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Yarn a Tale to Grow Flow

Have a Ball with Yarn as Prompt

Yarn is a good prompt for writing.
Squeeze a ball of yarn. It’s soft and fluffy to the touch. What metaphors or images arise from the sight or touch of the yarn?

Have yarn, will create! Using this spun thread to create connections is nothing new. The word itself has a secondary meaning, which is to spin a tall-tale, fable, or myth. There are some good reasons for this connection. First, yarns squeeze metaphors to create literary impact. Second, creatives can literally juggle  balls of yarn to consider how a plot can be twisted and turned to add drama. Finally, finger-crocheting can help knit together a dialogue or setting. Let’s look at yarn’s versatility as a writer’s tool below.

Squeeze Out Metaphor

Rubber stress balls work to help anxiety-filled writers and artists, but those made from yarn are better. Soft, fluffy, and light, they help us to squeeze metaphors while literally clamping down on them. Think about it. Maybe the logger who created the Paul Bunyan folklore had access to yarn balls while spinning tales of Paul and his blue ox named, Babe? Not familiar with the American tale? The city of Bemoiji, Minnesota’s website has detailed storylines for Paul and Babe’s travels. See more here: https://wewriteitright.com/sow-flow-visit-antique-shop/

Juggle ideas around while rotating these light-as-air balls to loosen up a plot.

Juggle Ideas Around with Yarn Balls

Perhaps juggling can loosen up a stuck plot. Without too much scientific thinking here, simply juggle three balls of yarn. Stand or sit. It doesn’t make a difference. Focus on the act of juggling the balls for five to 10 minutes, then write a journal entry about the current piece. See what types of connections altered or sprung up from the simple act of juggling. Need a refresher on how to juggle? Look here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNigMfLNhpg

Finger Crochet to Knit a Tale

Want to bring a scene or a dialogue alive? Try finger crocheting some yarn at the desk. This works better seated than standing. Again, do not think too much about the creative piece. Think summer camp or study hall in middle school. Simply focus energy on doing the loops in finger crocheting for about 10 minutes. The process is what matters here, so don’t sweat the way the long link looks. Then, again, write a journal entry to note any new sensory images to add to a scene or dialogue.

Finger crochet for dialogue or scene development.

Your Turn

Creating space to allow images to pop up is important for writers and artists to yarn their tales. Frist, try to squeeze metaphors to enhance the story. Next, mix things up in a plot after juggling. Finally, use finger crocheting to knit together a scene or a dialogue. Choose any of these or all three to keep your story skills fluid.

Here’s to growing your flow,

Marisa

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Day After Twelfth Night Stirs Flow

Flow Arrives the Morning After Twelfth Night

Red wreath brings glee.
A red berry wreath remind bears glad tidings beyond Twelfth Night.

Entering into life beyond The Twelfth Day of Christmas challenges even the most cheerful among us.  People don’t get too excited about the thirteenth day of Christmas now, do they? Yet flow arrives on the heels of such a day. Honestly, it is important to know where to look. My family packed up Christmas after attending an Epiphany service. And, I’m not going to lie, it felt a little sad. Then, I realized what was needed to keep the spirit of the holidays going into at least next month. What was it? A simple red berry wreath.

Flow Found in Red Berry

A wreath is a traditional sign to welcome those entering a home. This red berry wreath is hung on a pantry door in my kitchen for a few reasons. First, it recalls winter’s joyful landscapes. Where I live it is in the 70s during the day and down in the 40s at night.  So, the symbolism of a white door behind the red berries reminds me of the Snow Belt where I grew up. Next, it winds around on itself as a sign of infinity. Glad tidings, I am reminded, are reason for an additional smile. And, another. Finally, stir those images around to find a satisfying sense of flow to extend the joy of Twelfth Night into today –  and beyond.

Other Places to Find Flow Beyond Twelfth Night

Easily find flow and where it grows through the five senses. First, get out a journal. Next, walk around the office or house and jot down anything that smells, sounds, tastes, feels, or looks like an extension of the holiday. For example, note that the red earthen wear bowl can hold fruit such as apples on the counter. Perhaps a dash a cinnamon in coffee or on cocoa brings a jolt of joy. Finally, take this listing of sense-related phrases and quickly write a reflection on Christmas joys. No need to share it – unless that, too, brings joy.

Here’s to growing your flow,

Marisa

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Blogging to Encourage, Empower, and Enrich Audiences

Blogging that Brings Out the Best

Positivity in blogging is more important than ever. Making an audience feel at home entices them to read a post – even those running at the recommended 300 words – to the end. Successful blogs encourage, empower, and enrich their readership with pertinent content, lively photography and videos, and succinct content. Below are three examples of how women are blogging personally and professionally with thoughtfulness and elegant style.

Positivity in blogging increases readers’ engagement by encouraging, empowering, and educating the audience.

Blogs Encourage Discovery

The blog may be for personal exploration/discovery, such as the travelogue, Exploring the World, does. My friend, Mary Jane Koenig, encourages travel for active seniors at http://maryjanekoenig.blogspot.com/ As a retiree, she and her husband explores Florida and places that cruise ships take them.

