there will be.

–by David E. Booker

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Be gentle upon him

Be gentle upon him, whatever you do
For killing him outright, could leave you in a stew.
Then what will you do for the rest of the cruise?
Hide the body aboard and leave misleading clues?
Will you tell his friends, “Wait, he’s over there.”
Or strolling down the promenade without a care.
You’ll have to make up stories of where he might be
Which may keep you awake to a quarter past three.
And as you tell these stories of his life aboard the boat
Will you see his body out the window afloat?
Will he be smiling at you, his arm high in the air
waving you to join him, to promenade without a care?
And then oh then tell me what will you do
When he gives you the evil eye and thinks you’re a cutie too?

by David E. Booker

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Photo finish Friday: “Big Yeller Hoops Day”

Big Yellow Hoops Day on the highway.

Big Yellow Hoops Day on the highway.

Catching up to the hoops on the highway.

Catching up to the hoops on the highway.

Big Yellow Hoops ahead on the highway.

Big Yellow Hoops ahead on the highway.

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Haiku to you Thursday: “Shortly”

Running late. /

Will be there shortly. /

Incomplete.

[Editor’s note: Most haiku are 5 syllables for the first line, 7 syllables for the second line, and 5 syllables for the third line. This one is another shortened version with a structure of 3/5/3.]

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Writing tip Wednesday: “Comedy writing”

How do you write good comedy? Some of Britain’s finest comedians share their knowledge

By Bruce Dessau

Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/comedy/features/how-do-you-write-good-comedy-some-of-britains-finest-comedians-share-their-knowledge-10182878.html

Writing comedy is not easy – which is why next weekend, aspiring comedy writers will be gathering in Llandudno in north Wales for the second annual Craft of Comedy Writing conference.

There, commissioning editors, producers, production company bosses and comedians will be divulging their trade secrets in a range of talks, discussions and networking sessions. It’s a great way to learn more about the industry – although it does cost £60. For a cheaper option, we have asked some the biggest names in comedy for their pithiest writing tips.

(For more information on the Craft of Comedy Writing Conference see www.venuecymru.co.uk)

Andy Hamilton
Sitcom writer
His new series ‘Ballot Monkeys’, a satirical sitcom set around the General Election, starts on C4, Tuesday at 10pm.

  1. Become a ruthless editor of your own stuff. You have to be brutal.
  2. Learn to be concise. Pay attention to the rhythm of a sentence and how a joke unfolds. Just moving an adverb can change it. I’m still learning.
  3. Make sure you invest in a character. Anyone can write jokes. Well, almost anyone. But if you are writing a sitcom it’s the characters that make it interesting. They have to resonate.

Reece Shearsmith
Actor/comedy writer
The latest series of Shearsmith’s ‘Inside No 9’, co-written with Steve Pemberton, is on BBC2 on Thursdays.
I think it’s important when writing, and especially sketches, that you very quickly let the audience in on what it is they are supposed to find funny. What is “the thing of it?” Let them in on the joke as quickly as possible. “Oh – I see, it’s a clown that doesn’t like children.” Or “Oh I get it – it’s a squeamish surgeon”. The quicker you get to that penny-dropping moment, the longer your audience have to enjoy the situation and find it funny. Also, try to be as lean as possible. Come in late, and go out early. More often than not, you can lose half of a scene quite easily and still impart the story. And above all else – hide the exposition! No one wants to sound like they are narrating facts. A neat trick is to hide exposition inside a joke. That way it feels valid, and its presence is disguised by a laugh.

Graham Linehan
Sitcom writer
To borrow an image from David Lynch, you’re looking for the big fish. The tiddlers flashing about just below the surface – the trite observations, the easy targets, the established joke-constructions – you need to ignore them and wait for the big one. An image or scene that makes you double over with laughter and could only have come from deep within your subconscious. The good news is that once you have it, the smaller jokes leading up to and away from the scene/sequence/sight gag will also feel fresh. To give you an example from my own work, Mrs Doyle wondering where the “perfectly square bit of black dirt” on the window came from is a set-up so odd the audience doesn’t even think of it as a set-up, and enjoy it for its own sake. So when Ted appears at the window with a Hitler moustache (and that’s the big fish, that’s what Arthur Mathews and I thought of first), one of the reasons it works is that the audience didn’t realise we were setting them up.

Holly Walsh
Stand-up/TV and radio writer
Walsh has previously written BBC3 sitcom ‘Dead Boss’ with Sharon Horgan, and her new radio series ‘Best Behaviour’ starts on Radio 4 on 7 May at 6.30pm.

My tip for writing comedy would be to find someone to collaborate with. OK, so you’ll share the money, but you’ll also share self-doubt and inner loathing, so it kind of balances out. My favourite days are sitting in a room with someone else and trying to make them laugh. You might then have to go off and work stuff up on your own, but at least you know one person has found it funny. Oh, and move around. You’d be surprised how many problems are solved walking to and from the loo. So drink plenty of tea.

The rest of the article: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/comedy/features/how-do-you-write-good-comedy-some-of-britains-finest-comedians-share-their-knowledge-10182878.html

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Monday morning writing joke: “Dented erudition”

There once was a man of erudition /

who took to writing science fiction. /

His thoughts were transcendent, /

his paragraphs perfectly indented, /

but still something got lost in transmission.

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