Blogs Empower Change

Blogs may be artistic and soul-expanding like the one my friend, Suzi Baum Banks, crafts. As an artist, actress, author, and workshop leader, she holds a unique set of credentials to offer perspective on deep growth and change for mothers and other women in search of a more fulfilling life. She post her empowering words at http://www.suzibanksbaum.com/blog/

Blogs Enrich Opportunities

Or, a blog may be business-minded, as the one that my friend, Debbie Peterson, writes at Getting to Clarity. Here she enriches mid-life women’s own narratives to be their best advocates for professional change. This change begins from within their thinking patterns. She applies her experiences as public speaker and business coach to write a blog that focuses on nurturing an optimistic mindset for success. Find her at  http://gettingtoclarity.com/blog/

Blogging that Makes a Difference

While some sensitive subjects may arise, these authors make their points with a good dose of compassion, advice, and goodwill. And in doing so, they enliven the dialogue between themselves and their readers to encourage all women to live more passionately creative lives. Recently, Debbie Peterson shared Maryanne Williamson’s poem, “Our Deepest Fears” with me. It speaks on the subject of transformation to give a fresh reminder that blogging about potential has ripple effects for those we know – and even those we have yet to meet.

 

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The Power of Three Behind a Social Media Calendar

Anchor Social Media with Calendar for Success

Social media calendars help to plan for a company's ongoing success.
Social media calendars help to plan for a company’s ongoing success.

Everyone wants to get the biggest bang for their advertising buck. The quickest way to align the company’s ad campaign threads to different media sites – and stay within budget – is to create a social media calendar. With so many options of where to post offers, information, sales, tutorials and the like, where does one start? Implement the Power of Three to align the calendar. Choose three – and only three- of the most popular social media sites available to promote a product or service. These sites include YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pintrest, Twitter and Instagram among many others.

Consider which sites would create the most buzz regarding the company’s target audience in relationship to the company’s product(s) or service(s). For example, if the product is a headset that comes in a number of colors and is geared toward teens, then look at the visual and auditory impact that Instagram, Pintrest and YouTube can offer.

Next, pull out the work calendar and see when deadlines typically fall. Plan social media needs ahead of and around the steadfast dates like staff meetings, inventories, and peak customer hours if the company has retail space(s). Pull up an online calendar, or a physical desk calendar, and begin to fill in the site names. Some people like to mix the media days so they appear random in appearance to the audience. For example, in a four week calendar, Weeks 1 and 4 use: Twitter on Monday, Wednesday and Friday; LinkedIn on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday; and YouTube on Sunday. Weeks 2 and 3 concentrates Monday through Friday on multiple Twitter posts, YouTube posts on Saturday, and Linked posts on Sunday.  Others have success with a steady streaming of repeated patterns throughout the month. A sample 6-Day pattern may designate the following: Monday and Thursday, Pintrest; Tuesday and Friday, Facebook; Wednesday and Saturday, YouTube.

Plan media calendars in three month blocks. Each quarter assess the success of the impact on the target market. Tweak it as needed. Having a plan – even one that appears random to the casual viewer – is the best way to ensure ongoing success with social media.

If you like what you have read here, please share it with others!

 

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Refresh About/Bio Page to Increase Traffic

Planned Maintenance Wins Visitors
Refresh the About/Bio Page for Greater Traffic

Want to woo new business prospects? Keep previous visitors coming back for more? Planned updates of the About/Bio page of a business websites is a guaranteed way to keep content fresh. The necessity of planned maintenance of About/Bio pages is often overlooked by small business owners, who are preoccupied by all of the other facets of their businesses. Yet, in the hierarchy of marketing needs, the About/Bio page needs to be placed solidly at the base. Why? It supports the rest of the site. In doing so, customers can quickly assess whether or not they will do business – or repeat business – with a given company.

And while a company may be showing success, trends in About/Bio Page presentation show that lackluster content can hurt web traffic. So says, Jakob Nielsen of the Neilsen Nelson Group. In his article, “‘About Us’ Information on Websites,” he notes that “studies show a steady, slow increase of About Us usability, including the company’s location, contact information, and purpose.”

However, when it came to the subjective area of user expectations, a downward trend was detected. Nielsen explains: “How can satisfaction go down when overall success rates are up? Because user expectations for usable websites have grown even higher in recent years….An About Us area that users may have accepted in the past will no longer satisfy them.”

Carefully planned maintenance of the About/Bio page can help overcome customer scrutiny. While some advocate annual overhaul, a move to quarterly updates allows for fresh information to flow into the site.  This new information can include new products and services that are available or new hires within the company. Furthermore, additional updates can be made on the About/Bio page that include human-interest aspects of the business. Multiple forms of media, including voice-over clips, can increase hits. Nielsen observed an influx of multi-media as a trend to yield more visitors. “One definite trend is higher user interest in video, especially when it shows interesting or complex products, reports on corporate events, or showcases the CEO or key staff members.”

Fresh  copy can breathe life into a website. It can meet and exceed customer expectations through regular About/Bio page quarterly updates.

Customers will appreciate it.

And so will the company’s bottom line.